Please Note: City Focus is now posted bi-weekly.


August 5, 2010 

Executive Staff and Council Salaries 

Recent media reports of exorbitant salaries for local government and appointed officials have attracted the attention of concerned citizens and rightfully so. As a point of contrast, Brea City Council Member stipends have not been modified since 2005. Salaries for Executive staff in Brea have been frozen since 2007 and are currently below the Orange County median for comparable jobs. Following is a compensation summary of our key leadership positions for clarification. 

City Council Members: The stipend for City Council Members is set by ordinance, using the standards established in the Government Code for General Law cities. City Council Members have declined to increase the stipend, and currently receive $680.69 per month, plus $1050 for medical and other insurances per month. If eligible, Council Members may also receive retirement contributions. 

Executive Staff
Staff salaries are normally set according to the median among comparison cities under a pay policy established in 1997. However, in anticipation of a declining economy in 2007 Executive staff voluntarily agreed to freeze the pay range as of July 1, 2007, and there have been no increases to the range since that time. In fact, all City employee pay ranges have been frozen since at least 2008. The City did create three new positions (with new salary ranges) by combining departments, increasing responsibilities and reducing the number of Executive staff during the City reorganization in 2010. 

The Executive salaries shown below are the budget projections of current pay for fiscal year 2010-11; projected benefit costs include insurance contributions, retirement contributions, and other allowances. Differences in benefit costs are primarily due to retirement contributions, which are higher for public safety employees. 

Energy Project Update 

The Solar Energy & Efficiency Project is now underway. The first phase consists of upgrading interior lighting fixtures at various city facilities including Fire Stations, the City Service Center and the Downtown Parking Structures. This work will continue through early fall and will include all City buildings. The work will be scheduled so as to minimize interruptions to the various work schedules at our facilities. 

The next phase you will see is scaffolding being erected around the plaza at the Civic & Cultural Center. That will begin on August 17th, the Tuesday following the Brea Fest. It will take about three weeks to install the scaffolding. Then workers will begin installing the Photovoltaic (Solar) panels over the Plaza and on parts of the roof. It will take about 30 to 45 days to complete the solar installation. This phase should be done before the Holiday season. 

Another phase will be starting soon at the Brea Community Center. This phase will consist of constructing shade structures with solar panels over a portion of the parking lot, installing equipment on the roof, and installing 19 new air conditioning units to replace the well used ones that have been in place and working hard since the building was new, almost 15 years ago. 

Parking requirements at the Community Center has been studied and discussed with a team of city staff members. Arrangements are being made to provide alternative parking locations during the construction phase to minimize impacts to clients and employees. 

One of the final phases will be the installation of PV panels on the roof of the Berry Street Reservoir. This will begin by mid to late August and be completed by the end of October. The solar panels will provide electrical power to operate the water pumps as an alternative to using power from Sothern California Edison. The ability to pump water during the day will also allow the city to use more of our own Cal Domestic water at a savings over MWDOC supplied water. 

In preparation for the city-wide conversion of street lights, sample induction lights have been installed on Randolph Street, across from the Brea Mall. These lights are being evaluated for inclusion in the City’s Standards & Specifications. 

We will continue to issue updates as this project moves ahead. 


Broker’s Roundtable Studies Business Retention & Attraction 

The Economic Development Committee, which is a partnership between the Chamber and the Community Development Department, recently held a Broker’s Roundtable to explore business retention and attraction. Michael Lawton and Bob Satler, two long-time and very active brokers in Brea, shared their perspective on what businesses like about Brea as well as the constraints Brea has in filling certain space. Also in attendance were members of the Committee represented by business executives from Beckman Coulter, Citizens Business Bank and St. Jude Wellness Center. Positive feedback included Brea is known as a safe community and the City is considered easy to work with. Perhaps the most valuable input was the discussion on issues to consider for enhancing business attraction and retention. For instance, it was mentioned that Brea is not always attractive to young single professionals who would like more night life and better cell and Wifi coverage. Social networking was suggested as a means of connecting with brokers and businesses. More regular communication with office, industrial and commercial brokers was also suggested. The Economic Development Committee will be following up on the noteworthy ideas shared at the roundtable.


Brea Partners With Target to Participate in First Annual “National Night out” Event 

The first Tuesday in August is the annual date set aside for National Night Out, a public outreach effort intended to build relationships between police, firefighters, and other disciplines in municipal government. Our Community Services Department was at the forefront of this effort as they worked with Target Corporation to arrange for the use of the lot in front of their Marketplace store for this inaugural event. Target also provided free hot dogs and water along with two watermelon eating contests for the kids. Jersey Mike’s made sandwiches available too! The police department’s SWAT display and child fingerprinting were a big draw. The fire department was well represented with an engine and several firefighters and apprentices giving truck tours. Public Works and Community Services were also part of the action, with Community Services hosting a soccer goal kick contest for the kids. The event ran from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm and was well attended considering this is our first year. Target Stores personnel and our folks all believe this is just the beginning of an event that will be very popular in the future. 


