220225 1415 February 25 Weekend News and NotesFrom:Peter Grant
To:Peter Grant
Subject:February 25 Weekend News and Notes
Date:Friday, February 25, 2022 2:14:48 PM
Mayor and Council,
+ Monday’s meeting begins at 6p with closed session (CVRA and the lawsuit over CSD’s MOTT) and
open session at 7pm. We have arranged for Orange County Human Relations to make a presentation
in response to the anti-Semitic flyers found in the Vessels School neighborhood (an update on the
PD investigation appears below). New business includes the RCS Commission’s recommendations for
2022 Concerts on the Green; the design contract for Arnold Cypress Park; Strategic Plan update; and
GFOA awards. The legislative platform is a continued item and there are two items from Council
Members: the Civility, Conduct and Governance Policy and related ordinance and policy for
agendizing items and discussion of placing a resolution to move to by-district elections on an
upcoming agenda.
+ REMINDER the last community forum is Saturday at 10 at the Community Center.
+ OCFA Division Chief Mike Petro is retiring after more than 32 years of service. His last day is March
30. His successor has not been identified.
+ In just over a month, RCS has distributed 490 $15 Farmers Market vouchers and $25 Stater Bros.
gift cards. Program applications are available at the Community Center or Senior Center.
+ Youth and drop-in sports are back! Resident summer youth basketball registration begins Monday,
adult drop-in volleyball started last week and badminton starts March 6. Owen picks up his
Champions baseball uniforms Saturday and the league is going to shatter its participation record!
+ The second Lexington Park neighborhood preview Monday, March 7 from 6-7:30p. Residents will
again have an opportunity to walk the grounds, preview park amenities, meet programming staff
and ask questions. Just like last time, it is important for Brown Act and RCS relationship building
purposes that Council Members not attend this event.
+ Orbis Management has begun contacting the Festival participants. All organizations, except Friends
of Cypress Recreation and Parks, have completed an introductory phone call and will be meeting
with Orbis in person over the next two weeks to discuss goals and relationships.
+ Landell PTA wants to host its spring event at Veterans Park as CSD’s pandemic protocols proibit
event on school grounds. The PTA expects 300 attendees. As parking at Veterans Park is limited, RCS
will require attendees to park at Landell School (0.3 miles away).
+ The Ball/Moody, Moody/Lincoln, and Cerritos/Walker street vendor has not returned since we
offered to meet in the field to review operations and compliance with the American with Disabilities
Act (ADA). The affiliated street vendor at Valley View/Corporate, who complied with ADA and
Municipal Code requirements, has also ceased operation since that phone call.
+ PD’s investigation of four anti-Semitic flyers discovered they are identical to those distributed in
Huntington Beach, unincorporated Santa Ana, Brea and Newport Beach. There are no witnesses or
workable leads. Detectives are partnering with the Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center
and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
+ The Lexington Park sewer subcontractor mobilized equipment Thursday and dewatering will
restart next week. Lexington Avenue widening cannot start until the sewer work is complete and the
SCE pole is relocated. In November Edison committed to relocating its poles on Cerritos Avenue by
February 20. This week, SCE told us Cerritos Avenue pole relocation was delayed until late-March (at
the earliest). The deceleration on Cerritos Avenue can’t open until the poles are moved, but park
users can access the driveway. We hope we can complete the Lexington and Cerritos Avenues street
work in April. You’ll hear us refer utility relocations/connections as “off-site work” and, as you can
see from the Lexington Park experience, it is often the most difficult part of new construction. This is
in part because the utilities won’t let you do the work yourself (they HAVE to do it) and because off-
site work often involves work underground and, no matter how good your plans and preparation
are, you never know what you’ll find underground until you start digging.
+ The engine on Public Works' 34-year old bucket truck experienced catastrophic failure last week.
The repair costs exceed $6,000 and don’t make sense on such an old asset. We will recommend
replacement of this vehicle in FY 2022-23 and in the meantime will rent a bucket truck.
+ PW responded to damage caused by vehicles at Oak Knoll Park last weekend. An unknown vehicle
did “donuts” damaging the baseball fields on the south end of the park. PD took a report and is
providing extra surveillance as this is the second time in the last few weeks this vandalism has
occurred. We are also exploring temporary security cameras and will be recommending a
permanent system as part of the upcoming budget.
+ Wednesday at 5:30p a vehicle struck a SCE pole at Bloomfield/Orange causing 2,200 customers to
lose power. The outage was fully repaired Thursday morning around 7a.
Have a great weekend!
Pete
Peter Grant
City Manager
City of Cypress
Office 714-229-6680
Cellular 714-335-1685
pgrant@cypressca.org