May 23, 2024

Celebrating National Public Works Week!

Let's give a shout-out to our incredible Public Works team! Join us in celebrating National Public Works Week and all their hard work to keep our full-service City running smoothly.

Last week, the team received a Mayoral Proclamation for their invaluable contributions (pictured above).

This week, the team hosted a Touch-a-Truck event, where the community learned about our impressive fleet of vehicles and equipment.

Thank you, Public Works!

Recent Public Works Highlights

San Lorenzo River Mouth

Our Public Works Engineering Team contracted with Graniterock to tackle several issues occurring at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River. Over the summer, the river had shifted, creating a large "S" shape and moving the outlet about 500 feet west of its original location.

To fix this, Graniterock brought in a powerful D8 bulldozer to carve out a new channel, guiding the river back to its original course. They also improved emergency access to Main Beach by pushing sand along the eastern edge of the Boardwalk seawall, connecting it to the path under the trestle bridge.

Repainting Intersections

Our Street Maintenance Paint Crew has been hard at work repainting stop lines and crosswalk bars at intersections throughout the City. This effort aims to enhance visibility and improve safety for drivers, bikers, and pedestrians. By refreshing these crucial markings, we are ensuring that traffic rules are clear and helping to prevent accidents.

Keeping Downtown Sidewalks Clean

The Parking Team uses specialized machines to clean the sidewalks downtown, ensuring a tidy and welcoming environment for residents and visitors. They were out at Church and Pacific Ave. earlier this month. This routine maintenance enhances the appearance of our City and helps prevent the buildup of debris and grime that cause pollution.

Wastewater Team Received First Electric Vehicle

As part of our ongoing transition to electric vehicles, the City received its first Ford Lightning for the Wastewater Environmental Compliance Team.

This new truck supports our state and local greenhouse gas reduction goals outlined in our Climate Action Plan 2030. The Lightning was at the Touch-A-Truck event earlier this week to showcase our commitment to sustainable practices and innovative technology.

On Friday, May 24, from 5:00 – 9:00 PM, riders of the Santa Cruzer will get a free ride and $2 off their first beer at Humble Sea at the Wharf. To continue the party, Santa Cruzer riders ($1 per ride, cash) will get $2 off their first beer at Humble Sea for the remainder of Memorial Day weekend and $1 off the rest of the season.

We hope you will join us and snap a selfie with your Santa Cruzer brew and/or with the Santa Cruzer and send them to kferraro@santacruzca.gov.

The Santa Cruzer pick-ups at the Del Mar Theatre and Locust Street Garage

Lawn Bowling Club Celebrates 60 Years

Last week, the Santa Cruz Lawn Bowling Club celebrated its 60th anniversary and the official naming of the facility in honor of Harry Schoenfeld, longtime club member and active volunteer. A big shout out to the LNCC and Downtown Senior Center team for the excellent work on the gardens and for the collaboration with the Lawn Bowling Club and Community Parks teams! The Senior Garden Club crew — Emilio, Briana, and Kelly — helped create the beautiful pollinator garden at the Lawn Bowls facility. The garden was in full bloom at the Lawn Bowl 60th anniversary celebration last week.

City Council Hosts Sister Cities Send-Off for Junior Guards

At last Tuesday’s Council meeting, the City Council, the Sister Cities Committee, Parks & Recreation, and Junior Guards celebrated an upcoming Junior Lifeguard delegation for their send-off to Biarritz, France. The delegation will visit Biarritz from June 2 – June 8, and the City of Santa Cruz will host a delegation from Biarritz from July 3 – July 10.

Santa Cruz Public Libraries Launches Summer Reading Program on June 1!

Santa Cruz Public Libraries (SCPL) is thrilled to welcome the summer season with the 2024 Summer Reading Program launch. Adults, children and their family members are invited to visit their local library, Bookmobile, or the SCPL website to sign up for the program. This year's Summer Reading Program theme is "Read, Renew, Repeat," a conservation message inviting you to reduce consumption, reuse materials, and read as a restorative measure for self-care and renewal. 

The program will kick off with a celebration at the brand-new Aptos Branch Library on Saturday, June 1, 2024, at 10:00 AM. The festivities will include performances by Magician James Chan and MusicalMe, face painting with Wisteria Faerie Creations, and a performance by local musicians Cement Ship from our Soundswell collection.

Participants in the Summer Reading Program win prizes for reaching their goals through the program's milestones. During June and July, every branch in the SCPL ten-library system and our Bookmobile will host free activities for children, teens, and adults to support a love of reading. To learn more about the summer reading adventure at the library, please call 831-427-7713 or visit the SCPL Summer Reading Program website.

Parks, Golf Course, and Wharf Crews Collaborate to Improve and Beautify West Cliff Drive

A big shoutout to the amazing crews from Parks, Golf Course, and Wharf who came together to make magic happen along West Cliff Drive last week.

The team's effort to edge, prune, clean, and beautify the pathways will greatly improve safety and accessibility for residents and visitors. The team also removed a large amount of invasive ice plants from the area. Here's to teamwork, dedication, and making Santa Cruz shine!

Santa Cruz Sister Cities Committee Announces Winners of the Hans Christian Andersen Writing Contest for 2023

The Hans Christian Andersen essay competition is presented as part of the Hans Christian Andersen Fables Bay competition held in Santa Cruz's beautiful sister city of Sestri Levante, Italy, where Hans Christian Andersen is considered a favorite son. Now in its 56th year, the Sestri competition is part of a larger celebration of childhood and youth during a 10-day festival that includes shows, music, theater, puppetry, circus exhibitions, and more.

The Andersen Festival is one of the most important and popular Italian festivals dedicated to fairytales. The winners of the Andersen Fable Competition will be announced during the festival (June 8 – June 18, 2023).

The competition is open to writers in four age categories: 3–5 years, 6–10 years, 11–16 years, and 17+. Essays can cover any subject but must be an original folk or fairy tale. A committee of readers determines 1st through 5th place winners in each age group, and those winning entries are submitted to the Sestri competition. Below are the Santa Cruz winners:

Ages 16+ Category

1st: Sally Grey with "The Hourglass"

2nd: Carly Perlman with "Bear and Red Fox"

3rd: Joan Prebilich with "Now You Will Know My Name"

Ages 11 to 15 Category

1st: Morgan Schromm with " A Broken Promise: Baboon Learns a Lesson" 

Ages 6-10 Category

1st: Alex Hernandez-Jason with "The Chronicles Of A Bookworm"

2nd: Piper Hoffmanfriedes with " Once Upon A Time"

City Council Seeks Youth Liaison

The City of Santa Cruz launched a Youth Liaison program in partnership with the Youth Action Network. The position is open to City of Santa Cruz High School students who want to increase youth voices and leadership in local government decision-making.

The Youth Liaison connects young people and the City Council, ensuring that youth perspectives are considered in decision-making. Youth Liaisons must commit 5–8 hours a month for 10 months and will earn a stipend.

Take the National Community Survey Today!

The National Community Survey, in partnership with the International City/County Management Association, is a benchmarking tool that provides a comprehensive picture of livability and resident perspectives about local government services, policies and management.

Hundreds of communities in nearly every state conduct this survey, helping us compare our community’s input to communities across the nation. Santa Cruz participates in the survey every few years, giving us important data trends.



City of Santa Cruz

City Manager's Office

809 Center Street

Santa Cruz CA 95060

santacruzca.gov

831-420-5010