Citrus Heights News Briefs: Sunday Funday, marijuana, Tingle Day, biz walk

Latest news briefs include thousands attending a Sunday Funday event at Rusch Park over the weekend, state marijuana regulators holding a public meeting at the community center, a “business walk” conducted around Sunrise Marketplace, and the city council officially naming Sept. 30 as “Henry Tingle Day” in honor of the retiring city manager.

Sunday Funday event draws thousands to Rusch Park
Despite 94-degree weather, several thousand kids, families and other attendees took part in the 20th annual “Sunday Funday” festivities at Rusch Park in Citrus Heights. The event sprawled through most of Rusch Park, with numerous inflatable play areas, games, food trucks, and more than 100 vendor and sponsor booths. New this year was an “It’s a Small World” stage that featured presentations including an “extreme martial arts” and K9 police dog demo, as well as cultural dance and music presentations from several parts of the world. Michele Saario, an event coordinator with the City, said shaved ice was “definitely big” this year, reporting the temperature was the hottest of any Sunday Funday event she’s helped organize in recent years.

Mayor Jeannie Bruins, who attended with three of her grandkids, said Sunday Funday traditionally wraps up the summer season of outdoor events co-sponsored by the City, with the next major event being the Christmas tree lighting in December. Saario and police estimated between 3-5,000 attendees participated throughout the day, with no negative incidents reported by officers other than several balloons that went missing in the sky.

Council honors city manager, names Sept. 30 as ‘Henry Tingle Day’
During last week’s council meeting on Thursday night, city council members surprised retiring City Manager Henry Tingle by passing a resolution officially recognizing Sept. 30 as “Henry Tingle Day.” Tingle first took seat as manager of the City in 1999 and announced his retirement at the beginning of this year. He has been praised by city officials and residents for his fiscal responsibility in keeping the city out of debt, while overseeing the completion of three public buildings during his term — most recently, the new city hall. City Clerk Amy Van confirmed Sept. 30 will be recognized annually as Henry Tingle Day. A full story will be published by The Sentinel on Tingle’s retirement this weekend.

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State bureau holds marijuana regulation session in Citrus Heights
A collaborative discussion on statewide marijuana regulation was held at the Citrus Heights community center last week, with various state agencies, cannabis industry leaders, and the public. According to a CBS 13 news report, about 100 people attended the Sept. 20 session, which was the second of eight different meetings scheduled around the state by the recently formed California Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation. The Bureau is charged with licensing and enforcement related to the marijuana industry and plans to publish a draft set of regulations after receiving input at the series of public meetings. (See full CBS 13 coverage)

City, Chamber visit 100+ local businesses on annual ‘walk’
The City and Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce teamed up again last week for their annual “business walk,” meeting with owners and managers in an effort to learn how to better serve their businesses. Devon Rodriguez, a development specialist with the City, said a total of 16 teams of City staff and Chamber representatives visited about 150 businesses in the Sunrise Marketplace, asking a series of four questions and dropping off a packet of information. Questions included “What do you like about doing business in Citrus Heights?” and “What challenges/obstacles do you face?”

Last year, responses from a majority of the 77 businesses contacted listed homelessness as “an issue,” prompting a followup letter about the topic to be sent out by the City. The letter listed steps the city is taking to address the issue and also listed several recommendations for businesses to take, including documenting and recording problems and incidents. Rodriguez said a summary of this year’s responses has not yet been compiled. (Read last year’s letter)

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