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EL SEGUNDO HERALD August 9, 2018 Page 15
Jocelyn. Beau.
City Council from front page
Hensley explained that it’s still too early in
the process to fully understand the liability
issues connected to the scooters, but he
warned, “People are getting injured—cities
are getting sued.”
Councilmember Scot Nicol worried that
there may be “no end in sight” as additional
companies such as Razor could also decide
to turn up in El Segundo. He pointed to the
initial 30 scooters quickly growing to 100
mostly concentrated in the downtown area.
“It became borderline obscene,” Nicol said.
“It was a distraction. They were everywhere.”
Nicol also pointed out that the free helmet
handouts didn’t happen and that the City hasn’t
received a penny in revenue-sharing. He added
that the companies have not done enough in
his estimation to educate the community on
proper operations and have instead put the
onus on the City. While not willing to ban
them for good, Nicol called for a timeout.
“I don’t think we are ready,” he said.
Mayor Pro Tem Carol Pirszuk reported
that none of the South Bay Cities Council
of Governments (SBCCOG) municipalities
agreed to permit scooters. “We’re the only
city allowing them,” she said and then added
that she would like a “cease and desist for all
scooter companies” until a workable business
model is in place.
Councilmember Don Brann was the sole
voice calling for a ban on July 17 and remained
steadfast on his stance. “Let’s shut
this thing down and take them out of town,”
he said. “Don’t let rogue companies come
in here and run over us.”
Councilmember Chris Pimentel noted that
no progress had been made over the past
few weeks in properly addressing scooter
parking and spoke of a “host of negatives”
and “laundry list of concerns” surrounding
the vehicles. However, he also saw the
potential transportation benefits (e.g. riding
from the Green Line to business districts or
from PCH to downtown for lunch) that go
with being a “forward-looking city.” He was
not in favor of an outright ban, but agreed
with a moratorium until a “sensible plan”
can emerge.
City Manager Greg Carpenter estimated
it has cost $6,000 to $10,000 in staff time
dealing with the scooters since those arrived.
“This is going on in more cities that I even
understood,” he said. “They’re all over the
country negotiating these deals.”
With Tuesday’s vote, the City will not issue
an encroachment permit to Bird and Lime.
Carpenter will direct the two companies to
remove the scooters and then come back with
a plan that works for the city. The Council
held off on a separate vote that would have
prohibited riding motorized scooters/bicycles
and similar forms of mobility on public
sidewalks and broadened the current prohibition
of riding bicycles and skateboards to
sidewalks throughout the city. The members
preferred to study the matter further, as not
to penalize scenarios such as kids learning
to ride bikes with training wheels.
Also on Tuesday, the Council adopted a
plan to address homelessness within the community.
The City received a $30,000 grant
last year from Measure H funds to develop
a homeless response plan and hired the firm
Lois Starr to put it together. Police Chief Bill
Whalen described the document as a “blueprint
that’s going to evolve” that will take a
“holistic city approach” involving all factions
of the community. In a lengthy presentation
to the Council, lead consultant Abby Arnold
summarized the seven goals of the plan.
Though El Segundo’s homeless head count
was relatively low (25 in 2017), Lieutenant
Dan Kim emphasized that it is an issue that
has become significantly more prevalent over
the last couple of years.
The Council also made some tweaks to fees
for aquatics facilities and programs previously
approved in June. Regarding group rentals at
the upcoming El Segundo Aquatics Center,
the City will use a request for proposal (RFP)
process to select which youth and adult water
polo and swim clubs it will select. “The
intention is to bring the best clubs and the
right clubs for El Segundo,” Pirsztuk said.
Under this arrangement, bidders will propose
a rental fee for their proposed usage (not
lower than an approved hourly rate) so the
City can realize maximum revenue during
high-demand times.
Meanwhile, drop-in program swim programs
at The Plunge will remain free for El
Segundo residents with a Rec ID card. The
Council approved fees for such usage in June,
but negative community feedback prompted
the Aquatics Subcommittee to recommend
holding off on those charges. The Council
members agreed.
Additionally, Recreation and Parks Director
Meredith Petit reported that what was first
called a “spectator fee” will now be known as
an “admission fee” assessed at $1 per person
at large events that last longer than six hours
or have three or more teams. Those charged
that buck will be individuals who enter the
facility just to use the showers/restrooms but
are not otherwise a participant or spectator
at the event. Petit also noted that a plan for
financial assistance will come back to the
Council after the Recreation and Parks Commission
deliberates on the item.
In an attempt to get the jump on an annual
issue early on, Chief Whalen recommended
full block closures eastbound on Acacia
Avenue from Center Street and northbound
California Street from Walnut Avenue each
evening during the increasingly popular
Candy Cane Lane period. He revealed that a
community meeting on the topic resulted in
“lots of ideas, but no consensus.” Solutions
discussed included limiting hours, going completely
dark, removing Santa, having the City
operate it as a special event, and providing
restrooms and trash cans. “Nothing we do
this evening will please everyone,” Whalen
said. “A lot of passion surrounds this event.”
Last year, El Segundo Police Department
experimented with both full and partial
closures. Whalen reported “horrible” traffic
impacts to the area “no matter what we did.”
He described the full closure concept as “the
best, most economical option.”
The Council ultimately agreed to go with
the recommendation, but asked staff to look
into a parking plan and ways for residents
of those blocks to have access in and out.
Pirsztuk asked about a possible permit
program along nearby Imperial Highway to
allow residents to park. “As much as I love
the idea of a full closure, I just don’t see
it,” Boyles said. He went on to suggest the
Embassy Suites lot as one parking solution
worth investigating.
During presentations at the beginning
of the meeting, Whalen enthusiastically
introduced new Crime Analyst Tasha Horn,
whom he described as a “central repository
of data” who “can crunch numbers” and “spot
crime trends.” Since arriving, she has used
sophisticated databases to identify and create
workups on suspects, assist detectives and
devise crime bulletins. Horn also networks
with counterparts in other cities.
A joint presentation from local librarians
Julie Todd and Kristina Kora-Beckman highlighted
upcoming “community conversations”
in El Segundo planned over the next year
in conjunction with the philosophies of the
Harwood Lab. The first of at least a dozen
of the conversations will take place on Sept.
12, with the idea of holding 90-minute gettogethers
for about 20 participants. These
will be information-gathering sessions with
subsequent knowledge reports prepared to get
a sense of what is important to the community
and what skills and resources are available
to achieve local aspirations.
And before the close of the meeting,
Chief Chris Donovan reported on the various
El Segundo Fire Department personnel
deployed as part of mutual aid to help deal
with the devastating blazes raging throughout
the state. This includes the Mendocino
Complex – the largest wildfire in California
history – as well as the Shasta County and
Yosemite fires. Donovan added that the outof
town deployments do not impact the level
of service provided within El Segundo. •
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This tantalizing mix of dogs, kitties and
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Nala (18-02590): Six-year-old domestic
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Romaine. Nala. Solo.