Author Archives: Valerie Kushnerov

Shop for Your Kit

September is National Preparedness Month, and the Goleta Partnership for Preparedness (GP4P) will have volunteers and displays set up at a number of local grocery, drug and hardware stores to promote disaster preparedness.

The Goleta Prepare Now “Shop for Your Kit” campaign encourages shoppers to purchase emergency kit supplies as they do their regular shopping. Volunteers will also be available to help put together kits at the stores sponsoring this program. Displays will feature emergency preparedness information, materials, and emergency backpacks for sale. Volunteers will hand out reusable grocery store bags with preprinted information on what should be included in a basic emergency kit.

When disaster strikes, it’s too late to become prepared. Don’t miss this opportunity to prepare your family and your household.

Learn more here.  Keeping your family safe is a top priority.

Help Yourself to a Good Book!

The Goleta Library is upgrading their collections to include a new technology that will make checking out materials easier and faster. A radio frequency identifier (or RFID) tag will be added to each book, audiobook, music CD, or video which will work with new and improved patron self-service checkout stations.

Self-service checkouts are a great way for libraries to improve services to users. RFID tags enable faster and more reliable checkout of materials. They reduce the level of staff intervention needed and free up the staff to assist patrons with other needs, such as locating a book or DVD or providing informative and entertaining programs. RFID technology also makes the process more accurate and reliable. It allows patrons to checkout all types of materials as well as pay fines using the new self-service machines.

Express Bus Service Coming to Goleta

SBCAG has partnered with MTD to offer a new express commuter bus service from Ventura County to Goleta called the Coastal Express Limited. It features shorter trip times and, for the first time, it will extend commuter bus service to large employers located on the west end of Hollister Avenue. Stops include Hollister at Nectarine, Aero Camino, Cremona and Palo Alto, with an additional stop at Castilian and Cortona.

This new express commuter service began service on August 29th and has a single park and ride location at the Ventura County Government Center in order to reduce travel times for passengers commuting to Goleta. Commuters can ride in comfort on charter style buses with high-backed seats and free, onboard WiFi.

For more information, call 883-4276.

Talking Trash: What the City’s New Agreement Means to You

Since the City of Goleta incorporated in 2002, two waste haulers have serviced City residents and businesses. When one-half of the City’s agreement was set to be renegotiated, the City Council chose to negotiate a “sole source contract” or a contract with just one of the two companies. This gave the City the opportunity to move all of the waste services to one company so that all of the community receives the same services at the same competitive rates. In April, the City Council approved a contract with MarBorg Industries to provide these services.

WHAT CHANGES CAN I EXPECT?

The new contract starts July 1, 2011, and will affect everyone in the City of Goleta. All waste collection will be done by MarBorg. On average, single family rates will be reduced 20%, multi-family rates will decrease 22% and commercial rates will fall 5% with the implementation of the automated collection service. In addition, MarBorg will offer unlimited recycling and greenwaste, household battery collection, free sharps containers and disposal and bulky item collection for residential customers.

WHAT IS AUTOMATED TRASH COLLECTION?

Automated collection is typically accomplished with the use of side-loading trucks. A mechanical arm is connected to the side of the trash truck and collects specially designed carts at the curb. This system requires only one person to operate as the driver controls everything from the cab of the truck. The driver directs the mechanical arm to grasp and lift the cart which then dumps the contents into the hopper. The new automated system is safer and more efficient thereby reducing carbon emissions and cost. Backyard service will still be available to residents for an additional charge. Residents with documented disabilities may continue to have backyard service without additional charge.

WHO WILL HAVE AUTOMATED TRASH COLLECTION?

Automated collection is used to service neighborhoods where residents use individual refuse,recycling and greenwaste containers. Multifamily complexes (apartments, condominiums,etc.) and commercial businesses with bins are serviced using a different kind of vehicle. Most neighborhoods in the City are suitable for automated collection. A small number of areas will continue to be serviced with semi-automated rear loading vehicles or the use of a smaller truck. Residents in these neighborhoods will be issued new refuse and greenwaste carts and will pay the same reduced rate as those residents with automated service.

