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| Water Improvement Project - Approved Community Development Block Grant to the Buttonwillow County Water District to improve their water system. Since the project's completion, the district uses less chlorine and other chemicals in the water to fight the bacteria, saving money and delivering a better product. |
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| Sidewalk Project - Secured federal TEA grant and approved Community Development Block Grants for sidewalks in Buttonwillow as a safety measure for children walking to and from school. |
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| Water District Storage Tank - Approved Community Development Block Grant to the Buttonwillow County Water District to purchase a 500,000 gallon tank that will provide extra water storage and better water quality. |
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| Streetscape - Secured a federal TEA grant with matching County funds to revitalize the downtown business district. County Roads Department designed the streetscape enhancements. This project should enhance economic stimulus in Frazier Park. |
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| Frazier Park Public Utility District Water Line Improvements - Approved funding to the Frazier Park Public Utility District to address the deteriorating water system downtown. The County funds act as a match to the Utility District's loan for improvement and rebuilding of residential water lines. |
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| Skate Park - Approved use of County property and worked in partnership with Frazier Mountain Collaborative who raised funds to build. The park provides recreation for local youth and is an attraction for visiting families. |
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| Cody Prosser Memorial - In December, 2001, the mountain community of Frazier Park became a media center of attention as news spread that Staff Sergeant Brian C. Prosser was the first US soldier to be killed in Afghanistan. |
| Coordinated efforts were made by the late Supervisor Peterson and subsequently with Supervisor Watson for use of County land and staff to place, design, and build a memorial with the local community. A memorial is located at Frazier Mountain park and dedicated to honor Brian Cody Prosser and the men and women of our Armed Forces, past and present, who made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom and for their country. |
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| Family Resource Center - Providing supplemental money to provide County Service in the area. |
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| Animal Control - Coordinating dog sweeps and supporting the conditional use permit for care and placement of feral cats. |
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| Code Compliance - Initiated sweeps to collect abandoned vehicles and cleaned up illegal dumping by coordinating efforts with the Sheriff's Office, Highway Patrol and a local towing company. Tagged and towed 234 vehicles. |
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| West Frazier Park Notifications of Floods - After the Day fire, the areas near the burn were in danger of flash floods. Supervisor Watson coordinated efforts with County Sheriff, Fire and Roads Departments to produce fliers and place electronic signs of potential danger. Since then the information has been distributed to residents. In the Post Office, a poster has been displayed and the Sheriff and Fire Departments have gone door-to-door in the most vulnerable neighborhoods alerting residents when danger is at its peak. The Fire Department Public Information Office makes announcements when weather conditions are severe and Emergency Services Coordinates announcements on public media in Kern and LA Counties. Engineering and Survey Services continually check the area for indications of erosion. |
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| Cuddy Creek Restoration - The County hired engineering consultants to prepare a plan to stabilize Cuddy Creek in Frazier Park. The plan includes the installation of grade control structures and rock protection for banks which would be planted with willow trees and rock groins. This would encourage the creek to meander, thereby reducing the slope and erosion. Additionally, the County has processed and expended funds for the environmental document, which includes this project and the Bike path. The County is obtaining the permits from the California Department of Fish and Game and the Army Corp of Engineers. The County has applied for grants to fund the channel work, but State funds are frozen due to budget concerns. Community members are willing to perform this work. |
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| Visitors Kiosk - Supervisor Watson initiated the idea of interactive video kiosks to inform visitors of attractions and activities. The Board of Trade is introducing electronic travel kiosks at locations countywide. Advertisement revenues generated from tourism-related businesses should offset most of the kiosk's costs. |
| The Frazier Park Kiosk is the first of its kind in the nation and the world. It is located outside with a structure to protect it from the elements. According to the Board of Trade, the whole world is looking to Kern County for its innovation at this location. The Kiosk will be relocated to the Visitors Center once completed. Both the Visitors Center and Kiosks provide an excellent example of public-private partnerships. |
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| Library - Assisted with securing funding from the California Public Library Construction and Renovation Board for a new library. Design is complete and under review with expected completion of September 2009. |
