City Wide Paving Project Update

East Glendon Circle Neighborhood

All concrete replacement work and asphalt patching has been completed.  The asphalt overlay is scheduled during the week of October 10.  Residents will receive a flyer with the exact date 5 days in advance of the overlay.

The entire neighborhood will be completed in 1 day.  Limited vehicle access will be available during the day due to the time required for the asphalt to cure prior to vehicles driving on.  Construction hours will be from 8:00am to 5:00pm.  Parking will be available on Magnolia Avenue and El Nopal Drive.  Residents who require their vehicles during the construction hours are advised to move their vehicles to Magnolia Avenue or El Nopal Drive prior to the start of construction.  If you need assistance or have any questions, please contact Toby Espinola at (619) 572-6996.

Rumson Drive

All concrete replacement work and asphalt patching has been completed.  Asphalt overlay is scheduled during the week of October 10.  Residents will receive a flyer with the exact date 5 days in advance.  Residents who require their vehicles during the construction hours are advised to park on adjacent side streets prior to the overlay construction.  Limited vehicle access will be available during the day due to the time required for the asphalt to vehicles driving on.  Construction hours will be from 8:00am to 5:00pm.

Wethersfield Road will be the location for the split in the 2-day schedule of asphalt overlay.  The first day of the overlay will be from the western limit of Rumson Drive to Wethersfield Road and the second day will be from Wethersfield Road to Pebble Beach Drive. Detour signs will be placed to route traffic around Rumson Drive.  Carlton Oaks School, West Hills High School and the Health Occupation Center will be notified of the schedule for the construction work.

Mission Gorge Road

All concrete replacement work has been completed with asphalt patching to begin on Sunday, October 17.  Night work hours will be from 9:00pm to 5:00am.

If you have any questions, please contact Toby Espinola, P.E., City Project Manager, at (619) 258-4100 x 174.

Community Meeting to Advance Mast Park Master Plan Effort

The city of Santee is seeking public comment on a preferred alternative design that would serve as a blueprint for future improvements at Mast Park.

A public workshop to discuss the recommended design plan from Schmidt Design Group has been scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct 6 at the Santee City Hall complex, Building 7, 10601 Magnolia Avenue, Santee, CA  92071.

The workshop is the third public meeting held this year to gather ideas and feedback on the new master plan, which is intended to ensure the park meets the community's long-term needs.

One focus of the plan is to incorporate a health and wellness element into future improvements and to consider new amenities that promote physical activity and improved public health.

Residents at two previous public workshops held in June and July provided valuable feedback that helped to shape the preferred alternative, which calls for:

• Retaining the park's natural, rustic character;
• Installing additional picnic shelters to accommodate larger gatherings;
• Replacing the restroom with one that is water and energy efficient;
• Dividing the 2.4-acre off-leash dog park into two zones, one for small dogs and another for big dogs;
• Constructing new picnic pavilions, creating an area for fitness equipment, installing a 1-mile-long loop trail; and
• Adding 60 new parking spaces.

The Santee City Council is expected to review and adopt a final master plan design later this year or early 2012.

Funding for this project has been assisted by a Healthy Communities Planning Grant from the San Diego Association of Governments.  The grant is a component of Healthy Works, a countywide initiative promoting wellness and addressing the nationwide obesity epidemic.

Healthy Works is administered by the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency and is funded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

September 28 Agenda Change

Due to the press of business, the City Council will be continuing Agenda Item 5A "Report On Urban Agriculture and Regulatory Options Regarding the Keeping of Fowl" to October 12, 2011.

Community Workshop on Landscape Maintenance Zones

The city of Santee has scheduled a community meeting to explain the long-term financial outlook of landscape maintenance zones currently administered by the city.

The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, October 5 in Building 7 at the City Hall complex, 10601 Magnolia Ave., Santee, CA 92071.

Collectively, 14 landscape maintenance zones encompass 22 acres of ornamental landscaping along major arterial, residential and commercial zones in the city. However, 11 of the city’s 14 active landscape maintenance district zones have reached the cap on their allowable annual tax assessments. Several reached their cap more than ten years ago.

“The city’s landscape maintenance zones are at a financial turning point,” said Community Services Director Bill Maertz. “Current assessments in most of our zones are not sufficient to cover increasing costs for water, fuel, electricity and labor.”

The city cannot subsidize the underfunded landscape maintenance districts with its General Fund, which, since 2008, has been stifled by declining property and sales taxes. The city’s priority for General Fund revenue continues to be public safety, such as police and fire services.

“The purpose of this meeting is to explain the financial outlook to those paying assessments to support landscape maintenance and outline some options,” said Maertz, who will host the meeting along with Finance Director Tim McDermott. “The city is not advocating for any particular solution. It’s up to the community to decide what course to take.”

