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Tag: ceremony

  • Citrus Heights Christmas tree arrives; lighting ceremony set for Dec. 3

    Citrus Heights Christmas tree, lighting ceremony
    Workers help unload Citrus Heights’ new 2015 Christmas tree, Tuesday. //CHSentinel

    Updated Nov. 20, 5:33 p.m.–
    A 30-foot tall, 400-pound Christmas tree arrived by trailer at the Citrus Heights Community Center Tuesday afternoon, in advance of the City’s 19th annual tree lighting ceremony on Dec. 3.

    [Updated story here: Citrus Heights Tree Lighting set for Dec. 3 at temporary site]

    This year’s festivities will begin with a 6:30 p.m. lighting ceremony outside the Community Center next month, followed by free refreshments, cookie decorating, train rides, and pictures with Santa inside the Center. According to the City’s web site, there will also be special performances by the Citrus Heights Community Marching Band, and dance performances by the Ukrainian Heritage Club of Northern California and Folsom-based Aradhana Arts.

    Although the ceremony was previously held at the corner of Greenback Lane and Fountain Square Drive, the relocation of city hall and the new medical office building project underway at the corner necessitated a change in location this year. As of Friday, Community Center Technician Michele Saario said the tree will be located at the Center’s main west entrance on Fountain Square Drive — but indicated that could change.

    Police Lt. Jason Russo said various proposed tree locations had encountered different problems, with a primary concern coming from trying to avoid blocking off Fountain Square Drive due to the nearby Post Office and Sam’s Club each having night deliveries. He said the tree location had changed three different times on Thursday afternoon, but a plan was eventually settled on Thursday night.

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    Russo said crowds will gather across the street in the police department parking lot, with police closing the road briefly during the actual lighting of the tree. The road will then re-open after attendees move inside the Community Center for the rest of the festivities.

    The lieutenant also said donation bins for unwrapped toys and food will be set up after the ceremony to go towards the police department’s annual Holiday Referral Program, which helps out local families who experienced a hardship over the past year.

    [Related: Holiday police program benefits in-need Citrus Heights families]

    Future tree lighting ceremonies are expected to be held at the new city hall, where a permanent tree will be planted, according to Saario.

    The annual tree lighting drew over 1,000 people last year, and is sponsored by the City of Citrus Heights, along with Sunrise Mall and Marketplace, and Republic Services.
    —
    Event info:
    Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony
    Time: 6:30 p.m.
    Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015
    Location:
    Police Dept., Citrus Heights Community Center
    6315 and 6300 Fountain Square Dr.

  • Citrus Heights leaders break ground on new city hall project

    groundreaking ceremony on new citrus heights city hall
    Citrus Heights city leaders dug in a shovel Wednesday to celebrate the start of construction on a new city hall.

    Updated July 16, 11:42 p.m.–
    After more than two years of discussion, debate, and planning, Citrus Heights city leaders finally broke ground Wednesday in a ceremony to celebrate the start of construction on a new $22 million city hall.

    “I want to thank all of you for being here to join us for this epic moment in our history,” Mayor Sue Frost told a crowd of about 150 people Wednesday morning, calling the city hall groundbreaking “an important step for our future.”

    “This is by far the largest project in the history of the City,” Citrus Heights City Manager Henry Tingle told the crowd, who had assembled under a tent on a patch of dirt and crushed gravel at the site of the soon-to-be new city hall. He praised various City employees for their efforts in making the project go from a dream to reality, highlighting the work of his assistant, Monica Alejandrez, who spearheaded the effort.

    “When this project is completed, there will be a plaque put on this building and it will have your mom’s name on it,” the city manager told Alejandrez’s two children who were present at the ceremony, seeking to highlight the significance of the project. “When you grow up and have your own families, you can bring her grandkids and show what their grandmother did many years ago.”

    Former mayor of Citrus Heights and current Sacramento County Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan was also present for the ceremony, having been one of the City’s first five council members when the City was formed in 1997. MacGlashan called the project a “wonderful accomplishment” and noted it is scheduled for completion just prior to Citrus Heights’ 20th anniversary of becoming a city.

