dev.citrusheightssentinel.com

Tag: monica alejandrez

New Citrus Heights city hall to open Aug. 9; tours planned

A photo taken of the new city hall on July 27 shows new landscaping and exterior painting underway. // CH Sentinel

Updated July 29, 9:03 a.m.–
After just over a year of construction, the new 35,000-square-foot city hall in Citrus Heights is scheduled to open for business on Aug. 9, with a public dedication ceremony on Aug. 25.

Mayor Jeannie Bruins called the new hall a great accomplishment for the City, highlighting that the $22 million building was constructed without incurring any debt. “It’s a valuable amenity for the community and a great way to usher in our 20-year anniversary in 2017,” she said in an email to The Sentinel Tuesday.

The project was unanimously approved by the city council last March and began construction several months later in July. The entire project will end on track with the original estimated timeline of 12 to 14 months to complete and will also remain on or below budget, according to Monica Alejandrez, assistant to the city manager.

Alejandrez said furniture is currently being moved in to the new building, with major items still to be completed including exterior painting and tile work, additional landscaping and paving, and a fountain in the front plaza. She said about 65 city staff will be housed in the new building, most of whom have been “squeezed” into a temporary city hall location on Auburn Boulevard for the past year.

“We’re really looking forward to working in the new facility to serve the community properly and efficiently,” said Alejandrez. “We just have a lot of pride with this building and what it will do for the community.”

The project was overseen by Capital Partners Development Co. and features a 4,000-square-foot utility yard on the 10.9 acre parcel, located next to the the post office on Fountain Square Drive.

[Related: Drawing shows what new city hall will look like when complete]

Mayor Bruins called the new hall’s design “customer-friendly” and said the building was designed for energy efficiency, with LEED Gold certification. She said a time capsule will be embedded in the new council chambers that will be opened on the 50th anniversary of the city in the year 2047.

The mayor also said she was “especially pleased” that outgoing City Manager Henry Tingle would be able to work in the new hall before his retirement later this year on Sept. 30. She said Tingle’s vision “has carried our city forward for 18 years” and said one of the goals he sought to accomplish prior to retirement was to build a new city hall.

[Related: Citrus Heights city manager announces plans to retire]

During the transition to the new building, city hall’s temporary location at 7927 Auburn Blvd. will be closed on Friday, Aug. 5, and Monday, Aug. 8. City hall will then re-open for business on Aug. 9 at noon, according to a posting on the City’s website.

Dedication & public tours

A dedication outside the new city hall will be held at 9 a.m. on Aug. 25, which Alejandrez said will feature a “short but sweet” ceremony with speeches from the mayor and city leaders. She said the community is invited to the dedication, as well as area dignitaries and staff from other cities.

Public tours of the new hall will be held after the ceremony, with city hall opening at noon for regular business on the 25th.

The new hall is part of a larger $53.2 million project approved by city council members last March, which includes a new three-story Dignity Health medical office building in place of the old city hall at the corner of Fountain Square Drive and Greenback Lane. According to the city manager’s office, the medical building will generate $6.9 million in lease payments to the city over the next 15 years.

Alejandrez said the Dignity Health building is expected to break ground next month — although the date has been moved several times. The project will be overseen by Panattoni Development Co. and is estimated to take 18 to 24 months to complete, once construction begins.

Save

Save

Save

Save

July 28, 2016
Citrus Heights leaders break ground on new city hall project

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.

July 15, 2015
Citrus Heights city hall moving to temp Auburn Blvd location this week

The new temporary home for Citrus Heights City Hall will be located in the Grand Oaks Shopping Center on Auburn Boulevard.

Citrus Heights’ city hall offices will be relocating to a 12,500 square feet temporary facility on Auburn Boulevard this month, closing doors to the public after July 2 and reopening at the new location on July 13.

The move comes after city council members approved a plan in March to tear down the existing city hall on Fountain Square Drive and allow Dignity Health to construct a three-story medical office building in its place, with a new $22 million city hall to be constructed just a block away next to the Post Office.

The temporary location for city hall will be at 7927 Auburn Blvd in the Grand Oaks Shopping Center, near Rusch Park. The location was preferred due to its size, commercial location and convenient access, according to an April report to the council by City Facilities and Landscape Manager Chris Meyers.

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

As previously reported on The Sentinel, the 13-month lease agreement for the temporary hall will cost a total of about $190,000 and includes an option for up to three two-month extensions, according Meyers. Although the new city hall is expected to be completed in 12 to 14 months, the extension options allow for any delays in the process, according to Monica Alejandrez with the city manager’s office.

