BILL ANALYSIS
ACR 165
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 14, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
ACR 165 (Blakeslee) - As Amended: June 3, 2010
SUBJECT : State Route 246
SUMMARY : Designates a segment of State Route (SR) 246 as the
Mayor Dick DeWees Memorial Highway. Specifically, this bill :
1)Recounts the life and career of Dick DeWees, the longtime
mayor of the City of Lompoc.
2)Designates the segment of SR 246 from mile marker 9.56 to mile
marker R25.04 as the Mayor Dick DeWees Memorial Highway.
3)Requests the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to
determine the cost of appropriate signs consistent with the
signing requirements for the state highway system showing this
special designation and, upon receiving donations from
nonstate sources sufficient to cover the cost, to erect those
signs.
EXISTING LAW : Assigns Caltrans the responsibility of operating
and maintaining state highways. This includes the installation
and maintenance of state highways.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Dick DeWees worked as an actor and director in over
60 plays and musicals, appeared on local television and radio
programs, and was a voiceover artist in hundreds of commercials.
He served as master of ceremonies of, and performed with, the
Lompoc Pops Orchestra for over a decade. He also served in a
variety of positions in marketing, sales, and administration
during 20 years in the broadcasting industry, started his own
advertising consulting firm and received the Sam Walton Business
Leader Award, and taught public speaking at the Lompoc Valley
Center of Allan Hancock College.
Mr. DeWees was elected Mayor of the City of Lompoc on November
3, 1998, and served six consecutive terms until he passed away
on July 30, 2009. He served on a variety of boards and
committees and represented the City of Lompoc on the Santa
ACR 165
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Barbara County Association of Governments and the Local Agency
Formation Commission and led the City through many complex and
significant achievements, including a settlement agreement with
Cachuma contractors that brings more water releases to the
Lompoc Valley, improving water and wastewater systems,
stabilizing electric rates, extending the life of the city's
landfill, increasing the police force, expanding parks, annexing
the Wye area and entering into a cooperative agreement with
Mission Hills to provide water and sewer services in the Wye
area, building an award-winning aquatic center, opening a new
community center, building a skateboard park, and successfully
managing the potential computer risks referred to as Y2K.
Mayor DeWees worked together with the Lompoc City Council to
deal with illegal dumping, graffiti, congregate living,
medicinal marijuana, truck parking, beach closures, fencing,
budgets, labor contracts, reorganizations, low-income housing
and housing in-lieu fees, development impact fees, utility
rates, Community Development Block Grants, facilitating urban
county status for Santa Barbara County, economic development,
bus service, airport improvements, library funding, cable
television franchises and public television, historic
preservation, state and local ballot initiatives, WiFi,
sidewalks, wineries, bikeways, energy conservation, water
conservation, animal control, police dogs, and detox centers.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
City of Guadalupe
City of Lompoc
City of Santa Barbara
City of Santa Maria
County of Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara County Association of Governments
Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093