    [GALLERY: Preliminary artistic Images of New City Hall]

    Looking ahead, Capital Partners Developer Rod Johnson told the crowd the site would be transformed quickly, with “a flurry of activity” scheduled to occur next week. He said in a little over 12 months, community members can expect to be sitting outside in a “very beautiful quad area, looking at a state-of-the-art city hall.”

    The new hall is part of a larger $53.2 million project approved by city council members in March, which includes a new three-story Dignity Health medical office building being constructed in place of the old city hall at the corner of Fountain Square Drive and Greenback Lane. The new hall will be constructed nearby on a 10.9-acre parcel next to the Post Office, just a block away from the original hall on Fountain Square Drive.

    [From March: Council votes 5-0 for new city hall & MOB; lawsuit threatened]

    The new city hall will feature a single-story, 35,000-square-feet design, with an adjacent 4,000-square-feet utility yard.

    Demolition of the old city hall property will likely begin in mid-August, according to the city manager’s office.

  • Groundbreaking ceremony for new city hall set for July 15

    Front view rendering of the new city hall, presented in March by Capital Partners Development Co.
    Front view rendering of the new city hall, presented in March by Capital Partners Development Co.

    The City of Citrus Heights will be kicking off construction of its new $22 million city hall building with a groundbreaking ceremony July 15 at the site of the new location next to the Post Office on Fountain Square Drive.

    The one-hour Wednesday ceremony will begin at 10 a.m., with the community invited to “join the City of Citrus Heights to celebrate the beginning of construction on the new city hall facility,” according to a post on the City’s online calendar.  The ceremony will take place at 6360 Fountain Square Dr.

    The new city hall project was approved unanimously by city council members in March of this year, along with a related project to allow Dignity Health to tear down the old city hall and construct a new three-story medical office building in its place, at the corner of Fountain Square Drive and Greenback Lane.

    [Related: Council votes 5-0 for new city hall & MOB; lawsuit threatened]

    During construction, which is estimated to take just over a year, city hall offices will temporarily be located near Rusch Park in the Grand Oaks Shopping Center, located at 7927 Auburn Blvd.
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  • 18th annual Christmas tree lighting draws over 1000

    Updated Dec. 10, 1:20 p.m.–
    Rain held off as about 1,200 people gathered outside city hall in Citrus Heights for the annual Christmas tree lighting Thursday night, followed by an evening of family-friendly activities and performances in the Community Center next door.

    Christmas tree lighting in Citrus Heights. Photo by Luke Otterstad
    Crowds gather for the annual lighting of the Christmas tree in Citrus Heights.

    “This Christmas and throughout the year may your hearts and homes be blessed with joy and peace,” said Vice Mayor Sue Frost to the gathered crowd just before the tree was lit up. “I hope you all have a great Christmas!”

    Her colleague, Mayor Mel Turner, led the crowds in a count-down just after 7 p.m., giving “Santa” the honors of pulling the switch to light up over 1000 multi-colored LED’s on the 43-foot-high tree, drawing cheers and applause from the crowd.

    Seasonal Christmas music and chatter filled the Community Center afterwards, as the mayor invited crowds to enjoy complimentary hot chocolate, cookies and donuts next door — and a long line quickly assembled for photos with Saint Nick.

    The O’sullivan Academy of Irish Dance gave several performances throughout the evening, and the Citrus Heights Community Marching Band drew attention from kids and adults alike, as it loudly played well-known seasonal tunes like “Silent night,” and “Hark the herald angels sing.”

    The event wound down by 9 p.m., as the popular “choo-choo” train ride outside prepared for its last run around the Community Center, and officers from the Citrus Heights Police Department hauled off several bags full of goods received from on-site donation bins to benefit the Holiday Referral Program.

    A lighting ceremony for the nation’s Christmas tree was also held Thursday night in Washington D.C., where President Barack Obama highlighted the birth of Jesus, saying, “The way He lived still compels us to do our best to build a more just and tolerant and decent world.”

    The event was sponsored by the Sunrise Mall, Sunrise Marketplace and Republic Services, with contributions from 7-eleven on San Juan Avenue, TLC and Abel’s Christmas Trees.

    The Citrus Heights tree will stay lit through Christmas and can be viewed at the corner of Greenback Lane and Fountain Square Drive.