Hesperia Horizon, Fall 2013

Hesperia Horizon

HESPERIA HORIZON 1www.cityofhesperia.us

Hesperia HorizonVolume 13 Issue 2Fall 2013

Hesperia Celebrates 25th Anniversary On April 12, 1988, Hesperia residents voted overwhelmingly to in-corporate and become a City. The first City Council Meeting was held on July1, 1988 in the Hesperia High School gym where the very first City Council members were sworn into office.

Hesperia has seen a lot of change over the past 25 years. Upon incorporation, the City inherited 580 miles of deteriorating desert streets and has spent $65 million over the past 14 years to repair 280 miles of those streets. Hesperia has also worked aggressively to ensure long-range planning is in place to address and alleviate traffic on Main Street through Phase 1 of the Ranchero Corridor Project, the Ranchero Underpass, which provides a second east-west access at the BNSF railroad tracks.

S i n c e becoming incorporated, the City’s population has more than doubled from 43,000 in 1988 to over 91,000 r e s i d e n t s today. Despite this influx in population, Hesperia has retained the small-town spirit that continues to create a City that people want to call home.

This spirit was evident on the morning of June 29, 2013 when over one thousand Hesperia residents joined with friends and family from neighboring communities in the warm summer sun, officially kicking-off the City of Hesperia 25th Anniversary celebration. With over 900 participants in the 5k fun-run, people lined up in teams, with strollers and on bikes to take part in the unforgettable open-

ing of the Ranchero Underpass. The event was filled with fun for the whole family and included bounce houses, crafts and carnival rides for kids, and a classic car parade.

The celebration continued at this year’s Hesperia Days Celebra-tion where the City marked the festivities with classic hometown games by hosting pie eating contests and sack races for children. Over 50 participants bellied up to the table, or hopped into a striped sack for a shot at being champion.

The City of Hesperia is proud be home to an active and diverse citizenry who have joined with us in celebrating the progress this community has enjoyed over the past 25 years. Thank you for help in making us the great community we are.

HESPERIA HORIZON 2 www.cityofhesperia.us

Perhaps you’ve heard talk recently about healthy communities and healthy cities. Well, what exactly is a “healthy community” anyway? The concept of a healthy community is based on the recognition that what determines health has little to do with what is known as the health care system. Rather, health is determined by the availability of such basic needs as food, shelter, clean air and water, education, income, a safe physical environment, social supports, and so on.

A healthy community is not necessarily one that has a high health status but one that consciously seeks to improve the health of its citizens by putting health high on the social and political agenda. As a local government agency, Hesperia is uniquely positioned to influence community design and land use policies that can play a significant role in shaping the health, well-being and the quality of

life of its residents. The City’s recently updated General Plan ensures the continued devel-opment of walking trails and paseos, parks, greenways, recreational facilities, streets, side-walks, and bike paths to support and sustain active living programs for Hesperia residents.

All these things contribute to the makings of a healthy community. But, here in Hesperia, we are proud to promote healthy, active lifestyles through the City’s committment to building miles of bike lanes. Below are some interesting facts about cycling and bike lanes to help you do your part in contributing toward a healthy community:

• Hesperia boasts more than 35 miles of bike lanes throughout the City. That’s more than any of our neighboring cities here in the High Desert.

•Hesperia was the first to develop a bike lane alternative to Bear Valley Road. This newest bike lane extends from Oakwood to Apatite along Sequoia Street, directly parallel to, and south of, Bear Valley Road. And, Apple Valley is working to continue the Sequoia bike lane over the Mojave River.

•Property values near bikeways average 5 percent higher than for properties that aren’t.

•Cycling is an activity that involves the largest muscle group in the body—the legs—thereby raising the heart rate to improve cardio-vascular fitness.

•Cycling is easy to fit into your daily routine by riding to stores, schools, work and the Civic Plaza Park.

•Because most of Hesperia’s bike lanes are located along many of the local bus routes, you can ride your bike then catch the bus to another destination. This is because all the buses in the transit system have bike racks which allow you to take your bike on the bus with you to other destinations. For more information, contact the VVTA at www.vvta.org.

Cycling is fun and can be integrated into any fitness program. With every turn of the wheel, calories are burned, strength is built and wellness is achieved. So, what are you waiting for? Get your bike and get out there and start cycling in Healthy Hesperia! Visit www.cityofhesperia.us/bikelanes to view the Hesperia Bicycle Route Map.

