Award-Winning Work in Traffic
The Public Work’s Traffic and Mobility section received an award from the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) for Technical Document of the Year. The award winning project was the Traffic Impact Analysis Guidelines which will be used to guide the review of future development projects in the city. This recognition reflects the City of Carlsbad’s strong commitment to implement the General Plan Mobility Element. The Department of Community and Economic Development was also involved in this collaborative effort. Other agencies in the region are already referencing this innovative approach to evaluating multimodal impacts.
Leveraging Technology to Benefit Water Customers Utilities Meter Services staff attended the Harris Computer Training Conference last week. With our upcoming billing system upgrade to Northstar 6.5 and mCare 6 the conference gave us the opportunity to talk with the software engineers and support staff to get a clearer idea of the processes and challenges that we will encounter during implementation of the upgrade. The presentations and workshops gave us better insight on how our upgrade will automate and streamline some of our current manual processes. We were also able to network with other users who passed along their experiences with an upgrade.
New MPA
Congratulations to Tim Smith in Utilities upon completing his Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration from Ashford University last month. The degree program offered skills that Tim will use every day in his role as a Utilities Maintenance Scheduler, and puts him on a path toward reaching his potential in the organization. Way to go, Tim!
Train the Trainer
Utilities hosted a “Train the Trainer” workshop last week with several regional agencies in attendance. The workshop was presented by Megan Yoo Schneider on how to become a successful technical trainer. Qualified trainers, particularly in the water and wastewater industries, are becoming ever-more critical to ensuring succession and professionalism.
Safer Meter Readings at The Shoppes
Through years of diligent work, Utilities Meter Services have successfully moved all points of connection at The Shoppes at Carlsbad to the exterior of the building. This eliminates the tedious and sometimes risky work of reading old meter systems housed inside storage rooms within each suite, some of which have been present for more than four decades. Thanks to the shopping center’s current remodel, staff was able to work with them to three existing points of connection to the exterior of the mall and meter them from there. This creates a safer, more efficient way for Meter Services staff to complete their jobs.
Even More Hiring in Library & Cultural Arts Department This week, the Circulation division of the library is once again fully staffed, after several months of reviewing and interviewing hundreds of candidates. Circulation maintains library patrons’ accounts and manages the shelving and circulation of all library print and audio/visual materials. Twelve new library pages, two new clerks and three promotions from page to clerk will fill a critical need to provide service to our community. A special thank you is extended to our Human Resources partners for their support of this effort.
Meet the Author & Chef Event On Saturday, Carlsbad City Library hosted a “Meet the Author” in the Schulman Auditorium, featuring an afternoon with chef and author Isabel Cruz. Cruz’s new cookbook, The Latin Table, is full of simple, easy-to-make recipes that are also health-conscious and flavorful. For more than two decades, customers have lined up outside the doors of chef Cruz’s three popular restaurants. Sixty attendees discussed cooking, the restaurant world and snacked on some of Cruz’s special dishes.
Record Number of Community Members Drop off Ballots Carlsbad City Library and Georgina Cole Library served as mail ballot drop-off locations from Monday, Oct. 29 through election day on Tuesday, Nov. 6. Reporting from the Registrar of Voters show 11,491 ballots were dropped off at the two Carlsbad locations.
Epic Tween Night
The Parks & Recreation Department hosted the Epic Tween Night for the first time on Saturday at the new Pine Avenue Community Center. The event was open to youth 10-14 years old and was a huge success! Leadership in Training and Education (LITE) program teens hosted a snack bar and the event featured a black light photo booth, face painting, nerf battles, video games, virtual reality, bounce house, and DJ for dancing as well as an outdoor movie on the upstairs patio. With the great success, Pine Center staff will be offering more program options for teen fun at the Pine Avenue Community Center. Stay tuned!
Over Three Hundred Pounds of Drugs Removed from the Streets of Carlsbad
At the reoccurring Drug Take Back Day and from the lobby drop box, the Police Department collected 313.5 pounds if unused and unwanted prescription medications. The day, sponsored by the DEA, is designed to encourage residents to rid their medicine cabinets and homes of unwanted or expired prescription medications. This prevents the medications from being stolen and ending up in the wrong hands.