City of Benicia This Week
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In this edition: Message from the City Manager, Piano on First Street, Movies Under the Stars, Fire Explorers Program, Water Insight Program and much more!
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Message from the City Manager |
Correction Notice: Although it would be nice to have received $755 million in grant funding, we've received $755,886.68 (still 3/4 of a million!) in grant funding. |
July 11, 2022
Good Morning Benicia Residents,
For many of you who have been traversing town, you surely have noticed the no parking signs and heavy machinery related to road work. The work that is being performed this summer is called microsurfacing, a preventative maintenance effort designed to keep roads in good condition. This year, the City has invested $661,153 of Measure C funds for these projects. By comparison, in the summer of 2023, we will do major road resurfacing projects, investing $2,669,342 of Measure C funds. This highlights the exponential cost difference between maintaining good conditioned roads versus poor roads.
You may have seen our infographics on social media or signage downtown noting the high cost of maintaining worsening roads, or that in order to improve our road system to good condition, we need to invest approximately $5.8 million per year for 10 years to reach a point where all of our roads are in a better condition. A task made more challenging when we only receive about $1.1 million per year from the State, which includes what you pay in Gas Tax to fix our roads. This is why the City is exploring a sales tax measure for November to secure sufficient funding to meet this need. Now, to be clear, the City has invested nearly $15 million over the last 7 years from Measure C to improve our roads. Unfortunately, the proceeds of Measure C, which were designed to pay for a variety of City services, including roads, is not enough to improve our road system and thus we are seeking the revenue necessary to get the job done!
Speaking of getting the job done, I want to draw your attention to the amazing work of our Public Works Department that is not only in charge of our road system, but our water and wastewater systems, civic engineering and vehicle fleet maintenance. In just the first 6 months of this year, our Public Works Department has performed 333 street maintenance activities (such as pot hole repairs, street striping), completed 61 storm drain maintenance activities and repairs, facilitated 25 Farmer’s Market road closures, 6 special events and 729 vehicle maintenance and repair actions. The team facilitated 278 encroachment and grading permits, managed the Military West and West Seventh Street Traffic Improvement Project, applied and secured $755,886.68 in grant funds, conducted the East H Street Gravity Sewer Line Assessment and repaired the East H Street Sewer Main. Oh, and of course responded to and repaired a near catastrophic water main break at our Water Treatment Plant, restoring full water capacity to our City in a matter of days. What you may not know, is that all this work and so much more was performed with a 26% staff vacancy rate in our Public Works Department. My hope is that by sharing this information, you can see just how hard your City staff is working to provide you outstanding service and how diligently our Mayor and City Council Members are investing your tax dollars to meet the needs of our community. Have a wonderful week, Benicia.
Mario Giuliani
Deputy City Manager
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The piano on First Street is the first of Benicia’s Play Art program, developed by the Benicia Arts and Culture Commission and Public Art Committee. This program is designed to encourage community engagement with the arts and music.
The piano was designed and painted by local artist Phyllis Hartzell and donated by Rob Gordon of Gordon's Piano Shop in the Benicia Arsenal. The program will run from June through October 2022 and will resume in the 2023 outdoor season.
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Benicia Parks and Recreation is hosting Movies Under the Stars, offering evenings of family entertainment!
Movies will take place on Friday evenings. Featuring Encanto on July 15, Sing 2 on August 12, Monsters Inc. on September 9 and Hocus Pocus in October (date TBD). Showings are located at City Park (First Street and Military West). Food and beverages welcome!
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The Benicia Fire Department Explorer Program is organized under the guidelines of the Learning for Life Division of the Boy Scouts of America. The intent of the program is to mentor, develop and prepare candidates who wish to pursue a career in the fire service. This position is for individuals age 15-21. Meetings are held on the first, third and fifth Wednesdays of the month at 6pm.
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A FREE online water usage analyzer tool by WaterSmart Software.
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- FREE online portal to view your water use at daily or hourly intervals.
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Ready to take on a new challenge where you are valued? The City of Benicia Human Resources Division is accepting applications for the following positions:
- Community Services Officer I
- Engineering Technician I/II
- Facility Attendant II (Part Time)
- Information Technology Analyst I/II
- Librarian I (On Call)
- Management Analyst I/II - Permit Services Analyst
- Management Analyst I/II - Sustainability Coordinator (Limited Duration)
- Police Officer - Academy/Non-Lateral
- Police Officer - Lateral (Currently Working)
- Project Manager
- Public Safety Dispatcher
- Public Works Maintenance Superintendent (Division Manager)
- Reserve Officer (Volunteer)
- Temporary Part Time Account Clerk (Pool)
To apply for any of these positions, the application and supplemental forms may be found online, then click the job title. Employment applications may also be obtained from, and must be returned to, Human Resources at 250 East L Street, Benicia. Sign up with Job Interest Cards to be notified of future position openings when they occur.
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Save the Date
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Jul 12 - Library Board of Trustees meeting, 6:30 p.m. at the Benicia Public Library. See the Full Agenda for more information.
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Jul 13 - Parks, Recreation, and Cemetery Commission meeting, 6:30 p.m. in Room 2, Benicia Community Center. See the Full Agenda for more information.
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Jul 26 - City Council/Planning Commission Study Session, 6:30 p.m. at the Benicia City Hall Council Chambers. This study session will be regarding the 2023-2031 Housing Element Update. To learn more, visit www.ci.benicia.ca.us/housingelement.
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City of Benicia This Week is published each Monday morning. Previous editions are available here. We also communicate on Nextdoor.com and AlertSolano.com. Sign up now!
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