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| Third Fireman - Supported the addition of third fire fighter to Frazier Park and Pine Mountain Club along with several other rural communities. This provides enhanced level of safety for residents and fire fighters. Supervisor Watson contributed a portion of his office to accommodate the new fire fighter until such time as a Mountain Communities station is completed. |
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| Trails - Advocated for community involvement in the improvement of private trails in Frazier Park. Coordinated efforts with County Roads, Engineering and Survey Services and Counsel to define options available to property owners. |
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| US Forest Service Snow Park - Committed local matching funds for US Forest Service proposed snow park and OHV staging area near the ranger station. Funding through the Federal Government has not been approved. The local matching funds have moved the project to the top of the list. When complete, this should help reduce illegal parking and trespassing on local property. |
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| Third Fireman - Supported the addition of third fire fighter to Frazier Park and Pine Mountain Club along with several other rural communities. This provides enhanced level of safety for residence and fire fighters. |
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| Paramedic Service - Referred the issue of paramedic service to County staff to return with the best option of service at Pine Mountain Club. This will be addressed by the Board of Supervisors in the near future. |
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| Symphony for Wine Festival - Supervisor Watson has been coordinating efforts between the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra and Wine in the Pines to enhance this very successful event. |
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| New Fire Station - Supported bond indebtedness to enable construction of a new fire station at Pine Mountain Club as one of the top-priority projects in the County. |
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| Lost Hills Drainage and Paving Project - Coordinated Community Development Block Grant, County General Fund money and US Department of Agriculture Rural Development loan to pave streets and provide drainage to a community that was developed under a 1915 subdivision, thus creating mud and standing water in the wet season, large potholes and lots of dust during the dry season. Obtained funding for design, engineering and sump. |
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| Lost Hills Park Improvement - Coordinated efforts with Paramount Farming for improvements to landscaping, fencing and other new amenities. |
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| Universal Trash Collection - Coordinated efforts for trash collection in Lost Hills, reducing illegal dumping by 50%. Now Lost Hills' residents receive twice-weekly service. |
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| Westside Little League Fields - Acquired State Park funds to purchase material to install new lights, repair bleachers and irrigation lines, replace fencing and backstops and revamp other amenities at Westside Little League Fields. Formed a public-private collaborative with the Taft community for installation. |
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| OHV Park - Initiated discussions with Bureau of Land Management, Oil Companies and Honolulu Hills to develop an OHV park. Goal is to provide a magnet for OHV riders, bring visitors to Taft and reduce impacts on public lands. Seeking qualified parties to operate and manage the proposed facility. |
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| Development Lands - Learning that Chevron was preparing to sell properties in the area, Supervisor Watson contacted management and asked that they consider selling the properties to members of the community. Members of the Economic Development Committee, formed from the Taft Visioning of 2002, acquired the property. This represents the largest source of land for development in the Taft area and will accommodate many years of growth. |
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| Sunset Railroad Property/Rail to Trails - During the fall of 2002, Mr. Watson suggested that the Taft Mayor and City Council pursue acquisition of Sunset Rail Road property for downtown development. City has pursued but it has not yet been completed. |
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| South Taft - Working with development interest in South Taft to consolidate properties for planned development. Seeking funds to bring sewer trunk lines to South Taft. |
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| Merger of Fire Services - Supervisor Watson, in 2003, suggested the merger of City and County Fire Departments. City approved in 2007. Saves the City several hundred thousand dollars annually. |
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| Joint Powers Agreement on Code Compliance - In a continued effort to step up code compliance, the County entered into an agreement with the City of Taft to allow the Taft Code Enforcement Officer to access cases and issue citations. |
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| Funding for Taft Hwy Improvements - Working with Kern COG, Cal Trans and County Roads on ways to step up funding for major improvements to HWY 119. |
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| Visitor Kiosk - Supervisor Watson initiated the idea of interactive video kiosks to inform visitors of attractions and activities. The Board of Trade is introducing electronic travel kiosks at locations countywide. Advertisement revenues generated from tourism-related businesses should offset most of the kiosk costs. Obtained approval for grant for kiosk which will be installed at the Taft Chamber of Commerce in Spring of 2008. |
