Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
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Once again Tehachapi volunteers are coming forward to show pride in their community for an Earth Day litter removal event on April 22 and 23 from 10 a.m. to noon. "Community pride is one of the things that makes Tehachapi such a wonderful place to live. This has become a joint effort between the citizens, local businesses, nonprofits groups and local government working together to make Tehachapi even better," said Greg Garrett, Tehachapi city manager. With the winds in Tehachapi quickly blowing...
At the April 4 City Council meeting, Tehachapi City Manager Greg Garrett announced that an upcoming CalTrans project on Highway 58 is currently available for public comment, but will not be completed until 2025. According to CalTrans, the project is currently in the design phase and includes 11.3 miles of Highway 58 to be located between Bealville Rd. and two miles west of the Highway 202 offramp. They will be upgrading existing pavement, guardrails, bridge rails, median barriers, drainage and...
The City of Tehachapi Finance Department has been recognized again for budget transparency with an award from the California Society of Municipal Officers (CSMFO). The CSMFO awarded the Excellence in Budgeting Award to the City of Tehachapi for its Fiscal Year 2021-22 budget document. This award is designed to recognize those agencies whose budget documents meet certain state-wide standards and requirements considered to be of the highest quality. “The award demonstrates the City’s com...
Season 3, Episode 12 – TehachaPod gets a chance to talk to Tehachapi Police Chief Kent Kroeger in detail about recent crimes, arrests and crime prevention. Chief Kroeger, when talking about crime reductions in the City of Tehachapi, feels it's about the public perception of feeling safe as well as seeing crime numbers drop. "How are people feeling, do people feel safe today, that it's safer today than it was a year ago," said Kroeger in the podcast. We talk to him about crime prevention and h...
Friends of the Tehachapi Depot gathered on March 8 to celebrate the transfer of ownership of the caboose that is currently located next to the Depot. Joining FOTD were members of Tehachapi City Council, City Manager Greg Garrett and former caboose owner Hans Kahl. FOTD had wanted to buy the caboose for many years but owner Kahl, who also owns the Gold Coast Station train store in Tehachapi, wasn't ready to sell it. This year Kahl approached FOTD saying he had received another offer but...
One of the reasons Tehachapi is a great place to live is the people that make up our community. On Thursday, March 3 the Kern Council of Governments (KernCOG) recognized the volunteer group known as #loveTehachapi for Regional Award of Merit for Community Involvement at their annual banquet held in Bakersfield. KernCOG is a regional planning agency made up of local government agencies with multi-jurisdictional plans in air quality, transportation, water quality, energy and housing. #loveTehachap...
The Tehachapi City Council began their March 7 meeting by recognizing Tehachapi's community service organization #loveTehachapi, which received the Regional Award of Merit for Community Involvement from the Kern Council of Governments (KernCOG). The group had been nominated for the award by the City of Tehachapi. Read the full story on page 3. Approved by the Council was an airport dust mitigation agreement with the Eastern Kern Pollution Control District for a grant to control dust at the east...
Season 3, Episode 9 – Bob "the Wine Guy" Souza comes into the TehachaPod studio and shares his memories on how the Tehachapi wine industry got its start. He and wife Patty had the idea to plant grapes in 2001 and five years later they were bottling award winning wines. Bob tells a few stories about challenges they faced, the constant "no you can't do that" and how they succeeded and laid the groundwork for six more Tehachapi wineries. Season 3, Episode 8 – Discover Tehachapi Wine Tours own...
On March 15, Tehachapi City Manager Greg Garrett was the first speaker for the Greater Tehachapi Chamber of Commerce as they welcomed back their monthly luncheons for 2022. Jeanette Pauer the new president of the Greater Chamber of Commerce did an excellent job getting the monthly luncheon back on everyone's calendars. Pauer met with Garrett and city staff in February and asked if he would be the first speaker of the year and provide a city update for the community. Garrett talked about...
Please join the Greater Tehachapi Chamber of Commerce at our March Chamber Networking Luncheon on Tuesday, March 15, noon at Big Pappa’s Steakhouse & Saloon, 1001 W. Tehachapi Blvd. Ste. C200. The guest speaker will be Greg Garrett, Tehachapi city manager. Garrett will give us an update on current projects and programs that enrich the quality of life for Tehachapi and the surrounding areas. Garrett has been city manager for the City of Tehachapi since 2009. Since that time, he has overseen the completion of the City’s General Plan, dir...
Undergrounding of Valley Blvd. utilities moves forward At their February 7 meeting, the Tehachapi City Council adopted a resolution that created an Underground Utility District. Development Services Director Jay Schlosser said this is the next necessary step in preparing for relocating the overhead utilities along Valley Boulevard between Las Colinas Street and Curry Street to underground and removing the existing telephone poles. The City Council approved the project on January 18 following a...
Season 3, Episode 120 – TVRPD Update Corey Torres, the general manager from Tehachapi Valley Recreation and Parks District, stops by the TehachaPod studio to talk about the activities and programs slated for 2022. The Brite Lake Fishing Derby is set to return after being postponed the last two years and youth sports are in full swing with signups for the upcoming seasons available. Corey talks about what to look forward to and how to sign up. Season 3, Episode 119 – Safe Surrender Baby Awa...
