Home Care In Fairfield, CA

The man who is spearheading plans for a Utopian city in Solano County recently met with local leaders. He is trying to ease fears and gain support for the massive and bold project.

Jan Sramek, the CEO of California Forever, says he’s slowly but surely gaining ground with local officials. He spoke to NBC Bay Area on Friday about his plans for the more than 50,000 acres of land he recently bought.

Sramek's plan to build a new Solano County city took on new meaning after he recently bought a home in the area. Now, what impacts the region will impact him too.

“As I’ve told many of the elected leaders, it’s going to be personal," he said. "I know there’s concerns about traffic. But if we caused traffic, I will be sitting in that traffic. So, it’s not going to be someone from New York or somewhere else."

Sramek said that he has been holding nearly nonstop meetings with politicians over the past week, trying to win them over and quell fears.

“I would say we’ve been delighted at the meetings. I think people are glad that we are no longer quiet about it. I’d say there’s a little more support for the idea in the community than the press makes it sound like,” he said.

Fairfield Mayor Catherine Moy met with Sramek on Friday morning. She says that he did provide more details about his plans and the obstacles he will need to overcome, including getting water to the new city.

“They are going to make things, so environmentally sound out there that they are going to use 45% less water than a normal city. So, that’s what they’re betting on and also capturing rainwater,” Moy said.

The person believed to be behind the plans to build a mysterious new city in Solano County spoke out publicly Friday. Jodi Hernandez reports.

Sramek also spoke in detail about the water use in the planned city.

“We do have both surface and ground water rights in the area. And the most important part of this is, we would be designing the community in a very sustainable way,” he said.

Among the land the group is acquiring with water rights are 2,200 acres of almond orchards they are in the process of buying.

The land is located right near the Travis Air Force Base runway. That move is raising eyebrows, but Sramek insists his project will not disrupt base operations.

“We are not looking to do anything in the Travis reserve area that would be incompatible with the mission of the base. And we are definitely not looking to put any homes or community anywhere closer to Travis, than Fairfield and Vacaville are today,” he said.

Moy says she’s going to keep close tabs on the project. She said while it was charming, she says Sramek has got a long way go to build trust. The Fairfield mayor added that Sramek did confirm he plans to be the first to live in the new city if and when it becomes a reality.

“I asked him if he was going to live in that area and he said: 'Yes, I’m going to move into the first house,'” she said.

Sramek told NBC Bay Area that he has more meeting planned with local leaders and he’s in the process of forming a community advisory board. This includes opening a Fairfield office and Sramek will be reaching out to everyone in the county with a survey in the coming weeks.

A new city in Solano County, built from the ground up and funded by Silicon Valley billionaires. That’s the plan California Forever, the parent company of Flannery Associates, unveiled Thursday on a new website.

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FAIRFIELD – Two recent violent incidents inside the Stanton Correctional Facility in Fairfield have put the Solano County Sheriff’s Office on “high alert” and led to a lockdown at the jail that’s expected to last more than a week, a sheriff’s captain said Thursday.

The incidents include a riot when 11 inmates refused to return from a recreation yard for nine hours and another incident when inmates ambushed two correctional officers, severely injuring one of them and injuring the other as well as a nurse, sheriff’s Capt. Bill Elbert said.

Officials with the sheriff’s office, which operates the 365-bed maximum security jail, received their first clues of a possible uptick in violence when they found three shanks over the last four weeks.

Then on Saturday, 11 inmates refused to leave the recreation yard and locked themselves in, taunting jail guards and threatening them with violence, Elbert said.

The inmates allegedly pulled a metal plumbing plate off of a sink and used it to smash the glass in the yard. There weren’t enough jail guards to contain the situation, so the guards attempted to wait out the inmates while calling personnel from other areas, including patrol deputies.

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The incident lasted from 6 p.m. until 3:30 a.m., when the sheriff’s office finally had enough staff there to contain the inmates, who then voluntarily returned to their cells.

