Heavy police presence could be seen at the intersection of Sunrise Blvd. and Old Auburn Rd. Tuesday night as police responded to a driver under the influence. Oct. 29, 2024. // CH Sentinel
By Sara Beth Williams– A heavy police presence could be seen Tuesday night at Sunrise Boulevard and Old Auburn Road after Citrus Heights police said a 38-year-old woman was found on top of her car in the middle of the busy intersection. She was arrested on felony DUI charges.
Police responded to the scene just before 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 29 after multiple reports of a car stopped in the middle of the intersection, with a woman on top of the car. At least seven patrol vehicles were observed around 8:50 p.m., with a person seen being placed in the back seat of a police vehicle.
Detective Justin Bridges with the Citrus Heights Police Department said Wednesday that the female was “less than cooperative” and tried to “strike” at officers while they tried to assist her. The incident resulted in interrupted traffic flow, and a heavy police presence could be seen at the intersection.
Officers attempted to redirect traffic in order to prevent a collision from occurring while they worked to resolve the situation. No collisions occurred as a result of the incident, and neither officers nor the suspect suffered any injuries, Bridges said.
Courtney Ann Wade was arrested on charges of driving under the influence, according to police. Wade was booked into the Sacramento County main jail and remains in custody.
San Juan Avenue facing the intersection of Chesline Drive (to the left) and Willowcreek Drive (to the right). // SB Williams
By Sara Beth Williams– Phase 1A of the San Juan Complete Streets project is nearly complete, according to the city.
Citrus Heights City Manager Ash Feeney announced during the Oct. 23 City Council meeting last week that Phase 1A construction should be complete within a few weeks. The project began earlier this year, and aims to “create safer travel for drivers and pedestrians” on San Juan Avenue, according to the city’s website.
The project includes constructing new sidewalks and adding buffered bike lanes, adding additional streetlighting, storm drain infrastructure upgrades and expansion, and the phase will finish off with a full roadway resurfacing and new striping.
Feeney also said during the council meeting that traffic signals at San Juan Avenue and Madison Avenue are currently undergoing modifications.
Phase 1A includes construction along San Juan Avenue from Madison Avenue to Chesline Drive, and Phase 1B will continue construction from Chesline Drive to Spicer Drive. Phase 2 will continue down San Juan Avenue, from Spicer Drive to Greenback Lane.
Travelers should be prepared for lane and sidewalk closures throughout the construction, the city said. For periodic updates on the San Juan Complete Streets Project, residents can visit the city’s Capital Improvements project page here.
By Sara Beth Williams– Citrus Heights Mayor Jayna Karpinski-Costa along with City Manager Ash Feeney will present the annual State of the City address on Nov. 14 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at City Hall.
The city said in an update on their website that the 2024 State of the City address will feature a look back at the last year by the mayor and a look ahead for the city’s future presented by the city manager. The Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce will also host a welcome reception prior to the State of the City address from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
A welcome reception will be held in the City Hall lobby and tickets can be purchased in advance here. The reception will feature local food and drink options, opportunities for networking and meet-and-greets with city leaders.
The State of the City address will be held in the City Council Chambers. City Hall is located at 6360 Fountain Square Drive.
By Sara Beth Williams– Sacramento County Supervisor Sue Frost is holding a final Citrus Heights Community Meeting on Monday, Nov. 4, before her term expires at the end of 2024. Frost is not seeking reelection.
The meeting will be held Nov. 4 at 6 p.m. at Citrus Heights City Hall located at 6360 Fountain Square Drive. Supervisor Elect Rosario Rodriguez will also be in attendance at the meeting, according to Chief of Staff Denisa Martian.
“It will be a great way for everyone to meet their new County Supervisor,” Martian said.
Frost was recently presented with an Outstanding Humanitarian award at the annual Spaghetti fundraising dinner in mid-October, which was hosted by the Citrus Heights Homeless Assistance Resource Team.
Frost was elected to the Citrus Heights City Council in November 2012 and served as Vice Mayor in 2014 and Mayor in 2015. In 2016, Frost won election to serve as county supervisor for District 4, and was reelected in March 2020 with 75 percent of the vote.
