Tag Archives: Eastvale City Manager

Public Works Department Maintaining a First Rate Infrastructure System!

Eastvale City Manager Michele Nissen

Eastvale City Manager Michele Nissen

By Michele Nissen, City Manager

At the 5th Annual State of the City in April, the City’s Department heads gave brief and informative updates about their departments. Over the next few months, I will continue to give you additional details about these departments and their day to day operations.

The Public Works Department is responsible for constructing and maintaining the City’s infrastructure, which includes 1,178 miles of streets, sidewalks, 44 traffic signals, storm drains less than 36” in size, all traffic signs, and one bridge. Public Works ensures that our streets are safe and clean, traffic signals operate efficiently, the staff responds to citizen concerns in the public right-of-way, as well as provide quality and responsive private development plan review.

The City of Eastvale utilizes the services of the County of Riverside for routine street maintenance, traffic signal maintenance, and traffic sign repair and replacement.  County staff provides fast response times and quality work.

The City’s public works staff is responsible for implementing capital improvement programs to maintain and expand the City’s infrastructure as needed.  Maintaining 1,178 miles of roadway is no small challenge.  The City has developed a pavement management plan and 5 year capital improvement program to systematically maintain all City infrastructure. Concluding in the next few years, it is estimated that the City will spend over $4.6 million dollars on improvements to City facilities.  City infrastructure is maintained through specific funding sources such as Measure A and Gas Tax funds and is not funded through the General Fund.

We encourage residents to file complaints or service requests related to roadways, sidewalks, or traffic signals via the City’s E-Citizen App. For additional information about the app, please visit www. bit.ly.com/ECitizen.

The Building Division is responsible for enforcing local state and federal laws enacted to safeguard public safety, health and the general welfare through the California Building Code.  The Division is responsible for reviewing documents, issuing permits and enforcement of the Building Codes.  Every building in the City of Eastvale is inspected by City building inspectors.  These inspections ensure that the structures are safe and meet all applicable codes.  In addition, for homeowner improvements such as patio covers, pools, remodels and other improvements to property may require a permit.  To find out before you construct, call City Hall to determine whether a permit is required.

Should you have any questions or comments, City Hall may be reached at (951) 361-0900. City Hall office hours are Monday-Thursday from 7:30 am – 5:30 pm, closed every Friday.  City Hall encourages all residents and visitors to register for e-notification on the City’s website: www.EastvaleCA.gov.

Eastvale: City Manager Honored

City Manager Michele Nissen

City Manager Michele Nissen

By Claire Lewis

Eastvale – Eastvale’s City Manager, Michele Nissen, was honored recently as the Outstanding Rising Administrator at the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) 2015 Public Service Awards & Scholarship Luncheon.

The Inland Empire Chapter event – which was held on Wed., June 24, in Riverside, honored public administration professionals who have demonstrated excellence in public service.  The ASPA also awarded scholarships to outstanding students who have shown scholastic achievement in the field of public administration and are pursuing graduate degrees in Public Administration at Inland Empire institutions of higher learning.

Congratulations to Michele Nissen, for being committed to serving the citizens of Eastvale!

Eastvale: Meet Your New City Manager

Michele Nissen, Interim City Manager

Michele Nissen, Interim City Manager

By K.P. Sander

Eastvale – After a long search, the Eastvale City Council recently approved the appointment of a permanent City Manager at their regular Council meeting on May 13.  Michele Nissen, who has been seated as the Interim City Manager during the search, was unanimously voted into the position, effective immediately.  Nissen was selected from 28 applicants in a nationwide search over the past six months.

Eastvale’s Mayor, Ike Bootsma, summed up the Council’s sentiments perfectly in a recent press release from the City of Eastvale:

“We are very excited to have Michele serve as the City Manager of Eastvale.  She has been working for the City in many different roles since incorporation and is well-known by the citizens and stakeholders – which is an asset to the community.  Her knowledge of internal operations, along with her dedication and hard work, made her the clear choice for City Manager.  I am confident that she will do a great job in her newest role.”

In an effort to help citizens get to know the new City Manager just a little bit better, the Eastvale News sat down with Nissen for an interview:

Q:  How long have you been in Eastvale?

A:  My husband and I moved to Eastvale in October 2001 with our son Christopher, who was nine months old at the time.  We moved here from the South Bay where we grew up.  When we first moved to Eastvale, we didn’t know a soul here and there were more cows than people.  In fact, I used to wake up every morning at about 5 a.m. to the sound of cows hitting the feed gates.  Our family has grown a little bit with the addition of our second child, Olivia, in 2002, and our furry, four-legged son, Conrad, who joined us in 2009.  Conrad is a huge yellow Labrador Retriever.

Q:  When did you start working for the City of Eastvale?