“We've never had something like that happen before where the inmates tried to take over the mod,” Elbert said.

Then on Tuesday, two guards were ambushed and beaten severely, Elbert said. One of them was severely injured and a nurse was injured in the incident as well. Elbert said that it appears that the incident involved separate inmates than those who were involved in the riot over the weekend.

Elbert said that for the sheriff’s office to conduct its investigation and prevent further violence it had to temporarily suspend inmate rights in the facility, including their rights to time out of their cells and visitation. The sheriff’s office obtained permission from the Board of State and Community Corrections to lock down the facility for 10 days, until Sept. 2.

The sheriff’s office has also suspended remote visits and is taking extra precautions with court visits to prevent inmates from coordinating with one another, Elbert said.

“For us to manage that, we have to change the way we do business,” Elbert said. “We can't allow certain groups out together… it puts our staff in a precarious position when dealing with [maximum security] inmates.”

It’s at least the second time in the last two months that the jail has been on a prolonged lockdown. In June, all three jails in Solano County were locked down because of a salmonella outbreak that sickened 117 people.

Elbert said he didn’t think that incident had anything to do with the current spate of violence. He said that some of the inmates who have been involved in the recent incidents are people serving long prison sentences for violent crimes who have been moved to the local jail for court appearances in Solano County.

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First Order from Municipality to Service Public Transportation Sector

FORT LEE, N.J., Aug. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pioneer Power Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPSI) ("Pioneer", "Pioneer Power" or the "Company"), a leader in the design, manufacture, service and integration of electrical power systems, distributed energy resources, power generation equipment and mobile electric vehicle ("EV") charging solutions, today announced that it has received an initial order from the City of Fairfield, California, through AssetWorks, a leading supplier of fleet management software, automated fueling systems and EV charge management software, for one e-Boost trailer-mounted unit to service the electric portion of Fairfield's public bus fleet. The unit will include high-capacity DC charging capability, utilizing a 200kW ChargePoint charger, independently powered by a 240kW propane-fueled engine, all integrated on a mobile trailer.

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Located in the North Bay sub-region of the San Francisco Bay Area, approximately halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento, Fairfield is the county seat of Solano County, California. With a population of 119,881 at the 2020 census, Fairfield is the home of Travis Air Force Base.

In August, 2022, the Federal Transit Administration awarded a $12.0 million Bus and Low- and No- Emission Grant to the City of Fairfield for transit electrification. Fairfield was one of 150 transit agencies across the United States (19 agencies in California) to be awarded this funding. The grant award covers the purchase of five GILLIG battery electric buses, three ChargePoint chargers, infrastructure upgrades, vehicle maintenance facility upgrades, and workforce development. Along with the other state and local funds, this award provides enough funding for the first phase of transit electrification. The California Air Resources Board adopted an Innovative Clean Transit regulation requiring all buses to be zero emission by 2040. Fairfield-Suisun Transit ("FAST") has chosen to meet this mandate through electrification of its fleet. This competitive federal award is critical funding that will allow FAST to timely begin electrification infrastructure and maintenance upgrades at the City's Corporation Yard.

David Renschler, Fleet Division Manager at the City of Fairfield, commented, "It's very important to us that we get our zero-emission vehicles into service as quickly as possible, and once the permanent chargers have been installed, the e-Boost system will be available for both mobile charging and backup power for resilience during outages such as a power shut off event."

"This is the first municipality to purchase e-Boost to support an electrified fleet," commented Geo Murickan, head of Pioneer Power's e-Mobility business. "Cities around the world, and particularly in California, are converting public bus fleets to electric power. This trend, accelerated by climate mandates and supported by government grants, represents an exciting and evolving opportunity for us, one we expect to drive additional sales in the near-term. Fairfield is already converting a portion of their bus fleet to electricity with plans for further conversions. Construction of permanent charging infrastructure can sometimes take years to complete. We believe that our mobile EV charging solutions can help fleets and municipalities move more quickly to implement their zero-emission plans, and our built-in resiliency serves as an important capability long after permanent charging is in place."