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| Gateway to Carrizo Plains National Monument Designation - Upon appointment to advisory committee in 2003, Supervisor Watson recommended to the Mayor of Taft that the City seek designation as gateway community and was designated as such in 2007. This should stimulate visitor activity for Taft as well as the Carrizo Plains. |
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| Buena Vista Golf Course - Encouraged Westside Parks and Recreation District to enter the competitive bid process for management of the golf course. A successful bid could provide additional income to the District. |
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| Roads - Supported County Roads Department to enter a joint venture with the City for resurfacing portions of Cadet Road, saving the City hundreds of thousands of dollars. Encouraged County Roads Department to provide free engineering speculations to the City of Taft for resurfacing of their roads, potentially saving millions of dollars for complete reconstruction of roads. |
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| Symphony - Brought three performances of the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra, offering free admission to Westside residents. Attendance was approximately 2,000 people. |
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| Hospital Services - When advised by the Westside Health Care District of the closing of the Hospital by Catholic Healthcare West, facilitated meetings regarding emergency hospital services. Supported the increase to Air Ambulance Services. |
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| Taft Airport - Working with City and County Airports Department. Reviewing B zone restriction and designation. FAA planning grant agreed upon in concept, and plan to apply February 2008. |
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| Graffiti Abatement in County Areas - Coordinating efforts with Sheriff's Office and Graffiti Removal Department to recruit volunteers and tackle sites. |
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| Oxnard fly ash removal, Corcoran Road Green Waste Clean Up, Magnolia Avenue Hazardous Material - Directed County Environmental Health Department to take strong action to clean up material violating County Zoning and Conditional Use. |
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| Water Well Closures - Supported County increase in size of Environmental Health Budget to oversee project to protect against the possibility of surface contamination to the deeper aquifer and revise the water well ordinance in Kern County. Encouraged Semitropic Water District to initiate program in District. |
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| Dairies - Requested a program level EIR. 20 projects will be reviewed in the context of all the existing dairy environmental issues. First call for buffers in a custom manner rather than an arbitrary mile assignment. Advocated on the state level for sale of bio-digester electricity. Now working with PG&E to buy gas of existing and future dairies. |
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| Bio solids (sludge) - Negotiated with Los Angeles and Kern County Water Agency for moving. Lobbied elected officials and supported Senator Florez in negotiations with Los Angeles. Voted to ban sludge in Kern County and put Measure E on the ballot. |
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| Performance Standards for County Departments - Instituted performance standards and outcomes based on customer perspective in planning budgets and department head evaluations. |
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| KMC strategic plan - Implemented a strategic plan at the hospital to eliminate conflicts of interests, address nursing issues such as pay and education. |
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| Transportation - Lead efforts for connectivity of Hwy 58, Interstate 5, Hwy 178, West Parkway and other traffic-related issues. |
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| Water - Appointed to the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, Water Committee Convener, and Vice Chair of the Southern California Water Committee defining water needs for the San Joaquin Valley and California. Providing solutions for a safe, reliable water delivery system and improved water quality. |
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| Air Quality - Recently appointed to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District Board. Implemented policy for County clean vehicles. Support bio-digester gas for dairies, Cow Power for dairy gas. Evaluating solar installation at Buena Vista Lake and County Buildings. |
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| Development Standards - Support and encourage market force density and sewer policies. |
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| Animal Control - Coordinate efforts for dog sweeps in outlying communities to address loose and abandoned animals. Provide additional Vet Vans and Clinics for elderly and economically-challenged individuals to prevent diseases in animals and overpopulation of animals. |
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| Revised Retirement - Recently revised non-safety county employee retirement plan, which reduces County costs and unfunded liability for the future and provides more flexibility for employees. Giving employees investment in their future by creating real wealth as opposed to unfunded promises will make the County more competitive in recruitment and retention. |
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