Rodriguez was elected to the Folsom City Council in 2020 after serving on the Historic District Commission for three years. She previously served as a board member for the Folsom Chamber of Commerce, the Twin Lakes Food Bank, and the Folsom Economic Development Corporation. Rodriguez was elected to county supervisor in the March 2024 primary election, with 51 percent of the vote.
Candidates Kelsey Nelson (top left), Amie Burgundy Brown (top right), and Andrew Saunders (bottom left) are vying for the District 1 City Council seat in Citrus Heights. Incumbent Tim Schaefer (bottom right) is running unopposed for the District 3 seat. // SB Williams
By Sara Beth Williams– Latest campaign filing disclosures filed last week show a combined total of just over $11,000 going toward Citrus Heights City Council candidate campaigns — a dramatic drop compared to the 2022 election where more than $100,000 was poured into the campaigns of nine different candidates running for City Council.
With incumbent Tim Schaefer running unopposed for the District 3 Citrus Heights City Council seat, the only candidates actively campaigning are out vying for the District 1 City Council seat.
According to the latest campaign finance filings, candidate Kelsey Nelson holds a strong lead in contributions for the District 1 seat, reporting $7,450 in total contributions, including $3,000 in non-monetary contributions and a contribution of $1,000 that was received after the most recent Oct. 19 reporting period.
Stones Gambling Hall has been the largest donor to Nelson’s campaign, with a recorded $1,500 in donations listed. $200 was also donated by former Mayor Bret Daniels, along with an additional $1,250 in nonmonetary contributions from Daniels for “consulting services.” Nelson reported $5,599 in expenditures as of Oct. 19, with her largest expenditure of just over $1,000 at Tayco Screenprinting in Rancho Cordova.
Andrew Saunders has reported a total of $3,800 in contributions, coming exclusively from contributions made by himself to his campaign in the form of personal loans. He also reported $3,300 in expenditures, with expenses going toward campaign signs, banners, business cards, mailers, flyers, and digital advertising.
Amie Burgundy Brown and Schaefer have not filed any financial reports for contributions or expenditures with the city. Candidates are not required to file such reports unless raising or spending over a $2,000 threshold. According to documents posted on the city’s elections page, Brown has signed a statement submitting to voluntary candidate expenditure limits.
The California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) requires campaign finance disclosures for local candidates who raise or spend over $2,000. Two pre-election filings are required by the commission, with an additional requirement for candidates to file a separate form within 24 hours of a donation of $1,000 being received.
The most recent reporting deadline was Oct. 24, covering the period of Sept. 22 through Oct. 19, 2024. The next FPPC reporting deadline for candidates is Jan. 31, 2025. To see all the candidates’ full campaign finance filings, click here.
By Mark Mitchell, Citrus Heights– I realize that the City/County are trying to get in as much road construction as possible before the rains come. Here’s my issue regarding this… Greenback Lane is being impacted by the center divider being replaced around Almond and Hickory, so there’s a bottle neck of traffic either going East or West.
To try to avoid that mess during the daytime, you’d think Madison would be a better choice if you needed to get out to, or come back from Folsom into Citrus Heights. You’ve got to be kidding me, road construction on Madison too? Yep, just West of Hazel another bottleneck down to one lane. Come on, really, both Greenback and Madison have road construction during the day? Maybe I’m the one that didn’t see that one coming, my bad!
Oh yeah, one more thing since I have your attention. I’m stopped at the light at Greenback and Sunrise, heading East towards Folsom, why does the very next stoplight turn red? (Arcadia I believe is the one, with Red Robin on the corner.) I thought these lights had some type of timing to let traffic flow. They must have forgot to program this one. Okay, I feel much better now… Now, fix it for us please, City/County, whoever is in charge of timing the lights.
