In December 2017, the San Fernando High School Varsity Football Team won the 2017 CIF Los Angeles County Division 1 Championship. At their January 16, 2018 meeting, the City Council honored the Football Team for thier courage, determination, and commitment in achieving this monumental effort.

In 2016, California voters passed Prop 64, also known as the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana (AUMA).

Prop 64 legalized the non-medical use of cannabis by persons 21 years of age and over, with certain restrictions, and provides for industry licensing and establishes standards for marijuana products. It allows for state and local regulation and taxation of marijuana businesses. Most of the revenue from such taxes would support youth programs, environmental protection, and law enforcement.

On September 18, 2017, the San Fernando City Council adopted an Urgency Ordinance to expressly prohibit all medicinal and adult-use commercial cannabis activities throughout the City, excluding medicinal-only cannabis deliveries originating from qualified licensed retailers located outside of the City. See below for complete text of the Ordinance.

The City of San Fernando is hosting a series of workshops to listen to residents' concerns about cannabis. The final workshop will be held on:

DATE	TIME	LOCATION
Saturday, February 10, 2018	2 pm	Council Chambers

In addition to hosting the workshops, the City has added a Cannabis Kiosk to the website that includes cannabis related information that pertains to the City of San Fernando (http://ci.san-fernando.ca.us/cannabis-industry/). 

In observance of Presidents' Day, City Hall will be closed on Monday, February 19, 2018. All emergency services will remain operational .

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After two years of planning, the Principals' Brunch took place on January 26, 2018. The Education Commission was pleasantly surprised at the extraordinary attendance and participation on the part of the principals.  San Fernando City staff did an amazing job in describing the many services offered by the City.  Mayor Sylvia Ballin gave a very warm welcome and Commission Chairs enthusiastically explained their work in supporting the community.  All presenters conveyed their appreciation for the critical work that principals and teachers do to enhance the lives of our youth.  

Attendees enjoyed a delicious continental breakfast, received a goody bag, met new colleagues, and left with valuable information. Many participants expressed the desire to meet again.  The Education Commission is delighted that this simple idea resulted in such a big success and believe that "A new network of educators has been born."

The City of San Fernando and the San Fernando Education Commission, in partnership with the California Latino Water Coalition Foundation, the Independent Cities Finance Authority, Republic Services Inc., and private donors, have announced various scholarship opportunities. The submission deadline is February 28, 2018. CLICK HERE to apply online. 

For additional information or questions, please call 818.898.1204 or email [email protected].

In preparation for this special election, the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk has requested to use City facilities (more information will follow).

A list of candidates for the Assembly District 39 race is available on the  Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's website: 

http://www.lavote.net/Apps/CandidateList/Index?id=3843.

In preparation for the 2018 election cycles, the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's office has prepared a Calendar of Events: 

http://www.lavote.net/docs/rrcc/Election-Info/11062018_calendar.pdf?v=1.

Please note that the filing period for candidates to run for office begins July 16, 2018 and continues through August 10, 2018. For additional information or questions, please call 818.898.1204 or email [email protected]. 

The City of San Fernando is pleased to announce the appointment of Timothy T. Hou as our new Director of Community Development.  His first day with the City was January 22, 2018. 

Tim comes with 12 years of experience in local government, overseeing economic development, redevelopment and real estate, having held the following prior positions: Assistant to the City Manager with the City of Beverly Hills, Energy Services Manager and Redevelopment Project Manager with the City of Burbank, and Acting Development Project Manager and Development Analyst with the City of Long Beach.  His education includes:  a BS in Industrial and Labor Relations, a Master of Public Administration from Cornell University, a Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, a real estate certificate from the University of Southern California, and Tim is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners. 

Please join the Community Development Department in welcoming Luis Raygoza, who has been hired to fill the vacant full-time Community Preservation Officer position. Luis currently serves the City as a part-time Community Preservation Officer and began his new role on February 5, 2018.

On January 17, 2018, the Planning and Preservation Commission approved an application for a variance to demolish an existing 2,204-square foot one-story structure and construct a new 3,370-square foot, medical office building. 

On January 23, 2018, the City of San Fernando participated in a one-day, citywide homeless count as part of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority's (LAHSA) 2018 Count. The overall event takes place County-wide between January 23, 2018 and January 25, 2018 to document the number of homeless individuals and families in Los Angeles County.  

LAHSA is a joint powers authority formed by the City and County of Los Angeles in 1993 to address the problems of homelessness in Los Angeles. LAHSA is the lead agency of the Los Angeles Continuum of Care ("LA CoC"). The LA CoC includes 85 cities and the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, excluding only the cities of Glendale, Long Beach and Pasadena, as each of those three cities operate their own independent continuums. 