In anticipation of rising costs, the city in 2009 hired a consultant to study ways to put the districts on a path to fiscal solvency without sacrificing the quality of landscaping. The consultant, Schmidt Design Group Inc., produced a report in August 2010 that identifies ways to reduce water usage while maintaining attractive landscaping along major streets and in neighborhoods.

The report includes such suggestions as:

• Installing more efficient irrigation devices;
• Replacing non-native ornamental plants with attractive varieties that are more drought tolerant; and
• Replacing wood-based mulch with more durable materials, such as river cobbles.

The report says that, if the recommended improvements are put into place, the districts may be able to reduce annual costs by up to 30 percent.

Estimated capital costs to install the improvements, which would be amortized up to 10 years, would range from $557,314 for basic upgrades to $1.6 million for those that would have the greatest visual impact.

The report concludes that, even if no improvements are made to the landscaping, the annual costs for water will increase by as much as 94 percent ($128,000 annually) by the year 2018.

Santee Wins Urban Forestry Award

The California Urban Forests Council has awarded its 2011 “Community Building with Trees” Award to the city of Santee.

The city garnered the honor for its annual SanTree Fest, an event created in 2007 to celebrate both Earth Day and Arbor Day.

No one is prouder of Santee’s tree-planting honors
than Annette Saul, the city’s park and
landscape supervisor and a certified arborist
who helps organize SanTree Fest.



At the most recent SanTree Fest held in March, an estimated 500 community volunteers turned out to plant approximately 75 ornamental trees at Town Center Community Park.



Santee was nominated by the San Diego Regional Urban Forest Council, which heralded SanTree Fest as the “best overall tree planting event in San Diego County.”

Since 2002, the city has recruited community volunteers to help plant more than 1,500 trees citywide. These efforts to engage the community in tree planting have earned Santee the designation as a Tree City USA by the national Arbor Day Foundation for nine consecutive years.

Division Chief Brett Eldridge Retires

After 28 years with the Santee Fire Department, Division Chief Brett Eldridge is hanging up his helmet.

For the past four years, he’s done a variety of crucial tasks, including serving as the city’s fire marshal and grooming the department’s top talent to become the next generation of fire captains.

‘It’s been very gratifying to work on the organization’s future leaders and to mentor employees as they move up the ranks,” he said. “It’s been very rewarding because every time you teach you also learn.”

As fire marshal, Eldridge was responsible for reviewing development permits to ensure they complied with fire codes. He also reviewed special event permits to make sure the public was protected.

His last day on the job is Friday, Sept. 16.

Co-workers describe him as an easy-going manager with a dry sense of humor, and a strategic thinker with a knack for analyzing ways to reduce the city’s liability exposure.

“I will miss his sense of humor, big smile and calm demeanor,” said Fire Chief Robert Leigh.  “Additionally, he always provided input that demonstrated an organizational perspective.”

Eldridge entered the fire service in 1983 under a four-year apprentice program. Six years into the job, he was promoted and selected to attend paramedic school at the University of California at San Diego. During his 12 years as a firefighter/paramedic, he handled every type of emergency from traffic accidents to heart attacks.

Over the years, he earned an associate’s degree in fire technology from Miramar College and a bachelor’s degree in vocational arts and occupational studies from Long Beach State University.

He was promoted to captain in August 2001, and devoted much of his talents to maintaining and elevating the city’s paramedic services. During his tenure as captain, he developed the department’s first confined space and trench rescue program in conjunction with the Padre Dam Municipal Water District.

In 2006, he was elevated to division chief for emergency medical services and was named the city’s fire marshal.

His plans for the future are open-ended: a brief vacation followed by contemplation.

“My wife and I are going to Hawaii for 10 days,” he said. “After that, I have no plans. I want to evaluate where I’m at and see what I want to do next.”

Eldridge, who likes to hike and fish, said he would like to spend at least part of his retirement traveling to historic sites in the United States.

Off-duty, he’s reportedly a highly skilled poker player who has competed in tournaments. So obviously, he knows when it’s time to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em.

City Wide Paving Project Update

Fanita Parkway

Fanita Parkway

One coat of paint has been applied for striping with the second coat to be applied during the week of September 19.

East Glendon Circle Neighborhood
Isolated areas of patching will occur the week of September 19.  No parking signs will be placed near the patching areas.

The final asphalt overlay is scheduled for Wednesday, October 12.  No vehicle access will be available during the day.  Construction hours will be from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Parking will be available on Magnolia Avenue and El Nopal Drive.  Residents who require their vehicles during the construction hours are advised to move their vehicles to Magnolia Avenue or El Nopal Drive prior to the start of construction.  Unforeseen emergencies can be accommodated or assistance to and from residences will be available.  If you need assistance or have any questions, please contact Toby Espinola at (619) 572-6996.

