A Ribbon Cutting for a New Storm Drain?

Laguna Beach City Manager John Pietig's weekly news release:

Circle Way Storm Drain and Steps Project Ribbon Cutting – The project to install an enlarged storm drain from Circle Way down to the beach has been completed.   There will be a ribbon cutting on February 15th at 9:30 a.m.  The steps to the beach were opened to the public last weekend.  The project also included new steps, new landscaping and irrigation, lighting for the steps, and a nuisance water diversion to the sewer.  During the duration of the project, Circle Way was converted from a one way street to a two way street.  Since the project activity caused a lot of wear on Circle Way, as well as some trenching work, the entire street was slurry sealed. This street is part of the next slurry seal project area and was done a little ahead of its scheduled time.

Fire Captain’s Academy – Last week the Fire Department began a Captain’s Academy to assist personnel preparing for the role of Fire Captain.  The six day training event focuses on key aspects of the Fire Captain’s role including: emergency simulations, leadership, administrative functions, training, fire prevention, supervision and professional development.  Members of the organization identified as subject matter experts are the primary instructors for this training.  This is the third such academy offered since 2008 and each academy precedes a Captain’s promotional exam.  Laguna Beach Fire Department personnel preparing for the Captain’s promotional exam voluntarily participate in this training on their own time.     

Citizens Academy – After over three years since the last class, the Police Department will kick off Class 17 of the Citizens Academy on Thursday February 9.  The class, consisting of 26 students, will spend 13 evenings learning about their Police Department. The class also serves as a training program for newly hired civilian police employees.  To date, there have been 328 graduates of the program. 

Press Release for Energy Efficiency Project – The California Department of Energy will be sending out a press release today highlighting the City’s recently completed energy efficiency project. The City received $131,000 in federal ARRA grant funds for the $500,000 project to replace lighting at seven City facilities and HVAC units at City Hall. The anticipated energy savings are 166,000 KWh per year, which would translate to $20,000 in savings. This level of energy savings would also reduce greenhouse emissions by an estimated 58 tons each year.