Pioneer Power expects to deliver the system in the fourth quarter of 2023.

"Over the coming months, we anticipate the municipal and school bus market will significantly expand as more fleets incorporate electric busses," added Nathan Mazurek, Pioneer Power's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We believe that our flexible e-Boost system makes electric conversions easier, providing on-demand charging anytime and anywhere without costly fixed infrastructure investments."

About Pioneer Power Solutions, Inc.

Pioneer Power Solutions, Inc. is a leader in the design, manufacture, integration, refurbishment, service and distribution of electric power systems, distributed energy resources, power generation equipment and mobile EV charging solutions for applications in the utility, industrial and commercial markets. To learn more about Pioneer, please visit its website at www.pioneerpowersolutions.com.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Such statements may be preceded by the words "intends," "may," "will," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "predicts," "estimates," "aims," "believes," "hopes," "potential" or similar words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, are based on certain assumptions and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, and cannot be predicted or quantified and consequently, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties associated with (i) the Company's ability to successfully increase its revenue and profit in the future, (ii) general economic conditions and their effect on demand for electrical equipment, (iii) the effects of fluctuations in the Company's operating results, (iv) the fact that many of the Company's competitors are better established and have significantly greater resources than the Company, (v) the Company's dependence on two customers for a large portion of its business, (vi) the potential loss or departure of key personnel, (vii) unanticipated increases in raw material prices or disruptions in supply, (viii) the Company's ability to realize revenue reported in the Company's backlog, (ix) future labor disputes, (x) changes in government regulations, (xi) the liquidity and trading volume of the Company's common stock and (xii) an outbreak of disease, epidemic or pandemic, such as the global coronavirus pandemic, or fear of such an event.

More detailed information about the Company and the risk factors that may affect the realization of forward-looking statements is set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, respectively. Investors and security holders are urged to read these documents free of charge on the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact:Brett Maas, Managing PartnerHayden IR(646) 536-7331[email protected]

SOURCE Pioneer Power Solutions, Inc.

California Forever sent a letter on Monday to Solano County, the City of Fairfield and the Solano County Water Agency proposing a land exchange of thousands of acres near Travis Air Force Base.

The company has offered to swap 1,573 acres of high habitat value land on Jepson Prairie near Travis Air Force Base, for 1,403 acres of pasture with medium agricultural value six to 10 miles away from the base, mostly east of Rio Dixon Road.

The letter, signed by California Forever CEO Jan Sramek, was addressed to Fairfield City Manager David Gassaway, County Administrator William Emlen and General Manager of Solano County Water Agency Chris Lee.

The letter says that California Forever is offering the exchange because it learned the parcels it purchased on the Jepson Prairie are included under the Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration program, and that its ownership of them could also pose a threat to the goals of the Solano County Habitat Conservation Plan.

“We believe this exchange proposal is a win-win transaction that makes good sense for all sides involved,” the letter reads.

The letter also indicates that California Forever would provide $1 million to fund the completion of the Solano County Habitat Conservation plan. The land being offered by California Forever is the last land on the Jepson Prairie which is not currently publicly owned, according to the letter. creating the opportunity to unite one uninterrupted habitat.

“This exchange would therefore become the capstone achievement that substantially completes the preservation of the Jepson Prairie ecosystem, and creates a fully contiguous open space reserve of approximately 15,000 acres” the letter says.

The Solano County Water Agency has a meeting scheduled for Thursday at 6:30, which will be available both in person at 810 Vaca Valley Parkway and on Zoom. Its agenda, released before the letter was dated, includes an item titled “Water Supply Portfolio and Discussions with California Forever.”

The entire proposal is conditional on the approval of California Forever’s development plans in the area by the voters next November and by relevant regulatory agencies. The company said it is currently undergoing a listening tour, taking feedback from the community on how to make its plans work for Solano County residents. A more comprehensive plan, which will go in front of voters next November, will be released in January.