While staff transition to the temporary location, city hall will operate out of the Citrus Heights Community Center from July 6 to 10, according to a news release issued by the City.

July 2, 2015
Planning Commission votes 5-1 for new hall & MOB; lawsuit threatened

Updated Mar. 12, 3:48 p.m.–
Despite the threat of litigation from a resident group Wednesday night, the Citrus Heights Planning Commission voted 5-1 in favor of recommending the city council approve a proposal to tear down the existing city hall, replace it with a 68,000 square feet medical office building (MOB), and build a new $22 million hall just north of the Post Office.

Norman Hill, with the resident group Preserve Our Civic Center, addresses planning commissioners Wednesday night.

“None of us will ever, ever be able to make all of the people happy all of the time,” Planning Commission Chairman Rick Doyle said just prior to the vote, adding his fellow commissioners should not make their decision based on “threats or innuendos.”

Doyle was joined by Commissioner Russell Blair in a yes vote, citing belief of a recent positive shift in public support for the proposal. Blair held up a stack of documents that included a record of over 100 public comments received, stating a majority of recent comments were in support of the proposal, following the city council dropping plans to move city hall to a site on Antelope Road last year.

[From last year: “New City Hall Site Option Draws Support, While Medical Building Criticized“]

Doyle and Blair were also joined in support votes by Commissioners Christy DeCelle, Albert Fox and Michael Lagomarsino, with Trish Dawson supporting an alternative that would rehabilitate the existing city hall and allow Dignity Health to develop its medical building on the 10.9-acre “Stock Property” next to the Post Office instead. Commissioner Leah Cox was absent.

Although several building alternatives were considered during the preparation of a several hundred page Environmental Impact Report (EIR), the study found the current proposal would create “no significant effects” to the environment, after mitigation measures. According to a staff report delivered to commissioners Wednesday night, under the California Environmental Quality Act, an alternative is only required if “significant and unavoidable impacts” are found.

[Related: GALLERY: Artistic Images of Proposed New City Hall]

Compared to controversial, crowded meetings last year, public comment was noticeably lower, with just eight speakers making their voice heard on Wednesday.

Two City staff members gave comment in support for the proposal, citing aging and inefficient existing city hall facilities, while business leaders from the Chamber of Commerce and Sunrise Marketplace said the deal would bring an economic boost and “help draw new tenants to our retail corridor.”

Beryl Turner-Weeks, who lives “across the street” from the proposed new hall, reiterated comments residents have had in the past about project cost in light of a shrinking $26 million city reserve, as well as increased construction noise and traffic — although a traffic study report by Fehr and Peers found the proposal would not create a significant increase to traffic in the area.

[Read the final version of the EIR and traffic study here: http://www.citrusheights.net/836/Environmental-Impact-Report]

Resident and retired environmental attorney Norman Hill told commissioners that his group, Preserve Our Civic Center, was “ready and willing to pursue litigation,” but proposed an acceptable compromise that would lessen the visibility impacts of the MOB by lowering it from three stories down to two, and increasing the setback away from Greenback Lane. Hill’s “olive branch” compromise, was rejected by Dignity Health’s Sigrid Owyang, who said the current three-story design maximizes parking spaces, is more “comfortable” for patients, and has been tested elsewhere.

Preserve Our Civic Center previously threatened litigation over the Antelope Road location for city hall, causing council members to vote 3-2 to put a hold on the plans in July last year, adopting the new 10.9-acre Stock Property as the “preferred site” several months later. Hill said POCC is hopeful a compromise can be met that would likewise avoid litigation in this case as well.

[From July: “Council Postpones Vote on New City Hall Deal, After Lawsuit Threat”]

Discussion of the proposal came about last year when City officials said Dignity Health proposed a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for Citrus Heights to get a new hall for a net cost of about $5 million, after 15 years. Due to changes in the new hall’s proposed location, that net cost is now estimated at $8.9 million, according to Monica Alejandrez, assistant to the city manager.

Cost benefits to the City would come primarily from income brought in by the proposed Dignity Health lease, as well as from projected energy and repair savings coming from a more efficient new city hall building, according to City Manager Henry Tingle.

While the planning commission’s vote only sends a recommendation on to the city council, a final vote on the proposal has been set for a city council meeting on March 26, where opponents pledge to pack the meeting out.

