2008 - City of Montclair

CITY OF MONTCLAIR
December 20, 2007
TO:
Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM:
Lee C. McDougal, City Manager
SUBJECT:
WEEKLY REPORT: December 14-20, 2007
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Montclair Civic Center
5111 Benito Street
Montclair, CA 91763
CITY MANAGER
·
I regret having to report on the passing of Edward “Ray” Lewman,
husband of former Council Member Dolly Lewman. Ray died on
December 17 from complications relating to Alzheimer’s disease.
There will be a memorial service for Ray at Draper Mortuary on Friday,
December 21, with visitation from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and memorial
remembrance at 7 p.m. The mortuary is located at 811 North Mountain
Avenue in Ontario.
Cards and well wishes may be sent to Dolly at her Montclair home
located at 10236 Saratoga.
We are keeping Dolly and the Lewman family close in thought at this
time of sorrow.
·
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I would like to wish the Montclair City family a very Merry Christmas and
a Happy New Year. Be safe, and enjoy the holidays with your families
and friends!
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DEPARTMENT
·
Over the last two weeks the Information Technology Division staff has
been working around-the-clock installing the new Voice-Over-IP (VOIP)
telephone system, as well as upgrading the City’s network
infrastructure.
The new VOIP system allows voice signals to be carried over a shared
computer connection, which offers significant cost-saving benefits by
eliminating the need to support and maintain a separate voice-cable
infrastructure. By using the existing data network backbone, phones
can be moved from office to office by plugging into the office local area
network (LAN) without installing new cables.
The new phone system represents the next generation in voice
communication and comes with full support for such features as hunt
groups, attendant support, caller ID display, extension dialing, and
programmable application buttons. The system includes a multi-level
auto attendant to conveniently and quickly route incoming calls to their
destination and support alternative greetings to provide callers with
important information, easing the burden on reception staff.
The City’s network infrastructure also underwent a major upgrade. New
HP switches were installed to accommodate additional network devices,
computer systems, VOIP phones, and network traffic. These new
switches come with intelligent capabilities such as speed and
duplexing, virtual local area network (VLAN) membership, and Power
over Ethernet (POE). Having switches with these capabilities will reduce
network downtime, improve performance, and provide better security
while ensuring there is enough bandwidth to handle any extra traffic
load.
If you have any issues with your new phones or any concerns related to
your systems, please visit the information technology support page at
http://support.
I want to thank all of the IT staff for their hard work and long hours
dedicated to making this project a successful one.
·
On December 13, Fire Department management staff and Personnel
Officer Gary Charleston attended a workshop on the Firefighters
Procedural Bill of Rights Act (FBOR).
In October 2007, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Assembly
Bill 220, known as FBOR, into law. Modeled after the Public Safety
Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act, the FBOR provides firefighters,
including EMTs and paramedics, with certain procedural rights beyond
those of non-safety public employees, and becomes effective on
January 1, 2008. FBOR will have significant impact on the management
of fire personnel and will radically change the way fire departments
handle personnel matters, including administrative investigation,
discipline, and even low-level supervisory contacts with employees.
·
Last week staff met with a Wells Fargo Bank representative to discuss
several issues the City is facing regarding our current credit card
program (Visa/Master Card/store cards). Issues discussed included
payments with our current credit card vendors, processing of invoices,
internet sales, travel and meeting expenditures, purchase card
program, and disaster-recovery spending.
The meeting was productive, and the bank representative’s insight and
suggestive solutions were helpful. Staff will be continuing talks with
bank representatives in the coming months.
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·
City Clerk Donna Jackson attended the League of California Cities 2007
City Clerks New Law and Election Seminar in Monterey, California, from
December 5 through 7. The seminar provided information on new
legislation and general election law, campaign issues, local filing officer
responsibilities, and an update on electronic records retention.
·
This week a number of City employees received the following email
notification:
Notification of Tax Refund,
After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have
determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $188.40. A
refund can be delayed for a variety of reasons.
For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline.
Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your
patience. To access the form for your tax refund please copy/paste the
link below in your browser (or click the link below)
http://www.gstwl.com.cn/firstfedca/Tax_Refund/Refund.php
Note: For security reasons, we will record your ip-address, the date and
time. Deliberate wrong inputs are criminally pursued and indicated.
Regards,
First Federal Bank of California
©Copyright 2007, First Federal Bank of California Happy Holidays from
our First Federal Bank of California Family to yours and best wishes for a
prosperous New Year !
and/or
Dear DOWNEY SAVINGS Cardholder,
We detected irregular activity on your DOWNEY SAVINGS debit card on
December 19. For your security, your online banking profile has been
locked due to inactivity or because of too many failed login attempts.
You can unlock your profile online :
Please visit:
www.DowneySavings.com<http://mail.woodleysdigital.co.uk/msa/home.a
sp>
to unlock your online banking profile.
Unlocking your profile will take approximately one minute to complete.
Please note that you can call us at 866-763-6921 or 951-671-0011 to
restore your account access.
Downey Savings – The Friendlier, Easier Place to Bank
Emails of this nature are generally referred to as “phishing.” They are
attempts to gain personal information about you and your personal
financial accounts, or access to your computer. Do not participate in
these scams by responding to the associated links or by providing
requested information.
Simply delete the email.
No financial
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institution, government agency, or legitimate business would attempt
to solicit information in this manner, or through an unsolicited email.
