Santa Paula Blog

You are just asking for trouble, my friend!
 

Instead of the city making a deal with Limoneria to get their building on Hwy-150 for more office space then spending 2-3 million on it for earthquake retrofit and upgrades, cant the city just stay in its present offices, and instead spend these millions repairing our streets and contributing to sewer plant costs?
 

I have two suggestion regarding traffic. Since the skate park was built in the City parking lot by the post office coming and going off of 10th St. is very confusing. There is still and enter and exit and there is only one lane to do that. Several times entering off of 10th I have come head to head with a vehicle exiting onto 10th St where it states enter. When is this going to be taken care of?
SECOND....exiting the 10th St. off ramp from the freeway onto 10th St. The stop light on Harvard and 10th, many times I have had someone drive up on my right and when the light turns green quickly drive thru the intersection to cut in front of me. The first time it happened I was quite shaken. It is something I watch for now. Has this been noticed by the police? Seems like a good place to give someone a ticket!
 

Thanks for suggestions. I will follow up and get back to you.
 

Why does the city keep rebuilding the traffic light at Peck & Harvard in the same location? It keeps getting knocked down by semi trucks that cant negotiate the corner. Why not move it back 5 feet so the semi's can make the turn and save this recurring repair cost?
 

Wow! - can't believe you opened this door, but here goes...City workers are doing a nice job fixing a sidewalk West of Peck on Telegraph and planting trees in it... what I don't understand is that it was a perfectly good sidewalk, and already had trees. I'd like to know who prioritized that work ahead of fixing the potholes all around town (6th St for example, next to the High School) or the broken and displaced sidewalks around the high school? Who in the city is accountable, and who schedules this type of work?
 

RE: Annon. 03/24/08: This City's Traffic Safety Committee discussed this matter this week and tasked the Public Works Department to develop a solution to the in and out problems off 10th Street at Post Office parking lot.

Regarding the turning at 10th and Harvard, the Police Department has not had reports of the problem, but the PD's motorcycle traffic officer has been directed to look out for this in the future.

Thanks for the comments.
 

RE: Annon. 03/25/08, 12:14 PM. Excellent point. Plans are now in place to replace signal as suggested, five feet further back. Thanks for suggestion.
 

RE: Annon. 03/25/08, 3:25 PM. See answer here: http://ci.santa-paula.ca.us/blog/2008/03/suggestion-box-answers-sidewalks-and.html
 

Well I live on California street and I noticed that since I have lived here we have never had the street re-paved. Every so often the city workers will come by fill the pot holes and move on, but then when the rain comes, the street is back to being destroyed. At first I though maybe it was because we are such a small street, but now I am seeing other streets the same size or smaller being done. I just dont understand. It's costing the city money to re-fill the holes every 3 months or so they do it, and it costs people like myself money when it comes to fixing my car's tires, shocks, and brakes.
 

Forget the the Limonera Building all together. Just find a nice clean place where "City Hall and the Police Dept." can move for now. Tear down the existing buildings (police & city hall), dig a big hole in the ground and put in a underground parking lot for city and police vehicles. Cover it up, and build a nice three story complex where everybody is under one roof. You won't need to buy a whole new lot when got it already? SAVE SOME MONEY! Then you guys won't be scattered all over town, renting other places because you have no room. Ventura city Police and Fire are under one roof. Just maybe, if we do it this way, we'll have extra money for streets, parks, and playing fields. Think it over Wally and good luck.
 

RE: Annon. 03/27/08, 1:03PM: Thanks for the note. California Street is on our list of streets needing repaving. However, there are many streets ahead of it on the list.
 

Please don't forget about North 6th Street above the high school! It's a falling-apart cobblestone and pothole street.
 

Why don't you try the 100 and 200 block of north olive st. if you want cobblestone.
 

Okay so the City finally decided to fix the streets. Only things I have to complain about is the fact that they are doing streets that dont need it. Olive by the high school needs it bad, any streets past oak need to be done. I consently see work being done on Isbell's street. I just wish the city would think about the streets that actually need it, vs the streets that would look nicer with it done. Many times on my street they just drive down it filling potholes, in which get damaged by rain and the amount of people speeding up it. Please PLEASE take this into concideration. Thank you
 

Since the city is in such a need for revenue. Why not put "parking meters" on Main Street? The city needs to look at how other small cities generate revenue that Santa Paula is not doing!
 