The City of San Fernando has now participated in the Count since 2013. This is the largest homeless census in the nation and count organizers have observed growing community engagement over that time. This year, 21 volunteers participated in the local Count including two volunteer coordinators from City staff. With the help of volunteers, community partners, and local government agencies, this event helps shine a light on homelessness in the region, generates valuable data to support programs, and provides a pathway for community involvement in the effort to address homelessness.  

The annual Count consists of four components: A street count, a demographic survey, a shelter count, and a youth count. During the Count, community participants undertake a process to count homeless persons residing in shelters or living on the street, in parks, automobiles or other places not meant for human habitation. The count produces a Housing Inventory Chart, which enumerates the number of shelters, bends, and units dedicated to housing homeless persons. 

At their February 5, 2018 meeting, the City Council honored the 21 volunteers who participated in the count with certificates of appreciation. 

Since 2013, the Count has recorded a growing number of homeless individuals in San Fernando. Preliminarily, the final homeless count on January 23, 2018 documented 32 homeless individuals. This represents a 39 percent increase from last year and a 265 percent increase since 2013. The following chart describes the counts in San Fernando from the last five Greater Los Angeles Homeless Counts.

The final table below breaks down the historic count results in San Fernando by category. Note that a categorical breakdown for 2013 was not available. Prior to 2015, organizers performed the Count bi-annually, and thus no count was held in 2014.

2018 Business License Renewal fees are due by close of business on February 28, 2018.  Failure to renew by that time will result in a 10 percent penalty for each month the application is late.  Avoid penalties and long lines by renewing online ( http://SanFernando.hdlgov.com/) or by telephone (818.898.1211).  You may pay by credit card online or by telephone.

On November 25, 2016, the San Fernando Police Department (SFPD) responded to the Ancient Church of the East Mar Shaleeta Parish, located in the 2000 block of Fifth St., regarding vandalism to the property. The church property sustained several thousand dollars of damage and a report was taken of the crime. Detectives actively investigated this incident and attempted to identify any potential suspects, but as time passed, the leads diminished. Since then, several other churches throughout Los Angeles County sustained similar vandalism and a joint local and federal task force was established in 2017.  The San Fernando church incident and all investigative material was forwarded to the task force, in hopes of solving this crime.

After several months, the joint task force identified and arrested the suspect involved in these crimes. The suspect was arrested in January 2018 and will be charged with felony vandalism and arson, along with several other felony charges. Additional information was received indicating that the suspect admitted to the San Fernando incident and that it was the first of his crime spree.  The San Fernando church has been contacted and are extremely happy that the suspect has been apprehended.

On December 23, 2016, at approximately 3 pm, a shooting occurred in the residential area between Fourth and Library Streets and Hagar Street and Harding Avenue. SFPD Officers responded and located three people suffering from gunshot wounds; one died at the scene and the other two were transported to a local hospital and received medical treatment for their wounds. Within several hours after the incident, the suspect was identified and an extensive manhunt was launched to locate and arrest the suspect. SFPD Detectives, along with Los Angeles Sheriff's Department (LASD) Homicide Detectives extensively processed evidence and received information that the suspect had fled to Arizona.  The murder case was filed and a felony murder warrant was issued for the suspect, Ricardo Sarabia. Over a three-month period, the United States Marshal's Service conducted surveillance at several locations in the Phoenix area. The suspect, armed with two handguns, was located at a family member's house and subsequently arrested. 

Weapons charges were filed against the suspect in Arizona and the State of California initiated extradition proceedings. The suspect has been extradited to Los Angeles County and charged with one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder.

The penalty for furnishing alcohol to a minor is a minimum of $1,000 fine and 24 hours of community service. The program is intended to reduce the availability of alcohol to minors. Four misdemeanor citations were issued for selling or furnishing alcohol to a minor decoy during this detail.

The City of San Fernando is pleased to announce the appointment of Yazdan (Yaz) Emrani as our new Director of Public Works/City Engineer.  His first day with the City was January 16, 2018.

Yaz comes with 30 years of experience working on a variety of civil engineering, facilities management and GIS projects in local government, as well as private consulting, having held the following prior positions: Vice President with Carollo Engineers, Inc., Costa Mesa; Senior Associate with David Evans and Associates, Inc., Tustin; Director of Public Works with the County of Monterey; and President/CEO with Advanced Infrastructure Management, Inc. 

In addition to holding a BS degree in Civil Engineering from Syracuse University and a MS degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Maryland, Yaz is a California Registered Civil Engineer. He has also served on the boards of various professional organizations including serving as the Past President of the American Society of Civil Engineers Los Angeles Section.  He is also a Qualified Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan Developer, and as a consultant, he worked with the City a few years ago to develop its Sanitary Sewer Master Plan and Sanitary Sewer Management Plan. 