Healthy Hesperia Promotes Healthy Lifestyles Through Cycling

HESPERIA HORIZON 3www.cityofhesperia.us

The Hesperia Animal Shelter placed in the top 20 in the nationwide ASPCA/Rachael Ray 100k Challenge. With a lot of extra hours and dedica-tion, homes were found for 863 animals as well as placement made with rescue groups of an ad-ditional 63 animals. These adoptions represent a 43% increase in adoptions over the same period last year.

Pet overpopulation is a growing problem both in the High Desert and across the country. Unfortu-nately, many unwanted pets are left at animal shelters where staff attempts to find them a per-

manet home or secure them placement with a rescue group. Tragi-cally, many pets are lost to euthanasia.

Please help control the pet population by spaying or neutering your animals. To view animals currently avail-able at the Hesperia Animal Shelter, please visit www.cityofhespe-ria.us/ShelterPets.

Fireworks RescheduledHesperia Animal Shelter Places In Top 20

25th Anniversary Event Sponsors PlatinumAdvance Disposal

Parsons

Riverside Construction

San Bernardino County Firefighters Assn.

Terra Verde Group, LLC

GoldAleshire & Wynder, LLP

El Dorado Broadcasters

SilverGriffin Structures, Inc.

BronzeCHJ Consultants

IEHP

Italian Kitchen

Just-4-Kids Preschool

HonorableCubit Engineering

Victor Valley Transit Authority

FriendCinema West Movie Theater

The City of Hesperia and the Hesperia Recreation and Park District are pleased to announce that the Hesperia Days Fireworks Show, that was cancelled due to the wind, has been rescheduled for Saturday, No-vember 2, 2013 at 6pm. Fireworks will

be the culminating attraction at The Route 103.1 Hotrod Halloween Fall-fest, a post-Halloween bash taking place at Hesperia Lake Park from 2pm - 7pm. The event promises to be fun for the whole family with concerts, vendor booths, dance and martial arts presentations, carnival games, trick-or-treating for kids, and a classic car show. Join us for the festivities and give your Halloween costume one more spin around town. For more information about this event, please visit www.hesperiaparks.com.

HESPERIA HORIZON 4 www.cityofhesperia.usHESPERIA HORIZON 4

Contact InformationAdopt-a-Street ..............................760-947-1589Advance Disposal .........................760-244-9773Animal Control ..............................760-947-1700Business Licenses ...........................760-947-1315Chamber of Commerce ..............760-244-2135City Hall ..........................................760-947-1000Code Enforcement .......................760-947-1343Economic Development ..............760-947-1900Graffiti Hotline ................................760-947-1600Job Line ..........................................760-947-1100Public Works ...................................760-947-1400 (after hours) ................................760-947-1400Water Billing ...................................760-947-1840We-TIP ........................................... 800-78-CRIMEPolice (non-emergency) ..............760-947-1553Fire (non-emergency) ...................760-947-8023Emergency ..................................................9-1-1

Staff Box:VOLUME 13, NUMBER 2The Hesperia Horizon is published by the City of Hesperia.CITY COUNCIL MEMBERSBill Holland, MayorThurston “Smitty” Smith, Mayor Pro TemRuss Blewett, Council MemberMike Leonard, Council MemberEric Schmidt, Council MemberCITY MANAGERMike PodegraczEDITORRachel Molina, Public Information OfficerCONTRIBUTORSSuzanne Edson, Animal Control SupervisorGeorgia Graham, Management AnalystLisa LaMere, Management AnalystJulie Ryan, Environmental Programs CoordinatorJuli Rull, Senior Management AnalystJennifer Wendell, Administrative Analyst

9700 Seventh Avenue Hesperia, California 92345 (760) 947-1000www.cityofhesperia.usPrinted on Recycled Paper

www.cityofhesperia.us

Energy EfficiencyRehabilitation Program

There are many items that consumers have doubts about when it comes to proper garbage-disposal. Some items may be discarded as regular garbage while others require special treatment.

When it comes to batteries, paint products, electronics, oil, oil filters and other potentially hazardous wastes, improper disposal can harm public health and the environment. Batteries and e-waste—such as computers, printers, and cell phones—contain toxic heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium. When they are thrown away in the trash, these products can harm workers who handle your trash and can pollute the soil and water locally and at landfills.

Fortunately, there is a solution: return used elec-tronics and other household hazardous waste for responsible recycling, rather than throwing them in the trash.