Shouldnt we be trying to prevent new homes from being built, so that the homes we do have can be improved and have greater value. If we keep building new low end homes on scenic farmland for people who do not pay taxes,have multiple children,do not work or on welfare how is Santa Paula going to make money? Traffic will also become worse. Santa Paula is one of the poorest cities in the county. We need to remedy this by either building a few nice high end homes or improving the condition of our existing homes. If Santa Paula was a big city would you want to live here? Lets keep Santa Paula the clean farming community that we want it to be.
 

Since Santa Paula St. has been repaired from the high school west to Steckel, the speed of the cars on that street has increased. Near the high school the drainage swales that cross Santa Paula St slow the traffic down. From Palm Ave west to Steckel there are no swales, no stop signs, and no reason for traffic to slow down. So we have a high rate of speed on this section of the street. At times in excess of 50 mph. How does someone propose the addition of stop signs? I would like to see four way stops at Bradley, Dean, and Atmore to slow the traffic and allow for a safer transition of vehicles onto Santa Paula from side streets and driveways.
 

The process for requesting stop signs starts with the City's Traffic Safety Committee. For further information, contact the Public Works Department (933-4212, then press 6)
 

This is in regards to the horrible accident that killed little Charlie Goodrich earlier this week. I think that the City of Santa Paula should recognize Mr. Rick Cadman for his heroic efforts to save little Charles. He did something that most people would not do and I wish there were more people like him.
 

The city's Traffic Safety Committee should take a look at moving the white stop line back about 10 feet from the traffic light at the Peck and Harvard intersection. When traveling south on Peck and there's a red light, the white stop line is adjacent to the red light so you cant see it after you stop. Drivers stop at the red light, then proceed thru it to the next red light. Moving the white line back 10 feet or so would help. Plus the left turn lane at the same point is within 10 feet of the RR tracks, seems too close.
 

Are the new white triangle lines painted at crosswalks a proven technolgy to save pedestrians or just some local's idea of getting your attention at the crosswalks?
Maybe its just me, but everytime I approach one of these painted triangle lines it divets my attention to the crazy painted lines and away from someone in the criosswalk. I think these new lines are dangerous!
 

I am really happy to see this blog site. Santa Paula is a terrific town with lots of potential. I am surprised to see that most (all?) of the postings to this blog are anonymous. I am also disappointed that many of the postings only suggest things the city can do. While that is appropriate I think it is also appropriate to think of things we can do ourselves. Instead of complaining about litter we can pick up litter ourselves when we see it and have the opportunity. We can certainly clean up our own front yards. We can obey traffic laws (instead of making "U"eys on Main Street or ignoring pedestrians in crossing walks). We can be courteous and cooperative. In my opinion, it is up to us, the everyday people, to make this town better. We have little control or influence over what the city government does but we can improve our neighborhoods and places we frequent. Just my two cents.
Jerry Somdahl
 

I would like to see more police patroling Main St. People drive way to fast and make illegal uturns. Also, People are always running the red light on 10th and Santa Barbara St. Why don't the parks department pull the weeds in the parks. Especially the park by the depot. So much money and time went into that project and it looks terrible. That is the first thing people see when they get off the train.
 

When is the city going to raise water/sewer rates to fund the new sewer plant? Raise rates a little now instead of allot later. Hope the council isnt going to wait until their re-elections are over in November to raise the rates.
 

Staff will be returning to the City Council with recommendations on future adjustments to sewer, water and refuse fees in September.
 

I am writing this for many of us living below the new homes being built near the hospital. Some things need to change, first of all we have to constantly wash our cars because so much of the construction dust blows down and settles on our vehicles. We used to dust our house about once a month, now it is at least once a week. There is also a lot of construction debris that has been allowed to collect on the side of the hill, it just looks trashy! Can you have them comply with general construction practices and keep the construction sites clean and use a water truck to eliminate the dust.
 

If anyone decides to put parking meters on Main Street, the people of Santa Paula will not park on Main. Unfortunately, people would park on other streets to avoid paying the fee. Let's not turn our little city into a mini Philadelphia.
 

