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Tag: Kathy Morris

  • Resident questions idea of forming new Citrus Heights school district

    Resident questions idea of forming new Citrus Heights school district

    Citrus Heights resident Kathy Morris speaks during public comment at a Jan. 26, 2023, Citrus Heights City Council meeting.

    Sentinel staff report–
    Discussion of Citrus Heights breaking away from the San Juan Unified School District to form its own district has continued to be brought up in public comments at City Council meetings, with comments being received on both sides of the issue.

    During a Jan. 26 council meeting, resident Kathy Morris, questioned whether pursuing a new school district is the solution to concerns about local schools. As the topic of schools was not on the agenda for discussion, the council did not respond to her remarks, which were made during a public comment portion of the meeting.

    No other comments were shared by residents during the meeting, but a retired school teacher has spoken at several recent meetings urging the city to consider forming its own school district.

    Also on The Sentinel: Former teacher says it’s time to form Citrus Heights school district

    Morris’s three-minute comments have been transcribed and included in their entirety below. A recording of the entire meeting can also be viewed on Youtube.

    Mayor and members of the council, I am Kathy Morris. I am a 25-year resident of Citrus Heights. I’m currently the president of Neighborhood Area 7-8-9 (CHASEN), but I’m here speaking on behalf of myself — not of the group — so I don’t want to confuse that.

    At the last City Council meeting, there was a discussion about creating a Citrus Heights school board. I completely agree that our schools in Citrus Heights need some help, need some attention – in areas of academics, in the areas of safety and certainly in the areas of maintenance.

    However, isn’t that why we just had an election to put some more people on the school board?

    Several weeks back, a few months back, we were very active in trying to expand the San Juan Unified School District from five members to seven. The concept being that we wanted some more local representation.

    We did it, it got done, and we just recently elected two members. It seems to me that we should give our new members time to get their job done — and that’s where we should focus.

    Additionally, we all know the city is very capable, our city staff is very capable. They’ve got a lot of work to do, and they do it — they do it very well. The idea of having them be side-tracked in doing the research necessary for this. The time, energy, and money that is required to do this research seems to me it’s diverting them from the job they’re doing today. Doesn’t seem to me to be a good use of their time when there’s so many other things going on, and we have the new school board people.

    And speaking of cost, the schools in our district seem to be a little old. They’re not quite as old as I am, but they’re 50 years — and so maintenance is important. It seems like we should let the district that has been responsible for it, and perhaps not performed, fix it. They’re the ones that should take care of that.

    That needs our focus, not our funding. And that’s the bottom line as far as I’m concerned.

    We’ve got people on the City Council, people now on the San Juan Unified School District board, that we know and that we like and that we trust. It’s our job, I think, to make sure they do their job, and then we need to make sure we focus on our communications with them.

    Thank you.

    *Editor’s note: For additional context, see prior story: Vice mayor floats idea to form Citrus Heights Unified School District

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  • City criticized over plan to remove 16 trees on Old Auburn Road

    Eucalyptus trees
    Eucalyptus trees line the roadway along a bike path on Old Auburn Road, near Twin Oaks Avenue. // M. Hazlip

    By Mike Hazlip—
    A tree removal plan from the city has drawn the ire of a resident who says the city did not solicit input from residents or sufficiently assess environmental impacts.

    A March 10 email sent out to the Citrus Heights Area Seven Eight and Nine (CHASEN) neighborhood association from Construction Maintenance Inspector Supervisor Armando Velasquez said 16 eucalyptus trees along Old Auburn Road near Twin Oaks Avenue are slated to be removed beginning March 14.

    The trees are near power lines and a bike path and have had branches reportedly breaking at an increasing rate. An arborist hired by the city determined that heavy pruning from SMUD crews in the past “has negatively affected the health and condition of the trees,” prompting a recommendation for their removal, according to the email.

    Resident Elizabeth Gallagher told The Sentinel in an email Friday that she has requested the city hold off on the planned tree removal until the the issue can be discussed further.

