Yucaipa 360. Real. Local. Talk.

• Episode #13 – Big Wins: Trader Joe’s Coming | Crime & Homelessness Down | Road Maintenance Spending Up | Strong Fiscal Recovery Underway | City Hall More Transparent Than Ever

  Many in the community, and in the local government profession, have noticed that the City of Yucaipa has had some tremendous successes in recent months. Over the past two years, the City Council and City administration have very intentionally re-focused City Hall on the priorities that matter most to residents (i.e., public safety, road maintenance, transparency, etc.), and worked to find long-term solutions to a large and crippling structural budget deficit. As result, crime and homelessness are down, with Yucaipa recently being named the safest city of its size in California and the 9thsafest in the entire nation. Road maintenance funding is up, transparency has been increased, and the city’s finances well on their way to recovery. In this episode, which takes a slightly different approach, City Manager Chris Mann sits down in separate segments with members of five different City departments, touching on five hot topics of interest to residents. The episode also contains an exciting announcement about a popular business coming to the Yucaipa Pointe project.

  --------  

  1:42:55
• Episode #12 - Public Safety Power Shutoffs with Southern California Edison Spokesperson Jeff Monford

  Yucaipa experienced widespread power outages spanning several days in relation to a strong wind event in early January.  These outages were not caused by downed power lines or planned rolling blackouts due to high demand.  Rather, Southern California Edison (SCE) intentionally switched off the power to many circuits in the area as part of a program known as Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS).  The PSPS approach is designed to prevent the start of fires caused by electric infrastructure in windy conditions.  The January PSPS event was among the largest in recent memory, resulting in long power outages.  Naturally, this caused a tremendous amount of concern in the community and raised questions about PSPS, the execution of the shutoffs by SCE, and the City’s ability to effectively respond to such events in the future. In this episode, City Manager Chris Mann sits down with Southern California Edison spokesperson Jeff Monford to discuss the history and reasoning behind Public Safety Power Shutoffs, what SCE is doing to reduce the frequency and duration of future PSPS events, what the City is doing to help the community withstand future events, and what residents can do to be better prepared. 

  --------  

  1:01:36
• Episode #11 - The City Charges HOW MUCH to Use the Ballfield?! Enhancing Recreational Opportunities Through Effective Facility Use Agreements

  Yucaipa is known as a baseball town, having produced 8 ballplayers who have made it to the Major Leagues.  Over the years, demand for ball fields has grown as the population has increased and club/travel ball teams have risen in popularity.  These organizations now compete with Little League for the usage of limited field space.  To complicate matters, local governments everywhere are struggling with skyrocketing costs of providing critical services such as police, fire and road maintenance.  Budgetary limitations have made it difficult for cities to build additional fields and to maintain current facilities at optimal levels.  Financial pressure has made achieving greater cost recovery more important than ever, which has driven up fees for residents.  These challenges are not limited to baseball, but are being experienced with all municipal-owned recreational facilities.    In this episode, City Manager Chris Mann sits down with Community Services Director Megan Wolfe and Finance Director Phil White to discuss Yucaipa’s new approach to field usage agreements, which aims to increase the number of participants that can utilize and benefit from these facilities while providing the revenue needed for the City to continue offering the quality recreational services residents deserve.

  --------  

  1:16:04
• Episode #10 - Meet Yucaipa's Newest City Council Members with Bob Miller and Judy Woolsey

  Every city election has the potential to change the face of local leadership and alter the direction of a community for years to come. The 2024 election cycle was unusually significant in Yucaipa.  In addition to three of five city council seats being up for election, a fourth seat was subject to a recall, and there was a city sales tax measure on the ballot. In the end, the voters spoke definitively. In this episode, City Manager Chris Mann sits down with newly sworn-in Councilmembers Bob Miller and Judy Woolsey, introducing the community to their new representatives on the City Council, discussing the priorities of the new Council and the implications for the future of Yucaipa.

  --------  

  1:28:39
• Episode #9 - Communications and Transparency in Local Government with Social Media Guru Sam Toles

  As residents expect and demand a greater level of transparency from all levels of government, cities everywhere are faced with a rapidly changing media and communications landscape.  Local governments grapple with how to adjust to new challenges, such as the rampant spread of misinformation over social media and vicious personal attacks aimed at elected officials and employees.  In this episode, City Manager Chris Mann sits down with social media guru Sam Toles, a former elected official and communications executive at companies such as Bleacher Report, MGM, Vimeo and Paramount.  The Founder and CEO of CiviSocial, Sam Toles now consults with cities all over the country on improving public communications, transparency, and trust in local government, in today’s social media and video-driven world.

  --------  

  1:16:43

More Government podcasts

Trending Government podcasts

About Yucaipa 360. Real. Local. Talk.