City News/Alerts

Rideshare Month - October 2015
October is Rideshare Month! You are invited to participate in the Rideshare 2015 Challenge, hosted locally by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) iCommute program. Leave your solo drive behind and get there together with a carpool, vanpool, transit, bike, or walk commute this October. See how ridesharing can improve your commute!

Log your trips and win prizes. Create an iCommute account and log eligible commutes throughout October in TripTracker to be entered to win weekly prizes, including the grand prize- a new bike!*

iCommute can help you get there together. Find out which alternative commute is right for you with TripPlanner. Search for a ridematch online, get home in an emergency with the Guaranteed Ride Home program, and learn how to get a vanpool subsidy of up to $400 per month.

For additional information about the Rideshare 2015 Challenge, visit 511sd.com/iCommute, email iCommute@sandag.org, or call 511 and say “iCommute.”

*For complete rules, visit 511sd.com/iCommute.

Shores Park Master Plan
Please save-the-date for the “Plan Your Park” Workshop on afternoon of Sunday, October 18^thfrom 2:00pm – 4:00pm at the Winston School Auditorium (215 9^th Street).

The purpose of the October 18^th workshop is to provide residents with a hands-on opportunity to work with fellow community members and envision how and where potential park amenities could fit on the site. Participants will also weigh in on preferences for the style and character of the park design and explore sample designs of recently built parks from around the country that feature similar concepts to interests expressed for the Shores Park thus far.

Feedback from Plan Your Park Workshop attendees will be compiled by the landscape architecture firm hired by the City to develop the Park Master Plan, Schmidt Design Group, and used to prioritize possible amenities to include in the park and develop three concepts for the park design that will be explored further as the Master Plan process continues. The Master Plan is expected to be completed in winter 2016.

For more information, visit www.delmar.ca.us/shorespark.

City Projects Updates

Infrastructure
The 2015 Paving Project will commence in two weeks. Notification letters were sent to affected residents, and door hangers will also be distributed. For more information, alerts, and updates, please visit the following link:
http://www.delmar.ca.us/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=196

Water crews will continue with the annual water valve exercising/replacement program.
Wastewater crews will perform quarterly maintenance on the wastewater system hot spots, including beach areas. Crews will begin installing Storm Water Best Management Practices (BMPs) for the River Path Project along San Dieguito Drive. Street crews will begin trenching on 29^th Street for electrical conduit installation in advance of the roadway paving work.

Public Safety Update

Sheriff’s Update
Greetings from the Sheriff’s Station! Below is a breakdown of the 5 Sheriff cases completed in Del Mar last week:

Grand Theft: 1
Vehicle taken w/out Owners consent: 1
Residential Burglary: 1
Burglary from Vehicle: 2

Fire Department Update
This week, the fire department responded to 12 Medical Aides, 1 Fire, 2 Fire Alarms, 2 Traffic Collisions, 1 Elevator Rescue, and multiple other miscellaneous emergencies. On duty crews performed fire inspections in town and participated in EMS training at Rancho Santa Fe Fire Department.

We only saw a small amount of rain this week but it’s never too early to start preparing for a possible El Niño winter. Here is an excerpt from an article giving some great advice regarding steps you can take to better prepare yourself for a very wet winter.

Homeowners need to begin to prepare now for what could be historic storms batter Southern California and the rest of the desert Southwest. Immediate steps that need to be taken:

Survey the health of your roof because it is going to take a pounding. If you were ever going to clean out your gutters, do it this summer…..although safely and not in the heat of the midday sun.
Secure any patio furniture, accessories, pots and anything else that can be affected by wind and extreme moisture. Add extra mulch to your perennial plants to prepare them for inclement weather. Buy sandbags now….not just before the rains hit.
Prepare for power outages because they will be coming. Wind and water are not kind of electric distribution grids and San Diego’s infrastructure — while in generally good shape — is not designed for serious storms. Older neighborhoods, in particular, will experience frequent and prolonged outages.
Map out an evacuation plan. Flooding will be rampant, so if you live in an area that can be hit by mudslides or flash flooding, you need to form an evacuation plan and prepare a cache of emergency supplies. You might also want to think about purchasing flood insurance, for this winter only.
If your home is prone to leaks, you may want to purchase a portable electric submersible pump that attaches to a garden hose. Around 1000 gallons per hour capacity should be adequate supplied by a durable, water resistant extension cord. This may come in handy as well if your home’s foundation begins to be undermined by the rain.
Know how to call for help. Cell phone infrastructure may be impacted by outages or flooding, so have an alternate way of contacting the outside world (short-wave radios are relatively low cost). Know the non-emergency number to use to reach your local public safety communications center. If you have a storm related problem and it is not a life threatening emergency or fire, you should use the dispatch center’s non-emergency line or call your nearby fire station.
Establish a meeting place among family members in case you and other family members can’t get home. Often a school or hospital is conveniently located and designed to withstand inclement weather.
Move valuable items off of your garage floors; garages are most frequently hit by flooding and items stored there are likely to suffer the most damage.
Create an “disaster supply kit” — make it a point to stock up on medicine, (especially essential prescriptions) canned food, water bottles and other necessities. Think also in terms of spare batteries and chargers for essential electronics. Plan for up to a week of isolation.

Beach Conditions
Our beach is in great condition as we have approached October. Our nearshore sea surface temperature remains relatively warm even though it had fallen below the magic 70 degree mark most of the week. It has, however, remained unseasonably warm in the 67-68 degree range and again touched 70 on Thursday morning. More average temperatures for October are 63-65 degrees.   Local offshore buoys show that we still have plenty of warm water in the greater area. The Torrey Pines Outer Buoy has been reading water in the 70-72 degree range. For those with great interest in Sea Surface Temperature and other ocean data, I recommend the Coastal Data Information Program which is part of UCSD and Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Their website is https://cdip.ucsd.edu.

Our weather has become slightly schizophrenic and still bordering between a mix of tropical and a solid attempt to enter our Fall season. Sunday and Monday produced more much needed rain with our nearest weather station reporting over a half inch in our area. Water quality is effected negatively from the urban runoff whenever rainfall exceeds .1”.   County protocol is to issue a General Rain Advisory for the coastal waters due to the runoff for a 72 hour period following the last rain. Lifeguards receive their guidance from the County and get updates on the water quality from their website at: http://www.sdbeachinfo.com.

Forecasts show we are in for another hot and sunny weekend with Friday and Saturday approaching 90 degrees along the coast and staying above 80 through Tuesday. A second October rainstorm was originally forecast for next week, however the chance of showers has diminished to only 10%.

Lifeguards had a light week of action. Three ocean rescues were performed throughout the week. Lifeguards were most active Saturday with multiple in-water responses and warnings due to rip currents. Lifeguards also worked with our Fire crew on Friday after being the first responders on an allergic reaction medical call.

Other Announcements

None

Volunteer Opportunities

The San Diego County Sheriff is looking for individuals to serve as Senior Volunteer Patrol. To volunteer visit: https://www.sdsheriff.net/co_svp.html.

Employment Opportunities

Lateral Firefighter/Paramedic
The City of Encinitas is managing the recruitment for Lateral Firefighter/Paramedic for the cities of Encinitas, Del Mar, and Solana Beach. The position is open to candidates that are currently working (full-time, with at least one year service) as paid Firefighter/Paramedic with a recognized fire agency. The deadline to apply is Monday, October 26, 2015. To apply visit: http://www.ci.encinitas.ca.us/index.aspx?page=370.

Upcoming Events/Meetings

Tuesday, October 13:
- Planning Commission: 6 p.m., Del Mar Communications Center
Wednesday, October 14:
- Parks and Recreation Committee: 4:45 p.m., City Hall Annex
Thursday, October 15:
- Sea-Level Rise Stakeholder-Technical Advisory Committee: 3:30 p.m., City Hall Annex
- Sustainability Advisory Board: 5:30 p.m., City Hall Annex
Sunday, October 18:
- “Plan your Park” Event: 2 p.m., Shores Park

For the most current calendar of upcoming events, visit the City’s website at www.delmar.ca.us