MESSAGE FROM THE CITY MANAGER- Ken Pulskamp
November, 2002

As you may have already heard by now, I have happily accepted the City Council’s recent offer to serve as City Manager for the City of Santa Clarita. It is with great pleasure that I take the reins and begin the journey with our Council into our future. This is a dream come true for me. I am looking forward to working with the Council, community and staff to make sure Santa Clarita is the type of City in which we will feel great about living, working, playing and raising our families. In the coming months, I will be sure to keep you informed of the progress we are making and changes that arise. In the meantime, here is what is happening right now.

November is looking to be a very full month for all of us in the community. I’m sure it is for you. Following are a few of the key events and issues we will be dealing with this month.

On November 6 at 7 p.m., the City will host a Community Meeting for the Canyon Country community. Over the last few months, the city has received several phone calls, letters and emails from residents, expressing concerns in this community. The Community Meeting is being held to bring together residents, business and community leaders, as well as City officials, the Sheriffs department, County officials and representatives from the Community Interaction Team, in an effort to discuss issues for future review by the City Council. The Community meeting is being held at 7 p.m. at the Activities Center, located in the Sports Complex at 20880 Centre Point Parkway, off Ruether Avenue and Soledad Canyon.

On Friday, November 8, we will be hosting a national press conference to introduce the nation’s first Diaper Recycling Pilot program. Santa Clarita has teamed up with Knowaste for a six-month pilot program in four neighborhoods in the City. The pilot program involves curbside, weekly collection of used diapers that will be taken to a special site for cleaning, separating and recycling into various products. This program is currently up and running in Canada and in the Netherlands. Santa Clarita will be the first City in the United States to test the technology and ascertain effectiveness. Following the pilot program, the Santa Clarita City Council will evaluate the results for inclusion in the City’s new trash franchise agreement, set to be adopted in late 2003.

To further address issues related to traffic safety for young people, the City and the Sheriffs Department teamed up on a Citizens Traffic Committee. The goal of the committee is looking at various ways to reduce the number of traffic incidents for people under 18 years of age. The first meeting was a great success and the committee is slated to meet again on November 13. For details on the committee, contact Deputy Mike Shapiro at 661/255-1121 at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriffs’ Station. Also related to traffic safety is a new model neighborhood traffic safety program currently being developed by our City staff. This new “Neighborhood Traffic Safety Tool Kit,” is in the works and will assist neighborhoods with specific issues of concern, including speeding.

Earlier this month, we began the renovation process of our Newhall Community Center, which will continue through the first part of December. During this time, we will put on a new roof, install new carpeting and add some new paint. We will continue programming at Newhall Elementary School and Old Orchard Park during the renovation time. The City Council has also selected a site for a new Community Center in Newhall. Work has already begun on the design of that new facility which we anticipate to be completed within 18 months. For more information, feel free to contact Rick Gould, Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services, at 661/255-4878.

As always, I welcome your thoughts and ideas. You can reach me via email at kpulskamp@santa-clarita.com, or at my office at 661/255-4900.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Best Regards,


Ken Pulskamp
City Manager