Bank of America Bringing More Employees to Brea 

Bank of America is consolidating its small business unit at its Glendale location and in the process is moving about 100 employees to their Brea processing center on Valencia Avenue. The B of A facility has a lease that continues through 2012 so this may be a good sign that they are strongly considering renewing the lease. 


Junior High Park Sports Field Lighting 

With all of the attention being paid to the Solar Energy & Efficiency Project, it might have been easy to miss the fact that another significant energy savings project was recently being completed in town. All of the sports field lights at Junior High Park were replaced with more efficient lamps and fixtures provided by Musco Lighting. The project was funded with Stimulus Package money also known as ARRA or EECBG funds. Because the new “Sports Cluster Green” fixtures were so much more efficient than the old ones, we were able to replace 108 lamps with only 64 new ones. Energy control equipment was also installed, which will provide additional energy savings by preventing these lights from being turned on at times other than what has been scheduled.
The work took about five weeks and was completed on July 30. The results are much improved lighting levels at all points on the playing fields, which will be very popular with the various sports teams that use these facilities. A reporter working for the Department of Energy did an article on this project which can be accessed here. 


Escrow Closes for Two Projects 

After several years of work, escrow closed on two important projects in July. Tonner Hills Affordable Apartments will bring 94 apartment homes to Brea for workforce households. The financing for the project is very complex and includes tax credits, State MHP grant funding, County HOME funds, bond financing and the Agency loan of $1.2 million. The developer, Jamboree Housing, is now beginning construction on the project located near Lambert and Valencia. 

The Agency completed the first purchase of property for The Tracks at Brea when the Union Pacific Railroad segment between Brea Boulevard and State College closed escrow last week. These 13 acres are the vital center to the trail and acquiring our first property for the project is an important milestone. Two grant applications are pending which if received, will cover the cost of construction on this segment of the trail. In addition, a one million dollar grant from Caltrans is offsetting the cost of this purchase. 


Target Awards a Grant to the After School Program 

The Community Services Department is excited to announce that the After School Program (ASP) has been awarded a $2,000 Arts and Culture grant from Target. These funds will be used for the 2010/2011 school year to provide additional and unique art opportunities to the ASP participants, exposing the youth to different forms of artistic expression and, hopefully, creating a lifelong appreciation for the cultural arts. The activities planned for the grant monies include guest artist workshops, a fieldtrip to our very own Brea Art Gallery with an accompanying workshop, and an Art Appreciation Week which will include an Art Expo featuring the participants’ work. The grant funds will also pay for the supplies that are needed for these enriching activities. The ASP staff is very excited for these new opportunities as well as the partnership with the Brea Gallery to help bring these goals to fruition this coming school year. Thank you Target! 


Environmental Document Now Available for Public Review 

Trumark Homes is proposing to construct 57 detached residential units on a 5.19 acre site located at 1000 Site Drive. The subject site (see color site plan to the left) is the former oil tank storage farm, no extraction, used by Cardinal Pipeline. As part of the development process, a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) No. 10-01 has been prepared to analyze any potential significant environmental impacts. The MND has concluded that no significant environmental impacts would occur with mitigation incorporated. This document will be available for public review from August 5, 2010 through August 24, 2010. The document is available on the City’s website, the library (Brea Branch), and at the Community Development Counter. Written comments should be directed to the Planning Division and are due no later than August 24, 2010, 5:00 pm. The public hearing date before the Planning Commission has not yet been determined. Once the date is set we will share it with the City Council. 


‘Paint Your Heart’ Out Program in Brea October 2010 

The Economic Development staff has met with staff members of Paint Your Heart Out to discuss the City of Brea’s participation for 2010. Paint Your Heart Out is a non-profit organization that assists low-income senior or disabled homeowners in refurbishing the exteriors of their homes utilizing a volunteer workforce. This will be Brea’s sixth year participating in this successful volunteer program. Last October, volunteer teams successfully painted and repaired five homes. City of Brea staff, businesses, foundations, churches, civic organizations, college and high school students and individuals support Paint Your Heart Out Brea (PYHOB) by being volunteers to ensure the program’s current and future success. The program was implemented in Brea to continue our efforts under the Neighborhood Enhancement Program to help revitalize older neighborhoods while assisting low-income or disabled homeowners. City staff has volunteered their weekends in the first five years, successfully painting and repairing 45 homes. A new Agreement was presented to the City Council in April 2010 to pursue the program for its sixth year in Brea that will culminate with a five home paint day in October 2010.