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City Manager's Report March 25, 2022

Brea Fire Department and Emergency Ambulance Serve the Community

As of March 1, Emergency Ambulance Services is now located and responding to calls out of Brea Fire Stations 2 and 3 under a first-time private ambulance contract. The ambulances will look the same for now, however, within a couple of weeks, they will be transformed and painted red like Brea’s fire apparatus. The City is looking forward to this working relationship and the service it will provide the community.

Brea’s Community Emergency Response Team Welcomes New Members

The City of Brea welcomed six new members to the Brea Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). These community members gave over 20 hours of their time, over the course of three weeks, to learn about disaster preparedness, disaster medical operations, disaster psychology, terrorism awareness, fire extinguisher training, Incident Command System (ICS), and light search and rescue. A special thanks to Mayor Cecilia Hupp, Battalion Chief Mark Terrill, and the crew of Brea Engine 1 for welcoming the newest members to Brea’s CERT team at their graduation ceremony.

Nature vs Nurture Exhibit

Brea Gallery’s exhibit Nature vs Nurture completed its run on March 25. The exhibit was curated in-house by Gallery Director Heather Bowling. Ten artists were handpicked and invited to explore themes of the natural world through sculpture, video installation, photography, charcoal drawings, and paintings. Each artwork is a unique, reflective, and sometimes abstracted view of humanity’s relationship with the planet.

During this exhibit, the Gallery hosted several events and programming options, both in-person and virtual, such as curator tours, and live artist studio visits, to engage in conversation with the community.

There was a lot of community participation and appreciation toward the exhibit.

City Hall Staff Serving the Community

Chris Varela and Kassandra Cornejo

The City’s Community Development Department recently added Chris Varela and Kassandra Cornejo to their team. Both look forward to serving and interacting with Brea's community. Chris Varela is the new Plan Checker for the Building & Safety Division. He obtained his Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Cal State LA University and an Associate of Arts Degree in Architecture from Pasadena City College. He is a licensed general contractor and a certified residential building inspector. He has worked in the private sector for the past 10 years as a Project Engineer/Manager. Vacationing with his family is one of his passions and he enjoys the outdoors, especially, camping at national parks, lakes, and by the ocean. Chris is thrilled to be part of Brea’s team.

Kassandra Cornejo is Community Development’s new Planning Technician. As an Orange County resident, she has always been fond of the City of Brea and is excited to work for such a vibrant community. Kassandra hopes to continue supporting Brea’s wonderful qualities which drew her to her new position. Having a degree in Urban Studies from the University of California-Irvine and Planning experience with two other cities, Kassandra is looking forward to continuing her Planning career in Brea. Besides Planning, Kassandra is passionate about spending time with her large family and exploring the outdoors. Most importantly, she hopes to continue to build connections with residents and other members of staff in order to serve them well.

Tracks Segment 3 Drainage Improvements

As part of this year’s Public Works Capital Improvement Program (CIP), drainage issues were addressed along the north and south side of The Tracks Segment 3, located from State College Boulevard to Brea Boulevard. The project entailed the removal and installation of a new 24” drain pipe at the correct angle to allow water to flow properly under the trail. The remainder of the work included re-grading the bioswale on the south side and replacing the asphalt and decomposed granite that were removed to allow the new pipe to be installed. Bioswales are stormwater runoff conveyance systems that provide an alternative to storm sewers. They can absorb low flows or carry runoff from heavy rains to storm sewer inlets or directly to surface waters. The Tracks remained open throughout the construction.

Spring Craft Boutique

This year, the Spring Craft Boutique was a two-day event, held on March 18 and 19 at the Brea Community Center. There were over 2,000 customers and community members who shopped at the 22nd annual event. The boutique featured 197 vendors, selling unique one-of-a-kind seasonal and year-round gifts, décor, wearable art, jewelry, florals, baby items, tasty treats, and much more. This is a fun event where the community can shop locally, sample, and purchase unique items from small business owners. This was also the first Spring Boutique in over two years and it was well-received.

Thanks to the staff in the Community Services, and Public Works Departments, the Print Shop, and the Communications and Marketing divisions, the event was a success for the community.