STATE OF THE CITY, NEEDLES

SPONSORED BY THE NEEDLES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

MARCH 22, 2018 PRESENTED BY: MAYOR EDWARD PAGET M.D.

2018 City Council Goals • Long Term Fiscal Stability

• Staff City Hall

• Increase Economic Development

• Regional Cooperation

• Community Clean-up

• Improve Transportation

Presentation can be found on the www.cityofneedles.com

Long Term Fiscal Stability

Between 2014-2017 population increased by 150 residents

Fiscal Stability Cont’d

• Median Household Income has increased by $5,000

• Value of existing housing has increased by 15%

• After 9 Years of declining real estate valuation, building valuation has increased $13.4 Million in 2017

2014

• City was Scheduled to Spend $1 Mil. Over its Income

• After budget cuts, staff layoffs, furloughs, and reduction in services, the budget balanced

2015 • The budget had a $200,000 positive balance

2016

• Budget had a $400,000 positive balance

• City was able to reinstated pay cuts and restore some of the city services such as Parks and Recreation

Fiscal Stability Cont’d

Fiscal Stability Cont’d

Seven new positions were added to City Staff in 2017

• Parks Maintenance

• Public Works Maintenance

• Water Maintenance

• 2 Electric Crew Members

• Building Official

• 2 Code Enforcement Officer

• Director of Development Services

• Meter Reader

Economic Development

• AutoZone and Dollar General moved to Needles • Sales Taxes Per Capita Sales increased 33.3% in 2017 • Needles was the 7th ranked growing economy in San Bernardino County with a 6.2% Growth Rate of Sale Tax

Economic Dev. Cont’d

2017-2018

• The Building Department issued 205 Building Permits

• Collected more than $230,000 in

plan check and building permit fees to recover costs

• Adding $13.4 Mil. in building

value to the City of Needles

Economic Dev. Cont’d

Needles Hotel visits has grown in terms of annual sales and Revenue Per available room over the last four (4) years. Overall sales have increased by $2,374,927 or 44.5%

Economic Dev. Cont’d

National businesses continue to investing in the Needles community

Economic Dev. Cont’d

• PG&E Chromium 6 Cleanup Project starts this year. They will employ 250-300 for 4-5 years, then 50-75 for the next 30 years

Economic Dev. Cont’d

Medical Cannabis Development

54 Conditional Permits Issued

26 Different Pieces of

Properties

45 New Buildings

600,000 Sq. Ft. of New

Development

13 Under Construction

8 are Operational

250 New Jobs Positive Tax Revenue for

the City

Golf Course

• With the addition of a new

Golf Pro, between 2016 and 2017 the City has reduced the expense to the city for of the Golf course by $120,000

Golf Course Cont’d

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Rounds of Golf

2016

2017

• 35.4% Increase in Rounds of Golf Played (2016-2017) • 16,245 to 22,000 Rounds a 5,755 increase in rounds

Golf Course Cont’d

• 42% Increase in Golf Revenue between January 17 & 18 • $45,878 to $65,150 a $19,9273 Increase in Revenue

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Golf Revenue

Jan-17

Jan-18

Golf Course Cont’d

• The City Received a $505,000 Grant from the Bureau of Reclamation to convert 50 acres of turf to non-irrigation landscaping

• Reduced water usage by 357

acre ft. a year or enough for 179 Households

Golf Course Cont’d

• The development of the Cart Barn has expanded the golf course facilities

Streets Cont’d

• The Cantilever Train Signal was donated to the City and was installed at no cost to the city

Fire and Rescue Services Division Chief Tom Marshall Fire Station 32

The Fire Station 32 Responded to 1157 calls for service in 2017

Fire and Rescue Serv. Cont’d • The City has worked with San Bernardino County Fire Department to complete

Fire Station 32 Purchase a ME-32 Type 1 Fire Engine

Purchase a WT-32 Type 1 Water Tender

Purchase a BT-32 Lake Assault 28’ boat

And use inmate labor firefighters to assist community clean-ups on Needles Highway and J Street

Sheriff Department Services Captain Ross Tarangle Commander Needles Colorado River Station

The Sheriff’s Department has seen a reduction in overall crime by approx. 3%

Sheriff Depart. Serv. Cont’d

• The City has worked with San Bernardino County Sherif’s Department, Needles Unified School District and County Supervisor Lovingood to reestablish the School Resources Officer to protect and assist our youth.

Dial-A-Ride

• The Dial-A-Ride Program provides Curb to Curb Service for seniors and persons with disabilities and had over 4,000 boardings in the 2017 Fiscal Year

• The Dial-A-Ride Medical Program is

available to anyone needing medical transportation to Bullhead City. 130 medical trips were made last Fiscal Year

Needles Area Transit

• Needles Area Transit had an average of 27,600 boardings in the 2017 Fiscal Year

• NAT Services combined

provided 31,750 total trips to the community

• Transportation to the County of San Bernardino, Barstow District has been restored for Needles Residents

Needles Area Transit Cont’d

• A new facility was developed to park all of the Needles Area Transit buses

Transportation Cont’d

750 residents a month use the El Garces Intermodal Transportation Facility to travel regionally

Cemetery

Much work is underway to improve the condition of the cemetery with better maintenance and irrigation

