Cosumnes Connect Newsletter - November

MESSAGE FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER

The Cosumnes Community Services District is pleased to provide countless fun, laughter, and learning opportunities in the recently published Winter/Spring 2023 Activity Guide.

Team Cosumnes CSD continues to create new and innovative activities, community spaces, cultural events, and time-honored traditions that promote health and well-being. We are excited to offer our annual winter dances, Spanish immersion preschool classes, adaptive and inclusive recreation programs for broader age groups, free fitness classes in the park, and much more.

Cosumnes CSD also continues to meet the needs of our growing and diverse community. We look forward to the grand openings of new facilities, including Adreani Park (Elk Grove’s 103rd park), Fire Station 77 in southeast Elk Grove (our 9th fire station), the recreation center and preschool at Oasis Park, and the revitalizations of Hill Park and Elk Grove Park’s Rotary Grove.

As we close out another unforgettable year, we wish you good health, happiness, and adventure in 2023.

Joshua Green, General Manager

NRPA NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Recreation Supervisor Colin Smith and Management Analyst Becky Herz represented Cosumnes CSD at the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA) Annual Conference. Colin and Becky presented jointly on creating a staff mentorship program in “Bridging the Divide – Mentorship and Development of Staff.”

Becky Herz presented on a second topic as well – “Gender Spectrum Inclusion in Recreation.” This presentation focused on promoting equity and inclusion for trans, nonbinary, and gender-unique community members. It included a discussion on barriers people on the gender spectrum face and offered tools to promote inclusion through outreach, training, and policy development.

Every presentation at the 2022 NRPA Conference included a photo taken by Marketing & Communication Specialist Craig Pattenaude. His photography was featured on the NPRA information page and in the photo medley at the opening and closing sessions as well.

Thank you, Colin, Becky, and Craig for continuing to make Consumes CSD a leader in recreation, equity, and communication!

DISTRICT POLICY UPDATES

The District has recently adopted two new policies and amended many. The two newly adopted policies are for Vehicle Accidents and Funerals.

In total there were 130 policies updated; 122 updates only to application/procedure including those updates requested by the Board, eight with proposed updates to the policies themself including Procurement, Procurement Card, Emergency Preparedness, Software Security Incident Response Plan, Employment of Minors, Employee Movement, Audio/Visual at Board meetings, and Board Secretary and Clerk of the Board.

Of note, the holiday list has been updated to include an Employee’s Choice Holiday to provide flexibility to eligible employees in recognition of the diversity of celebrations, holidays, and significant dates that employees may want to be excused from work, such as Cesar Chavez Day, Juneteenth, Diwali, birthdays, etc.

Please take some time to review and be familiar with District policies which can be found on Consumnes Connect.

ELK GROVE VETERAN’S MEMORIAL

The Elk Grove Veteran’s Memorial project had its first brick installed on Monday, October 3rd . Oscar O’con was the first veteran to have his brick installed. He is a local U.S. Army and Marine veteran who served in South Vietnam and at El Salvador’s U.S. Embassy.

Construction is being completed in phases.  Phase 1 of the project was finished in 2019, which included the construction of a decomposed granite trail, a flagpole, and a large bronze-colored concrete star. The second phase of the project consists of installing concrete paving, benches for seating, and concrete pavers available for purchase as a dedication to local veterans. This beautiful memorial will honor those that have served our nation.

Elk Grove Veteran’s Memorial is located within Elk Grove Park to the north of the White Diamond ball field.

If you are interested in honoring a loved one who has served, you can purchase an engraved brick or granite tile. Please contact Christine Manitta or Anna Hooper for more information.

BRANDING UPDATE

The District’s Board of Directors recently approved a new logo. The logo displayed below is the culmination of the collaborative effort between multiple stakeholder groups facilitated by our internal communications and marketing team. The various stakeholder groups emphasized similar design elements which designers were able to incorporate into a simple, circle icon with a bold, custom unique font (developed by our inhouse team) to emphasize “Cosumnes”. Designers were also able to recommend a color palette that includes Cosumnes blue, reflection gold, transparency white, and emerald blue.

Q 1 BUDGET UPDATE

The Quarter 1 budget update included the purchase of a Type 3 wildfire Firefighting Engine for Station 77, the updated parttime salary schedule (minimum wage and compaction), decision packages for 1 FTE (p/t conversion, reduction of outside contractors, and CIP funds), transfer of appropriation from supplies to equipment, and permit software for prevention and facility & development. None of these packages require new general fund tax revenues.

CONFERENCE ROOMS

Have you attended a meeting at the Cosumnes CSD Administration building? Have you been confused by the conference room names and wished that you could rename them? Now is your chance!

The logo itself incorporates three of these colors and the last is intended to be an accent color. The incorporated colors are intended to demonstrate loyalty, trustworthiness, security, purpose, strength, confidence, leadership, courage, innovation, leadership, efficiency, and sophistication.

District staff will now continue to the next phase which is to establish a logo library and branding guidelines. Leading to the beginning implementation of the logo in the next calendar year and over a threeyear implementation period to manage expenditures.

We are taking suggestions for themes to be used in the renaming of the three conference rooms and want to hear from you! Click here before December 16th to vote on current suggestions or add your own!

