City of Monterey Focus Odds n Ends

Odds and Ends

Safety Tips
Keep Homes Safer, More Secure
Potential burglars look for an easy mark or “target.” Surveys show that a thief will look for a house where they can enter quickly, quietly and undetected.
You and your family can practice some simple safety tips that can help keep your home more secure.

Around windows and doors, trim trees and shrubs that might help conceal a burglar.
Trim trees and shrubs so your home can be seen from the street and neighboring residences.
Use open metal fencing and gates to prevent access from the street to the side and back of your home. This “see through” fencing will provide a physical barrier, while
allowing for natural surveillance.
Plant roses, cactus or other thorny plants below windows.
Use landscaping material which clearly defines your private property from the public sidewalk or street.
Make your address clearly visible from the street.
Install security lighting, activated by motion sensors, on the sides and back
of your home.
Report all suspicious persons and activities immediately to the police
by calling 831.646.3914.
If you see someone breaking into a home, call 911. Stay on the phone and be prepared to provide additional information.
Stop deliveries and have a trusted friend or neighbor watch your home when you’re out of town. Notify the police department and provide the name and phone number of an emergency contact. Police volunteers can make periodic exterior safety checks while you are away.
The Monterey Police Department also provides free security surveys for homes and businesses. To schedule an appointment, call Public Education Officer Adam Costa at 831.646.3819 (costa@ci.monterey.ca.us).

Move Right for Sirens and Lights
Cooperation is the key to making sure emergency public safety vehicles arrive at their destination quickly and safely. Follow these simple rules to help.
When drivers hear or see an emergency vehicle, pull over as close to the right edge of the road as possible and stop. Remain stopped until all emergency vehicles have passed. However, don’t stop in an intersection. If you are in an intersection when you see an emergency vehicle, continue slowly through the intersection and then pull to the right as soon as possible and stop. Per the California Driver Handbook, “yield the right-of-way to emergency vehicles using a siren and red light.” Remember, in an emergency seconds count.

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Log into the Library
Request books, find out about new materials, search databases and communicate with your Library – all from the comfort of home. New personalized online services are making it easier for community members to do business at the Monterey Public Library.
How do you log in?
From the Library page click on Search the Catalog then click on Log into PALS. PALS is the Web catalog shared by Monterey and Pacific Grove libraries. Once in PALS, update an email address, request that messages be sent by email or regular mail, place material on hold, save searches or have PALS tell you when a new book or audiobook by your favorite author arrives.

For more info click “Why Log in?” on the catalog main page, or call 831.646.3933.

Working for the City
Have you ever considered working for the City of Monterey? City employees serve the public in many ways from maintaining the City’s parks and roadways and ensuring public safety to issuing business licenses and building permits. Info about current openings is available at the Personnel Office, 399 Madison Street; on the job hotline 646.3751; or link to our Jobs page.
Applications are accepted for current openings only; however, anyone can fill out an Interest Card for positions not currently open. For more info call the City’s recruiters at 646.3765 (jones@ci.monterey.ca.us).

“One-Stop Shopping” for Monterey Pet Owners
Get great pet care at low prices with the City/SPCA partnership.
Where do I take my pet?
Monterey Peninsula College Farmer’s Market, every fourth Thursday of each month, 2 to 4 p.m.
What services are provided?

Microchip: $12
Rabies vaccinations, required for all dogs in the city: $7
Licenses, required for all dogs in the city: $9 (if the dog is spayed/neutered) or $24

Rabies vaccinations protect you and your pet! Microchips and license tags provide added security when a pet is lost or stolen.
For more info, call the SPCA at 373-2631 ext. 224.

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Teens Strain Brain, Win
Check it out!
New interactive info boards loaded with Internet research questions, brainteasers, cool facts along with poems, quotes, cartoons and unique Web sites are now at your local community centers. Great prizes are awarded weekly for coming up with correct answers. Visit the Teen Rooms at Hilltop, Archer and Casanova-Oak Knoll park centers and the Monterey Youth Center.

Old TVs and Computers? Think Recycle
Television sets and computer monitors are hazardous waste, both contain lead and mercury. Please DO NOT throw these items in the trash, recycle them. Single-family residents who pay for standard garbage service can call Monterey City Disposal Service at 372.7977 to request
a large-item pickup. Apartment dwellers and business owners can take these items
to the Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off Center. There may be a charge for dropping off the items, and charges vary according to the item’s size. Call 384.5313 for details.

Keep Your Sidewalks Safe, Slip Free
Property owners are responsible for maintaining the area in front of their property and keeping it free of safety hazards. When it rains, or during irrigation, water seeps over sidewalks and forms mossy areas where pedestrians can slip and fall. How to clean your sidewalk: Use a stiff bristle broom to whisk moss and foreign material away. Use biodegradable soap, if needed.
Do not use bleach or other cleaners since runoff ends up in the Monterey Bay Sanctuary.
For more info, call the City’s Construction Management Division at 646.3997 (clement@ci.monterey.ca.us).

Visit the Museum
The Presidio of Monterey Museum is open and easily accessible to visitors. Visitors can enter from Artillery Street or Private Bolio Road and turn onto Corporal Ewing Road before entering the military base checkpoint area. Museum hours are Thursday - Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 1 to 4 p.m. Admission is free.

City TV, Cable Channel 25
Eye on Monterey- Tuesdays at 6 pm and Wednesdays at 9 am.
Council Wrap-up & Monterey Up-to-date- Tuesdays at 6:30 pm and
Wednesdays at 9:30 am.

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