The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo Herald Publications - El Segundo, Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 105, No. 12 - March 17, 2016 Inside This Issue Candidate Q & A.................5 Certified & Licensed Professionals.....................18 Classifieds............................4 Crossword/Sudoku.............4 Food.....................................16 Legals............................ 14,15 Police Alerts........................3 Real Estate.....................8-13 Sports....................................7 Weekend Forecast Kiwanis Club Good Citizen Award On Jan. 11, Daren Sheardown observed a male subject crawling through the window of a neighboring residence and called the police. Because of his quick action, officers responded to the scene and apprehended the two burglary suspects. Left to right: Kiwanis President Scot Nicol, Daren Sheardown, El Segundo Police Chief Mitch Tavera. Photo by Laurie Risk • Friday Mostly Sunny 66˚/55˚ Saturday Partly Cloudy 70˚/57˚ Sunday Partly Cloudy 68˚/56˚ El Segundo City Council Meeting: From Parks to PERS By Brian Simon On Tuesday night, the El Segundo City Council heard the results of a recent community Chris Donovan: El Segundo’s New Fire Chief By Brian Simon While much of the attention at City Hall these days centers around the upcoming municipal election, a notable new arrival made his way to town last month as Chris Donovan assumed the helm of the El Segundo Fire Department. The 49-year-old was the top choice among a number of candidates interviewed during a four-month search to replace long-time Fire Chief Kevin Smith, who retired at the end of September. Battalion Chief Breck Slover served in the interim leadership position until Donovan officially started on February 22. The new chief left a 10-year job in the same position for the City of Monrovia to come to El Segundo. He will be paid an annual salary of $213,000. “I am proud to have been selected to serve as Fire Chief for the El Segundo Fire Department and have received a very warm welcome from residents, business owners, City staff, firefighters and the City Council,” Donovan reported. “My initial impression is that El Segundo is a great community that has worked hard to maintain its small town charm for the residents while working survey and workshop to identify potential park projects to present to Los Angeles County for future grant funding consideration. The outreach was part of the City’s participation in the County’s Park Needs Assessment. While only 25 people attended the workshop, about 500 responded to the survey. Tuesday’s presentation from Recreation and Parks Director Meredith Petit and Recreation Superintendent Jessie Bobbitt featured a prioritized project list. Number one is to provide additional sports fields around town. Other desires include artificial turf replacement at Campus El Segundo, amenities such as a playground and picnic area at El Segundo Beach, a splash pad at Acacia Park, partnership with Hyperion to officially open a walking trail (with possible fitness stations and a dog park) from Imperial down to Grand along the western edge of the city, playground replacement at Washington Park, restroom facilities at all local parks, and renovation of The Plunge. Of the respondents, 75 percent indicated they visit El Segundo parks at least once a week. Most gave high ratings for condition and cleanliness at Library Park and Recreation Park, and were somewhat to very satisfied with existing amenities. Considering new park amenities, more than half of those surveyed hoped to see trails/walking paths as well as a splash pad in the community’s future. Among the desired improvements are shaded playgrounds, restrooms at Richmond Street Field, covered picnic areas, George E. Gordon Clubhouse renovations, a revamped hockey rink, and fencing around playgrounds. Petit announced that the Hilltop Park playground is about to re-open with the completion of a renovation project funded by grant and developer impact fees. The research-based design features six key elements of play and will be a national demonstration site for Playcore for other cities to consider. In addition to new features, the playground will also have yearround restrooms open daily from 8 a.m. to dusk. Tuesday’s meeting also included a 3-2 vote to change the employee group retired and current Council members are tied to so that existing medical benefits may be maintained. The Council was formerly connected to the Executive Management Group (EMG) and will now move to the Police Support Services Employees’ Association (PSSEA). The vote was in response to a recent Council action to resolve a dispute with PERS (California Public Employees Retirement System). PERS maintained that a monthly $1,200 stipend provided to EMG employees should not be included in these individuals’ retirement benefit calculation. The $1,200 was also equal to the monthly See City Council, page 14 See Chris Donovan, page 6
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