“I don’t pull out the big guns for every meeting,” said Tim Schaefer, who heads the resident group Save City Hall. “But I can guarantee you that this room will be packed for the council meeting.”

Computer rendering of Dignity Health’s proposed new three-story medical office building on Greenback Lane.

March 12, 2015
Citrus Heights RadioShack closes after company files for bankruptcy

Lights were off, shelves were empty and phone rang unanswered this week, as the RadioShack on Greenback Lane officially closed its doors for the final time — the result of bankruptcy terms the corporation filed in court February 5.

Signs announcing the store’s imminent closure were seen on the Citrus Heights RadioShack’s windows several days before doors were finally shut.

Prior to closing, the Citrus Heights location had been operating as a limited-stock “clearance center” since January 3, with signs advertising 25 to 50 percent off on items. After the corporation’s bankruptcy filings earlier this month, those signs were replaced with deeper discounts and a “last days” countdown on the front window.

The Citrus Heights RadioShack store had been open since 1978, according to the store manager.

Future use of the 7405 Greenback Lane location is unknown, although the company’s largest shareholder, Standard General, has announced plans to purchase about half of RadioShack’s 4,000 company-owned stores and turn them into store-within-a-store Sprint locations.

Monica Alejandrez, assistant to the city manager, said the City had not been notified of “any intentions of turning that location into a Sprint store,” and noted a “sizeable” Sprint store already located across the street in the Safeway complex.

[Related: 99 Cents Only Stores plan to open new store on Greenback Lane]

Nearby Orchard Supply Hardware also suffered the same fate as RadioShack, with it’s large lot at Greenback Lane and San Juan Avenue to be taken up by Crunch gym and a 99 Cents Only store later this year.

February 27, 2015
Proposed new city hall, medical building set for final vote in March

Wondering what’s going on with the proposal to construct a new three-story medical office building in place of the existing Citrus Heights city hall?

Computer rendering of Dignity Health’s proposed new three-story medical office building on Greenback Lane. // Courtesy, City of Citrus Heights

After more than a year of discussion, debate and even a lawsuit threat by an upset resident group, Citrus Heights council members are scheduled to take a final vote in March on the proposal to relocate a new $18 million city hall, and allow Dignity Health to construct a 68,000-square-feet medical office building (MOB) at the corner of Greenback Lane and Fountain Square Drive.

[Related: GALLERY: Artistic Images of Proposed New City Hall]

According to Monica Alejandrez, assistant to the city manager, environmental consultants and City staff are currently working on the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the proposals, which will include responses to all comments submitted during a 45-day review period on a draft version of the report released in December. She said the City is hoping to have the final report completed by February 27, but it depends on how quickly consultants can compile responses to comments.

Although comments were also able to be submitted in writing, public comments received from a handful of residents during a January 14 Planning Commission hearing included complaints about increased traffic, noise and an “inadequate” environmental review. A suggestion was also made by resident Norman Hill to lessen visibility impacts of the proposed three-story MOB by lowering it to two-story and increasing the set-back “so it’s not right up against Greenback.”

City officials have called the Dignity Health proposal a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for Citrus Heights to get an $18.9 million new hall for an estimated net cost of about $5 million. The discounted cost would come primarily from income brought in by the proposed Dignity Health lease, as well as from projected energy and repair savings coming from a more efficient new city hall building, according to City Manager Henry Tingle.

The city council had previously selected a location on Antelope Road last year as the “preferred site” for a new city hall, but council members voted unanimously to switch plans to a closer, larger parcel that came available late last year. The new 10-acre “Stock Property” enjoys greater public support, and is located next to the Post Office — just several hundred feet from where the existing hall sits on Fountain Square Drive.

[Related: New City Hall Site Option Draws Support, While Medical Building Criticized]

Upcoming March 2015 meetings:
March 11, 7 p.m. — The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing to consider the FEIR, design review permit, and associated actions. Ultimately, the Planning Commission will make a recommendation to the City Council to either approve or deny the FEIR, design review permits, and other associated actions related to the proposed Medical Office Building and City Hall Project.

March 12, 5 p.m. — A study session will be held by the city council to discuss the two draft ground leases related to the proposals.

March 26, 7 p.m. — A public hearing and vote will be held by the city council to consider approving the FEIR, design review permit “and other associated actions related to the proposals.” The council will also decide whether or not to authorize the city manager to enter into the proposed ground leases associated with proposals.

*All meetings are scheduled to take place in the Citrus Heights City Council Chambers, at 7117 Greenback Ln.

February 16, 2015