City Moving Forward on Prospect Avenue Improvements



City engineers and their team of experts are moving forward on the long-planned improvement and beautification of Prospect Avenue.

“Our design team has been in the field recently investigating various options for Prospect Avenue to accommodate a number of improvements that will make this street more attractive, safe and functional,” said principal civil engineer and project manager Carl Schmitz.



Prospect Avenue after improvements are completed

The intent is to create a “red carpet” for business expansion along this important commercial corridor along Santee’s southern border with Gillespie Field, the largest of eight general aviation airports operated by the county.

Prospect Avenue today

The project calls for revitalizing the appearance of a mile-long section of the street between Magnolia Avenue and Cuyamaca Street. The city intends to invest an estimated $20 million to install new sidewalks, parking, landscaping, lighting, underground the power lines, and improve surface drainage.

Local residents and businesses will have an opportunity to comment on the project a public meeting tentatively scheduled for June.  A set of alternative street alignments will be proposed this fall, followed by an additional public meeting. The city wants to begin construction in the spring of 2014 and complete the project in approximately a year.

Business owners and property owners directly affected by the project can contact the project manager at cshmitz@ci.santee.ca.us or by calling (619) 258-4100 ext. 175.



Additional Freeway Access Lane On Tap for Cuyamaca St.

One of Santee’s traffic headaches is about to get some relief.

City traffic engineers and Caltrans have approved the addition of a southbound left-turn lane on Cuyamaca Street that will ease delays for motorists heading east on State Route 52 during peak hours.

Currently there is a single southbound left-turn lane at this location. However, because of heavy demand during peak hours, motorists often have to wait through two or even three cycles of the turn-signal light.

Striping work to add a second left-turn lane, which will double the capacity of the southbound left-turn movement, is scheduled to be done overnight on Sunday, May 6.

Banners Opposing Power Plant Go Up in Santee

Street banners proclaiming Santee’s opposition to the proposed Quail Brush power plant project have been installed at three gateway locations in the city.

The City Council agreed to put up the banners after unanimously approving  a resolution opposing the project on March 28.

The banners are now up at three locations: The 9500 block of Mission Gorge Road near the U.S. Post Office; Magnolia Avenue near the State Route 67 freeway; and at the intersection of Mast Boulevard and West Hills Parkway.

 

Update: On Thursday, April 26, the San Diego Planning Commission 
postponed the hearing to June 28.

One of the city’s concerns is that the project, originally designed to include eleven 100-foot-tall exhaust stacks and other bulky industrial structures, will not blend in well visually with the scenic hills along Santee’s western boundary with the city of San Diego.

Cogentrix Energy LLC of Charlotte, NC is proposing to build the natural gas-fueled, 100-megawatt generating station at an 11-acre site north of State Route 52 next to the Sycamore Canyon Landfill.

Before the plant can be built, Cogentrix needs the city of San Diego to rezone the property from open space to commercial. Cogentrix also needs a permit from  the state Energy Commission.

More information is available at the state Energy Commission website.

Replacing Metal Pipes Key to Sinkhole Prevention

Facts are stubborn things. Santee’s city engineers know that corrugated metal pipes installed here decades ago for storm water drainage, most put in place long before Santee was incorporated, are eventually going to corrode and collapse.

That’s why the City Council in 2010 approved a plan to inspect the city’s 6.75 miles of metal pipes and prioritize their replacement, starting with those in the worst shape. The city’s capital improvement program calls for spending $5 million on the project over the next five years, but work can only proceed as money becomes available.



A truck found a weak storm drain under Rancho Fanita Dr.

“We’ve taken a proactive approach,” said Principal Civil Engineer Julie Procopio. “The council has made it a priority to replace the unreliable pipes and has allocated significant resources  to address the problem.”

So far, the city has replaced or repaired five high-priority metal storm drains, including a 72-inch diameter pipe beneath Pebble Beach Drive
that collapsed during the record-setting winter rains of 2010-11.

But surprises will happen. Earlier this month, a large truck delivering a storage pod prompted a metal pipe to collapse on Rancho Fanita Drive, causing the vehicle to sink up to its rear axle.  Emergency repairs to that storm drain are expected to be completed in a few weeks.

Meanwhile, the city will continue replacing or rehabilitating metal storm drains in conjunction with major street resurfacing projects, a strategy that allows the city to avoid tearing up streets twice. In many cases, the corroded pipes are rehabilitated in place by retrofitting them with reinforced concrete, which is far more durable.

