Mayor Ashley Swearengin today announced the winners of the City’s 2016 Historic Preservation awards which honor individuals and community groups who have demonstrated excellence in the restoration of a historic building or leadership in preservation planning and neighborhood revitalization.

The winners will be recognized at a ceremony at the Fresno City Council meeting on Thursday, December 15 at 1:30 p.m.  Nominations for the awards were solicited from the public and staff and reviewed by a panel prior to submission to the Mayor for approval.

The winners are:

• Outstanding Rehabilitation of a Residential Property: Steve Walter for the restoration of the circa 1902 American Foursquare style home located at 934 E. Mildreda; and AFREI LLC for the restoration of the circa 1902 Neoclassical cottage located at 1320 P Street.
• Adaptive Reuse of a Historic Property: Jake Soberal, Will Dyck and Henderson Architectural Group for the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the James Phelan Building (1914, HP#159) at 700 Van Ness for Bitwise South Stadium.
• Outstanding Rehabilitation of a Non-Residential Property: Reza Assemi for the restoration of the PGE (Theatre 3) Building (1926, HP#164).
• Best In-Fill Building Project: Terance Frazier, Marvin Armstrong, Kiel Schmidt and the Fresno Housing Authority for 541 at South Tower.
• Community Preservation Award, Individual: Three individuals recognized for their contributions to their respective neighborhoods or communities include Patricia Haun (South Van Ness Industrial District), John Walker (The Fresno Bee) and Tim Schulz (Revive Industries).
• Community Preservation Award, Group: The City’s Historic Preservation “Swat Team” (Howard Lacy, Jesse Morrison and Kevin Watkins); and Edward Smith and the Fresno County Bicycle Coalition, for their co-sponsorship since 2005 of Bike Through History.
• Horizon Award: Christopher Rocha for his website and advocacy for the preservation of the Hotel Fresno.
• The Russell and Pat Fey Memorial Preservationist of the Year Award:  Robert Boro, Landscape Architect for leadership and support of numerous historic and cultural causes over the past 25 years.

For more information, please contact Karana Hattersley-Drayton, City of Fresno Historic Preservation Project Manager, (559) 621-8520 or [email protected].

FRESNO, CA  – When the weather drops to freezing temperatures, water in exposed pipes expands. If the water expands too much, the pipe can burst. Here are some practical measures homeowners can take to safeguard against frozen water pipes and prevent costly plumbing damage.

Water Pipes and Hoses

• Remove hoses from outside faucets. Shut off water faucets and drain hoses. Leave hoses hanging or store someplace with a constant temperature. This will prolong the life of the hoses.
• Most in-ground sprinkler pipes will be okay, but if there are any exposed valves or pipes around your home (those most susceptible to freezing), tape them up with insulating materials including rags, newspapers or electric heat tape. Cover the insulation with plastic and tie with string or wire.
• Check your irrigation system and turn off or adjust all irrigation run times and spray patterns to avoid creating overspray where dangerous ice could form in the morning or evenings. Do your part to reduce the potential for accidents and liability caused by ice from your irrigation system.

Plants

• Once freezing weather hits, most plants become dormant and their water requirements are low.
• Cover plant life with burlap, a blanket or polymer sleeves made for plants.
• Cover smaller plants with mini-greenhouses or ventilated plastic covers.
• Use mulch at the base of plants to protect roots.

Winter Water Regulations

Follow City of Fresno Winter watering rules. Addresses ending in odd numbers, water only on Saturdays. Addresses ending in even numbers, water only on Sundays. There is no watering between 9 A.M. and 6 P.M. As the weather cools, there is little or no need for watering. Water Conservation Representatives are available to visit customers and show them how to reset a sprinkler timer. Call (559) 621-5480 to schedule an appointment.

To report water main leaks or to have water shut off for repair leaks on property, please contact the Water Division at (559) 621-5300 or call (559) 621-CITY (2489).

FRESNO, CA  – Mayor Ashley Swearengin released the following statement on the Anti-Slum Enforcement Team and Landlord Tenant Ombudsman resolution proposed by Councilmembers Steve Brandau and Clint Olivier:

“Councilmembers Brandau, Olivier and I have been working for the last week to find common ground on the proposed Anti-Slum Enforcement Team and Landlord Tenant Ombudsman resolution.  From the beginning, we were in agreement that more needs to be done to address substandard housing in our city.  The problems are too great for too many to not continue to use every tool necessary to reverse the condition of substandard housing in Fresno. 

“The councilmembers were willing to accept input from the Administration and make some key changes to their proposed resolution – namely, requiring full inspections of every unit on egregious properties.  With that and other changes, I’m supporting this resolution today. 

“I see the adoption of this resolution as one more step forward for the City of Fresno and appreciate Councilmembers Brandau and Olivier for working so diligently on this resolution.  I also believe strongly that further, comprehensive actions will be required to truly address the issue of substandard housing and will work with my colleagues on the council and community stakeholders to propose additional measures before the end of the year.”

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FRESNO, CA  – Mayor Ashley Swearengin released the following statement on the Incentive Agreement for Ulta that Council unanimously approved (7-0) today:

“I’m grateful for the City Council’s action today to support an incentive agreement for Ulta’s e-commerce fulfillment center.  This important project will create a minimum of 640 full-time, permanent jobs for our residents, with the potential to expand to over 1,200 jobs.  Today, the State of California also approved tax credits to further incentivize this project.  We’re grateful for the support from California Competes helping our city attract this badly needed job generator to Fresno.”

