Pumpkins, Plans & Public Voices

From giant gourds to downtown dreams, this episode of the Elk Grove CityCast is packed with what’s happening the first week of October. We’ve got the inside scoop on the Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin Festival, a call for community input on a future homeless shelter, and fresh ideas for reimagining Historic Main Street. Plus, hear how to safely dispose of lithium batteries, and get the details on upcoming events like Coffee with a Cop and Elk Grove Out Loud.

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Transcript

Kristyn Nelson: Thanks for tuning into the Elk Grove CityCast, the podcast about Elk Grove, California. I'm Kristyn Nelson, Elk Grove’s Public Affairs and Communications Manager. And with the help of artificial intelligence, we're rolling out new episodes that dive into the relevant topics, events, and happenings within our city.

We're using technology to provide you with new resources that will help you to stay informed and connect with the community at the time and with the tools that you prefer. So whether you have a passion for podcasts or print material, subscribe to social media or dig into digital. We want be a source for local information that's valuable to you.

Now, without further ado, let me turn it over to our AI friends for a deeper dive into this week's topics. 

Ai-den: Welcome to the Deep Dive. Okay. Today we're tackling a whole stack of updates coming out of Elk Grove, California. Our goal to get you totally up to speed. Fast. We're cutting through the noise on, planning decisions, safety stuff, and community events.

Ai-leen: Exactly. It's like we're synthesizing a ton of different information here. We're jumping from, you know, big picture city planning, like the future look of the place. All the way down to like a fire hazard that might be in your drawer right now. But the main thing is connecting these dots, right? Explaining why it matters for the community's direction and crucially where you can actually weigh in.

Ai-den: Right. So we've basically broken it down into three chunks. 

Ai-leen: Mm-hmm. 

Ai-den: First city planning. We'll look at Historic Main Street's, vibe and setting the rules for a future shelter. 

Ai-leen: Then we switch gears to safety, a hidden danger most people probably don't think about.

Ai-den: And then we'll finish up with some community events, including, well, what sounds like a pretty wild festival. 

Ai-leen: Yeah, and just a quick note before we start. The city really is asking for input on a lot of this. You can actually get their weekly email updates. They come out Mondays, just go to elkgrove.gov to sign up. That's your first actionable takeaway right there. 

Ai-den: Okay. Let's dive into planning the future, then shaping the city's vibe. First up, the Historic Main Street special planning area with the SPA update. This sounds like a pretty big deal, not just new paint, but really rethinking the whole character using these specific ideas.

Ai-leen: Yeah, it's fascinating. They didn't just come up with one plan. They looked around the state found inspiration and created six different like personas. And now they're asking people which one feels like Elk Grove?

Ai-den: Okay. And one of these really stood out to me, the relaxed persona. Yeah. It sounds nice, obviously, but what's the actual strategy behind choosing that vibe over something else?

Ai-leen: Well, choosing Relaxed is a conscious decision, right? It means. Prioritizing quality of life, maybe historical character over say packing in as much development or immediate tax dollars as possible. The source material says this persona is designed to make you slow down, encourages people to visit, hang out, you know, stay a while.

Ai-den: So what makes it feel like that? What are the actual tangible things? 

Ai-leen: It's very focused on the experience. So celebrating history, having farm to fork restaurants that tie into local farms. Prioritizing local shops over big chains. And architecturally it means low scale buildings. Yeah. Not skyscrapers, wide sidewalks, places to sit. It's built for walking, for gathering, not just quick shopping. 

Ai-den: That low scale architecture bit that sounds like where the rubber meets the road. Economically, you can't really do a huge six story building if you commit to that. 

Ai-leen: Exactly. It limits density. It defines the character by saying no to certain types of development.

Ai-den: It's a trade off then.

Ai-leen: It absolutely is. An intentional one. They're basically saying the atmosphere, the historic feel is potentially more valuable long term than just maximizing density right now. And to help people picture it, they mentioned looking at places like Downtown Winters or Main Street, Hanford, that gives you a real sense of that slower historic walk around kind of feel.

