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Resources to Help You Keep Your Home
There are many ways to get help in keeping your home when you are having difficulty keeping up the mortgage payments. Homeowners Call Toll Free 888-954-KEEP(5337). More information can be found at www.KeepYourHomeCalifornia.org
The City of Biggs seeks a vendor to provide installation of a replacement computer server system.
New Community Activity Center in Biggs
Opening June 16th. Call 868-5864 for more info.
Maintenance Worker – City of Biggs September 21, 2011
General landscaping, equipment operation, basic construction and maintenance skills. Most work is outdoors in all seasons, some at heights or in trenches. You will work in parks, on streets, in government buildings, at water and wastewater facilities. CA driver license and good DMV record are required. Full-time Monday-Friday plus some scheduled on-call. $12.37/hr + medical, dental, vision, life insurance, holidays, vacation, sick leave, tuition assist, PERS pension. See Job Description. For an application, visit city hall or go to Application.
July 6, 2011
There are many ways to get help in keeping your home when you are having difficulty keeping up the mortgage payments. Homeowners Call Toll Free 888-954-KEEP(5337). More information can be found at www.KeepYourHomeCalifornia.org June 29, 2011
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June 23, 2011
Biggs Swimming Pool is Open! For schedule, lessons and prices, New Community Activity Center in Biggs June 10, 2011
Opening June 16th. Call 868-5864 for more info. Police Contract Extended thru June 2014 June 7, 2011
An extension to the agreement for law enforcement services was agreed to by both Gridley and Biggs at their respective council meetings June 6th. Request for Proposals for Audit Services May 3, 2011
RFP (Request for Proposals) for Audit Services.
Request for Qualifications for Contract City Engineer March 4, 2011
RFQ (Request for Qualifications) for Contract City Engineer. March 1, 2011
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February 25, 2011
Click here for the latest info on County Air Quality District rules for outdoor burning. January 3, 2011
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Your Garbage Service Just Got Better January 3, 2011
Read about this and more in the latest city newsletter. 2010:
November 8, 2010
Trees that overhang or are growing into power lines are being trimmed by Gridley-Biggs Electric and Biggs Public Works crews. This effort helps prevent power outages, especially during storms. Biggs and Labor Union Reach Innovative Agreement November 8, 2010
The City of Biggs recently inked a deal with its only bargaining unit, Laborers Local 185. The agreement includes features not normally seen in public agency contracts. Read more here. Biggs Community Action Volunteers (BCAV) Kicks Off October 13, 2010
Biggs Community Action Volunteers (BCAV) kicks off their first project successfully with volunteer service to seniors and disabled residents who needed assistance participating in Biggs' Annual Clean-up Day October 9th. Fifteen volunteers teamed up, along with trucks and trailers, to collect and haul stuff from homes to the recycling and waste dumpsters.
Thirty loads were hauled, adding a lot to the total of over 34 tons of waste removed in this one day from Biggs. Waste Management also accepted dozens of tires, appliances, and over a hundred gallons of used oil.
Clean-up Day is sponsored annually by the City of Biggs in partnership with Waste Management. The event offers residents a free and easy way to clean out yards and garages. BCAV helps make it an opportunity for everyone. Biggs Opposes Prop 19 and Prop 26 October 20, 2010
The Biggs City Council has taken a firm and unanimous stand against both Propositions 19 and 26. The city will not campaign or expend resources to fight the ballot initiatives, but is on record as information and advice to local residents. View the resolutions here: October 13, 2010
Saturday, October 23. Dine at Buckshot Grill in Biggs 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. -- Rapunzel (a.k.a. City Administrator, Pete Carr) will be serving tables. Tips go to the Quota Club "Boys of Quota" fundraiser. October 13, 2010
CO-ED Bunko with RAPUNZEL also Saturday, October 23, opens at 6:30 p.m. at Buckshot Grill in Biggs, seating starts 6:30 p.m. first of two games starts at 7:00 p.m. 50-50, $15/game. Seats are limited so sign up in advance to be guaranteed a spot! Contact Angela at 624-4148 for more info. The BCAV is Coming! The BCAV is Coming! September 9, 2010
A new group is forming in Biggs to work on community improvement needed in town. BCAV will carry out projects -- in conjunction with city-established objectives and plans -- like downtown beautification, street landscaping, and holiday decorations. BCAV may also head up various local activities and events. Under the tax-exempt umbrella of the 3CORE economic development corporation in Chico, BCAV can apply for grants to help fund local projects. This is a terrific opportunity to serve your community, work with old friends, and meet new friends! Call Mary at 868-1289 for more information. Council Connection: Tell Us What You Think September 3, 2010
You now have an additional opportunity (in addition to telephone, email, and public meetings) every month to sit and talk with a city council member or two on the subject of your choice.