POOL OF PUMPKINS NATURE PARK GRAND OPENING

On Wednesday, October 19th the District celebrated the opening of Elk Grove’s 102nd park, Elk Grove Nature Park! The ceremony highlighted the many features and amenities of the park and its design as well as recognized the grant funding received from NRPA – Great Urban Parks Campaign, SMUD – Shine Award Partners Grant, and Civic Well and Urban Rain Design for championing the project and leading efforts on the creation of the park concept plan.

GIANT PUMPKIN FESTIVAL RECAP

The first weekend in October is always a special time of year for Cosumnes CSD and October 1-2 was no exception! The Giant Pumpkin Festival returned in FULL force with no limitations! The weekend welcomed over 70,000 community members, partners, vendors, volunteers, and staff to Elk Grove Park. As cars poured into Elk Grove Park, Park Operations and Recreation Staff guided them to be parked in every possible location within the Park.

We welcomed back our beloved Pumpkin Regatta, Pumpkin Drop, and Bounce houses to all attendees’ delight! Additionally, we hosted over 200 Vendors and Sponsors for the weekend and increased contest entries by over 115.

Over 275 Full-time and Part-time staff across ALL areas of Cosumnes participated in some capacity the week before, during, and directly after the Festival, totaling over 4500 recorded hours between September 23 to October 3. Not to mention unrecorded hours of committee preparation beginning in Spring.

Behind the scenes, we are constantly shifting, supporting, troubleshooting, sweating, laughing, fixing, smiling, helping, and just doing all the things to bring the festival to life. Some of the most magical moments are watching co-workers, district-wide, who rarely work together or in many cases, just met, come together for a grand event. Collectively culminating into a truly magnificent, fun, safe, and familyfriendly festival for all to enjoy!

NINE LIVES SAVED IN 2021

First Name

Last year, the Cosumnes Fire Department responded to 179 cardiac arrests (cardiac presumed non-traumatic).  Nine of those cardiac arrest victims survived to go home with no neurological deficits.

The system of survival starts with the 911 call. Dispatchers to Law Enforcement or bystander CPR, rapid arrival by EMS, and delivering high-performance CPR cardiac arrest.  Congratulations to right who were involved with these

Last Name

First Name

Last Name

Atkinson Erfan

Joshua

Bahramiaref Alexander Bates David Becker Manuel Carter Kyle Close Kirtus Creiglow John Cunningham Keith Curd Frank Diaz Alex Eberle Jamie Ebert Gabriel Flores Milo Griffin Mike Hatcher Joel Hickman David Ho Nathan Huerta Eric Jackson Oleg Klepach Cameron Kramer

SOCKTOBER RECAP

District staff collaborated with the City of Elk Grove to collect a total of 808 pairs of socks, 87 gloves, 20 beanies, and 3 pairs of slippers from various donation sites. These items will be donated to children in need within the Elk Grove Unified School District.

Brian Lucero

Robert Manley Jason McCombs Chris McNay Adam Nattrass Cody Newcomer Jeffrey Osuna John Pagluica Johnathan Pham Jonathan Plumer David Price Justin Quarisa Benjamin Quentmeyer Gavin Robinson Matthew Rodriguez Mark Smith Jr Kirk Steele Connor Tommasi Jason Vogelbacher Christopher Welch Tyson Widegren

TOP 5 CAUSES OF FIRE

#2 Heating Fires

It seems like summer lasted for about a year, fall lasted for two days and now winter is here. As such, our second installment in the “Top 5 Causes of Fire” series brought to you by Fire Marshal Lantz Rey is well-timed and will focus on heating equipment.

From the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

“Heating is the second leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries, and the third leading cause of home fire deaths. Local fire departments responded to an estimated average of 48,530 fires involving heating equipment per year in 2014-2018, accounting for 14% of all reported home fires during this time. These fires resulted in annual losses of 500 civilian deaths, 1,350 civilian injuries, and $1.1 billion in direct property damage.”

Heating fires are commonplace in the District. The majority of heating fires are due to lack of clear space around the heating element. Even though most of homes in our community are relatively new and have been constructed with modern heating equipment (central heat), whether it’s due to the cost, or just personal comfort, many individuals choose to utilize space heaters or fireplaces as their primary source of heat.

Fireplaces and space heaters are the cause of 81% of heating equipmentrelated fire deaths, so it’s important you take proper safeguards to ensure you can heat your home safely.

Here are a few tips to help you avoid a heating fire.

 Keep items that can burn at least three feet away from any portable heater. This includes furniture (such as couches and chairs), blankets, and window coverings.

 Utilize oil-filled radiator heaters instead of traditional electric space heaters. Oilfilled heaters are more efficient, quieter, have longer-lasting warmth, and are safer.

 Remember to turn off portable heaters when you leave the room or go to bed.

 Keep three feet clear around any wood stove or pellet stove. If utilizing an open fireplace, make sure you have a threefoot clearance and a sturdy screen to protect against stray embers.

 Get your chimney cleaned. About 25% of heating fires are related to a failure to clean a chimney.

 Never go to bed with an active fire in an open fireplace.

 Test your smoke alarms once a month

 NEVER NEVER NEVER use your oven to heat your home.

We hope you have a warm and safe winter.