Ai-den: Okay. Yeah, that paints a clear picture. So the action for listeners is to check out all six personas and give their feedback. 

Ai-leen: Definitely now's the time to weigh in before they lock it down. You find everything, the descriptions, the survey at elkgrove.gov.

Ai-den: Alright, let's unpack the next big planning thing. Setting the criteria for a permanent homeless shelter. This is always, uh, a really tough, important decision for any city. And Elk Grove seems to be taking a pretty smart approach, asking people to help define the rules first before any specific location is even on the table. 

Ai-leen: Yeah, strategically, this is quite clever. If you start by saying. What about 1 23 Elm Street? The conversation instantly gets really emotional, very focused on, not in my backyard. By asking for agreement on objective criteria, first things you can measure, the city is trying to sort of depoliticize that initial step. 

Ai-den: So they're making the community define what good looks like in this context before anyone can get defensive about a specific spot. That's. Yeah, that's pretty sharp. 

Ai-leen: It's, they're asking people to think about things like, you know, how close should it be to services? What about transportation And the big one, neighborhood compatibility. We know neighborhood compatibility is often the real flashpoint in these discussions everywhere. Defining it upfront, objectively is an attempt to set a standard for what that actually means here in Elk Grove. 

Ai-den: Is there a downside though. Like, does setting the rules so early, lock them in too much? What if a great site pops up later but doesn't perfectly fit the predefined criteria? 

Ai-leen: That's a fair point. It probably does reduce flexibility a bit, but the advantage they gain is clarity and being able to defend the final choice. When they do eventually propose sites, they can point back and say, look, this meets the criteria you helped establish. Today's survey feedback builds that whole foundation. They expect to share a list of potential sites based on these criteria, sometime in early 2026 for more discussion then.

Ai-den: Got it. So the window to shape those core rules is right now. If you wanna take that survey, it's at www.elkgrove.gov/longtermshelter. Okay. Switching from future plans to something immediate and maybe a bit alarming. Let's talk about a hidden hazard possibly sitting in your junk drawer right now. This is where it gets really interesting for me because it's about something we all use constantly. Lithium batteries. 

Ai-leen: Yeah, the silent fire risk. The city and the Cosumnes Fire Department are really pushing this message using National Fire Prevention Week as a hook. People just don't realize how many gadgets have these batteries and what a massive problem they become if you just toss them in the bin.

Ai-den: Right? It's not just phones and laptops anymore. It's your stick vacuum, maybe your electric toothbrush, kids toys, that old Kindle you finally gave up on, and when those go into the regular trash. That's where the danger starts. 

Ai-leen: That's the absolute key takeaway. Lithium batteries cannot go in the trash period. When they end up in a garbage truck or at the landfill, the compactor crushes them, punctures them, damages them somehow, and when that happens, they can short circuit overheat. It's called thermal runaway, and boom, sparks smoldering, actual fires that can take out a whole truck. It's a serious growing issue for waste services everywhere. 

Ai-den: Wow. Okay. So the fix is simple, it's free, and sounds really necessary. How do people get rid of these things properly? 

Ai-leen: Elk Grove has a special waste collection center. It's straightforward. It's located at 9255 Disposal lane. It's open four days a week, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. It's a partnership to make it easy for residents to do the right thing and keep that fire risk out of the garbage trucks. 

Ai-den: Good to know. Shifting gears again, let's talk about some more positive ways to connect with the community. If you wanna chat with local police officers, there are a couple of good chances coming up. First one's super accessible. 

Ai-leen: That's Coffee with a Cop. It's actually happening on National Coffee with a Cop Day, which is this Wednesday, October 1st. And it's, you know, more than just a photo op. It's a really informal way for people to meet officers, ask questions, raise concerns, whatever in a non-emergency setting. Super important for building trust. 