This means council members are available to you in an informal discussion format. Your mayor and city council members take turns hosting this monthly forum. Please stop by to share your concerns and ask your questions about Biggs. No appointment is necessary.
Council Connection is offered the first Wednesday of every month from 3:00pm to 5:00pm at the City Hall building on Sixth Street between B and C Streets.
For more information please contact Pete at 868-0100. 2010 Downtown Plan in Public Review August 20, 2010
Grant-funded project consultants presented their findings and recommendations in August after a year-long study of what Biggs should do next to improve its downtown appearance and economic potential. Click HERE to see the presentation documents and action plan. Your city council and city staff welcome your input into the planning process. Four Candidates File for Three Council Seats August 13, 2010
Four citizens have filed papers to run for the three open City Council seats in the upcoming election:
The election will be November 1st. City Reviewing Plans for Library ADA Upgrade August 11, 2010
At a special city council meeting Monday, August 9, architect Matthew Swaim of Thomsen & Hendricks (Chico) presented draft plans for upgrading handicap accessibility of the historical Carnegie Library in Biggs. Public input on this plan is invited. See the plans here. For more information, contact City Administrator Pete Carr at 868-0100.
July 6, 2010
The Northern California YMCA is being invited by the City of Biggs to organize local recreation activities. Opinion survey forms went to all residents with the June utility bill. The "Y" needs know what fee-based activities you are interested in -- senior exercise? pre-school recreation? youth basketball? soccer? what would you like to do?
For more info on YMCA programs: www.ymca.net
Please return your survey form with your utility payment, drop it off in the night slot at City Hall, or simply bring it to the customer service counter at City Hall.
Flood Insurance vs. Levee Assessment
Ballots have been mailed to local property owners asking for approval of a "special benefit" property assessment to pay for needed repairs to the Feather River levee that helps protect Biggs from flooding. The levee repairs will reduce the risk of flooding and property owners' exposure to FEMA-required flood insurance.
Good News About Police Services
Biggs is pleased to announce a new contract agreement with the City of Gridley for continued police services at a reduced price. The 24-month agreement will save Biggs well over $250,000 per year. This letter and feedback survey form is being mailed to Biggs residents and property owners.
Biggs Draft Strategic Planning Documents Available for Public Comment and Review January 13, 2010
Marijuana Restricted in Biggs
Despite the common perception that state law may allow cultivation and use of marijuana under certain circumstances, the City of Biggs has strict local ordinances restricting it. The sight and smell of marijuana -- in any form -- is considered a public nuisance here.
Biggs recently made it completely illegal to grow marijuana outdoors, no matter how many plants. Cultivation of marijuana outdoors in Biggs is punishable by hefty fines and active abatement (removal or destruction of the plants).
BINTF (Butte County Interagency Narcotics Task Force) officers and the city code enforcement team look for local marijuana violations and take assertive action.
Biggs has also outlawed any form of marijuana dispensary from operating in the city limits. If you would like to report possible marijuana cultivation, sale or use in your neighborhood, please call 868-5447. A law enforcement or code enforcement officer will follow up on your concern.
Utility Fees: Under Review
Many residents have been understandably concerned with the high cost of metered water and electricity in Biggs this past year. The city staff and council are working hard to control costs and avoid fee increases.
Electric rates in Biggs did not change this year from last year, but personal consumption habits and the weak economy made electric bills very challenging for many utility customers. Customers are encouraged to utilize the city's many energy rebate and efficiency reward programs.
Biggs' rate structure is different than PG&E's, but Biggs customers generally pay less for the same amount of electricity used. Pending state and federal legislation -- like Cap & Trade and Renewable Portfolio Standards -- is expected to significantly increase power costs for all customers nationwide in the years ahead.
