Page 12 February 21, 2019 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
City Council from front page
The City’s traffic engineering firm, Richard
Garland and Associates, recently conducted
a one-hour observation during peak morning
traffic at the intersection and counted 68
vehicles on Walnut as well as 34 vehicles,
six pedestrians and two cyclists on Sheldon.
According to state guidelines, multi-way stop
signs may be warranted if there at least 300
vehicles per hour for eight hours a day on the
major street (Walnut) and a combined volume
of a minimum 200 vehicles, pedestrians
and bikes entering the intersection from the
minor street (Sheldon). Garland’s study also
concluded sight lines were sufficient. During
public communications, nearby residents
Ryan Quinnan said the analysis didn’t take
into account other key criteria, but instead
put all its weight on traffic volume. “Visibility
is definitely not 250 feet going up
the hill,” he said. Julie Quinnan described
her recent near-accident experience when
she couldn’t see the other car coming. She
contended that a one-hour observation was
not enough. Meanwhile, the Council decision
came with a caveat, issued by City Attorney
Mark Hensley that installing a stop sign
deemed unwarranted could present future
liability issues.
Police Chief Bill Whalen updated the Council
on his department’s reorganization to become
more “operations-oriented” with expanded and
dedicated watch commander coverage and continued
emphasis on regular patrol plans. The
plan involved enhanced training, with quarterly
team block sessions and new training
sergeant and officer positions. Also coming:
a new Community Engagement Division;
expansion of the Community Lead Officer
Program; creation of a Recruitment officer;
implementation of a new marketing plan in
April; enhanced bonuses; and addition of
eight specialty/task force officer positions
as well as a specialty sergeant.
The Council also approved two of Whalen’s
position upgrade requests as well as another
to create a full-time crime analyst position
(the current one is part-time on contract).
The $102,877 needed for all the requests
will come out of existing department salary
savings with no impact on the City’s general
budget. Whalen asked the Council to increase
his department’s budget in the future when
personnel fills up and salary savings can
no longer cover the costs. The Council, in
keeping with its recent policy on new hires,
issued a directive to offset the additional
head count for the new hire elsewhere in
the department.
Tuesday’s public communications also
brought out individuals speaking on behalf
of the South Bay United Water Polo Club
who were concerned about insufficient
pool time at the new aquatics center. Club
president Kurt Fry reported that his group
was relegated to only a one-hour slot (8 to
9 p.m.) that he noted is too late for younger
players and not long enough for older athletes.
He emphasized that South Bay United is a
non-profit willing to pay peak rates ($15 per
lane per hour for 10 lanes) during off-peak
times and pointed out that 22 percent of the
players are El Segundo residents -- with five
attending the local high school but don’t
live in town. Five of the coaches are also
locals, Fry noted. The lack of pool time
surprised Brann, who said he hadn’t seen
the schedules yet. But he reiterated that the
Council’s wish was to prioritize El Segundo
residency in establishing which groups get
to use the facility the most – and that South
Bay United (along with Alpha Aquatics) got
equal nods in this regard.
Tuesday’s presentations included a $3,000
check presentation to the El Segundo Education
Foundation from the proceeds of the
recent El Segundo Police and Fire departments
“Battle of the Badges” basketball game; a
proclamation recognizing February as National
Black History Month; and introduction of
new firefighters Khalid Abdelshife, Alissa
Connell, Dylan Lowell and Javier Olmedo;
as well as recently promoted Eric Anderson
(from firefighter to paramedic) and Kevin
Heronema (from paramedic to engineer).
Chevron’s Rod Spackman addressed the
Council on the Jan. 31 lightning strike that
knocked out virtually all of the refinery process
units and resulted in flaring. He provided
video footage of the incident and called the
event a “force majeure” that no one could
have anticipated. Spackman added that he was
amazed no one was severely hurt. “Think if
this had happened at The Point,” he said. “It
could have been much more catastrophic.”
Spackman reported that it took the refinery just
over a week for all process units to get back
online, but no additional flaring took place.
He also mentioned the Feb. 1 “significant
odor event” that spurred many complaints
but did not pose a major risk. Meanwhile,
he noted that the refinery plans to install a
now-required fence-line monitoring system
by the beginning of next year that will measure
air quality in the area surrounding the
refinery. He said he will provide updates on
this item in the near future. •