SACOG: Elk Grove needs more low-income housing

Report says more than 4,800 very-low income housing units are needed; council offers debt relief on utility bills



By Blake Ellington
Citizen Staff Writer

The Elk Grove City Council – short of two members – got a jolt from the Sacramento Area Council of Government (SACOG) at their July 25 meeting when a report was presented to council members stating that Elk Grove should add an additional 16,208 total housing units by the year 2013 - 4,820 of those being “very-low income” housing.
SACOG has allowed for a 60-day comment period for all of the local jurisdictions under their umbrella of influence to come up with comments as to any disagreements or problems that could arise because of their projected numbers.
Council members requested SACOG officials come back with a more realistic number and to take Elk Grove’s past performance in housing development into consideration.
“I think it’s important that we send a message that we value this exercise, it’s important,” said City Council Member Gary Davis.
Davis said Elk Grove does have housing program fees currently in place that helps get “units on the ground, which really is usually the most significant prohibitor often times to get it when it’s built.”
The regional needs assessment by SACOG was calculated with an overall figure by the state and then distributed to various area cities for further determination on how that figure should be allocated throughout their jurisdictions.
Members of the city council expressed their view that the share of the pie is a little high based on the city’s capacity.
“If you look around at the six counties and 22 cities in the region which SACOG is a part of, Elk Grove has done the best job,” said Elk Grove Mayor Jim Cooper. “You look at Folsom, Roseville they are way behind us in building affordable housing.”
Council members went on to make note that they aren’t pleased with the way to study was done and how the numbers were compiled by SACOG, which initially planned to take the growth projections out to 2035 and then reverted to 2018 because they wished to overlap other efforts and staff work time.
“We felt like that they actually needed to go back to 2013 which is actually the planning period,” said Jim Carney, housing advisor. “I think the current methodology is better than the first one.”
Council members weren’t convinced.
“We definitely don’t like the result of it,” said City Council Member Pat Hume. “In April there were some concerns raised and it says one of those concerns was that some jurisdictions are doing better than others, and I think we are one of those jurisdictions.”
The city has recently identified some low-income sites and approved the rezone process for these sites.
Council members also requested SACOG respond to these current advancements and that the 16,208 figure be looked at more closely in relation to the city’s capacity. The general consensus was to make other jurisdictions come up with their fair share and to not penalize Elk Grove.
“We are collecting data from the other jurisdictions as to how they have actually been producing units in comparison to Elk Grove’s and we will get back to you when have it complete,” Carney said.
In other business in a short meeting, the members of the city council sympathized with late utility bill payments.
The delinquent utility payment report was brought forward to the council, members to be approved and sent to the county of Sacramento for collection. The list of customers in question have not made payments on solid waste and storm water utility charges for 10 months and have liens attached to their properties as a result.
Though it was acknowledged by the council that the majority of those customers have been initially dodging payments, exceptions were made for individuals with certain life circumstances that put them in a tight financial spot.
Kathy Nguyn, a college student in attendance on behalf of her mother and father who speak little English, stood in front of council to voice one such circumstance.
“I am currently not working, I am going to school and so my parents actually have to pay for my college tuition, my school books and my rent, so it’s super hard for them to pay for all these expenses,” Nguyn said. “We are were hoping for an extension if possible.”
Nguyn and her family just moved into their Elk Grove house not that long ago from a studio in a bad neighborhood. Her mother, who stood by her side at the podium while her daughter took it upon herself to explain their hardships, had been seeking a job transfer from Walgreen’s for a full time position but has yet to receive it. Her father is dealing with mental health issues and diabetes.
“Every time we did make a payment we would have to pay our late charges, so instead of paying the bill we were paying our late charges,” Nguyn said.
The family was requesting an extension on the payments due, thus to avoid collection requirements from the county.
The collection process, headed by city Utilities Billing Manager Bonnie Puleo, is in its second year and currently is seeking to collect about $576,000 in past due bills. The customers had received three to five notifications of their late charges up until this point.
Nguyn continued to vouch for her family’s diligence in attempting to make prior payments on time.
“We paid every single bill on time, if you go back in our history,” Nguyn said.
Council members, with a nod of understanding, took the college student’s effort to heart and agreed for Puleo to make arrangements for an extension and payment plan.
“In some cases we have adjusted our late fees as they make those payments depending on the situation, we are always willing to work with them,” Puleo said.
Davis mentioned a similar request from another resident made in person to the city clerk earlier that day.
“I’d just like to ask that we also reach out to this gentlemen,” Davis said.
As for the other customers on the list provided by staff, council members felt that the program is needed for the county to receive the money due.
“A lot of them just ignore the bill, but you have some cases where people just can’t afford it,” Cooper said. “We are also aware of that, too.”
The Elk Grove Municipal Code states that any solid waste and storm water utility charges that remain unpaid for 60 days can be collected as a “special assessment on the residential parcel.”
The collection program received a 100 percent recovery rate last year.
“That’s not bad,” Davis said.
Council voted 3-0 to send the report to the county for collections barring payment plans be coordinated with the requesting parties.
In other action, a General Plan amendment, specific plan amendment, and rezone to the Waterman Park 75 project based on the Elk Grove Planning Commission’s recommendations was also approved in a 3-0. vote
For more information on the meeting visit www.elkgrovecity.org.