An RFP for the design of a storm water infiltration system to be located at Recreation Park was released in January 2018. The San Fernando Regional Park Infiltration Project consists of installing an underground pre-manufactured infiltration/detention system, removing/replacing the existing baseball field and irrigation system. 

The infiltration system would serve a 423 acre drainage area and recharge groundwater sources with approximately 200 acre foot of storm water annually. This project is partially funded by Proposition 1 Funds. Proposals are due on February 22, 2018.

Construction has begun towards the installation of five EV charging stations within the City.  This project is right in-line with the City's efforts to seek out projects that are environmentally friendly which can lead to a reduction in our overall carbon footprint. Once the project has been completed, City residents and the general public will have access to a dual-port EV charging station at the following locations:

• City Hall Parking Lot (117 Macneil St.);
• Parking Lot No. 2 (Southeast corner of Truman St. and Brand Blvd.);
• Parking Lot No. 4 (Southwest corner of Truman St. and Brand Blvd.);
• Parking Lot No. 5 (Southeast corner of Truman and San Fernando Mission Blvd.); and
• Parking Lot No. 10 (Southwest corner of Celis St. and Brand Blvd.).

This project is currently under construction and consists of removing and replacing sidewalk, driveways, and access ramps.  In addition, a landscaped area will be constructed in front of Parking Lots No. 4 and 5.  New street luminaires, similar to the ones on North Maclay Avenue, will also be installed on the Marbelite poles. A new bus shelter and bench, similar to the ones located at the Trolley Stops,  will be installed on the northwest corner of Truman St. and Brand Blvd.  

FS Contractors Inc. (the Contractor) has replaced driveways, sidewalk, and access ramps.  The Contractor has also commenced removing the sidewalk where the landscaped area will be located and will continue working on irrigation and landscaped area in the coming days. 

Project completion is tentatively scheduled to be completed by May 2018. Upon completion of the project, Tree People will host a community event and invite the public to assist with planting trees along this corridor.

This project is currently under construction and consists of concrete removals and asphalt overlay on the following streets:

• Harps St. (from First St. to Fourth St.);
• Library St. (from Orange Grove Ave to N. Maclay Ave.);
• Fermoore St (from Fourth St. to Fifth St.)
• N. Workman St (from Fourth St to Library St.);
• N. Huntington St (from Fourth St to Library St.); and
• Newton St. (from Fourth St. to DeGarmo St.).

The City of San Fernando is pleased to announce the appointment of Julian J. Venegas as our new Director of Recreation and Community Services. His first day with the City was January 10, 2018.

Julian comes with over 28 years of experience in the field of recreation and community services, having held the following prior positions: Deputy Director of Community Services with the City of Alhambra, Senior Citizens Supervisor with the City of Arcadia, Recreation Services Supervisor and Recreation Services Manager with the LA County Department of Parks and Recreation. 

He has a BS in Public Administration from the University of La Verne, and Julian has also completed a local government leadership academy through Cal Poly Pomona. He has also served on the boards of various professional organizations including serving as Treasurer, Secretary, Vice President and President at the district level of the California Parks and Recreation Society.

Fun for the whole family! Join us for a FREE workshop where you'll learn important bike safety skills.

DATES:	February 17, 2018 March 17, 2018
TIME:	10 am to 2 pm
LOCATION:	Las Palmas Park 505 S. Huntington St, San Fernando
INFO:	www.SFStreetFest.com

Don't miss the San Fernando Street Festival on March 31, 2018!  Bike, skate, rollerblade, walk, dance, eat, shop, and play in car-free streets!  This family-friendly event will also host the spring Jamboree!

• ICRMA: On January 25, 2018, the Cultural Arts and Recreation Supervisors attended ICRMA's Mandating Reporting, Employee v. Contractor, and Utilization of Volunteers training in Downey. The training focused on understanding what determines an employee versus and independent contractor, understanding child abuse and responsibilities of a mandated reporter, and where and how volunteers should be utilized. 

• PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: On February 7, 2018, part-time staff attended the California Park and Recreation Society (CPRS) District 14 Professional Development Seminar in Santa Clarita. The seminar offered six sessions focusing on Conflict Resolution, Accommodations in Programming, Interviewing and Hiring Practices, How to be Comfortable with being Uncomfortable, Design 101 for your Programs and Write On.

• ACTIVE SHOOTER TRAINING: Staff is working closely with the Police Department to establish an Active Shooter training for both part-time and full-time staff. The training will help prepare front line staff and office personnel in dealing with this type of situation. In the past, Police personnel have attended Recreation and Community Services staff training to offer information on how to handle difficult and/or dangerous situations while on duty. 

• STAFFING UPDATE: A Community Services Supervisor has been selected, pending the successful completion of the pre-employment process, and is expected to join Team San Fernando in mid-March 2018.