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Sentinel Staff Report– The latest Citrus Heights Police Logs show an increase in code enforcement and disturbances, while showing a decrease in animal control calls, traffic accidents and suspicious circumstances, Below is a summary of police logs from Oct. 17-23, 2024
Animal control: 1 (down from 8)
911 hangups: 33 (down from 54)
Code enforcement: 40 (up from 31)
Traffic accidents: 25 (down from 42)
Vehicle violations: 262 (down from 270)
Theft: 27 (up from 26)
Homeless-related: 20 (up from 19)
Vandalism: 9 (down from 11)
Violent/threats: 39 (up from 35)
Disturbance: 91 (down from 103)
Suspicious circumstances: 168 (down from 180)
All incidents: 1169 (down from 1254)
See full police activity and arrest logs on the city’s website: click here.
Citrus Heights police note that its logs “are not intended as a full and complete list of all police activity,” with some information not displayed for legal reasons, such as arrests of minors. As such, police advise that summary totals based on public logs may differ from weekly incident and arrest totals posted by police on social media.
The department notes on its website that: “All arrested suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty. Additionally, the original crimes, nature of offenses, and charges may be amended or dismissed as further information is made available.”
Editor’s Note: police log summaries are published with assistance from AI, but edited by humans. Please contact us if you spot an error.
The Citrus Heights boundary line, represented by an orange dashed line, is shown dissecting the center of the Almond Orchard shopping center on the corner of Madison Avenue and Fair Oaks Boulevard, with Handel’s Ice Cream shown inside Citrus Heights city limits. // Google Maps
By Sara Beth Williams– Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream recently opened a new location on the outskirts of town with a business address listed in Citrus Heights — but the company’s website indicates the business is located in Fair Oaks, prompting questions from some.
Confusion and disputes over jurisdiction boundaries have been ongoing for years. In 2022, a shooting just outside the border of Citrus Heights at Fair Oaks Park led to separate investigations by different agencies after a suspect ran across the street and into the city limits of Citrus Heights, where he was subsequently shot.
Elsewhere, near the northern city limits, residents who live on a stretch of Roseville Road have said that they are frequently forced to deal with a jurisdictional maze including four different law enforcement agencies: Citrus Heights Police, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, Roseville Police, and the California Highway Patrol.
In July, the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District responded to a commercial fire on the property of a private school located on the edge of Citrus Heights, even though the school lists a Roseville address. Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District does not serve Placer County.
In 2023, the Citrus Heights City Council, for a second time, sought to study the feasibility of expanding the borders of Citrus Heights in several different areas. One of those areas included portions of commercial businesses located in the Almond Orchard shopping center, where Handel’s is located.
When viewing the city boundaries on Google Maps, the border of Citrus Heights runs right through the center, north to south, of the Almond Orchard shopping center and ends at Madison Avenue, instead of extending east toward the intersection of Fair Oaks Boulevard and Madison Avenue.
Businesses located west of the Citrus Heights boundary line, such as Miller’s Ace Hardware, Pastry Heaven, and Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream, all have Citrus Heights addresses. Businesses east of the boundary lines, such as Fabian’s Italian Bistro & Bar, Alexandria Salon & Spa, and Security Pacific Real Estate, are given addresses that list them in Fair Oaks.
Likewise, homes west of Fair Oaks Boulevard have Citrus Heights addresses, and homes east of Fair Oaks Boulevard have Fair Oaks addresses, until you travel north past Woodmore Oaks Drive, and then the boundary of Citrus Heights extends farther to the east.
The City Council was presented with the results of an annexation fiscal impact study in October 2023, and according to the study, projected expenditures would exceed projected revenues by $3.6 million if all four areas were annexed.
Collectively, sales taxes within the four areas studied would equal $211 million annually. However, it’s assumed that Citrus Heights and Sacramento County would split that revenue fifty-fifty, RSG Senior Analyst Monroe Roush said, adding that such an outcome is typical for annexations. Citrus Heights would also receive less-than-normal property taxes in annexed areas of the city because there is no state law that allows for cities to collect motor vehicle license fees from annexed sections of a city.
