Events in Citrus Heights this week include a car show in the Lowe’s parking lot, a free “WaterSmart” landscaping workshop, and a community meeting to discuss a potential new pedestrian bridge over I-80, among other local activities.
Mon., Sept. 14 — Circus Vargas will be wrapping up its final five-day show in the Sunrise Mall parking lot on Monday, before moving its Big Top circus performance over to the Westfield Galleria in Roseville from Sept. 17 to 27. (More info)
Wed., Sept. 16 — A City-sponsored community meeting will be held on Sept. 16 to gain public input on the potential for a new Citrus Heights pedestrian and bicycle bridge over Interstate 80. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the Rusch Park Sunrise/Patio Room, located at 7801 Auburn Blvd. (More details)
Also on Wednesday, guest speaker Clark Snitco of Mass Mutual Financial Group is scheduled to discuss “the present and future of Social Security” at the monthly Birdcage Heights Neighborhood Association Meeting. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at Skycrest Elementary. (See flier)
Thurs., Sept. 17 — “Constitution Day” will be recognized with educational programs held at local schools and federal agencies receiving federal funds, as required by a 2004 law passed by Congress. The day commemorates the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787, and also recognizes citizens born or naturalized in the U.S. (Learn more)
Sat., Sept. 19 — A free WaterSmart landscaping workshop will be held at the Citrus Heights Community Center, designed to help local homeowners and gardeners get “the best yard with the least water.” The event will be from 9 a.m. to noon this Saturday at 6300 Fountain Square Dr. (Learn more)
Also on Saturday, a pre-1976 car show and vendor fair benefiting families with babies in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) will be held in the Citrus Heights Lowe’s parking lot. The event is put on by the local nonprofit group “Ending NICU Obstacles,” and will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 7840 Greenback Ln. (Event flier)
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A Wednesday-night community forum to discuss the future of Sylvan Middle School drew a room full of concerned parents and residents, wanting to make their voice heard regarding proposals to move or rebuild the school.
Signs nearby Sylvan Middle School in Citrus Heights advocates for rebuilding the school, rather than moving or repairing it.
The meeting was the latest step taken by the San Juan Unified School District to find a solution to address the 76-year-old school’s aging facilities. Following an overall “D-” grade from a DLR Group facility assessment commissioned by the San Juan Unified School District in 2013, consideration of closing the school was discussed, and a community brainstorming meeting was held on April 23, with five ideas being currently floated as potential solutions.
Ideas include fixing Sylvan Middle School, rebuilding it, moving it to new facilities at Mesa Verde High School, or moving it to the campus of either Carriage Drive Elementary or Citrus Heights Elementary. A detailed description of each idea can be viewed at the District’s website.
Cost estimates for the five proposed solutions run as high as $44 million to rebuild the school, while a move to either of the elementary schools would run about $17 million, according to District officials.
The District says its interest is “to select the most affordable option that meets current priorities and needs,” and considers community input to be “vital” in the selection process.
As long as enrollment is maintained, the District says it does not anticipate any teachers losing jobs under any of the proposed solutions, although a statement on the District’s website indicates a possibility for reduction in administrative and support staffing if a school site were closed.
Those unable to ask questions at Wednesday’s meeting are invited to submit feedback to the District via an online submission form.
A school board decision is expected in November, with first possible changes taking place as early as Fall 2015.
*Editor’s note: stay tuned for more details on Wednesday’s meeting.
A conceptual view of the proposed 3-story medical office building at Greenback Lane and Fountain Square Drive, which some residents say doesn’t fit with the “small-town” character of the city. // Courtesy of Dignity Health
*Editor’s note: As this story is now several months old, a more up-to-date story can be viewed by clicking here.
Controversy erupted at a community meeting this week over a proposal to bring a new 3-story medical office building to the existing Citrus Heights city hall location, and move the hall to Antelope Drive.
In a full room of about 200 people, public comments from the audience were largely critical or skeptical of the proposal, although Board Chairman Evan Jacobs from the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce announced the Chamber had recently taken a unanimous vote in support of the proposal.
The meeting was the sixth in a series of evening sessions designed by the City to inform the community about the proposal and invite feedback from residents — and during the evening’s four separate Q&A times, many residents expressed concern over building size, construction noise, traffic, location choice and cost.
Event Facilitator Wendy Hoyt sought to keep the meeting moderated and on schedule, but audience members shouted accusations of “cutting off” speakers when she tried to close comments while a few hands were still up in the room.
“Many assumptions have been made in the financial scenarios made by the City-hired consultant,” said Joan Bippus, during one of the evening’s question times. “There are still too many unanswered questions for these proposals to be accepted as gospel.”
The 40-year resident also said the 68,000 square feet medical building would not be in keeping with the City’s General Plan, which lists a community development goal of “Preserv[ing] the unique character of Citrus Heights” and its “small-town attributes.”
City Manager Henry Tingle responded to some of the concerns by calling the Dignity Health medical building proposal a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” where the City could get an $18.9 million new hall for an estimated net cost of about $5 million — primarily due to income from leasing land for the medical building, as well as projected energy and repair savings coming from a new city hall.
Built in the 70’s and previously used by a nursery, the City has said the existing hall buildings are in need of major repairs and upgrades. Additionally, City officials have emphasized that the current city hall was always considered to be a temporary solution when the City first incorporated in 1997.
If the City were to reject the Dignity Health proposal, it estimates a cost of $11.9 million to provide “necessary improvements” to the existing hall structures, although it had previously reported a lower repair and upgrade cost of $5.5 million earlier this year.
Reacting to the cost estimates, one resident called the numbers presented by the City “a shell game.”
“They only give the information they want to give,” said Susan Howell, who also lives nearby the proposed medical office building location. She also expressed concern about construction noise, and adding more traffic to an already-busy Greenback Lane.
Presenters from both the City and Dignity Health sought to calm tensions by calling the proposal a “win-win” for everyone involved, saying the new medical office building would help serve Citrus Heights’ aging residents, bring in jobs, help pay for a new city hall and boost business in the Antelope Road area.
A packet handed out to attendees also included a list of ways Dignity Health had responded to community input at past meetings, including decreasing the size of the building by 25 percent, adding more trees, and agreeing to retain most of the existing palm trees.
Varying reactions to the proposal have also been seen across the city.
Notably, both of the neighborhood associations representing residents around the Antelope Road and Fountain Square sites have avoided taking a position on the proposal, citing conflicting opinions of residents and unknown impacts.
The City acknowledged there are still unknowns about the proposal, with environmental and traffic impacts among those brought up and currently being studied.
Environmental unknowns will be reviewed, and findings will be released for public review in June, followed by a final decision on the proposal in July by the council, according to Citrus Heights Planning Manager Colleen McDuffee. She added that a final decision date is tentative, as it is dependent on environmental review findings.
A full traffic report is also expected to be available in June by Fehr & Peers, but a representative from the company said it was already “clear” that a new traffic light would have to be installed if city hall were moved to the proposed 7625 Antelope Rd. location.
The agenda for the evening also allowed for an “open house” one-on-one opportunity at the end, and Hoyt made it clear to attendees that city staff and architects wouldn’t be leaving until everyone had an opportunity to ask questions and get answers. Conversations continued until about 9 p.m., well after the main session was scheduled to close at 8:20 p.m.
Although the April 30 event was the final community meeting, residents will still have an opportunity to voice their opinion when the planning commission and city council take up the issue this summer.
The City welcomes questions and comments about the proposal via email at publicinfo@citrusheights.net, or by phone at (916) 725-2448.