Household hazardous waste includes many items commonly found in and around your home, such as oil-based paint, paint thinner, motor oil and oil filters, antifreeze, old gasoline or kerosene, weed and bug killers, plant foods, electronic waste, fluorescent light tubes, and mercury-containing items. These items can properly be disposed of at the Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Facil-ity located at 17443 Lemon Street, Hesperia. The facility is open Tuesday and Thursday, from 9 am to 1 pm and Saturday, 9 am to 3 pm. There is no charge to drop off household hazardous waste including residential household batteries, syringes and medications. Residents can also drop-off electronic waste such as TVs, computer monitors, microwave ovens and other electronic waste for free disposal and recycling.

The HHW Facility will accept a wide variety of household generated hazardous wastes, but not business wastes, wastes from non-profit organiza-tions, radioactive materials, explosives, medical wastes, tires or asbestos.

For additional information regarding the House-hold Hazardous Waste Facility call San Bernardino County Fire Hazmat at 1-800-OILY-CAT (1-800-645-9228) or for a list of accepted HHW items, please visit the City website at www.cityofhesperia.us/HHW.

HESPERIA HORIZON 5www.cityofhesperia.us HESPERIA HORIZON 5

A Message from the City Manager


The City has enjoyed an exciting summer, kicked off with the opening of the Ranchero Underpass and the summerlong celebration of the City’s 25th Anniversary. Fortunately, this summer was only the beginning with the ongo-ing construction of Phase II of the Ranchero Corridor Project, the $60 million Ranchero Road/I-15 Interchange Project, and continued celebrations.

Over the next few months, I encourage you to join the celebration by partici-pating in the Hesperia 25th Anniversary Time Capsule project. Time capsules have long been used by communities to mark special anniversaries, and that is precisely what Hesperia is looking to do. Aimed at capturing all that makes Hesperia special, the community is invited to participate in this project by submitting suggestions on which items should be considered for placement in the capsule or offering items for inclusion. Look for more information about this fun community project in the winter edition of the Hesperia Horizon.

Hesperia is also celebrating the addition of eighteen additional firefighters who were hired this summer and have recently completed the Fire Academy. Paid for through a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant, through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, these new additions are currently being housed at Stations 304 and 305, and staffing a new ambulance on the western end of the City. Construction is underway to place modular homes at Station 301, until funding becomes available to construct the new Station at that location. This will move a fire crew back to the central part of Hesperia.

Two other events marked the summer of celebration. The Hesperia Farmers Market in the Civic Plaza Park and the Rachel Ray Animal Shelter Challenge. Both required support from the community to claim success. The Hesperia Animal Shelter adopted out 863 animals, a 43% increase over the same time last year. By anyone’s measurement, a great success.

Hesperia has a long history of being an active, family-friendly community. As we continue this year-long celebration of our silver anniversary, residents are encouraged to continue taking an active role in the community through Hesperia’s Community Emergency Response Team; Citizen’s Academy; or bi-annual Community Clean-up Days. For more information on these programs and to learn more about the City’s 25 years of growth, visit www.cityofhesperia.us/CR and be sure to watch the 25th Anniversary edition of the State of the City.

Happy Birthday Hesperia!

Mike Podegracz, City Manager

HESPERIA HORIZON 6

Hesperia ProgressEconomic Development



In 2009, the Hesperia Economic Development Team recognized an opportunity to provide its businesses with the tools for economic growth and entrepreneurship, applying for, and ultimately receiving,a des-ignation as a California Enterprise Zone (EZ) in 2010. These state Enterprise Zones targeted economically distressed areas by using special state incentives to promote business investment and job creation, Hes-peria’s EZ provided the City with significant business attraction, retention and expansion tools.

In July of this year, though, AB 93 and SB 90 (cleanup to AB 93) abolishing the state’s 42 Enterprise Zones were sent by the California Legislature to Governor Jerry Brown for approval. On the heels of Brown’s elimination of Redevelopment Agencies, his administration took one more step towards thoroughly gut-ting local job creation incentive programs, effectively ending the Enterprise Zone program on December 31, 2013.

“Scores of businesses have located in Hesperia’s EZ since its inception and the City had every expecta-tion that this trend would continue over the balance of its 15-year life,” said Mayor Bill Holland. “We are pleased that so many of our business were able to make the most of the EZ benefits during these few short years.”

Indeed, Hesperia’s businesses already have received approximately 875 Hiring Credit Vouchers. “Col-lectively these businesses will reduce their state tax liability by over $32.7 million, enabling them to invest their earnings in creating additional jobs, expanding their market, or increasing their investment in our local economy,” said Steven Lantsberger, Economic Development Director.

