Message from the Manager
April 2023
Spring has definitely sprung!
With the weather getting warmer, it has allowed for events and projects around our city to continue.
Please take a moment to review the following achievements, projects, and plans your colleagues have been working on recently.
City Clerk Services
Happy National Records and Information Management Month! National Records and Information Management Month is celebrated during April of each year. The idea is to stimulate better record keeping and information management. It also emphasizes the importance of having organized records. A record is any document, paper, book, e-mail, picture, recording, video, or other material that can prove the transaction of business. Records and Information management is the process that tracks a document or record from its creation until it is eventually safely destroyed or permanently saved. With remodeling and spring cleaning underway, now is a great time to remember how important it is to keep track of your documents and information. Begin this month and continue each month after that! Getting organized will not only benefit your workspace and department, but it will also feel wonderful. Your friendly City Clerk Services staff are always available to answer any questions on retention and management of your records.
Celebrate the 54th Annual Professional Municipal Clerks Week with Us! Did you know the Municipal Clerk is the oldest of public servants in local government, along with the tax collector? The profession traces back before Biblical times. For example, the modern Hebrew translation of Town Clerk is "Mazkir Ha'ir" which literally translated, means city or town "Reminder.” The early keepers of archives were often called "Remembrancers” and before writing came into use, their memory served as the public record.
Join the City Clerk Services staff for week-long series of activities aimed at increasing public’s awareness of Municipal Clerks and the vital services they provide for local government and the community. More info to follow!
Code Compliance
The Code Enforcement Department is growing! Congratulations to Pamela Almryde, who was recently promoted from Office Assistant to one of four Code Compliance Officer positions.
Engineering
During the month of April, crews on the North First Avenue Bridge project will be constructing the bridge foundations, supports, and columns near the BNSF rail yard. They will also begin constructing the retaining wall in front of Del Taco near First Avenue and Hutchison Street.
At times, work throughout the corridor may be loud and cause vibration. Please remember, construction is dynamic and the schedule is weather-permitting and subject to change.
Fire
Congratulations to Chief Nick Dinapoli on his promotion! We are honored to have you in our city and look forward to all the great things you will bring to the Fire
Department and the City.
Information Technology
Currently in work:
WWTP WiFi – Ongoing – stalled due to
renovations - Anticipated completion Q2.
Police Dept. - Public Safety Suite Upgrade – Ongoing, Anticipated completion Q2 / Q3.
Fire Dept - Fire Station Alerting – Ongoing Anticipated completion Q3 / Q4.
IT Network Infrastructure Upgrade – Ongoing
Projects Upcoming:
Priority Dispatch - ProQA – Dispatch EMD server replacement Active Directory – Server upgrade
Exchange - Email server upgrade
Lucity Asset Management upgrade
Online permitting upgrade
Parks & Recreation
On April 1st, the City of Barstow held its 1st Annual Easter Egg event, at the Robert A. Sessions Memorial Sports Park. This event was a huge success for the City of Barstow. The Easter Egg event provided family fun and giveaways to over 600 kids and adults. Thanks to Measure Q, we were able to provide food for 600 attendees free of charge. We also provided fun obstacle courses and bounce houses for the kids, they were able to take pictures with the Easter Bunny and hunt for 8,000 eggs spread across three fields! We look forward to continuing this annual event and growing each and every year.
Arts & Craft Class - The Parks and Recreation Department offers an Arts & Craft class once a month for ages 2 and up. Our next class is scheduled for Wednesday, May 24th. Come join our instructor Emma and make crafts. For more information, please see flyer or call Cora Harper Fitness Center.
Youth basketball – Youth basketball has wrapped up with trophies awarded for 1st and 2nd place and a playoff game held for the 7 & 8 year old division to break a two-way tie. An all-star night for our youth basketball league was also held on Thursday, April 13th.
T-Ball – T-ball started on April 15th with three teams of 3 year-olds. Teams are the Angels, A’s, and Blue Jays.
New Equipment at Cora Harper! - The Cora Harper Fitness Center received a new dumbbell rack and set of dumbbells ranging from 5 - 100lbs. These new sets of dumbbells are a welcome amenity as the old set had been in use for the past 20 years.
Community Development
The Community Development Department is almost done with the remodel of their work space. They also celebrated recent promotions within their department which include:
Stephanie Baca who was promoted from Office Assistant to Administrative Assistant; Fidel Martinez who was promoted from Community Development Inspector I to Senior Community Development Inspector;
Amy Sanchez who was promoted from Community Development Inspector I to Administrative Analyst.