Ai-den: Nice. Grab a coffee. Have a chat. Where do people need to go? 

Ai-leen: There'll be at 18 Grams. That's at 9677 East Stockton Boulevard. It's pretty early. 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM so maybe stop by on your way to work. 

Ai-den: Okay. And then later in the week, the City's Diversity Inclusion Commission has its annual Cultural Connections event.

Ai-den: These always focus on one specific community within Elk Grove, right? 

Ai-leen: Yeah, exactly. And this year the event is called Elk Grove Out Loud. It's a celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community. The whole point is to highlight the community's history, its culture, its activism. The push for change. Sounds like it'll be a really enriching evening. 

Ai-den: What's it like if you go. What happens? 

Ai-leen: It sounds like a mix of storytelling and performance. They'll have community members sharing their own stories plus entertaining performances. It's really about showcasing the community's vibrancy. It's happening Monday, October 6th, starts at 6:30 PM over at District 56, and admission is free. You can buy food there if you want, though.

Ai-den: Okay. We absolutely have to wrap up the events with the biggest one. The one that kind of proves Fall in Elk Grove is enjoyably absurd. The Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin Festival. It's back at Egg Grove Park this weekend. 

Ai-leen: Ah, yes, pure fall fun. And the source material definitely positions this as the family event. The main draw is just the sheer size of these things. You've got the giant pumpkin way off. These pumpkins get huge, like thousands of pounds sometimes. 

Ai-den: But the real show, the thing you just have to see is the pumpkin regatta. Watching actual adults try to paddle across water inside hollowed out giant pumpkins.

Far like, like temporary edible boats. It's that kind of wonderfully weird local festival stuff. 

Ai-leen: It is. It's totally unique. So you can cheer on the pumpkin paddlers, grab some food, listen to live music, but let's talk logistics because there's a choice to make here. Admission is free. 

Ai-den: But getting there, that needs some thought.

Ai-leen: Right? If you drive and want to park in Elk Grove Park, it's gonna cost you $20 per car. However, if you bike over, they've got free bike valet parking seems like a pretty good incentive to use pedal power. 

Ai-den: Yeah, saving 20 bucks is definitely a good motivator. If you want all the schedules and details on the way off and the regatta, you can find it at www.Cosumnescsd.gov/GPF. 

Ai-leen: Worth checking out for sure. 

Ai-den: And just like that, boom. You're current. We covered a lot of ground. Defining that relaxed, low scale vibe for Main Street shaping rules for a future shelter, how not to burn down a garbage truck with batteries, and how to save mone, parking at a giant pumpkin race. You are definitely more informed now than 10 minutes ago.

Ai-leen: Yeah. And the key thing now is to act on this info, right? Take those surveys on the shelter criteria on the main street personas. Your chance to have a say is now. Go to the events. Engage. Understanding these little updates. They really do add up to the bigger picture of where Elk Grove is heading and how you as a resident can actually nudge that direction.

Ai-den: So as you're thinking about that relaxed persona for Main Street, the one inspired by places like Downtown Winters and Hanford focused on low scale architecture. Here's something to chew on. Beyond the things they mentioned, like wide sidewalks or places to rest, what kind of major development is intentionally being blocked or excluded by choosing that low scale aesthetic?

Ai-den: What does low scale implicitly say no to? Something to think about. 

Ai-leen: Until next time, 

Kristyn Nelson: Thank you for listening to the Elk Grove CityCast. Tune in again soon for another deep dive into the news events and happenings around the City of Elk Grove. Like what we're doing? Please rate, review, and subscribe to the show to help spread the word to other audiophiles. Want more news before the next episode? Follow the city of Elk Grove on social media. You can find us on X Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Nextdoor, or get our news delivered directly to your inbox by signing up for the city's weekly email update @elkgrove.gov. Thanks again for listening For the City of Elk Grove, I'm Kristyn Nelson.