When they decided to build those houses by the hospital, we were told that we would not even see them from the Oaks. Not only are they right on the edge of the slide they built a giant stacked wall on the edge. (I hope they used tiebacks!) Don't they realize thats just more weight to slide down on the houses below! I guess that they realized that because they are making it a special district, why didn't they just make the developer do it right and make them liable for the hill slide area? I agree with the other poster, that hill is covered with trash.
 

Please don't waste money on adding Fluoride to our city water.
Fluoride exists naturally in water sources and is derived from fluorine, the thirteenth most common element in the Earth's crust. So, what are some of the facts about fluoride? According to the handbook, Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products, fluoride is more poisonous than lead and just slightly less poisonous than arsenic. It is a cumulative poison that accumulates in bone over the years. According to the Physicians Desk Reference, "in hypersensitive individuals, fluorides occasionally cause skin eruptions such as atopic dermatitis, eczema, or urticaria. Gastric distress, headache, and weakness have also been reported. These hypersensitive reactions usually disappear promptly after discontinuation of the fluoride." In the largest U.S. study of fluoridation and tooth decay, United States Public Health Service dental records of over 39,000 school children, ages 5-17, from 84 areas around the United States showed that the number of decayed, missing, and filled teeth per child was virtually the same in fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas. A study by Procter and Gamble showed that as little as half the amount of fluoride used to fluoridate public water supplies resulted in a sizable and significant increase in genetic damage. This is genetic, not talking about teeth. The Wall Street Journal recently(3-23-06) ran an article reporting on the National Academy of Science's concern about high levels of fluoride in the nation's drinking water, and that the maximum allowed amount "should be lowered."
Yes we do have less cavities but that is because people brush their teeth, not because of the use of Fluoride.
 

IT IS REALLY AMAZING HOW THERE ARE STREETS THAT NEED TO GET RE-PAVED AND WE ARE TOLD WE HAVE NO MONEY AT THE MOMENT, BUT YOU ARE ABLE TO PAVE STREETS THAT DONT NEED IT THAT BADLY. I REALLY THINK THERE SHOULD BE MORE ATTENTION PAYED TO THE EASTERN PART OF SANTA PAULA WHERE A LOT OF STREETS NEED MAJOR FIXING. I THINK THERE SHOULD ALSO BE RESTRICTING ON HOW CLOSE YOU CAN PARK TO THE CORNER BECAUSE THE PERSON TURNING INTO A STREET MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SEE ONCOMMING TRAFFIC. I REALLY HOPE MR. WALLY TAKES THE TIME TO ACTUALLY READ THESE COMMENTS.
 

South bound lanes of tenth street need to be better marked at the Harvard intersection. left turn lane, straight, or onto the freeway, i have seen many near collisions there. I also wanted to comment on how much better the barranca on peck road across from the hotel looks. 100% improvement! I have also noticed a lot of properties along Ojai road that have weeds, bushes and trees that are way overgrown and unsightly, do you think the city could take care of that? That is a main thoroughfare through town. I used to maintain the piece of property along Ojai road that butted up against my property until I was given a hard time by a city employee about it, I will never touch it again! So much for trying to do the right thing!
 

City has received a state transportation grant to work on reconfiguring 10th/Harvard/126 interchange. This work will take at least 12-18 months before any improvement is constructed. I will pass along note about weeds.
 

Here's my 2 cents. How about adding bike racks on Main St. next to the crosswalks. I see wasted space that could be used. It's marked by lines on either side.
Thanks.
 

it was my understanding that there was 2008-2009 monies earmarked for street repairs in the RDA zone around downtown. When is this work going to begin?
 

See answer here.
 

I was downtown this weekend on Main St. and noticed how dirty the sidewalks are. The sidewalks were filthy with stains, trash and dirt. Can these be cleaned? Also at the shopping center where Vons is at, the trash had not been emptied, allowing trash to fall on the ground. Again, the sidewalks were so dirty. Is there anything that can be done to clean up the sidewalks? Santa Paula used to be such a nice, clean, quaint town, now it is just getting so run down. What can be done?
 

Downtown sidewalks steam-cleaned every six to eight weeks. Next cleaning scheduled for week of September 15. We will contact Vons Shopping Center on sidewalks there.
 