“Put plainly, if the voters or any regulatory agencies whose approvals would be required later do not approve our plans, the exchange agreement would terminate, we would cover all legal and other costs of the public agencies incurred in negotiating the exchange, and everything would remain the same as it is today,” the letter reads.

The offer is only on the table until Dec. 31, the letter explains, so that all of the changes can be reflected in the January plan.

“The reason to agree on this transaction now is to ensure that we can propose a more orderly plan to the voters, so that if the voters and regulators approve the proposal in the future, then the exchange automatically and immediately closes,” the letter reads.

Sramek said the REPI report and habitat plan were the main drivers of this proposal, as California Forever had no knowledge of both of those factors before the purchase of this land. Four weeks ago, when it learned of the REPI, he said, it started to think of how it might be able to get that land under Travis AFB’s control.

“I think what we want people to understand is that we are serious about the fact that we want to protect and strengthen Travis,” he said.

Sramek also said the company feels similarly about protecting open space and contributing to ecological projects in the area.

“We’ve been saying that for two months,” he said of commitments to the base and the environment, “and this is a step where we are going to change it into actions.”

The proposal would allow public shareholders to take over land of higher ecological value, and to consolidate their holdings into one place, California Forever said.

“We hope this transaction is the first of many ways that California Forever and local stakeholders can work together in a productive and collaborative fashion that benefits everyone involved,” the letter said. “We look forward to working with all stakeholders on this multi-benefit transaction, and attending public meetings where this matter is discussed to answer any questions.”

SOLANO COUNTY, Calif. — After being turned away in two different meetings, California Forever is now telling ABC10 they’re dropping the idea of using the North Bay Aqueduct altogether.

The change comes after the Solano County Water Agency voted Thursday to cease talking to Flannery Associates about their California Forever plan in regard to water use.

“Unless the agency decides to pursue it, and they ask us to do it, we will just look at other options,” said Jan Sramek, CEO and founder of California Forever, the parent company of Flannery Associates.

Through the opposition and obstacles, Sramek says the company’s thoughts on public interest in the project remain unchanged despite the dozens of public commenters during Thursday's meeting.

“I think there are people that don’t like development at all and they have been fighting development of the county for a long time,” said Sramek. “They’ve weaponized this idea of Travis, and they've weaponized this idea of water, and they’ve weaponized everything else to be against the project. They had no issue when all sorts of people were buying land around Travis in the last 20 years.”

California Forever announced Wednesday their new 21-person advisory committee made up of community members.

The list, found on the California Forever website, includes members like Solano County Sheriff Tom Ferrara, President and CEO of Visit Fairfield Anand Patel and Travis Armed Forces Committee Executive Board member Erick Fierro among others.

The committee was created to use their "broad and diverse" backgrounds to give feedback and help shape the California Forever proposal which eventually will be voted on, according to California Forever.

They’re also relying on public opinion from the surveys sent out to nearly half of the people living in Solano County.

While full results aren’t out yet, Sramek gave ABC10 a look into some of what he says thousands of responses say.

“There are definitely more people that support the project than there are opponents and we are starting to see a list of priorities of what people care about — and jobs and homes. Homes in walkable safe neighborhoods are definitely the top two,” he said.

Sramek says there’s nothing, from opposition during public comment in meetings to opposition on survey responses, that will make Flannery Associates walk away from California Forever.

The group will continue to meet with the public and officials through multiple town halls throughout the county. California Forever has also secured offices in Fairfield and Vacaville which will soon be open to allow people to see plans for the proposed city — plans expected to be released in January.

Sramek says California Forever is a temporary name for the proposed city and Flannery Associates is looking for official city names. Many people have emailed in ideas and they’re asking for additional input from the community. Email [email protected] to contact them.

Keep up with ABC10’s coverage of the proposed new city HERE.