Harry Potter is this generation's Hobbit

I have only one request - don't tell me the ending of the new Harry Potter book.
I know, you Potter fans have probably heard a lot of that request. But, I am in a bit different situaton: I am only on chapter four of the very first Potter tome.
In other words, you reveal the ending and you're ruining the next six books for me!
It's funny how much Harry Potter has fascinated nearly all segments of society - here in the United States and abroad. Harry reaches all ages, all economic classes, and both men and women.
Unlike most of the current generation of youth, I have not read the Harry Potter books....I did see one movie! I am only beginning the first book of the Potter series and I have to admit, it's not too bad. I am turning the pages, slowly, but I am turning them. I began reading the book two weeks ago and have progressed four chapters. Hagrid is rescuing Harry from his aunt and uncle's torment. (Hope I got that right, Potter fans).
The popularity of the Harry Potter series reminds me of my time in junior high school, the fabulous early 1980s, when our class was assigned to read "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien. I plowed through it - as did many of my classmates.
Afterall, my elementary school days had been filled with the reading of tomes about the Battle of the Bulge, the Civil War, the 82nd (All-American) and 101st (Screaming Eagles) Airborne Divisions; the D-Day invasion; Erwin Rommel and the African tank battles between him and Monty; and also the Arnhem airborne operation.
So, delving into a fantasy world of Dwarves, Hobbits, Elves, Goblins, Orcs, and dozens of other fantasmic creatures was a welcome respite from the real-life stories of military engagements.
I loved "The Hobbit" and that Christmas, my grandmother bought me the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy in a boxed set of paperbacks. Again, I read them as fast as possible and then re-read all four novels many times over. By the time I'd had my fill of Hobbits and dragons and the like, I had read "The Hobbit" about nine times and the three books of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy a total of seven times each.
My friends and others in school during those years also became fascinated with the Tolkien tales. Instead of dressing up as the characters in the novels, most of us began playing Dungeons and Dragons to recreate the fastasies of the Hobbit world.
I sense from our college intern - Sarah Kyo - and our staff photographer - Rebecca Maston (Both HUGE Potter fans) - that they have the same connection with Harry that we did with Bilbo and Frodo and Sam.
Although this is supposed to be the final Potter book, you never can say never. Maybe Harry will return for one more battle? Don't despair, Potter fans, you can alway read the books again, and again, and again. They will get better every time.

Jeff Forward is the editor of the Elk Grove Citizen. He welcomes all comments and criticisms - just not the ending or details fo the next six Harry Potter books.

Under his spell - fans flock for last Harry Potter tome

The interior of the Laguna Boulevard Borders store was crowded with enthusiastic Potter fans who came dressed for the occassion. Photo by Rebecca Maston, Citizen staff photographer.