Congratulations to all!
Police Department
Officers and evidence technicians participated in the Mojave EXP Industry Coaching with students at Barstow High School.
We conducted interviews for Police Officer.
Held department wide Community Trust Training.
Members of the department participated in Caleb’s Superhero 5K Run. Detective Gemma Day was promoted to Corporal/Detective. The recruitment team attended the Head Start Resource Fair. Members of the department participated in the annual Baker2Vegas relay race. The race consists of a challenging 120-mile trek that starts in Baker, CA and ends in Las Vegas, NV. It is the most prestigious law enforcement foot race with over 8,000 other law enforcement competitors from around the world. We are extremely proud of our runners and support staff! This year’s Public Safety Fair is May 6, 2023 10:00am-2:00pm on Mountain View St. between Barstow Rd. and Second St. Come on out for some free family fun! Public Works
Street Maintenance Department
Streets has completed the replacement of the parking
lot at the Fire Department on Barstow Rd. They
removed the old asphalt parking lot and installed 6”
inch concrete slab with plenty of rebar inside;
Addressed traffic accident involving a vehicle and an Edison light pole, which disabled the intersection of
Yucca and Main St;
Staff continued their efforts with pavement
preservation.
Staff removed fencing for the new location of the
communication line behind City Hall. Skanska will follow with grading of the hill behind City Hall.
Facility Maintenance
Installation of new carpet and tile have been
completed for the remodel at City Hall;
Facility Maintenance staff are continuing efforts to
complete the City Hall remodel;
Facility Maintenance staff will be working at the
Sports Park finishing up the upper decking to the
snack bar.
Parks
Staff focused their efforts on the following:
Clean-up of Robert A. Sessions Memorial Park following the Easter Egg event; Graffiti removal at Dana Park;
Responding to vandalism incidents at the Al Vigil Swim Center; Continued with irrigation repairs and spreading mulch throughout parks.
Solid Waste
New Happenings
The City’s Earth Day Celebration was held on Saturday, April 22, 2023 at the Cora Harper Community Center from 10am-2pm. The event featured vendor booths, a compost giveaway, kids art contest, music and food.
Free kitchen pails are still available to residents! The pails provide a convenient way for residents to collect food scraps in their home and increase participation in the new green barrel program. Limit one per household, while supplies last. Residents can pick up their pail from Burrtec’s office located at 2340 W Main St from 8am-4pm.
In the Pipeline
A public hearing notice is being sent to property owners about the proposed solid waste rate increase. Visit www.barstowca.org/rates for more information. The hearing is scheduled for June 5, 2023 at 7pm in the Council Chambers during the regular City Council meeting. Burrtec’s Barstow office and operations facility will be relocating to 250 Elk Lane in the coming months. The official move-in date will be announced when confirmed.
Wastewater
Jared Walker passed the Maintenance Mechanic Grade 1 job requirement. Levi Lewis passed the Class A Commercial License job requirement. Plant Mechanic Christopher Biles, enrolled in Barstow Community College welding classes to enhance his welding skills, and become certified in MIG and Arc welding. Started the hiring process for a new Operator In Training. Received a brand new, New Holland tall farm tractor. This equipment, with extra tall height, will help tremendously in the solar drying bed operations.
Tiare Alefaio has been employed with the City of Barstow for 10 months as a part time RecLeader.
Tiare always works above and beyond and is willing to take on any task. She teaches our new employees how to work at each facility and shows them how to work the ActiveNet system. Tiare is constantly called upon for multiple tasks and each task she accomplishes the objective. She has also taken it upon herself to ensure that the fields are prepped for games at the Sports Park. Tiare is dependable and allows her supervisor to worry less and know that the job is getting done. Thank you to the B.E.A.T. Committee for arranging a fun Easter egg activity for the employees. Congratulations to Office Assistant Pamela Almryde who was recently selected for one of the Code Compliance Officer positions in the Community Development Department. Pamela has worked in the City Clerk Services Department since 2016 serving customers at the front reception desk, processing passports and providing clerical support to the department. We wish her the best of luck with her new position and opportunity!
Thank you for all for you do and remember to thank your colleagues for their hard work and dedication.
Best wishes,
Willie A. Hopkins, Jr.
City Manager
Employee Shout-Out!