“We’ve finished fixing the very worst pipes, so we’ve moved on to address the next priority level,” said Procopio. “There’s another 10 or so under construction now.”

“By systematically identifying and fixing the most susceptible metal storm drains now, we should be able to prevent potential sinkholes before they happen,” she said.

Swim for Free and Learn About Water Safety

Ker-splash! That’s the sound of kids having fun on April Pools Day, a cooperative effort between the Santee Fire Department and the City of Santee Aquatics Center and Cameron Family YMCA.

The event, scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 28, is intended to raise awareness about water safety and measures that parents can take to prevent accidental drownings.

The Aquatics Center is allowing kids to swim for free and participate in games, crafts and educational activities focusing on water safety.

Members of the Santee Fire Department will bring training mannequins to demonstrate proper CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation) techniques and will stage a water slide accident and mock rescue. They’ll also demonstrate the correct fitting for a life jacket.

“There were two drownings East County last summer and we’d like to reduce that number to zero,” said Santee Fire Captain Brad Peterson, who brought April Pools Day to the region about seven years ago.

“While many cities have regulations requiring child-proof fencing around private swimming pools, there are older homes in East County where people still don’t have fences and gates,” Peterson said.

In Santee, April Pools Day is being held simultaneously with the YMCA’s nationwide Healthy Kids Day, an event aimed at encouraging kids to stay active during their summer break from school.

The YMCA plans to hold a fun/walk run, and other activities intended to instill the message that physically active kids stay healthier and do better in academics.

The aquatics center is located at the eastern end of Town Center Community Park at 10123 Riverwalk Drive.The phone number is (619) 449-9622.

Quail Brush Developer Mulling Changes to Project

A firm vying to build a natural gas-fired power plant on Santee’s western border is “considering making some modifications to the profile of the proposed project,” in response to public criticism,  according to an April 16 report from the California Energy Commission.

Cogentrix Energy of North Carolina is redesigning the project to lower the proposed 11 exhaust stacks from 100 to 70 feet and group them into two clusters, said Eric Solorio, the agency's siting project manager.

Lowering the stacks will require Cogentrix to do new modeling to show the predicted path of emissions from the plant, and grouping the stacks into two clusters will require changes to the project's grading plan, Solorio said.  Studies to gauge the effect of the redesign will take about six weeks to complete, he said.

As currently proposed, the 100-megawatt electrical generating facility would include eleven 100-foot-tall exhaust stacks, a 30-foot-tall water tank and other two-story structures spread over an 11-acre site near the Sycamore Canyon landfill.

In March, the Santee City Council unanimously approved a resolution opposing the power plant “unless and until all effects of the proposal are fully disclosed, analyzed and mitigated (to) reduce effects to a level of insignificance in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act.”

In addition to obtaining a permit from the Energy Commission, Cogentrix Energy needs approval from the city of San Diego to rezone the site from open space to industrial. The San Diego City Planning Commission has rescheduled its public hearing on the proposed rezone for April 26.

The Energy Commission also plans to hold more public hearings on Quail Brush, but not until the applicant provides more information about the project, the report states.

 Energy Commission officials recently cancelled a public hearing originally scheduled for April to allow themselves more time to review additional information requested from the developers.

“Once staff receives the applicant’s outstanding data responses and evaluates the information, then staff will schedule and notice future workshops, as needed, in order to address substantive issues,” the report states.

 Energy Commission officials said they have received numerous letters from the public, most of which “express concerns about potential environmental impacts of the proposed” project.

In March, nearly 200 people attended an informational workshop hosted by the Energy Commission, which also received a petition containing more than 1,000 signatures of people opposed to the project.

You can read the entire report here.

Got HHW?

“Household hazardous waste” sounds like something that oozes from a stinky factory or landfill, but guess what?

In reality, such waste  is often common items available at your local supermarket or hardware store, products such as paints, cleaners, oils, batteries, and pesticides.

Such products, many of which are toxic, corrosive or flammable, can do serious harm to the environment if they are dumped down the drain, spilled onto the ground or tossed into the trash can.

Be vigilant. Protect your family and our natural environment. Store household hazardous waste in closed containers and recycle them at a household hazardous waste facility.

Santee residents can dispose of their household hazardous materials at no cost by calling the Waste Management Inc. customer service center at (619) 596-5100 to set up an appointment.