    Gallagher raised concerns over long term environmental impact, and hopes to come to a compromise that might avoid clear cutting all of the trees.

    City Communications Officer Nichole Baxter as well as Velasquez were reached out to via email Friday morning by The Sentinel requesting comment on whether the city is still planning to move forward with the tree removal on Monday, as well as inquiring what actions were taken to receive community input and assess environmental impacts. No response was received by press time Saturday afternoon.

    CHASEN President Kathy Morris told The Sentinel in a phone call Saturday that the trees are an invasive species and can be removed without an environmental impact report. Morris said the city is looking out for public safety on the busy roadway and bike trail along Old Auburn Road.

    Morris said a meeting with the city has been scheduled for Tuesday, which she said the city agreed to “as a courtesy.” She said the project may be able to be held off for several days to get the matter “cleared up.”

  • Volunteers restore picnic tables at Citrus Heights park

    Volunteer
    CHASEN neighborhood association President Kathy Morris paints picnic tables at C-Bar-C park in Citrus Heights during Volunteer Week 2021. // M. Hazlip

    By Mike Hazlip—
    Wrapping up the final day of National Volunteer Week, a group of residents from a local neighborhood association gathered at C-Bar-C Park on Saturday to complete a volunteer project repairing picnic benches.

    The small group of about a half-dozen people gathered at the park just before 8 a.m. with paint and brushes in hand. Citrus Heights Area Seven, Eight, and Nine, known as the CHASEN neighborhood association, spearheaded the project.

    Association Vice President Bill Shirley told The Sentinel he worked with the Sunrise Parks and Recreation District to coordinate the effort.

    Shirley said the association purchased the lumber from Home Depot through the park district’s account and was able to secure a group a discount on the lumber. Another volunteer provided tools and paint supplies, and the local Sherwin Williams also gave a discount on paint purchased for the project.

    National Volunteer Week is annually recognized on the third week of April, which spanned from April 18-24 this year.

    “I think it’s exceedingly important,” CHASEN President Kathy Morris said, referring to community volunteer work. “If you live there, you gotta care about it.”

    “It could mean something really simple like picking up the litter in front of somewhere, or it could be going to the City Council meeting, or paying attention to what the Planning Commission is doing,” she said. “It’s easy to say afterwords ‘that shouldn’t have been done,’ but that’s too late. You need to be involved before it gets done so you can be involved in making the decision.”

    Also on The Sentinel: Meet the man who’s beautifying Auburn Blvd one flower at a time

    CHASEN’s volunteer efforts are not restricted to working on improvements within the neighborhood association’s boundaries, located in the northeastern portion of the city. Shirley said he volunteers his time for other projects as well.

    “I feel this is the best way for people to bond, and we can improve the community in any way we can,” said Shirley. “We’ve had people walking by saying ‘thank you’ and they appreciate it.”

    The group spent about seven hours between Saturday’s work and an initial volunteer day held a week prior at the park. Volunteers replaced aging boards on some picnic tables, and flipped boards to use the other side in others. The final work of priming and painting was completed Saturday.

    Citrus Heights is made up of 11 neighborhood areas, three of which have now combined over the years. Each holds monthly meetings to discuss topics affecting their areas, and often invite speakers from the city to address their groups.

    Membership includes every resident, property owner, and business owner in the area. Anyone over the age of 18 who works in the area is also a member, according to the bylaws. There are no dues for membership.

    CHASEN’s area is bordered by Sunrise Boulevard to the west, and the city limit to the north. The area’s southern border is Greenback Lane.

    Related: Two Citrus Heights neighborhood associations vote to merge

    Morris has lived in Citrus Heights since 2001, and the spry 76-year-old retired project manager now gets around town in her 2017 Camaro convertible. For her, seeing people come together to improve their community is rewarding.

    “It’s wonderful,” she said. “It makes me feel really good that people care about their community and they’re willing to work for it.”

    “One of the things I’ve discovered over the period of years is how easy it is for people to complain. But really, it doesn’t do a lot of value to complain; it’s a lot easier to get in and fix things.”

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