Sandbags and storm information resources deployed

OFFICIALS WILL WATCH PARTICULARLY HIGH TIDES THAT COULD IMPEDE RUNOFF

SUISUN CITY — Additional stocks of sandbags were deployed by Public Works crews and new web-based information resources were put online Thursday ahead of a series of powerful Pacific rainstorms pushing into the region.

A second sandbag location was added between the Fire Station and the YMCA on Pintail Drive at East Wigeon Way. The first-come, first-served stock is a supplement to the sandbags and sand available behind the Police Station on Civic Center Boulevard.

Public Works crews will monitor both locations during the storm event to restock sandbags as possible depending on other storm-related duties.

City officials also updated the storm information and preparation tips at www.suisun.com to help residents prepare for the storms and protect their property against damage. A new section was added to allow public safety officials to post live updates to the website during the storm event.

Officials also launched a Storm Information Hotline with information and updates. The Storm Information Hotline is 707-421-7744.

Officials encouraged residents to check the website and use the Storm Information Hotline to stay informed while allowing public safety dispatchers to focus on emergencies during this busy period.

During the forecast storm period, which is expected to last through the weekend, several higher than usual tide events are expected. Tides of more than 5 feet are expected at 11:09 a.m. Friday, 11:43 a.m. Saturday and 12:19 p.m. Sunday. Heavy storm flows in local creeks and channels that coincide with high tides can hinder drainage systems in the lower lying portions of the City, particularly in Whispering Bay, the Waterfront District and Lawler Ranch.

All drainage systems in those neighborhoods are at full capacity after crews inspected and cleaned them during a Citywide maintenance effort during the past several months. Homeowners in flood-prone areas are urged to be vigilant and secure their property with sandbags before flooding begins.

Public Works crews and City public safety personnel will be deployed throughout the upcoming storm event to respond to any emergencies that arise.

To report flooding conditions, call Public Works at 707-421-7349 or Public Safety Dispatch at 707-421-7373.

Media: Space heater fire burns Suisun City home

From Daily Republic (Subscription required)
By Ian Thompson DAILY REPUBLIC

SUISUN CITY - A Wednesday morning fire gutted a home on Ring Neck Lane after a space heater fell into a bed, setting it on fire, Suisun City Fire Department officials said.

Suisun City firefighters were called to the 400 block of Ring Neck shortly after 8 a.m. to find smoke pouring out the home's windows and the house already involved.

All four residents who lived at the single-story home at the time got out without injury. The fire that sent a plume of smoke over town.

One resident first learned of the fire when the woman whose room the space heater was in, ran out of her room and said the house was on fire. Fire officials confirmed the account.

The man entered the bedroom to find the bed burning. He tried to get an extinguisher from the garage, but gave up the attempt because of smoke and because the fire was moving too fast.

Suisun City Fire Chief Mike O'Brien later stated the blaze started when the space heater fell off a shelf it was on and caught the bed and blankets on fire.

Eleven firefighters, three fire engines and a fire truck responded to the blaze. People and vehicles from Fairfield Fire Department, Suisun Fire Protection District and Cordelia Fire Protection District were called up to support the Suisun firefighters.

Firefighters arrived within three minutes of getting multiple 9-1-1 calls and knocked down the fire within 20 minutes.

The house was close to a total loss. The occupants had renters' insurance to cover their lost possessions which is a rarity, O'Brien said.

Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or at ithompson@dailyrepublic.net.

Media: Suisun City apartment project to include renovation, stiff regulations

From Daily Republic (Subscription required)
By Carol Bogart Daily Republic

SUISUN CITY - Linda Smith is elated to learn her apartment is slated to be rehabbed. The renovation could include energy efficient appliances, extensive screening of new tenants and stiff enforcement of rules and regulations regarding fighting and noise.

The 49-year-old retired and disabled grandmother lives at Crystal Manor Apartments, directly across from the old Crystal Middle School site on Cordelia Road. The new owner of the complex is Dawson Holdings Inc., a Sausalito company that specializes in converting old and in some cases poorly maintained apartment buildings into affordable housing.

Suisun City councilmembers have urged Dawson Holdings to work closely with the Suisun City Police Department as the company plans the Crystal Manor rehab. The city 'will not be flexible' on such safety issues as keeping surveillance cameras in place, Councilman Sam Derting said.

City leaders said when police sweep Crystal Manor, people with outstanding warrants are often found there.

Tom Dawson, the company's owner, told the City Council at its Dec. 18 meeting that the won't accept people with domestic violence convictions and registered sexual predators. Because of laws protecting tenants' rights, it's easier to keep people out through careful screening than it is to remove them once they move in, he added.

People who are on the lease may have guests who are not, and sometimes those guests cause problems, Derting said. Tenants in the rehabbed apartments will be told that failing to make troublemakers leave violates the rules. And if the tenant breaks the rules, 'they'll have to find a new place to live,' he said.

Crystal Manor and Continental Apartments, which face each other on opposite sides of Crystal Street, will get matching facades, in keeping with those of the 80 single-family homes Main Street West Partners hopes to build on the old Crystal Middle School site.

Depending on market conditions, the homes could be completed in as little as four years, said Mike Rice of Main Street West Partners. Families with children will likely occupy some of the homes, he added, and a small park without a playground is also planned.

Dawson Holdings wants to build a community center in conjunction with its renovation project. Dawson said services at the center could include 'life skills,' such as how to make a budget or finding employment.

Single tenants, such as Smith, and couples are the target tenants for the apartments.

By working with Dawson Holdings on the complementary exterior designs for both properties, Main Street West hopes to create a new 'gateway' to the city on Cordelia Road, which Derting described as the city's main thoroughfare from the west. Landscaping and 'low profile monumentation,' as Rice described it, would complete the picture.

The apartment tenants will have to meet affordable housing income guidelines. Smith, for example, pays her rent with a Section 8 voucher. Dawson told the City Council he doesn't think anyone will have to move. And because the work will be done in stages, tenants won't be displaced during renovation.

Continental Apartments manager Raymond Price is looking forward to the changes.

'It's just progress,' he said.

Smith called that progress, 'One hundred percent wonderful! That'd be a dream come true for me, it really would.'

The City Council likely will want to sign off on the Dawson Holdings plan, Derting said. Smith said she would like to see that happen 'as soon as possible. Right now. Today.'

Reach Carol Bogart at 427-6955 or at cbogart@dailyrepublic.net.