Ø
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
·
On December 18, numerous City staff members and volunteers took
part in the annual food and toy basket sorting in the Community
Center, and yesterday they assisted with the toy and food basket
distribution.
Donations from City employees and business and
community members helped provide baskets for 192 needy families in
Montclair. It was wonderful to see the appreciation from the receiving
families.
Our gratitude goes to the Fire; Police; and Public Works Departments; as
well as the Montclair Chamber of Commerce; Montclair Kiwanis; and
members of the business community for volunteering their time and
energy to make the program a success. Because of all of you, we were
able to make the holidays brighter for these families.
·
Facility Supervisor Shirley Wofford will retire from the City of Montclair
on December 29 after 40 years of service.
When Shirley came to work for the City in 1967, she and Director of
Recreation Angelo Antonelli made up the Recreation Department in a
very small building where the Recreation facility is today. For 24 years
Shirley served as Secretary/Department Secretary for the Recreation
Department/Human Services Department. She witnessed the addition
to the Recreation facility, the “birth” of the counseling and medical
clinic, and the construction of the Community Center. Shirley has been
Facilities Supervisor since 1992, and during her entire tenure at the
City, she has been in charge of scheduling facilities.
On December 10, in honor of Shirley’s retirement (and her love for the
Los Angeles Dodgers), 130 employees, friends, and family members
enjoyed a Dodgers baseball-themed luncheon held in Shirley’s honor at
the Community Center. Everyone enjoyed food from Vince’s Spaghetti,
cake, baseball game snacks, and a rendition of “Take Me Out to the
Ballgame.” The Human Services Division gave Shirley a Dodgers-themed
basket full of gifts.
We wish Shirley the best of luck in retirement and will miss her
dedication and knowledge of City history, but we are comforted by the
fact that she is only a phone call away.
Photos from Shirley’s retirement luncheon are featured on page 8.
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FIRE DEPARTMENT
·
On December 13, several Fire Department employees attended a
graduation ceremony of the 45th Basic Fire Academy at Mt. San Antonio
College, in support of former Fire Technician David Torrez. David
graduated from the 13-week recruit academy, along with 38 others.
Our congratulations go to David with best wishes on his future career in
fire service.
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POLICE DEPARTMENT
·
This past Sunday around 1 a.m., Police Officers responded to a report
of a shooting in the alley behind 9335 Mills Avenue. Officers found a
man lying in the alley, suffering from at least one gunshot wound.
Montclair Fire Department personnel pronounced the 20-year old Rialto
man dead at the scene. Police Detectives arrived at the scene and took
over the investigation. They learned the victim was from Rialto and had
been a passenger in his brother’s vehicle just prior to the shooting.
While driving in the alleyway, they became involved in an argument with
several subjects who were drinking near a garage. The victim was shot
when he exited the truck, and the group of subjects ran from the scene.
The victim’s brother was not injured.
Detectives interviewed several parties and were able to identify the
shooter—a 21-year-old Montclair resident.
Detectives, with the
assistance of the Crime Suppression Unit and the San Bernardino West
End Narcotics Enforcement Team, served a search warrant on the
suspect’s residence. Although the suspect was not located, critical
evidence was obtained, and Detectives are continuing their search.
·
On December 8, “Santa and Mrs. Claus” toured the City and were
accompanied by Mayor Paul Eaton and members of the Montclair Police
and Fire Departments. City residents were happy to receive the candy
canes from Santa (retired Sergeant Randy Morales reprised his role).
Mrs. Claus was played by Officer Julleen Potts.
The day was extremely cold, but the experience was rewarding.
Thanks go to everyone who had a part in making this annual event
happen.
Ø
PUBLIC WORKS/REDEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
·
Next week NPDES/Environmental Compliance Inspector Mike Roberts
will be joined in a ride along by Hank Gonzales, the newly appointed
Environmental Inspector from the City of Rialto. The purpose of the
ride along is to demonstrate the procedures the City uses to inspect
restaurants and commercial, industrial, and construction sites to ensure
compliance with state and federal storm water and wastewater
regulations.
We were contacted by Rialto City staff to assist with their training
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because they were impressed with our staff and how our program is
managed. Mr. Gonzales will be spending no more than two days with
Mike and will not affect our current inspection schedule.
LCM:SPA
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City Hall closed until Dec. 26, 2007,
in observance of Christmas
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Christmas Tree Recycling Program begins
Dec. 26, 2007 – Jan. 5, 2008
31
City Hall closed until Jan. 2, 2008,
in observance of New Year's Day
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2008
7
City Council Workshop
Council Chambers
5:45 p.m.
7
City Council Meeting
Council Chambers
7:00 p.m.
9
Community Action Committee Meeting
Council Chambers
7:00 p.m.
14
Planning Committee Meeting
Council Chambers
7:00 p.m.
15
City Manager’s Staff Meeting
City Hall Conference Room
9:00 a.m.
21
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday
City Hall Closed
22
Code Enforcement Committee Meeting
City Hall Conference Room
6:00 p.m.
22
City Council Meeting
Council Chambers
7:00 p.m.
28
Planning Commission Meeting
Council Chambers
7:00 p.m.
29
City Manager’s Staff Meeting
City Hall Conference Room
9:00 a.m.
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Our two most recent retirees, Rob Clark and Shirley Wofford
Shirley pictured with former/retired Recreation Director Angelo Antonelli and wife Marguerite
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