Dog Park

The new Spike’s Desert Dog Park provides some fun for the whole family

Animal Control

• City staff has rescued 329 dogs and cats and adopted out 194

• Staff has organized a visiting

veterinarian to administer low cost vaccinations to dogs and cats twice a year (Next up April 7, 9-12)

Clean-up Burned Structures

• Over 200 new notices of violations have been issued for unkempt properties totaling more than $20,000 in fines. The above property on Chestnut was demolished and removed after being burnt down

• The City is negotiating to remove the damaged structure at the

America’s Value Inn on Highway 95 South

Clean-up Cont’d

• Two burned apartment buildings have been restored

Clean-up Cont’d

• Two burned houses have been removed and two others are in the process to be removed or restored by court order

Clean-up Cont’d • 216 Victory Drive

• A court order has been issued to remove the dilapidated mobile home

• Relax Inn

• The owner of the Relax Inn has agreed to demolish and rehabilitate the property

• The Burger Hut • The owner is working with the city to restore

the property and return to operation

Clean-up Cont’d

• Prosperous communities are clean communities and our community has undertaken an aggressive community clean up effort to provide community members and visitors with an attractive community

Health Services

• The Colorado River Medical Center Hospital is now privately operated

• The Tri-State Community

Healthcare Center has provided more than 3,000 people and 12,000 visits since 2014

Water Utility

• In the face of severe drought across the entire southwest U.S. the City and its citizens reduced its water use by well over 25% conserving the flows of the Colorado River.

• Continued conservations will be

needed to preserve reservoir elevations in Lake Mead and Lake Powell

Water Utility Cont’d

• The Water Department assisted the school district in education efforts with students to understand water conservation

• 1,000 water conservation kits were issued to local residents and business to promote water conservation

Water Utility Cont’d

• The Water Department fixed over 200 leaks to our aged water system last year, up from 180 leaks previous year

• The current infrastructure will need to be replaced as the current lines are well passed their life expectancy

• In 2001 the Water Department identified that a $17 Mil. Improvement to our water delivery system will require a new well, reservoir, and replacement of aged service lines

• Engineering is underway to design those improvements and extend services to North Needles

Wastewater Utility

• The City has over 50 miles of sewer lines in the ground that collects, treats, and discharges over 350,000/day that replenishes the local groundwater, ultimately returning to the Colorado River

Electric Utility

The 200% increase in demand for future power from the Western Area Power Administration led to the city making a $4 Million upgrade to its existing infrastructure by assessments against new businesses

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Electric Utility Cont’d

The Electric Utility has had a successful year improving the electric delivery system and expanding it to meet the needs of the new businesses:

• $1.2 Mil. Bill Yoney Substation Replacement • $1.8 Mil. Intertie to South Needles • $1.2 Mil. North Needles Substation New • Major line upgrade from Eagle Pass Substation up

through High School Hill • Replaced over 60 outdated, 1950’s vintage

insulators • Initiated a system wide meter replacement

program to assure accurate meter measurement • Initiated a system wide pole replacement program

to improve system reliability

Streets

The long awaited I-40/J Street project was undertaken and completed under budget

Streets Cont’d • This next year the city is funded to do $484,000 of new sidewalks to improve safer

routes to schools • New pavement, retaining walls, drainage, and three new traffic signals improve the

traffic flow on our busiest traffic way. • New sidewalks will be extended along Bailey connecting the Senior Center and

Colorado River Medical Center

Streets Cont’d

Casa Linda and Coronado Streets were improved with pavement and sidewalks

Streets

J Street project was completed and has beautified the city

Youth Recreation

• Kids are our future

• Approximately 400 kids are served by the City’s Recreation Department in summer camps, after school programs with the school district, and youth sports programs

• Last summer Supervisor Lovingood

provided the City with a $5,000 grant to extend the summer camp program for 5-12 year olds

Youth Recreation Cont’d

• In 2017, the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe donated two new scoreboards for the softball field and the gymnasium

• Over 75 kids are traveling around Southern California every weekend with their parents to participate in basketball tournaments in Big Bear, Beaumont and 29 Palms

Youth Recreation Cont’d

• The Parks Commission has developed plans to improve ball fields, restrooms, and play areas which will be undertaken as funding presents itself

• In 2017 the community came together with the Legacy Foundation and BNSF to build Phillips Field for the Little League

Youth Recreation Cont’d

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Pee Wee Basketball

Pee Wee Soccer

Volleyball

Flag Football

Youth Basketball

Kids Involved in Youth Sport Programs

2017

• Approximately 500+ kids are involved in the various youth sport programs

• Youth Rec. basketball

program was expanded to better serve 6th, 7thand 8th graders

• In addition, the city provides facilities to Needles Little League and CRAGS Girls Softball

Cultural Exchange

The 10-10 Ceremony brings members of the community together with dignitaries and Veterans to celebrate the Republic of China’s National Day

Closing • This past year has been a successful year for the

City. Much of what is happening is years in the making.

• The City began planning the I-40/J Street Project in 2004 and the North Needles Highway Project 25 years ago. Both are going to be completed before the end of this year.

• While much has been done, much work remains.

• Your City Council, Boards and Commissions work hard everyday to improve our town.

• With your help our future will become even more prosperous to continue to see growth and development in our “crown jewel in the desert”