If you are a city resident, you have received some information via a resident newsletter explaining some challenges forthcoming in the City of Tehachapi. While our budget is currently balanced, our reserves and financial position strong, the nature of our municipal government is one that requires proper long-term planning. As part of that process, we project our budget out five years each time it is adopted by the City Council. As you may be aware, we are facing some large increases for...
Hamed Jones, Tehachapi's new Director of Finance was introduced to the City Council at their February 7 meeting by City Manager Greg Garrett. Jones is taking over the city's financial reins from Hannah Chung who recently retired after over 20 years as the city's Finance Director. For the last four years, Jones has been the Administrative Services Director for the Bear Valley Springs Community Services District. Jones and his family have been Bear Valley residents since 2008. Prior to the Bear...
After careful consideration, Tehachapi Police Chief Kent Kroeger has rescinded his retirement and will remain chief of police in Tehachapi, a post he has held since 2014. Kroeger had initially announced his retirement in December of last year. The City of Tehachapi hired a consultant to conduct a national search for his replacement and while several qualified candidates applied, the challenges surrounding the law enforcement profession were apparent during the search process. "After careful...
On Feb. 10, Tehachapi Mayor Phil Smith and City Manager Greg Garrett were guest speakers at the Rotary Club's weekly meeting. The Mayor spoke first, sharing about several improvement projects the city is working on. "Grant money isn't that easy to get," he said, "but we have a staff that is very dedicated." Thanks to their dedication, grants have funded several city improvement projects, including that of planting 400 trees in an effort to "re-oak" the valley, mitigate greenhouse gases and beaut...
The Tehachapi Police Department has completed a review and analysis of the crime statistics for 2021 revealing an 11.5% reduction in Part I crimes from 2020. Part I crimes as defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are: criminal homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny theft, grand theft auto, and arson. In 2021, total Part I crimes reported/known were 360, an 11.5% reduction from 407 Part I crimes in 2020. The 360 Part I crimes in 2021 also represent...
Tehachapi Mayor Phil Smith presented retiring Finance Director Hannah Chung with a Certificate of Recognition for her 20 years of service to the City of Tehachapi. Chung leaves behind an impressive legacy of financial records that have been honored three time by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). City Manager Greg Garrett announced that Tehachapi's new finance director will be introduced in February. The Tehachapi City Council meets on the first and third Monday of the month at...
Residential curbside organics collection In April 2021, the Tehachapi City Council sent a letter to Sacramento supporting an amendment to SB1383, the law that would require a mandatory residential organics recycling program and a third collection barrel to begin in January 2022. The amendment took into consideration public concern about the hardship of rate increases caused by a third barrel collection at a time of financial burden brought about by COVID-19. The amendment delays penalties for...
City Manager Greg Garrett has announced the promotion of Corey Costelloe to the position of Assistant City Manager for the City of Tehachapi. Costelloe has been the Economic Development Coordinator and will assist the City Manager's office with various directives and aid all other city departments in their service to the residents of Tehachapi. He will continue to handle economic development initiatives including business recruitment, expansion and retention of current businesses in the city....
For the third consecutive year, the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) has awarded the City of Tehachapi with the “Distinguished Budget Presentation Award,” the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting. A panel of independent professionals reviewed the city’s budget document for the current 2021-2022 fiscal year and not only awarded this prestigious honor but did so without a single implementation recommendation from the panel. “This is another outstanding achievement for our finance department and for our city as we c...
Cal Rossi from Southern California Edison (SCE) spoke to Tehachapi Rotarians at their December 9 meeting. Rossi has been the SCE government relations manager responsible for our area since 2009 when he began his relationship-building efforts with local leaders, a position which became more important recently with the policy of Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS). His territory covers an area from Bakersfield to Mammoth and includes Kern, Inyo and Tuolumne counties. Rossi began by thanking the...
The Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District is looking for "a new vision for the community," the district's CEO Caroline Wasielewski told the Greater Tehachapi Economic Development Council (GTEDC) on Nov. 3. The quest for a new vision offers the public the opportunity to be involved in shaping the community's healthcare resources. Now that Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley operates and manages the new district-owned hospital, she said, "our task is to provide healthcare without running a...
TehachaPod, the official podcast for the City of Tehachapi was advised by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts on November 1, that our episode "Grid Hardening by SCE in Tehachapi and PSPS" will receive a silver award for a Special Episode by a Government Podcast. The acknowledgement is the third award received by TehachaPod in the past two years and the second of 2021. This episode featured SCE Expedited Grid Hardening Director Terry Ohanian and Government Relations Manager Cal Rossi...
The 34th annual Holiday Cottage Program supporting Kern County Foster Children was the topic of discussion on Season 2, Episode 110 of TehachaPod. There are more than 2,000 children in the Kern County foster care system and this program provides holiday gifts for these children. Jana Slagle from the Kern County Department of Human Services talks about the Holiday Cottage Program and how foster children make a wish and the community has an opportunity to fulfill that wish. Slagle explains the...