The city is also closely reviewing the first year's experience with metered water rates. Water rate fees are designed to cover the city's costs of current services and begin building a reserve for future water improvement projects. Staff will be reporting to council in coming months whether rates are set too high, too low, or just right. The city also will be developing a plan to install water meters for customers who do not yet have meters, as required by state law.
The city is planning a 2010/2011 project to upgrade the wastewater treatment plant with new equipment technologies, as required by state regulations. We are seeking state and federal funding assistance to minimize the impact on Biggs customers. Any financing balance for which the city is responsible will require a review of sewer fee rates.
Biggs is Now Off the Map -- the FEMA Flood Map
FEMA officials have announced the removal of residents of the Biggs and Gridley areas from the current high hazard flood zone map, eliminating or delaying the requirement for mandatory flood insurance. The decision came following Biggs’ formal request for reclassification with extensive technical documentation demonstrating the area’s remote likelihood for significant flooding. Butte County‘s public works department also challenged FEMA’s sweeping flood zone designations, as did many citizens in town hall meetings sponsored by Butte County Supervisor Steve Lambert.
“I'm pleased to see a federal agency listen to local citizens’ concerns and sound engineering arguments,” Biggs’ Mayor Roger Frith said, “They made a decision in the best interests of taxpayers and home owners this time.” Biggs and Gridley area home owners, like many others in the north state and across the country, were set to come under mandatory rules for expensive flood insurance in 2010. The new flood maps also would have imposed severe building restrictions in the area.
“Our challenge to their preliminary maps is based on our knowledge of the area and on sound science,” David Swartz, Biggs City Engineer, stated. “We developed our own map based on close examination of flow characteristics, natural land slope, and topography. We demonstrated that Biggs does not, in fact, flood regardless of levees.” Biggs flooded many decades ago, but not since the construction of Oroville Dam and the elevated development of state route 99. Swartz grew up in the area and is president and CEO of California Engineering Company in Yuba City.
At an “area coordination meeting” in Oroville Thursday, FEMA’s Kathleen Schaefer met with engineers from Butte County and the cities of Biggs, Chico and Gridley. Schaefer stated that the south county areas designated just a few months ago as being in the 100-year flood risk area (Zone A) will now be shown as “Zone X Shaded,” which is defined by FEMA as “Areas of 500-year flood; areas of 100-year flood with average depths of less than 1 foot or with drainage less than 1 square mile; and areas protected by levees from 100-year flood.” FEMA will update its online draft maps within a week.
Meanwhile, the Sutter Butte Flood Control Joint Powers Agency, of which Biggs and Gridley are members, continues planning for financing and construction of levee repairs to protect communities from Thermalito to Yuba City from Feather River flooding. Live Oak and parts of Chico remain in the high risk flood zone designation. The cost of levee repairs will be borne most by those who are shown to benefit most from the strengthened levees.
Biggs City Administrator Pete Carr pointed out the important contributions made by Butte County staff, especially Deputy Director of Public Works Stuart Edell. "Stu is obviously a diligent researcher and technical expert in flood science technology. His excellent work and leadership made the city-county engineering partnership on the project impressively effective," Carr said.
FEMA maps, as part of a nationwide upgrade to digital cartography, are being redrawn with close attention to levees. If a levee cannot be accredited to comply with adopted standards the maps are drawn with the assumption of no levees in existence. The Feather River levees currently do not meet the standards for accreditation. This leaves communities like south Butte County exposed to assumed flood risk despite the fact that the State Department of Water Resources (DWR) has in some places not yet published base flood elevations -- defined as the water surface elevations for a certain flood event.
Schaefer emphasized that the change for Biggs and Gridley is pending establishment by DWR of base flood elevations for the area, a decision that could come in two or more years. DWR’s published data could result in south Butte County being back in the high risk zone -- requiring flood insurance and imposing building restrictions – or it could leave them as “Shaded X” by agreeing with Biggs and County engineers’ analysis. Schaefer told the group that if Biggs and Gridley eventually do get included into the higher risk flood map designation, home owners in these areas will be allowed to lock in insurance rates at the lower Zone-X price, if they do so prior to the new maps changing the Shaded Zone-x to Zone A, becoming effective.
For now, Biggs and Gridley home owners can be free from federal mandates for flood insurance. The two cities can also move forward with their planning efforts for growth. |
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