The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 108, No. 6 - February 7, 2019
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................11
Classifieds............................4
Community Valentines.......2
Crossword/Sudoku.............4
Entertainment......................5
Food.......................................5
Legals.............................. 9,10
Letters...................................3
Real Estate..................7-9,12
Sports.............................. 6,11
Weekend
Forecast
Eagles Enjoy a Senior Moment
Before Capturing Ocean Title
On Senior Day, the El Segundo High School football seniors pose with their parents before defeating Santa Monica 3-2. The Eagles won the Ocean League by going 10-0. Photo: Gregg McMullin.
City Council Considers Which
User Groups Get Pool Priority
By Brian Simon
The issue of which swimming and/or water
polo groups should get priority time and space
at the new aquatics center on the east side of
town prompted one of the largest turnouts
of public speakers in recent memory during
Tuesday night’s El Segundo City Council
meeting. In all, 30 individuals (including
several youngsters) came up to the podium to
plead their case. The majority – in order of
frequency – represented the youth swim clubs
Alpha Aquatics and Beach Cities Swimming
as well as South Bay United Water Polo. The
above three groups were among nine who sent
proposals to the City of El Segundo describing
their vision and purpose, experience level,
staffing plans, rental needs and hourly lane
use rate offers.
When considering who should get dibs,
Councilmember Don Brann maintained that the
groups with the largest number of El Segundo
residents and coaches should move to the top
of the list --- and that both swimming and
water polo ought to be represented. Using that
criteria, he called for the El Segundo-heaviest
Alpha Aquatics and South Bay United to get
first rights to the pool – and then offer any
remaining time to other clubs. Brann also
wanted to carve out time for the local masters
program (SCAQ), but felt the proposed usage
fees would be prohibitive and should be
lowered by one-third. “I’m not in this for the
money,” Brann said.
However, the money was indeed a prime
consideration in evaluating the candidates, with
the projected annual City costs for the aquatics
center at about $1.1 million. According to initial
estimates, the City expects to recoup roughly
$900,000 the first year and tick up to over $1
million in years two and three. Recreation and
Parks Director Meredith Petit noted that the
City figures to operate the facility at a deficit
of $100,000 to $200,000.
Based on anticipated usage, Beach Cities
Swimming and Alpha Aquatics would generate
$160,000 and $130,000 respectively in annual
revenues with additional potential monies from
rentals for meets. Staff based the totals on lane
rental hourly rates that the Council approved
on Tuesday for short and long courses. Other
facility revenues will come from monthly
memberships, facility rentals, special events
and camps.
Mayor Drew Boyles emphasized the importance
of the financial side of things, reminding
the audience that the City will soon face a
structural deficit thanks mainly to escalating
pension costs. After a couple of attempts,
he achieved consensus with his colleagues
(Councilmember Chris Pimentel recused
himself because his children are in aquatics
programs) on a motion for staff to make a
decision. Boyles suggested considering current
and future El Segundo residents in making the
choice; prioritizing programs that have the
greatest participation during higher-revenue
peak times; and adding off-peak pricing to
accommodate the masters program or other
users (to encourage pool time during hours
it may otherwise be empty). He also listed
diversity of programming and maximizing
financial impact as directives for staff.
Even with all of the above, Councilmember
Scot Nicol was not ready to provide Boyles
with a majority vote. He asked the mayor to
revise the motion to guarantee Alpha Aquatics
peak-hour time and South Bay United off-peak
time. Boyles agreed and the new motion was
also enough to sway Brann to vote for the item.
How much pool time the groups in question
might receive is another story. Petit explained
that the joint-use agreements with the El Segundo
and Wiseburn unified school districts
provide each with three hours of weekday
use. With current scheduling, the pools are
in use until 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. most weekdays.
While Alpha Aquatics and South Bay United
hoped to get four hours of daily time, a more
realistic number is in the range of 2.5 to three,
Petit estimated.
Also on Tuesday, Finance Director Joseph
Lillio presented a lengthy and once again
sobering overview of the City’s pension liabilities.
He detailed current benefits for both
safety and miscellaneous employees and how
those are calculated. He discussed changing
market conditions and the dwindling CalPERS
discount rate that has negatively impacted El
Segundo and other agencies. Lillio also touched
upon the City’s unfunded pension liability for
employees who no longer work here as well as
future “normal cost” payments for those still
here. According to estimates, the City will pay
out over $24 million (28 percent of the general
fund) towards CalPERs in 2029/30– essentially
doubling today’s $12 million expenditure.
To address the problem, the City made ad-
See City Council, page 11
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