The commercial area of Fair Oaks Boulevard and Madison Avenue had the least projected revenue shortfall, at roughly $12,000, making it the most “fiscally neutral” area to annex, according to the city’s report.
Following the city’s findings, the City Council directed the City Manager to approach Sacramento County to informally discuss negotiations on sales and property taxes of the unincorporated areas in which Citrus Heights expressed interest in annexing.
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Amazon Fresh plans to open in November in Citrus Heights. // SB Williams
By Sara Beth Williams– Amazon Fresh in Citrus Heights is planning to open next month.
The company recently announced plans to open its Citrus Heights location on Thursday, Nov. 7. This will be the company’s third grocery store location in the region, according to the company’s website. Online, the company lists Amazon Fresh locations in Elk Grove and Roseville.
The new grocery store will open at 5425 Sunrise Blvd. in the recently renovated Sunrise Village shopping center and will offer a wide assortment of “national brands and high-quality produce, meat, and seafood,” as well as a range of prepared foods made fresh in store every day.
According to a submitted letter by Amazon Fresh to the City of Citrus Heights, the grocer will also sell beer, wine, and spirits and provide “limited alcohol instructional tastings” in a designated alcohol sampling area. Tastings will be small samples and be offered by trained beverage suppliers or employees to customers 21 years and older, in accordance with Alcoholic Beverage Control regulations.
Construction has been ongoing for several months on the 38,000-square-foot building that was formerly occupied by JoAnn’s Fabrics. The fabric store has moved over to an adjacent building in the same shopping center.
Amazon Fresh opened its first location in Woodland Hills in September 2020 and has since been joined by more than 40 locations in California, Illinois, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington State, and New Jersey, as well as the Washington, D.C. area.
The grocery store hours have been listed as 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.
Citrus Heights City Council approved the 2025 Annual Action Plan for Community Development Block Grant funding. Oct. 23, 2024. // SB Williams
By Sara Beth Williams– The Citrus Heights City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a final draft of the Community Development Block Grant Annual Action Plan and Consolidated Plan for 2025, which establishes annual funding allocation recommendations.
The 2025 Annual Action Plan allocates $600,000 in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development into three categories based on existing program stipulations. 15 percent of funds are to be used for public service activities, 65 percent of the funds for capital projects, and the remaining 20 percent will be available for planning and administration.
Public Service activities: The city recommended allocating the maximum amount of $90,000 to four nonprofits, including $16,000 to Meals on Wheels, $24,000 to Community Link Capital Region, $20,000 to Campus Life Connection, and $29,000 to Sunrise Christian Food Ministry. If the city receives a higher or lower amount of funds than estimated, the increase or decrease will be split equally between the nonprofits.
“The public service activities selected for funding will provide a wide range of services to vulnerable populations in our community,” Nicole Piva with the Community Development Department said during the City Council meeting.
Jake’s Journey Home, a nonprofit requesting $20,000, was not chosen to receive funding, according to the city, because an existing partnership with the Sacramento County Department of Homeless Services and Housing already exists, and services are already provided through the Community HealthWorks program.
The city said a secondary program could “lead to confusion and duplicative efforts” that could impact delivery of services to the unhoused.
2025 Pavement Plan: The city plans to allocate $390,000 in funding to capital projects, including pavement preservation and improvements in the city. Needed improvements include installation of ADA-compliant pedestrian ramps, installing missing sidewalks, repairing damaged sidewalks, and relocating drainage inlets as necessary, according to the staff report. Additionally, Piva said, $381,000 in residential street resurfacing project funding is to be reallocated to the pavement plan, from non-block grant funds.
Critical Home Repair Grant Program: The city has issued home repair loans using CDBG funds over the last several years, and when loans are repaid, the funds go into a Revolving Loan Fund. Piva reported that the city plans to use about $89,000 from those funds for future home repairs. Unexpired prior year funds, totaling just over $111,000, will also be allocated toward home repairs through the Critical Home Repair Grant program, bringing the total available to $200,000. The repair grants will be used for mobile home repairs, which are managed from start to finish by Rebuilding Together.
Sentinel Staff Report–