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U.S. Energy Department announces local partnerships for its Better Buildings Accelerator program to develop zero-energy for more sustainable communities

FRESNO, CA – The City of Fresno’s Energy Opportunity Zone was named one of five partners to join the federal effort to cut energy waste in our country’s buildings and facilities. The new local partnerships are part of the Better Buildings Zero Energy Districts Accelerator, a national initiative by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National League of Cities to move the building market toward adopting sustainable practices to help districts achieve zero energy use in buildings.

“The Better Buildings’ accelerator is a big boost for Fresno’s efforts to create a more sustainable and energy-efficient community, and recognition of our city’s leadership role at the national level,” said Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin.

“Zero Energy Districts” are comprised of multi-purpose energy-efficient buildings, where the annual energy delivered to them is less than or equal to the renewable energy generated on-site. Each district in the program will receive technical resources and planning assistance, and work with the Department of Energy to identify best practices and address market barriers to implement zero-energy strategies and document proven solutions for industry-wide replication.

The Energy Opportunity Zone is part of Energize Fresno, a collaborative program between the City of Fresno, the Local Government Commission, Fresno Metro Ministry, CalSTART and Tierra Resource Consultants. Launched with a $1.5 million state grant, Energize Fresno will develop a blueprint for an “Energy Opportunity Zone” along the Blackstone Corridor and Downtown. Over the next year-and-a-half, it will identify projects that deliver significant resource savings and attract more investment into the community, and develop a tool that streamlines the project-funding matching process to accelerate action.

As part of the program, Fresno’s Energy Opportunity Zone will implement a detailed master energy plan, business and governance model within three years.

“Developers, planners, building owners, and others are helping make our communities more efficient – saving money and reducing pollution,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency Kathleen Hogan. “By committing to zero energy as part of their master planning processes, these communities will create a road map for others to follow.”

By 2030, 60% of the world’s buildings will be new or rehabilitated construction, creating a significant opportunity to develop communities that are more sustainable and use less energy. Zero Energy Districts are a cost-effective and productive way to design and build energy-efficient buildings, which will offset district wide energy use by aggregating renewable-energy sources to power its buildings.

“Cities are making major strides in transforming how modern communities will power buildings, transportation networks, and households, and the dream of zero energy development could be closer than most people realize,” said Cooper Martin, Sustainable Cities program director at the National League of Cities.

The Better Buildings Initiative encourages public-private collaborations to share and replicate successful strategies with the goal of making commercial, public, industrial and residential buildings 20% more energy efficient over the next decade. This reduction can help save billions of dollars on energy bills, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and create thousands of jobs.

The other local partners in the Better Buildings Zero Energy Districts Accelerator will include:

• Denver, CO ­– National Western Center Project and Sun Valley Ecodistrict
• Huntington Beach, CA – Advanced Energy Communities
• St. Paul, MN – Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant Redevelopment Project
• Buffalo, NY – Western New York Manufacturing ZNE District

Read more about the Better Buildings Initiative: https://betterbuildingsinitiative.energy.gov/accelerators/zero-energy-district

For more information about the Fresno Energy Opportunity Zone: http://lgc.org/energize-fresno

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FRESNO, CA  – Mayor Ashley Swearengin and Police Chief Jerry Dyer released the following statements addressing recent questions on the City of Fresno’s immigration policy:

MAYOR SWEARENGIN:

“These are anxious and uncertain times for many in our community. Regardless of what happens in Washington in the weeks and months to come, at the local level we need to remain focused on the things that will continue to make Fresno a great city: a willingness to help others and the determination to do the hard work necessary to improve our quality of life. This is not a time to throw more fuel on the fire. I encourage Fresnans to bring out the best in each other, not the worst.”

CHIEF DYER:

“The fact that an individual is suspected of being an undocumented alien does not give an officer the right to contact, detain, or arrest that person. Officers are not interested in a person’s immigration status, but only whether they are involved in criminal activity.”

NOTE: The Fresno Police Department has an established public policy on immigration violations that can be found in its Policy Manual under Policy 428.

FRESNO, CA  – Mayor Ashley Swearengin released the following statement on the Anti-Slum Enforcement Team and Landlord-Tenant Ombudsman Program resolution proposed today by Councilmembers Steve Brandau and Clint Olivier:

“It is always gratifying when councilmembers propose resolutions that codify what the Administration is already doing. This resolution simply renames the existing task force from ‘Strike Team on Problem Properties’ to ‘Anti-Slum Enforcement Team’ and adds 3 additional code enforcement officers. While we think the councilmembers are well-meaning and are trying to reinforce our ongoing efforts to address substandard housing, unfortunately, this resolution would water down the Administration’s STOPP efforts by inspecting minimal units on egregious properties. If that was intentional, then the Administration will vehemently oppose this resolution. We need to be adding tools to our tool box to combat slum housing, not taking them away.”

 

FRESNO, CA – The hard-fought Mayor’s race in the City of Fresno culminated in a victory November 8th for Councilmember Lee Brand who secured his position as Mayor-elect with over 53% of the vote. Mayor Swearengin, long-time supporter of Brand, issued the following statement:

“Congratulations to Mayor-Elect Lee Brand and his entire team on a hard fought victory.  He has worked hard to earn the support of the people of Fresno.  We have accomplished much over the last eight years, but there’s still work to be done.  I’m eager to continue partnering with Lee to carry out that work and ensure a smooth and successful transition.”

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