To enhance the quality of life for residents, the City
of Lompoc has several projects that are currently
being rolled out or are “in the works,” including:
Riverbend Park and Trail Master Plan was approved in 2005 and
outlines 225 acres along the Santa Ynez River with a bike trail and
athletic fields that can be used for soccer and baseball. The park
will be open for play in spring 2008.
Old Town Pocket Park was designed at a charrette to include a
small building, lighting fixtures, fixed seating, a water feature,
windbreak and public restrooms. Council has approved the 140’ x
50’ park to be located at 119 South H Street.
Lompoc’s first “green” public building is currently in the design
phase. Charlotte’s Web Children’s Library Learning Center, a new
branch of the Lompoc Public Library System, will offer a homework
center, storytime area and materials for children up to age
14 in a variety of formats. The library will also serve as a demonstration
facility for sustainable architecture by meeting the
prestigious Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED) standard.
The City of Lompoc is working with library staff and trustees to
make former Lompoc Mayor Charlotte Benton’s dream of a children’s
library in her neighborhood a reality. The facility will be
located at 211 S. I Street, formerly Benton’s residence, which she
donated to the city in 1997. Reflecting the demographics of the
service area, library materials will also be available in Spanish.
Benton’s bequest will allow the library to operate for 30 years
independent of city funding.
The Lompoc District Libraries Foundation has worked on this
project for the past nine years and continues to take the lead in
fundraising for construction. Community Development Block
Grant and Redevelopment Agency funds have been committed to
the project.
The Wastewater Division broke ground in April 2007 on a $79
million plant upgrade project. By December, prime contractor
Parsons RCI had completed installation of 1,600 stone columns
and is completing concrete work on the new oxidation ditches
and secondary clarifiers. The stone columns will support the structures
built on top of them during a seismic event and prevent
unacceptable settling of the structures due to soil liquefaction. The
two oxidation ditches will provide a suitable environment for the
working micro-organisms to enable them to remove the pollution
from the wastewater flowing through the plant. Secondary clarifiers
will allow for the solid material in the wastewater to settle
and be removed for final treatment.
Upcoming work will include more foundation construction for the
metals removal and filtration/disinfection treatment units. A
primary reason for the plant upgrade is to provide additional treatment
to remove certain metals from the wastewater, which the
current plant cannot treat.
The upgraded plant will employ ultraviolet (UV) light disinfection
as a replacement for the current chemical disinfection system. In
order for UV disinfection to be reliably effective, the wastewater
must be of higher quality, so filtration will be provided upstream of
the disinfection system. The new UV disinfection will remove
disease-causing organisms from the wastewater before it is
discharged to the environment — without addding undesirable
chemical by-products. Construction is scheduled to be completed
in August 2009.
The Planning Commission approved restoration and preservation
work to prolong the life of the Lompoc Historical Museum located
at 200 S. H Street, also known as Lompoc’s Carnegie Library
(National Historic Register Site Number 1990-12-10). Two phases
consisting of interior and exterior renovations are required to
restore the building to good condition. This will be accomplished
over a five-year period in compliance with the Secretary of the
Interior’s standards and guidelines.