DO I NEED A SPECIAL CART?

Automated collection requires special carts that are durable and easy for residents to use. They have wheels and attached lids that cover contents, exclude rainwater and keep rodents and insects out of the cart. Residents already have hauler-provided automated carts for commingled recyclables collection. Without additional charge, the hauler will provide carts for refuse and greenwaste to residents.

WHAT OTHER SERVICES WILL BE PROVIDED?

Taxpayer dollars will also be saved as MarBorg will provide free public services valued at $500,000 annually to the community. As part of the agreement, MarBorg will pick up trash and recycling at the City’s buildings, parks and open spaces, and public schools for free. Public street and bus shelter receptacles will also be collected at no charge. Portable sanitation facilities (also known as porta potties) in the City’s open spaces will also be provided and serviced for free. In addition, MarBorg will provide complimentary trash and recycling pick up and portable sanitation services at the Lemon Festival, Fiesta Ranchera, Stow House’s Fourth of July and the Fireworks Festival at Girsh Park. These are just a few of the highlights of the new franchise agreement.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Residents and businesses will be receiving information on the transition process, the new fees, benefits, and services from MarBorg in the coming weeks to ensure a smooth transition. If you have further questions, please contact the City’s Environmental Services Coordinator, Everett King, at 961-7565.

Better Safe Than Sorry

Are you doing all you can to keep your family and your home safe? There are some very simple things you can do—small actions you can take—that will actually drive criminals away. When it comes to safety, being proactive results in protection for you and those you love.

10 TIPS TO KEEP YOU SAFE
• Always lock your doors and windows in your home and your vehicle.
• Place motion sensors on all outside lights.
• Use timed lighting when you’re not at home.
• Keep bushes trimmed low and far from windows so potential burglars cannot conceal themselves.
• Make sure neighbors know when you’re going to be gone on vacation, who’s going to be at your house while you are gone and what vehicles might be parked at your residence during your absence.
• Place a “Vacation Patrol Request” with the Sheriff’s Office when going on vacation. Patrol deputies will then periodically check your house while you’re gone.
• Protect your bag or purse when shopping. Use the safety seat straps to secure the handles of your purse.
• Keep personal data safe. Shred documents with personal information and be sure your wireless network is password protected.
• Know your children’s friends and keep your children safe from online predators. Monitor their email and/or Facebook page.
• Join or start a Neighborhood Watch. It’s a great way to help keep your community safe. (Contact the SB County Sheriff’s Office at 681-4100 for more information).

In addition, to better protect our homes and families, we must get inside the minds of burglars. Learning how they think and what they look for helps us take that proactive approach to safety awareness a step further.

Compiled from convicted burglars, security consultant, Chris McGoey www.crimedoctor.com, and Richard T. Wright, author of Burglars on The Job

A New Face on Our Force

Goleta has a new Community Resource Deputy. Deputy Greg Sorenson took over the position and has been working since January with the City’s 14 neighborhood watch groups, local businesses and the schools. As Goleta’s Community Resource Deputy, he oversees these activities as well as gang enforcement, graffiti abatement and enforcement along the beaches and bluffs.

Deputy Sorenson is not new to the area. After spending four years in the United States Marine Corps, he attended UCSB where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science before beginning his career in law enforcement.

Sorenson has been employed as a Deputy Sheriff for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff ’s Department for 13 years. He worked as a patrol deputy in Goleta, a bailiff in superior court and as a criminal investigator working both property crimes and crimes against persons. He spent 10 years as a sniper on the Sheriff ’s SWAT team and most recently was a detective in the Office of Professional Standards.

He and his wife and two children live in the Goleta Valley. Stop by the Camino Real substation and say hello next time you’re there.

