The Kern Council of Governments has announced their annual Regional Awards of Merit for the year 2019 with the City of Tehachapi receiving two honors.

The first Award of Merit was in the category of Transportation for the downtown Park & Ride and Transit Center; the second Award of Merit is for Journalism, the second consecutive year the City has received this honor.

The Regional Park & Ride and Transit Center opened on Feb. 25, 2019 and was almost at 50 percent capacity following the ribbon cutting. The $1,495,000 grant funded project provided 100 new parking spaces and brought multiple agencies together to help the Tehachapi commuter.

“We are honored to be recognized for this public project. We have known for years of the need to provide a place for commuters and transit riders to collect but the project is more successful than we ever imagined,” said Jay Schlosser Development Services Director.

The Park & Ride and Transit Center is conveniently located in the Downtown business corridor and allows visitors to utilize the additional parking spaces every weekend in addition to the weekday commuter. All bus services for the community moved to the new center.

The Regional Award of Merit for Journalism recognizes the City’s community videos series for a second time led by Community Engagement Specialist Key Budge. “We pride ourselves in the different ways we communicate with the public, we are constantly sharing information,” said Budge.

The City created an informational video regarding the Public Safety Power Shutoffs to assist the community in being aware and prepared for the future events. Following several PSPS events affecting the area, the City held several interviews with news agencies at City Hall. Budge recorded the interviews for viewing in their entirety. State elected officials and SCE received copies of the videos.

The video views in 2019 increased by 38 percent to more than 160,000 combined views.

The Regional Awards of Merit will be presented as part of the Kern Council of Government’s annual awards ceremony on Thursday, March 5, in Bakersfield.