City Hall

After 10 years since its last online face-lift, the City of Citrus Heights unveiled its new website Thursday -- intending to provide new content, better navigation and more interactive features for online access to local government services.

Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones plunged into the ALS "Ice Bucket Challenge" Sunday, posting a video on Facebook with a challenge to several area police chiefs, including Chief Christopher Boyd of the Citrus Heights Police Department. “Could you have poured that any slower?” the sheriff is seen in the video asking his deputies behind him, who took nearly five seconds to pour about 20 gallons of ice water on their boss. A spokesperson for CHPD said that Chief Boyd already did an Ice Bucket Challenge several weeks ago, and was unsure if the Chief planned to respond to the Sheriff's latest challenge.

With speaker after speaker lining up to voice their opposition to the controversial proposal to move city hall and construct a medical office building in its place, Citrus Heights council members voted unanimously to postpone a final decision on the proposal Thursday night, pending a full Environmental Impact Review. Although the City had prepared an environmental assessment document known as a "Mitigated Negative Declaration," attorney Chris Butcher with the group Save Our Civic Center threatened a lawsuit last month over "inadequacies" in the document, asserting the City would violate the California Environmental Quality Act if it were to go ahead with the proposal before conducting a full EIR.

A new Staff Report is recommending the Citrus Heights city council take "no action" on the controversial proposal to move city hall, according to documents released Friday night on the City's website. "Staff recommends that the City Council take no action on the medical office building and City Hall project at this time and direct staff to do additional environmental review," reads a summary of the report issued by City Manager Henry Tingle, who has been a vocal supporter of the proposal. Opponents of the plan to move city hall see the report as a change in the right direction, as prior reports from staff have recommended going ahead with the proposal. "We see this as a favorable development, but our position remains unchanged," said Tim Schaefer, with the group Save City Hall. "We will remain vigilant until moving city hall is off the table for good."

With ice cream socials, picnics, barbecues and more, 16 different neighborhoods across Citrus Heights participated in the 31st annual National Night Out yesterday, as part of a country-wide effort to prevent crime by connecting neighbors and building local partnerships between the community and police. Beginning as early as 4 p.m. and continuing well-after dark, residents around the city gathered outside their homes and on quiet neighborhood streets to get to know one another and do their part in preventing crime in their area. Citrus Heights police officers made an effort to show up at each event around the city, seeing the night as a way to increase trust, build strong communities and reduce crime, according to Officer Anthony Boehle, who was out participating in a small parade in the Greenback Wood area. "I really do think it helps," said Greenback Wood Neighborhood Watch Community Coordinator Susan Jenkins, whose group celebrates National Night Out each year with a three-quarter mile joint parade of local police and residents

According to the Citrus Heights Water District, users cut overall water consumption by 20 percent so far this year and will not see any additional reduction requirements from the District -- despite other water suppliers resorting to mandatory fines and penalties. In an email response to water questions raised by residents, CHWD said its approach "has been and will continue to be education and working with customers to reduce water use," and that it "has no intent of reviewing individual meter data to enforce a 20 percent reduction goal." In a July Water Update the District said it calculated its water use reduction percentage by comparing overall water use during the first six months of 2014 with the same time period in 2013, finding a total reduction of 20.6 percent. Following statewide emergency water regulations implemented on July 29, a statement on the CHWD website said its existing Stage 3 Water Warning complies with the new regulations, and that residents will continue to be asked to cut water use by 20 percent.

In a crowded room Thursday night, Citrus Heights council members voted 3-2 in favor of postponing a final decision on the controversial proposal to move city hall and allow construction of a three-story medical building in its place -- expressing the need for more research after an environmental attorney threatened a lawsuit...