The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 108, No. 10 - March 7, 2019
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................11
Classifieds............................4
Community Briefs...............3
Crossword/Sudoku.............4
Food.......................................3
Legals............................ 10,11
Letters...................................2
Obituaries.............................2
Real Estate..................7-9,12
Sports....................................5
Weekend
Forecast
Daytrippers Visit Getty Center
Last month, the El Segundo Daytrippers went to the Getty Center and got to see all the wonderful art, lush gardens and an amazing clear view of the Greater Los Angeles Area. Photo: El Segundo Recreation & Parks.
Council Directs Staff to Find Pool
Time for Four Different Groups
By Brian Simon
The topic of which swimming and water
polo clubs ought to get priority at the new
aquatics center once again dominated the
latest El Segundo City Council meeting. On
Tuesday night, more than 30 citizens came up
to the podium to plead their case with most of
the speakers there this time to support Trojan
Water Polo – which up to that point had not
received any specific slots at the pool. After
the comments and lengthy discussion, the
Council (by a 3-1 vote with Chris Pimentel
recusing himself and Don Brann dissenting)
agreed to allot time to four groups and then
reevaluate how things are going in a year.
Brann brought forth the agenda item to
clear up any lingering confusion on how staff
should allocate pool time. He reiterated his
previous position to reward groups with the
highest local residency. “My priorities are
to serve the families of El Segundo first and
foremost,” he said. With that he supported
giving the most time to Alpha Aquatics (56
percent of the current membership is from El
Segundo) and South Bay United Water Polo
(26 percent live in town). Any remaining time
can be leased to the other groups, he said.
The resident numbers for Beach Cities Swimming
CUPA: Keeping El Segundo
Safe from Hazardous Materials
By Brian Simon
Despite its quaint community feel, El
Segundo is also home to a more-than-usual
number of businesses that deal in hazardous
materials. With increasing regulations in this
regard, the El Segundo Fire Department
recently hosted a free Business Emergency
Plan class for all companies and facilities
that have hazardous materials on their
premises. City of El Segundo Environmental
Safety Manager Victor Morales, noted that
the class covered basic requirements for
entering a Business Emergency Plan on
the California Environmental Reporting
System CERS Web Portal. “We feel the
class helped the business community with
compliance requirements from the State
of California, provided vital information
to first responders during emergency
response when hazardous materials are
present, and allowed the public to know
more about hazardous materials here in
the community,” he said.
The class, held at the El Segundo Public
Library, drew 29 participants. Morales
and Principal Environmental Specialist
Jairo Garcia conducted the sessions.
“It was great to meet the staff and get
questions answered in person,” one of
the attendees said.
Morales’ division, under the auspices
of the Fire Department, oversees regulatory
compliance for more than 300 sites in
See CUPA, page 10
(4 percent) and Trojan Water Polo (2
percent) fall well below the others. However,
supporters of the latter two on Tuesday spoke
of the quality of the organizations as well as
their strong connections with and histories in
El Segundo. The Trojan Water Polo program
originally started here in 1981 under local
water polo legend George Harris, for example.
On Feb. 5, the Council established five
criteria for staff to divvy up pool time for
the four groups in question: 1. Maximize
financial impact. 2. Consider current and
future residents. 3. Add off-peak pricing.
4. Offer diversity of programs. 5. Prioritize
programs with the greatest number of participants
during peak times.
The Council also directed staff that same
night to offer peak time to Alpha Aquatics
-- but interpretations varied as to the rest of it
and how heavily to prioritize residency rates,
RFP results and maximum financial impact in
making the determinations. Meanwhile since
the initial bids, South Bay United confirmed
its ability to pay the same rate as swim teams
while Trojan Water Polo indicated it’s not a
non-profit like the others and could pay the
for-profit rate if allocated space.
In trying to interpret the Council’s wishes,
staff proceeded by giving Alpha Aquatics
Monday through Friday peak time (starting
at 5 p.m. as Wiseburn High swimmers
wrap up their usage) as well as a Saturday
slot. Beach Cities Swimming got lanes
from 6-8 p.m. weeknights plus a Sunday
morning slot. South Bay United received
off-peak times (7:15 or later) weeknights
plus a 6-7 slot at The Plunge. Trojan Water
Polo, as mentioned, ended up with nothing.
Predictably, most of the clubs expressed
disappointment with the arrangements.
Speaking on the residency criterion, Mayor
Pro Tem Carol Pirsztuk pointed out that
“people change clubs all the time” and so
the percentages will vary. Also noted during
the overall discussion: the number of
El Segundo swimmers in each group will
Friday See City Council, page 9
Wind
58˚/46˚
Saturday
Mostly
Sunny
59˚/49˚
Sunday
AM
Showers
57˚/49˚