The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 108, No. 8 - February 21, 2019
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................13
Classifieds..........................14
Community Briefs...............3
Crossword/Sudoku...........14
Food.......................................3
Legals..................................13
Obituaries.............................2
Police Reports.....................2
Real Estate................9-12,16
Sports....................................4
Weekend
Forecast
ESFD Urban Search and Rescue
This group of El Segundo Firefighters last week conducted USAR (Urban Search And Rescue) training. The drill focused on high-angle repelling and pickoff in the event of a suspended victim needing
rescuing. Photo: ESFD.
Friday
Sunny
58˚/45˚
Saturday
Partly
Cloudy
59˚/47˚
Sunday
Partly
Cloudy
59˚/48˚
Council Adopts $15/Month Trash
Fee for Residents; OKs Stop Sign
By Brian Simon
After a couple of motions resulted in
stalemates, an El Segundo City Council
majority (with Councilmember Don Brann
dissenting and Mayor Drew Boyles recusing
himself due to a potential business conflict)
on Tuesday night eventually voted to impose
a $15 monthly fee on one- and two-unit
residential property owners for waste collection
services. The group also approved (4-0)
a 10-year contract with new hauler EDCO.
When a state-mandated Proposition 218
process this past fall failed to yield enough
protest ballots, the Council had the option
to assess up to $20 a month (with annual
consumer price index adjustments tacked on
over a five-year period) rate. Brann, as in
past meetings on this topic, did not wish to
see any residential trash fee whatsoever. He
reasoned that residents wanted to stay with
longtime hauler Republic Services and keep
the existing manual collection system (EDCO’s
will be automated). He also argued that the
City of El Segundo is thriving financially
and he doesn’t buy into doom and gloom
budget prognostications. “We made it
through the Great Recession and didn’t kick
it [residential trash fee] in then. Why kick it
in now?” he said.
Brann made a motion to approve the
resolution, but suspend imposing any fee so
that residents won’t pay anything for now.
He instead suggested the Council revisit
the matter in a few months before passing
the 2019/20 budget. None of his colleagues
seconded the motion.
Mayor Pro Tem Carol Pirsztuk broached
the subject of a lower fee, with the thought
of perhaps splitting the difference at $10.
However, Councilmember Scot Nicol pointed
out this would be unfair to owners of three-
and four-unit properties who will have to
contract separately with EDCO and pay more
than twice as much. His motion to impose
the $20 got a second from Pirsztuk, but no
other votes.
It then came down to Councilmember
Chris Pimentel, who suggested the $15 fee.
He explained that at that particular rate, the
City’s subsidy portion will be equivalent to
what it paid annually in the past under the
original Republic contract (and thus present
a stronger case for asking residents to cover
the remainder). Pirztuk then made the motion
for the $15. Though teetering briefly,
Nicol agreed to provide the third vote and
the item passed.
The EDCO contract package will feature
automated weekly collection of trash, recyclables
and green waste with hauler-provided
carts for the 3,230 eligible single-family
and two-unit dwellings. Other base services
include four bulky item pick-ups per year
(six items per pick-up maximum), holiday
tree collection, abandoned item collection
in public right-of way, five City-sponsored
events annually, outreach and education,
two annual cleanup weeks for bulky items,
and two annual document shredding events.
Recent negotiations with EDCO resulted
in several modifications to the franchise
agreement. Those include quarterly rather
than monthly billing to property owners,
which will reduce the overall City monthly
rate from $21.98 to $21.26 to save $28,000
a year. In exchange for bumping up to the
10-year contract rather than the originally
proposed seven-year deal with an extension
option, EDCO will provide the bulky cleanup
weeks and shredding days at no extra charge
and save the City another $30,200 per year.
Other contract amendments: EDCO will
provide services at 15 City events (rather
than the originally listed five) at $500 per;
the City will pay $10,000 a year for EDCO
to provide unlimited annual collection of
abandoned items on public right-of way;
the new aquatics center will be added to
the service contract at $5,028 per year; and
EDCO will offer the same monthly cart service
rates ($21.98) to three- and four-unit property
owners who choose to contract with it.
EDCO hopes to start service on May 1. Prior
to that, the company will conduct extensive
public outreach that will include a dedicated
page on the City’s website, postcard/brochure
mailers, community meetings and carts on
display at various City buildings.
Also on Tuesday, the Council voted 4-1
(with a no from Brann) to install stop signs at
Walnut Avenue and Sheldon Street to alleviate
resident concerns about potential dangers at
what several termed a “blind intersection.”
This despite a staff recommendation to not
proceed because an analysis of the area (the
second in the last two years) revealed that
a stop sign at the location is “unwarranted”
due to low traffic volume, adequate visibility
and roadway geometry, and lack of accident
history (two collisions over the last five years).
See City Council, page 12