Sarah Kyo
Citizen College Intern

“10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1!,” fans yelled out as the witching hour neared on July 20.
At the stroke of midnight, July 21, cheers erupted throughout the Borders store in Elk Grove.
No, this wasn’t a countdown for a new year. Instead, it was a welcome for the newest addition to J.K. Rowling’s best-selling series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."
Since this seventh volume marks the end of the boy wizard saga, prior to the event, Borders General Manager Doug Thompson said he expected a larger turnout than what the store witnessed during the release of the previous book. On Friday evening, the store was packed full of people, waiting and anticipating late into the night for the book. Hundreds of people, many wearing Harry Potter-related outfits, had flocked to the store’s Grand Hallows Ball.
Among the activities at the event included the Harry Potter Spelling Bee, in which contestants took turns spelling words from Harry Potter books. To start off the game, a contestant spelled the last name of Harry’s close female friend, Hermione.
“G-R-A-N-G-E-R,” said the contestant.
“Does anyone know if that was correct?” asked Andy Harr, the master of ceremonies.
“Yes!” shouted the crowd.
“Indeed, that was correct!” exclaimed Harr, who wore a cloak and bushy wig.
Later during the bee, Harr. who was standing on a tall ladder that acted as a platform, almost stumbled when climbing down to give a contestant a consolation prize.
“Don’t worry kids,” Harr said. “It’s just magic.”
After six rounds, April Adalim, 15, won the spelling bee, earning a free pen and the first volume from the Pendragon Series. The winning word was “serpensortia,” a spell that causes a large serpent to come from the end of a wand.
Wearing a black robe over her Loretto High School uniform and a red-and-gold scarf, Adalim said she came to her first midnight release celebration because it was the last Harry Potter book.
“I hope that the last book won’t be a disappointment, and it’ll tie-up loose ends,” said Adalim, who had also drawn a lightening bolt-scar on her forehead with a pen and poked out the lenses of her sister’s old glasses in order to resemble Harry.
Another event at the Grand Hallows Ball was the costume contest. Melissa Forsberg, a student from Cosumnes River College, was crowned the queen of the ball in her red-and-white, off-shoulder ball gown. She was dressed as the fat lady from the portrait that hangs outside of the Gryffindor common area.
“She always dresses good,” said Forsberg, who had used her high school senior ball dress for the costume and had some red flowers painted across her face.
However, Harr said his favorite activity was the Great Snape Debate in which people took turn speaking into a microphone, expressing their opinion regarding the loyalties of the character, Severus Snape. Customers could visually show-off their position by wearing a purple sticker with the words “Snape is loyal,” or an orange sticker with the words “Snape will betray.”
“Everyone was really animated,” Harr said on Sunday afternoon.
Harr, who is also the merchandising supervisor at Borders, talked about how passionate people were about the topic and that the amount of people who wanted to participate could have possibly delayed the midnight release of the book.
Ever since the first book was published a decade ago, the series has sold 325 million copies worldwide, according to CNN.
Customers who had preordered the seventh Harry Potter book by July 13 from Borders picked up a certain colored wristband starting at 9 a.m. on Friday. The first block of people who could line up to purchase their books had orange wristbands. The line for the orange wristbands started at the registers and snaked towards the back of the store.
The next group would have silver wristbands, then blue, green and pink. The people who did not preorder the book were in the final group with purple wristbands.
However, Deborah Midas won a raffle, allowing her to move to the front of the line and become the first person to purchase Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows from this location.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Midas said. “I never win anything. I looked at the number twice, and I kept shouting.”
Midas, who had preordered the book in December, had picked up a pink wristband at around 10:30 p.m. That color bracelet would have put her in the second-to-the-last group.
However, even Dumbledore couldn’t receive his book in a timely fashion. That is, Owen Mosburg, the male costume contest winner who dressed as the Hogwarts headmaster, had a purple wristband around his wrist.
Mosburg, who wore a beard, a pointy hat and robe, hadn’t pre-ordered his book nor planned on attending the event initially. He heard the youth group from his church, United Methodist Church, was going to be in attendance.
“I think it’s great that Elk Grove came together,” Mosburg said. “There’s a lot of people interested in Harry Potter.”
After midnight, there were still people waiting outside of the store to get a wristband. At around 12:30 a.m., the line stretched towards the Crazy Sushi restaurant.
Harr said the final customer left at around 3:30 a.m., and overall, about 80 percent of the store’s Deathly Hallows inventory had been unloaded during the weekend.
As of Sunday afternoon, though, Harr said he hadn’t had a chance to read the book, though he looked forward to it.
Harr said, “Just hopefully—hopefully—nobody spoils the end.”

Harry, Harry, Harry, Harry!!!!

April Adalim, 15, dressed in her best Gryffindor attire and attended the Grand Hallows Ball at Borders on the evening of July 20. Adalim won the night's Harry Potter spelling bee and received a pen and book for her Potter prowess. Photograph by Rebecca Maston, Citizen staff photographer.

Potter mania continues....

Daniellesherri Baker, Katie Tam, and Ariel Ryan (left to right) represent the character of Professor Trelawney while they wait for the release of the final Harry Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." Photograph by Rebecca Maston Citizenstaff photographer.

Harry Potter Revelry continued...

Employees of Borders were dressed in costume Friday night for the big occassion, characters included this person as Albus Dumbledore. Photograph by Rebecca Maston, Citizen staff photographer.

Harry Potter fans revel in excitement of final book

Christopher Duran dressed in his Harry Potter costume in honor of the midnight release of the seventh and final Harry Potter book. Scores of Potter fans invaded the Borders store on Laguna Boulevard for a night of wizard fun. Photograph by Rebecca Maston, Citizen staff photographer.