City Hall

Sentinel staff report-- Beginning Feb. 19, your weekly waste collection day may be changing if you live in Citrus Heights. New changes set to go into effect next week will permanently affect trash, green waste, and recycling pick up days in the city. In an email sent out to Citrus Heights neighborhood associations on Tuesday, Republic Services, which handles waste collection services in Citrus Heights, said the change is due to a citywide re-route in order to make collection routes "more efficient and to reduce noise, traffic, truck emissions, and costs." The email also included a map of Citrus Heights showing the revised collection days for each area of the city. Republic Services spokeswoman Johnnise Downs said she didn't have a specific figure for how many residents will be affected by the change, but she advised customers to check the new map to see whether their area's collection day will change. Customers who will have their service day change will also reportedly get a tag on their waste bins...

By Hazel Ford-- Beginning Monday, Citrus Heights public transit riders will have the option to hail a bus to their door through the Sacramento Regional Transit District's new “microtransit” pilot project. A ribbon cutting to celebrate the new service will be held at 10 a.m. on Feb. 12 at city hall. SmaRT Ride, the first of its kind in the Sacramento Valley, is an on-demand transit service similar to Lyft or Uber that will enable riders to be picked up from their location and taken wherever they want to go in the city during weekdays, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.. Using a new smartphone app, customers will order a ride and then be given an estimated time of arrival and another notification when the bus is about to reach them. “We are confident that SmaRT Ride will be met with much enthusiasm from our residents by bringing public transit to their front door,” said Citrus Heights Mayor Steve Miller in a news release. “Our hope is to see this service succeed and expand, so that our citizens, and ultimately everyone in the Sacramento region, will be able to reach local destinations and neighboring communities more easily.”

A pair of public hearings will be held at the Feb. 8 Citrus Heights City Council meeting related to a $4.9 million proposed storm drainage plan and controversy over privacy gates proposed at a 46-home subdivision on Mariposa Avenue. Other items on the agenda include consideration of a $200,000 consulting agreement and an annual financial report and audit. Here’s a brief summary of what’s listed in the nearly 1,000-page agenda packet, followed by a wrap-up of the council’s Jan. 25 meeting. SPECIAL MEETING (6 p.m.): Study session. City staff will seek direction from the council on implementing a Citrus Heights awareness and promotion campaign. Development of the campaign has been in the works for several years and the effort seeks to brand and market the city as part of a strategy for economic development. REGULAR MEETING (7 p.m.): Quarterly Treasurer’s Report. The council will be asked to formally receive and file the city's fourth quarter treasurer's report. The report shows, among other figures, the market value of the city's cash and investments at $8.6 million, as of Dec. 31, 2017...

Sentinel staff report-- Following a closed-door meeting on Thursday, the Citrus Heights City Council voted unanimously to halt the public auction of two tax-defaulted properties and authorize the city manager to negotiate their purchase from Sacramento County for a total price of less than $50,000. The properties include a 3-acre lot with a boarded-up home on Old Auburn Road and a portion of an old gas station on Auburn Boulevard, both of which were slated to be auctioned by the county next month for back-taxes owed. Vice Mayor Jeannie Bruins told The Sentinel on Friday that the vote was a formality needed to preserve the city's option to purchase the properties, by removing them from the sale at a county tax auction slated for Feb. 26. "No decision about actual purchases were made last night," said Bruins. "Just the decision to take it off the auction block so we have time to...

Sentinel staff report-- Each year, Citrus Heights City Council members approve appointments from their own ranks to serve on various boards, commissions, and subcommittees to address local and regional issues like sewer, law enforcement, libraries, air quality, and transportation. The current council includes Mayor Steve Miller, Vice Mayor Jeannie Bruins, and council members Bret Daniels, Albert Fox, and Jeff Slowey. Although largely known for their role in setting policy and making decisions at the city level, the five council members also play a role in shaping regional policy through these appointments.

Sentinel staff report-- Citrus Heights council members will hold a closed-door meeting Thursday evening to discuss the potential purchase of a 2.7-acre property with a boarded-up home at the corner of Mariposa Avenue and Old Auburn Road, according to an agenda posted on the city website. Following the death of owner James Wheeler inside the home last year and an unsuccessful search for heirs by county officials, the dilapidated corner property at 7716 Old Auburn Rd. was posted on a list of tax-defaulted properties to be auctioned by Sacramento County next month. According to county records, property taxes had not been paid on the parcel for more than five years, making it eligible for the county to sell at auction in order to recover unpaid taxes. Under the state tax code, cities have a right to acquire a tax-defaulted property "that is or may be needed for public use," by filing an objection to the sale and submitting an application to purchase -- which then causes the property to be removed from public auction. The city council's Jan. 25 agenda lists both a..

Closed-door negotiations, a report on homelessness, potential property purchases, and a $190,000 grant for an Old Auburn Road improvement plan are some of the topics on the agenda for the Jan. 25 Citrus Heights City Council meeting. Here's a brief summary of what's on schedule, followed by a wrap-up of the council's Jan. 11 meeting. SPECIAL MEETING: Closed Session: The council will hold a closed session meeting to negotiate price and terms of payment for two properties currently slated to be sold at a tax sale auction by Sacramento County. The properties are: 8244 Auburn Blvd. and 7716 Old Auburn Rd. Study Session: Council members will also hold a study session regarding the city's comprehensive transit plan...