Lake Canyon Road

Lake Canyon Road

Lake Canyon Road has been completed with speed humps scheduled to be installed during the week of September 19.  One set of speed humps will be relocated near Lake Canyon Court.  These two locations of speed humps will have no parking signs installed 48 hours in advance.  Striping will be completed shortly after the speed humps have been constructed.

Rumson Drive
Concrete construction work will be completed by September 19.  Asphalt patching will begin on Rumson Drive starting on September 19.  Areas of patching will have no parking signs placed 48 hours in advance.

If you have any questions, please contact Toby Espinola, P.E., City Project Manager, at (619) 258-4100 x 174.

Going Green on Mast Blvd.

Want to know the secret to driving through Santee on Mast Boulevard?

If you maintain the posted speed limit of 40 miles per hour, you'll greatly increase your chances of getting green lights at most of the intersections.

This fuel efficient and time-saving option was made possible by the city's traffic engineers, who recently re-synchronized the traffic signals on Mast Boulevard for the 1.7 miles between Cuyamaca Street and Medina Avenue.

Recent traffic counts show that approximately 20,000 cars travel each day on Mast Boulevard, which has been prone to congestion during peak communter hours.

The traffic lights were synchronized to reward drivers who adhere to the speed limit during peak commuter times from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

While he can't guarantee you'll get every green light, Principal Traffic Engineer Minjie Mei said that the synchronization formula gives a statistical advantage to motorists who adhere to the speed limit.

"Your best chance of getting all the green lights is if you maintain the speed limit," said Mei, adding that he and his staff will fine-tune the traffic signals through the month of September.

In addition to saving on gas and time, the sychronized traffic lights should reduce accidents and hydrocarbon pollution, he said.

Traffic lights along major arterial streets typically are re-sychronized every three to five years to adjust for changing traffic patterns, he said.

The traffic signal along Mast were made a priority because the daily traffic count dropped by 15 percent when the State Route 52 freeway extension opened on March 19.

Construction Update – East Glendon Circle Neighborhood

East Glendon Circle Neighborhood

Concrete replacement work has been completed and asphalt patching has been re-scheduled to start on September 19.  Residents will receive a notice 5 days in advance and isolated areas of no parking signs will be placed near patching areas.

If you have any questions, please contact Toby Espinola, P.E., City Project Manager, at (619) 258-4100 x 174.

Sign Up for Fall Recreation Classes

The change of seasons means its time to sign up for classes offered through the Santee Community Services Department.

Our fall lineup features new dance and cheer classes for youngsters, cool activities at the Teen Center and exciting excursions for seniors.

Parents of toddlers can enroll their kids in early education courses such as Kinder Dance and Kindergarteners in Training. For more developed youngsters, there are new performing arts classes, including Dance and Cheer.  Those enrolled in dance or classes will be eligible to perform at the Dancin' in the Park recital at the outdoor stage at Town Center Community Park on Dec. 10.

Now that the kids are back in school, it’s a perfect time to enroll the family dog in training classes that will improve their manners and help them become better pets.

And if your dream is to improve your golf game, learn digital photography or take karate, we’ve got classes for those, too.

Seniors are being offered outings to such venues as the Lawrence Welk Theater to see “Man of La Mancha” and the Old Town Theater for “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

To sign up, you can go online to the city’s website, fax the registration form to (619) 258-4189, or drop off the form in person at the Community Services Dept. at City Hall, 10601 Magnolia Avenue, Building 6, Santee, CA 92071. Feel free to give us a call at (619) 258-4100 ext. 222 if you have any questions.

City Wide Paving Project Update

Lake Canyon Road

Due to the recent rain, the rubberized asphalt overlay on Lake Canyon Road has been rescheduled for Thursday, September 8.  Lake Canyon Road will be closed to through traffic from Settle Road to Fanita Parkway.  Settle Road will remain open and accessible at Lake Canyon Road.  A temporary closure at the intersection of Lake Canyon Road and Settle Road will occur during the paving operation.  Detour signs will be placed to route traffic around the closures.  Speed bumps will be replaced as part of the project.  One set of speed bumps will be relocated near Lake Canyon Court.

East Glendon Circle Neighborhood

Concrete replacement work has been completed and asphalt patching is scheduled to start on September 7.

Rumson Drive

Concrete replacement work has started and will continue until September 16. 

Carlton Hills Blvd

Potholing will begin this week relating to the replacement of the existing storm drains along Carlton Hills Blvd.  Potholing Potholing will occur during the daytime at off peak traffic periods.

If you have any questions, please contact Toby Espinola, P.E., City Project Manager, at (619) 258-4100 x 174.

Grand Opening for Woodglen Vista Dog Park

The city of Santee will officially dedicate the 1-acre off-leash dog park at Woodglen Vista Park from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17.

The public is invited to come and celebrate this new park amenity, which was completed in August.  There will be prizes and hot dogs provided by the Friends of the Woodglen Vista Dog Park.