Could I make a suggestion regarding the steam cleaning of the sidewalks down town? After the next time they are thoroughly cleaned apply a good quality sealer to the sidewalk, it will reduce the porosity of the concrete thereby making future cleaning much easier.
 

How much more money did that little pond add to the new waste water treatment plant?
Native plants would have been better.
 

I would like to see a speed limit posted on California street. I stepped out of my home the other day and a dark blue honda Civic hatchback flew by me almost hitting me and my car door. It is a very common thing for me to see people going 45+ on this street, as soon as they hit the top of the hill they fly down this street as if it were a race track. Something need to be done about this street its falling apart becuase people race down it all the time, and on top of that my kids cant even cross the street now to plau with the other children in the neighborhood without me following them to make sure no one is flying down it!
 

Santa Paula use to have a "Farmers Market". When will it return? Or will it come back?! What a pain, to drive all the way to Ventura, Oxnard, etc... why WHY ????
City wants us to shop S.P., but yet can't buy any home grown vegies and fruit!
 

Have staff answer all e-mails, not just ignore them when a question is asked!
 

An ongoing situation exists where individuals “drive” and “leave” their vehicles in front of or adjacent to my home. Occasionally, these vehicles have “expired” license plates – meaning they are “driven” with expired vehicle registrations. Several times, vehicles have been left for days by individuals who don’t live on this street, but more frequently, the vehicles are left by apartment dwellers who leave the opposite side of the street – the side where they dwell – nearly void of vehicles.
I have been lead to believe that no longer is it mandatory to move a vehicle once said vehicle been parked in an area for seventy-two hours or more. If this is true, please re-establish said ordinance making the move mandatory. If it is an ordinance, please advise our police department of the same, and have Santa Paula’s police force patrol for those vehicles of which they’ve been notified.
If neither of the now noted requests is conducive to city policy, please do the citizens of Santa Paula a courtesy by marking the areas in front of their homes as “owner/tenant” parking only, and then record the name of the homeowners or tenants who reside in those homes, as well as make record of their vehicles. Please offer the homeowners “ peace of mind” concerning who and what is happening near their residences!
Don’t you find it odd that someone (anyone) would leave their vehicle(s) parked in front of or adjacent to someone else’s home on an on-going basis rather than in front of or closer to their “own” residence? Would you want to live in a neighborhood plagued by the sort of individuals who for some odd reason make a practice of leaving their vehicles near your home? Wouldn’t you question why this odd-type parking activity is occurring? Wouldn’t you expect your city council and police department to be just as curious and concerned about the same?
Help us clean up our streets by removing vehicles left near our homes on an ongoing basis that have no connection to our homes!
Thanks for providing a few minutes of your time … and hopefully your concern!
 

Who in the world is responsible for updating the school websites? I have spent an hour trying to find current information about Santa Paula schools such as test scores, current administration and enrollment, bu the site information is missing or old. It's very frustrating. And it doesn't look very impressive for someone who is looking into moving in to SP from out of town.
 

Thanks for your note on school websites. This is not something the City does, but I forwarded your comment to the Superintendents of the local elementary and high school districts.
 

From the principal at SPHS:
"Our website is up to date. Our district website has a link to the CDE for the most up to date test scores and data. The Santa Paula page has the SARC posted containing all pertinent information on our school. In addition to that we have a directory that lists our current administration and contact information. Maybe this person did not find our website, www.spuhsd.k12.ca.us"
 

I was looking up a number to Bedell School the other day and the number that was listed on their website rang the Limoniera packing house!
 

Well, I( see you ARE here Wally, just choosing to answer only what you want & not what us, the GP of SP ask ? Is that about right ? Perhaps the Chronicle & Star's Editorial pages would like to know how the SP manager is doing w/ this Blog ?

I'll look into it !
 

Regarding the televised council meetings, with people's busy schedules, it is not always possible to view the live, or even recorded, council meetings on channel 10. If you've got satellite TV, no chance at all. Since they are recorded, would it be possible to have them posted to the city's website or this blog to view, or download, online instead of having to rely on the televised schedule?

Keep up the good work Wally!
 

We have looked at the cost of putting meeting on the web and it is still more money than can be justified. Given the cuts that the City will be facing in 2009, not likely to happen soon. The meetings are available on DVD at the Library.
 

How about having Fillmore Western Railroad fix the tracks/street on 10th street, its like an off road coarse going through there!
 

