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. 17 - April 21, 2016 Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.....................14 Classifieds............................4 Community Briefs...............3 Crossword/Sudoku.............4 Film Review..........................4 Food.....................................15 Legals............................ 12,13 Letters...................................3 Real Estate.....................7-11 Sports....................................5 Weekend Forecast JV Boys Volleyball Earn Bosco- Valley Christian Championship The El Segundo High School Boys volleyball program took a step in the right direction last Saturday as the JV Team went undefeated in pool play. El Segundo beat power house Milliken HS in the Semifinals, 25-22, then went on to beat Cypress HS in the grueling final, 25-23, to earn the Bosco-Valley Christian JV Championship crown. Photo by Thomas Forsythe. • Friday Sunny 69˚/58˚ Saturday Sunny 70˚/57˚ Sunday Mostly Sunny 72˚/58˚ Council Puts Lighting Back in Richmond Project; Gets Plunge Update By Brian Simon During their final full meeting as El Segundo City Council members, Dave Atkinson and Marie Fellhauer voted to restore pedestrian lighting fixtures and related conduit for the Richmond Street Rehabilitation Project. Mayor Suzanne Fuentes provided the majority vote to move forward. On March 1, the Council had eliminated these items (along with structured soil and tree well pavers) after learning the project was over budget. However, good news from Finance Director Joseph Lillio on the City’s fiscal health prompted the group to revisit the matter and bring back the pedestrian lights/conduit ($149,000). The Council members opted to still shelve the structured soil ($135,000) after Recreation and Parks Director Meredith Petit indicated that the roots from the new king palm and strawberry trees should grow downward and not cause any problems. They also nixed the tree well pavers ($50,000), viewing those as unnecessary decorative enhancements. Mayor Pro Tem Carl Jacobson (also leaving the Council after choosing not to run in last week’s election) said he was not a fan of the pedestrian lighting and voted against the move. Councilmember Mike Dugan, who in the past indicated he is not in favor of including the 300 block of Richmond in the project, also dissented. He stated his preference to allocate funds to general safety improvements first rather than aesthetic ones. On a second matter, the Council unanimously approved a $200,000 expenditure to continue the community-wide annual sidewalk, curb and gutter restoration program. Lillio, in his first presentation since joining the City, provided 2015/16 budget mid-year numbers and reported that revised revenue estimates for year-end are $490,000 higher than originally adopted while expenditures are down $150,000. The increase is mainly due to an unanticipated $500,000 developer contribution. On top of a now $713,000 surplus, he noted that new transient occupancy tax (TOT) dollars from the passage of Measure B will yield an estimated $1.018 million in additional revenues by the end of the fiscal year (and $3.2 million annually after that based on current rates and room count). After funding the pedestrian lighting and sidewalks/curbs/gutters, the Council will still have another $1.4 million-plus to allocate towards other items. Otherwise, Lillio indicated that much of the budget numbers (and particularly expenditures, with a variance of less than one-half of a percent) were on target with initial projections. Also on Tuesday, Public Works Director Stephanie Katsouleas provided the latest update on The Plunge--which had been out of commission for three weeks but up and running again as of Monday. An unprecedented series of leaks besieged the pool as crews first attempted to repair the holes with fiberglass patching that had worked in the past. When this method failed, Councilmember Dugan (through his contacts with Chevron) arranged for ultrasound testing to look inside the tanks to get a sense of how corroded the steel is—and thus gauge the likelihood of future leaks. Several more patching attempts didn’t hold, so the City next consulted with four welders. Three of them said they were worried the heat would melt the tank, but one of them was willing to give it a try. A local family (the Dickmans) also fabricated a contraption to strap around the tank. It didn’t hold the leaks, but came in handy during the welding process. But while the welding paid dividends, new leaks kept coming to prolong the repair period. “After the first weld, two more holes sprung,” Katsouleas explained, adding that another leak followed the next day as well. In all, the welder patched eight holes. Meanwhile, a local chemist (Mark Price) provided the City with a special epoxy that can work in a wet environment for use on smaller holes without having to shut down the pool. “It was a huge community effort,” Katsouleas said of the various contributions. Katsouleas also reported on modifications made to the intersection of Main and Maple in the wake of concerns about traffic and pedestrian safety at the four-way stop. Since discussed by the Council last month, crews removed a tree that earlier caused distractions; added the words “Stop Ahead” to a flashing sign; painted “Stop Ahead” on the street legend in both directions; installed in-ground red and white reflective pucks; and ordered stop paddles that will go in the middle of the intersection. Local police will monitor and enforce the area with a report back to Council in a couple of months on the effectiveness of the changes. Katsouleas emphasized the desire for community feedback. Mayor Pro Tem Jacobson issued a reminder that other intersections along Main reported more accidents and warned not to set one ahead of the others in importance. City Clerk Tracy Weaver announced that today (April 20) her staff will canvass count the remaining 543 provisional ballots from last week’s election, and conduct a hand count of See City Council, page 13
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