Hello Downey!

A few weeks ago, our City was tested with the ferocious storm, dubbed “Lucifer.” The wind and rain from the storm created electrical outages affecting our sewer lift stations in the northeast part of the City and the storm lift station at Paramount and the I-5 freeway. Public Works was on site and fixed the problem within a few hours.

The City received numerous calls to report fallen trees and traffic signal outages. Two major highway arteries were closed for safety reasons and over twenty “flooded” advisory signs were placed throughout the City. Our Emergency Response Team came out in full force and worked around the clock to get our City back in order. There were over fifty staff members and one volunteer on duty. I want to thank our Downey Police, Fire and Public Works departments for their quick response and keeping our city running.

We are facing an ongoing challenge with the increase of the coyote population. City Hall is very much aware of this problem and plans to allocate the necessary resources to give it all the attention it needs.

City officials are working together with the Department of Fish and Wildlife to develop a Wildlife Management Plan to tackle this problem head on. However, cooperation and vigilance is needed by residents to help with this problem. Residents who see a coyote in their neighborhood should attempt to frighten it away by shouting, throwing rocks near their direction but not at them, squirting it with a water hose, blowing portable air horns, or otherwise acting aggressively in order to reinforce its fear of people. Motion-sensitive lights on houses or outbuildings may deter coyotes from approaching.  

For more information, please contact the City of Downey Coyote Hotline at 562-299-6625.  

Spring is here and there are many events that truly highlight the best of our community.

The Downey Rose Float Association held a magical event titled “A Day in the Life of a Princess”. Children between the ages of five and ten years old were invited to have their hair done, learn a new dance routine and take pictures with the entire princess court. The event was Saturday at the Harriett Paine Event Center inside the Downey Adult School.  For more information, please visit their Facebook page or email info@downeyrose.org.

Also on the 25th Downey Unified School District held two special events. From 11 am to 1 pm there was a Meal Expo inside the Downey High School cafeteria to showcase the art of food served to Downey Unified students.  There were tasty food samples, giveaways, a kids craft center and a bike raffle.

Afterwards, guests stayed for Fast & Furious Science.  DUSD and the Science & Entertainment Exchange held a discussion for students interested in entering the science and entertainment industries. For more info go to dusd.net. 

The City offers various volunteer opportunities that provide community members with a rewarding experience and an opportunity to make a difference.  On April 13 at 6 pm at the Barbara J. Riley Community and Senior Center, we will be hosting a Volunteer meeting to gather input from local community organizations, non-profits and churches, to help the City establish specific volunteer opportunities that will help address the needs of our community.  

We would like to know how local groups are currently volunteering their time and services, and how we can work together to further enhance volunteerism in Downey.  The meeting is intended specifically for community organizations, non-profits and churches.  Please RSVP by calling 562-904-7284 or email at jmontenegro@downeyca.org.  Deadline is April 10, 2017.

As always, I welcome your comments, concerns and questions.  You can reach me at (562) 904-7274 or at fvasquez@downeyca.org                

Fernando Vasquez   
Downey Mayor