Thank you, thank you, thank you...for the music update on Channel 10! 100% better than the boring, out-dated classical music.
Thanks Wally!!!
 

Classical music is never "out-dated"!
 

What's going on with our Police Department? These last couple of months I have seen them over-aggressive for a small town. Do not get me wrong, they are doing a great job, but I have seen and heard of them doing multiple stops for no actual cause or reason.
I was stopped a month ago, the officer asked for my license, I then asked if he needed my proof of insurance and registration, but the officer denied. He looked at my license and at me a couple of times before he asked me if my address was correct. The officer finally returned my licensed and let me go. I did not dare to ask why he stopped me, but it seemed that he(the officer) assumed I was an unlicensed driver; Therefore, wouldn't that be prejudice or illegal from his part? What do you guys think? What can be done to fix this? I am not saying that it is ok to allow every unlicensed driver to go without impound, but I think it is unfair for an officer to break his Oath by assuming (prejudice) something that might not always be correct. There are more bigger problems(crime,gangs,etc) to worry about that do not get enough attention.
 

I am confused about the last comment? What can be done to fix this? How about ask the cop why he stopped you!!! You won't dare ask why he stopped you but you don't have a problem about posted an anonymous blog accusing an officer about being prejudice. Think ahout that word, prejudice, and what does it mean. Pre-Judge. Sounds like if anyone is prejudice its the blogger and not the cop. If there's a problem, did you e-mail the chief on the police website? Did you call him? Did you call the watch commander after it happened? Or here's a thought, ask the cop himself/herself. Sorry to blog for so long but it just seemed like a extremely simply answer to such a biased question
 

Daily or weekly police blotter should be posted on-line
 

YEAH! Thank you. The City parking lot by the post office finally has a sign to stop traffic from going out the entrance onto 10th St. Since putting in the skating area the exit was closed off and many times turning into the parking lot off of 10th St. I was confronted by a vehicle using the entrance to exit onto 10th St.
The next big problem is the intersection of 10th St. and Harvard. I think if the police sat and watched that for a few days they could give out several tickets.
 

What happened to the nice music on the S.P. tv station? That jazz rock really is annoying.
 

I am perplexed that the planning commission intends to go ahead and vote on Plaza Amistad, even though the city council wants them to hold off until the commissioner vacancy is filled. Is this an act of rebellion?

This is essentially the same planning commision that gave us the high density housing in the past few years. Does the planning commssion have a CEDC agenda? Are some commissioners trying to hand the council a hot potato?

It is the planning commissions job to correct problems in development projects before they reach the council. CEDC did not change Plaza Amistad very much nor correct some of its problems. Yet the shorthanded planning commission thinks this project is ready for a vote.

I hope the council replaces the entire planning commission except for Steve Brown.
 

My music students are asking why the music changed on your television station. They are learning to play classical music with private lessons, and don't understand why the television station sounds like a "supermarket".
 

I want to know why my comments aren't being posted. Is this city really afraid to have negative comments on its blog stories?? C'mon Wally. If you got a problem with what I talk about don't run away stand up for yourself and prove me wrong

-Bob Fury
bobfury@rocketmail.com
 

For as long as I can remember the Santa Paula High School Cheerleaders have painted the street numbers on the curb for donations. Good fundraiser yes, safe no. The last couple of times they have been in my parents neighborhood they have skipped doing their number because they were not home. I know my parents would have made a donation, but I do not think it is right to be skipped because they were not home. This did become an issue recently when police could not find their address. Thankfully it was not a life threatening issue. The city and high school need to take a look into this to insure this does not happen again, especially if it is a life threatening issue. I think it is great that the city lets the cheerleaders do this as a fundraiser and I am not against it, but the city should make sure whatever numbers do not get painted by the cheerleaders, get painted by the city, after all this is a city service and a safety issue. I think a little oversight could save the city from a huge lawsuit!
 

The City is not required to provide house numbers! The home owner is responsible for proper marking. Make sure your parents home is marked!
 

I think the city is responsible for the sidewalks(city property) and the resident is responsible for the numbers on the house or mailbox.
 

Anon 8:21 The City has no responsibility at all. Besides emergency response teams cannot see numbers on the sidewalk at night or when vehicles are parked at the curb.