With little more than two months before the deadline, it is still not too late to hire eligible employees to generate state income tax credits on the wages paid to qualifying employees hired in Hesperia between April 1, 2010 and December 31, 2013. These employees may continue to accrue tax credits for your busi-ness over the next five years if they remain employed. Businesses in the soon-to-be former Hesperia EZ will have up to 10 years to carry forward all the credit that already has been (or yet will be) generated under this process.

Hesperia hopes to issue another 125+ vouchers for its Enterprise Zone businesses, bringing the total to 1,000. All businesses within the Hesperia EZ are en-couraged to check with their CPAs, accountants, and advi-sors to make sure they take full advantage of the EZ benefits before they sunset. For more information about vouchering or other EZ benefits, contact the Hesperia Enterprise Zone Manager at 760/947-1906 or [email protected].

Enterprise Zones Being Eliminated In California

HESPERIA HORIZON 7



The City of Hesperia is pleased to annouce the Seller’s Mortgage Carry-Back Program designed for eligible Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) homebuyers. This program is designed specifically to aid very low income families with the purchase of eligilbe NSP properties acquired by the City.

Tina Willey is the first client to take advantage of the dynamic program. Like many Hesperia residents, Tina works hard, goes to school and is a parent. But despite saving for a home for 10 years, most homes were still out of her price range.

Fortunately, Tina learned that the City of Hesperia owned multiple NSP houses and that she was eligible for Hesperia’s Seller Mortgage Carry-Back Program (SMCP). Created for purchasers of NSP properties, this program provides a silent second, thirty-year, fully deferred, zero-interest loan. The SMCP lowers a buyer’s primary mortgage to make the monthly payment more affordable.

By participating in the SMCP, Tina was able to purchase her home with a monthly mortgage lower than what she paid to rent an apartment. In addition, the home had been refurbished with fresh paint, floor-ing, front yard drought-tolerant landscaping, energy efficient appliances and other needed repairs.

Tina’s long range goal to own a house paid off after years of saving and ultimately going through the real estate and loan process to become a first-time homeowner. She credits her lender, real estate agent, and City staff with helping her dream come true. “Everyone was very helpful, and I could not have done it without them,” Tina told us. For more information about the City’s NSP properties and the SMCP, please contact (760) 947-1900.

HORIZON 7


Seller ’s Mortgage Carry-Back Program

Neighborhood S tabilization Program Update In 2008, the City of Hesperia was a recipient of a $4,590,719 appropriation from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act. The NSP provides emergency assistance for the redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed residential properties.

Since receiving a formal contract from HUD in March 2009, the City has acquired 23 foreclosed homes. The next step after acquisition is to rehabilitate the homes and prepare them for sale or lease. To date, the City has rehabilitated 15 of the acquired homes and in August 2013 released another Public Bid to rehabilitate an ad-ditional seven homes. The August Bid closed on Septem-ber 24, 2013. The City has sold two of the homes and is actively trying to lease or sell the other 13.

To view the full text of the NSP Substantial Amendment, please go to ww.cityofhesperia.us. We will con-tinue to send updates on our NSP progress through the Horizon. For more information, please call (760) 947-1908.

Postal Patron

Hesperia, CA

PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPermit # 84

Victorville, CA

City of Hesperia9700 Seventh Avenue

Hesperia, CA 92345

Hesperia Happenings

November2 The Route 103.1 Hotrod Halloween Fall-fest & Fireworks

Hesperia Lake Park2pm - 7pm

11 City Offices Closed for Veteran’s Day Holi day28-29 City Offices Closed for Thanksgiving Holiday

December5 Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony

Civic Plaza Park15833 Smoke Tree Street 4:30pm

24-31 City Offices Holiday Closure26 Tree Recycling Begins

Through January 23, 2014. Please remove decorations and stand. Trees over 6’ should be cut in half.

January

1 City Offices Closed for New Year Holiday

4-5 E-Waste Collection 15776 Main Street (Behind Eagle Plaza)

9am - 4pm

Regular Meetings -Meeting agendas are available for review on the City’s website at www.cityofhesperia.us.

City Council 6:30 pmCity Hall1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month

Planning Commission 6:30 pmCity Hall2nd Thursday of each month

City Council Advisory 6:00 pmCity Hall2nd Wednesday of January, April, July and October

Public Safety Advisory Committee 6:00 pmCity Hall2nd Tuesday of January, April, July and October

Documents

Hesperia Horizon, Fall 2013