Page 12 February 13, 2020 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
Election 2020
Candidate Q & A from front page
and as a commissioner of local public art. I
would have preferred incentives for more art
as opposed to a fee. These funds should be
governed carefully with a diverse collection
of community stakeholders weighing in on
the public benefit of potential projects.
Lance Giroux: Yes, I support the city’s
commitment to the Cultural Art Fund. I believe
arts and culture are essential components of a
vibrant community and important next steps
in the evolution of El Segundo to becoming
one of the country’s best-places-to-live-andwork.
On the business side of the ledger, it
is a fact that businesses that are planning
relocation or expansion place a large emphasis
on a healthy cultural climate. In short,
a community that invests in itself is much
more attractive to prospective companies. The
arts are also a big boon to tourism. This is
a great opportunity to draw more attention
to our downtown space to further help our
local businesses thrive. I want to see more
cultural events that highlight our community’s
diversity. I would like to see how our parks
can be reimagined by incorporating creative
ideas and concepts. I am personally a huge
fan of the John Van Hamersveld mural on
Grand and would love to investigate additional
partnerships with him and/or other artists on
similar projects of that magnitude.
Carol Pirsztuk: On November 5, 2019,
I, along with the City Council, approved a
“Public Art or in-lieu fee requirement and
Cultural Development Fund.” By adopting
this ordinance, El Segundo became one of the
many cities in California to do so. I supported
this ordinance because it will help ensure all
future large (over $2,000,000) commercial
and industrial development projects either
encapsulate an artistic design or in exchange
pay into an in-lieu fee fund. The Fund will
be used to enhance our city by funding
projects approved by the Arts and Culture
Committee and City Council. An example
of a project that could be funded by this
fund is the reimaging of our city entrance
at Main and Imperial Highway.
2. What is your position on the airport’s
planned expansion south and closer to
El Segundo’s city limit?
Drew Boyles: El Segundo was the only
adjacent city that opposed the ATMP, which
has the primary objectives of adding Concourse
Zero, directly adjacent to Terminal 1, and Terminal
9, which would be the first terminal east
of Sepulveda. I have continually advocated to
the City of LA, the Board of Airport Commissioners,
state legislators and leadership at LAX
for limiting passenger expansion through true
regionalization of cargo and passenger traffic.
I have also been appointed to the Southern
California Association of Governments (SCAG)
Transportation Committee. This is important
because SCAG collects and publishes aviation
forecasts and is comprised of member agencies
that share our concerns. The latest forecast puts
LAX at over 140 Million Annual Passengers
(MAP) within 20 years, a more than 80%
increase over recent years.
I have recently garnered the support
of our colleague cities on the South Bay
Cities Council of Government (11 cities
including City of LA and County of LA),to
analyze and address the common concerns
we share in LAX’s operation and expansion:
air quality, traffic, parking, noise and safety
are just some of these concerns. Your City
Council will continue to protect against the
nuisances of LAX through advocacy, political
will and litigation.
Lance Giroux: LAX is the fourth busiest
airport in passenger traffic in the world -- after
Atlanta, Beijing and Dubai. I understand the
need to modernize and optimize the airport,
however, disagree on the effectiveness and
efficiency of remote gates, let alone a southern
extension. I believe that LAX has reached
its capacity and that expansion at other
regional airports is a viable and reasonable
alternative. Unfortunately, when you are a
small town like ours fighting against a big
city like Los Angeles, what you have is the
quintessential “David vs. Goliath” story. El
Segundo continues to fight the good fight
on this with the likes of former Mayor Carl
Jacobson, community leader Dick Croxall and
current Mayor Drew Boyles doing all they
can to protect our community’s interests. I
believe that there is strength in numbers and
we must look to form a coalition with our
like-minded South Bay neighbors. Unfortunately,
I do not think we can accomplish
much more than what we have already done
if we go it alone. It is time to join forces
and make a real impact now!
Carol Pirsztuk: El Segundo’s neighbor
Los Angeles World Airport (LAX) is going
through a much-needed transformation to
improve customer satisfaction and to add a
people mover intended to reduce the flow
of car and bus traffic throughout the airport.
However, with this transformation, LAX is
also proposing expansion designs that would
add a terminal east of Pacific Coast Highway
on the south side of the airport and expand
terminals on the north side of the airport.
The city and its lawyers have been working
diligently with LAX to ensure that the impact
of this transformation and proposed expansion
does not adversely impact El Segundo
and improves traffic flow. •
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