A:  My service with the City of Eastvale began in November 2010, when I was appointed to the Eastvale Planning Commission.  It was an honor to serve as former Council member Kelly Howell’s planning commissioner for 18 months.  Prior to incorporation, I had been working in a volunteer capacity as part of the Eastvale Community Committee, and I coordinated the quarterly Eastvale Town Hall meetings for about eight years.  I also had the pleasure of being one of the editors and writers for the Eastvale Edition.  In July 2011, I was asked to participate in a part-time, temporary assignment to develop a new city website.  This was a very exciting project for me due to my background in journalism, public relations and website content development.  As the City grew and the service demands increased, this part-time, temporary assignment became the part-time Public Information Officer position.  In July 2012, I became the full-time Public Information Officer.  I served as the City’s PIO until December 2014 when the position was combined with the role of Assistant City Manager.  During my tenure with the City, I have also served as the City’s Acting City Manager when needed. The search for a permanent City Manager began in November 2014, and in March 2015 the City Council appointed me to serve as the Interim City Manager while they continued the search for a permanent solution.  It was an honor to be appointed as the permanent City Manager in May.  Being the City Manager is not a role or responsibility that I take lightly, because Eastvale is where my heart is.

Q:  What do you love about Eastvale? 

A:  There are so many things that I love about Eastvale, it’s hard to narrow it down.  I love the people of this community and the dear friends that I have made since moving here. The residents are caring, dedicated, and proud – which is reflected by the quality of life that we have created here in Eastvale.  Over the years, I have coached both boys’ and girls’ soccer with the Empire Soccer Club, been a team mom for Eastvale Little League, and assisted with many community events.  I love running into the kids that have been on one of my teams and hearing about what they are up to.  It’s exciting to watch our youth grow up and become the next generation of leaders and scholars.  I also love the clouds and sunsets in Eastvale.  My kids tease me because I take a lot of pictures of clouds and sunsets.

Q:  As City Manager, what plans do you have for Eastvale?

A:  One of my goals is to successfully implement the policy directives, goals and objectives of the City Council, while creating a service-oriented culture at City Hall.

In her new role, Nissen will be responsible for a City budget of approximately $14.7 million, as well as a staff of eight employees and 20 contract employees for building, public works and planning.  She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Loyola Marymount University and will complete her Masters degree in Public Administration from Cal Baptist University this August.

The Eastvale News congratulates Michele Nissen on a job well done, and her new appointment as City Manager for the City of Eastvale.

City Manager Report

Michele Nissen, Interim City Manager

Michele Nissen, Interim City Manager

 
By Michele Nissen
Interim City Manager
 

Eastvale – The 4th Annual Eastvale State of the City truly showed how we are all Eastvale “Strong.” Our accomplishments from the past fiscal year were highlighted, as well as our goals and projects for the coming year. 

We are proud to share that the City of Eastvale has healthy reserves and has held a balanced budget since incorporation in 2010.

As we head into our fifth year of incorporation, the City is working on the fiscal year 2015-2016 budget, goals, and objectives. A Preliminary Budget Hearing will be held on May 13, at Rosa Parks Elementary School in the Multi-Purpose room. The meeting will begin promptly at 5 p.m.The agenda packet will be available on Thurs., May 7. To view the agenda packet, please visit: http://eastvaleca.gov/index.aspx?page=19&recordid=1302.

Eastvale: New Acting City Manager Selected

Photo Courtesy: City of Eastvale

Photo Courtesy: City of Eastvale

Staff Reports

Eastvale – During the closed session discussion at the Sept. 10 City Council Meeting, council members unanimously selected Robert Van Nort to serve as Eastvale’s Acting City Manager. Van Nort’s term as Acting City Manager becomes effective immediately.

Van Nort served as the City’s first Interim City Manager immediately following incorporation in October 2010. Under Van Nort’s prior leadership, the City was able to weather the loss of the Vehicle License Fee in July 2011 without drastically cutting critical services to the citizens of Eastvale. Despite the significant loss of general fund revenue, Van Nort laid a solid foundation of financial stability by taking aggressive cost-savings measures and creating a dedicated, hardworking team environment at City Hall.

Van Nort brings over 30 years of city management experience to Eastvale, including 11 assignments as Interim City Manager across the United States. He has previously managed the cities of Eastvale, Big Bear Lake, Diamond Bar, Chino Hills, and Snow Valley, Idaho to name a few.

The City staff is very excited to have Van Nort return to the helm at City Hall to continue implementing the successful policy vision of the City Council.

“We are really glad to have Bob back,” said Mayor Ike Bootsma. “He knows the City well and he will provide seamless, sound and uninterrupted management of the City. With Bob, there is no need to train anyone, no down time and we gain his invaluable experience and expertise.”