Riding the Bus Makes Dollars and Sense

With gas prices at $4/gallon, have you considered taking the bus to school, work and to shop? Bus fares range from $.85 -$1.75 and are an economical and environmentally friendly way to get around town. Since 1969, the Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District (MTD) has served the Goleta Valley.

Riders can take MTD buses to popular shopping centers, restaurants, schools, activities and destinations such as the Goleta Valley Community Center and Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital. Using the handy Online Trip Planner, you can find specific directions and timelines based on your departure and destination locations and time of day and day of the week.

Riding the bus is an attractive transportation option for those who might otherwise drive cars,providing more than 31,000 passenger trips each weekday, resulting in 22,676 cars being left at home on weekdays. Last year alone, MTD provided nearly 8,000,000 passenger trips. Think of all of the fuel saved, traffic prevented and reduced impact on the environment as a result of taking those cars off the road!

MTD operates North America’s largest fleet of 100% battery electric buses and was the first in California to operate its fleet of diesel and diesel-electric buses with a biodiesel blend of fuel.

For more information about getting around the Goleta Valley by riding MTD, visit www.sbmtd.gov, call 963-3366, or try the new trip planner on the MTD homepage using Google Transit. Follow MTD on Twitter: @SantaBarbaraMTD and become a friend on Facebook: Ride Santa Barbara MTD.

Promoting Tourism in Our Community

Hoteliers decided last year to work together to bring more visitors to the South Coast by supporting a small fee for each hotel night’s stay. An assessment known as a Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID), is expected to generate approximately $1.8 million annually to be used to create enhanced marketing materials specific to southern Santa Barbara County (Goleta, Santa Barbara, Carpinteria and the unincorporated areas of Santa Barbara). Monies will be collected and distributed through the Santa Barbara County Conference & Visitors Bureau. The oversight board will include lodging representatives
from each area. Goleta will also receive approximately $25,000 a year to bolster tourism in our community.

If you have ideas on encouraging more overnight hotel stays or have local festivals or activities that might be marketed aspart of this effort, please contact Valerie Kushnerov, Public Information Officer at the City at  961-7507 or vkushnerov@CityofGoleta.org.

Looking for Conference Room Space in Goleta

In 2010, the City’s Redevelopment Agency (RDA) approved a contract for a Hotel/Conference Center Market Study. It was commissioned as an outgrowth of a long-time desire to better understand the City’s hotel and conference center market—particularly with an eye towards an existing vacant property in Old Town. As part of the study, the consultants looked at preferred locations, existing supply and demand, future supply and demand, and impact of a branded versus independent hotel. They also provided input on the type of hotel and amenities that would fare well within our community.

Preliminary results from the study indicate that Goleta hotels are in strong demand with annual occupancy rates consistently in the 70% range which is comparable to the rates seen in Santa Barbara. Goleta hotels also enjoy a relatively diverse consumer base, with about 25% of the guest stays coming from the corporate sector, another 25% from group travel, about 40% from the leisure segment, and a little more than 5% coming from events related to UCSB.

The City Council received a report from staff on the study conclusions. Read more by visiting the City’s website at www.CityofGoleta.org and searching hotel/conference room study.

Budget Basics

Every other year the City of Goleta establishes a two-year budget. This Spring the City Council and staff have been working diligently to create a budget package that represents the values and priorities outlined in the City’s strategic plan. The priorities for this budget include balancing the budget while still keeping Goleta safe, protecting our natural resources, and providing opportunities for housing, recreation and business.

Unfortunately, the weak state of the economy has significantly impacted the City’s budget. At the highest point, the City’s revenues were $16.5 million. In 2010, revenues had decreased to $13.3 million. The City will see these additional funds in 2013 as the terms of the revenue neutrality agreement with the County change and become more favorable to the City’s bottom line

The community has the opportunity to weigh in on the budget discussions. The Council will hold budget workshops in May (check www.CityofGoleta.org for exact dates and times). The final budget will be presented and voted upon in June so that it is ready to be enacted when the new fiscal year begins in July 2011.