EL SEGUNDO HERALD October 1, 2015 Page 3 Herald in New York John and Christy Vasak with their daughter Danielle Vasak and her boyfriend Branden Neal out for dinner on 9/11/15 at the Peter Luger Steakhouse in Brooklyn, NY. Photo courtesy of John Vasak. • Community Briefs VOTE TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2015 cobb4schoolboard@gmail.com • cobb4schoolboard.com Paid for by Nancy Cobb for School Board 2015 (I.D.#1379089) Marie Fellhauer from front page Councilmember Marie Fellhauer, husband Justin, and new baby Klaus Uli. Photo courtesy of Marie Fellhauer. ELECT CHRIS POWELL El Segundo Board of Education Experience our district needs. Dedication our students deserve. IT’S IMPORTANT TO PARTICIPATE! “Voting in our local elections sets a positive example for our students. It demonstrates the importance we place both on civic responsibility and the future of their education.” – Chris Powell, CPA, CFO NOT SURE YOU CAN GET TO THE POLLS ON ELECTION DAY? REQUEST TO VOTE BY MAIL USING THE FORM ON YOUR SAMPLE BALLOT. PLEASE CAST YOUR VOTE for CHRIS POWELL Email ChrisPowell4SchoolBoard@gmail.com to request a lawn sign and to add your name to the list of Chris’s community supporters. ChrisPowell4SchoolBoard.com • Paid for by Committee to Elect Chris Powell for School Board 2015 #1378958 Tree Musketeers Make A Difference Day Join Tree Musketeers for our third annual Make a Difference Day event! On Saturday, October 24th we will be caring for the Trees to the Seas planted along Imperial Hwy and we need your help! The event will go from 9:30 to 11:30 am. To register or learn more contact volunteers@treemusketeers.org or call 310-322-0263. Richmond Street Fall Festival Richmond Street PTA’s Fall Festival will be held Friday, October 9, from 4pm to 8pm at Richmond Street School (615 Richmond Street). Admission is free but tickets are required for games and activities. For more information visit www.rssfallfestival.com. • up for the test, I didn’t exactly think it all through,” she laughed at her 24-year-old-self and her naiveté 19 years ago. “I didn’t focus on the fact that I would be issued a weapon! It just never crossed my mind. And then my first assignment was at the Newton (nicknamed “Shootin’ Newton”) Division in South Los Angeles, of all places. My assignments varied as I moved to other divisions in my career. I served in Southwest Division; Bicycle Unit; Undercover in Venice; as a Detective in the Wilshire Major Assault Crimes Unit. I worked Internal Affairs. I wrote grants in between for special projects. I was assigned to the Southeast Division, better known as Watts. In the Training Division I was the officer in charge of the Video Unit. Before he was LAPD Chief, and even since his promotion, Charlie Beck, with whom I have a great working relationship, requested me on several projects,” Marie recalled. “I was promoted to Sergeant and have been working out of the LAPD Academy in Westchester since January 2012 on a very complicated project to revamp the curriculum for officers training. I have been handling the Recruit Training Project since last October. Our LAPD officers are at the academy for six months and they are trained in every discipline before they sit in a patrol car or deal with ‘real’ criminals. Finding the best See Marie Fellhauer, page 15 City Council Gives Green Light to TopGolf By Brian Simon In a special meeting Tuesday night, the El Segundo City Council agreed to move forward with the TopGolf project. The vote was 3-2 with Mayor Suzanne Fuentes and Councilmember Mike Dugan dissenting. Tuesday’s decision came after months of discussions between the City and TopGolf and CenterCal officials to tweak components of the due diligence and lease agreement for the driving range portion of The Lakes at El Segundo. The lease has a potential 50-year length, with 20 years up front followed by six five-year options to renew. TopGolf must operate the facility for at least seven years. Among the key points ironed out over time, TopGolf/CenterCal will pay an annual ground lease of $525,000 (up $100,000 from the amount in the March 2014 draft agreement) with two percent increases each of the first five years and then 10 percent raises for each five-year period after. TopGolf will also pay $400,000 towards installing lighting on the golf course. After the first three years, the City will also receive three percent of gross revenues from TopGolf beverage sales. Driving range operating hours will be from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. El Segundo residents will be able to practice at discounted pricing between 6 a.m. and noon on weekdays and from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on weekends. TopGolf must also offer discounted monthly access cards for frequent users, promote youth and junior golf programs, employ golf professionals including those currently working at the driving range, provide a practice putting element, and allow middle and high school players to practice from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. at no charge and at a rate commensurate with other driving ranges at other times of the day. Despite the Council go-ahead, additional approvals still hang in the balance and will take another 12 months to wrap up. Tuesday’s action was a “first formal step,” according to City Attorney Mark Hensley. The lease will not become effective until all due diligence items are completed. Among other items the project will require a general plan amendment, alcohol permit, and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review/approval that will entail additional public hearings before the Planning Commission and Council. Final design plans for the new facility and golf course reconstruction must also pass muster. For instance, the golf course must maintain or exceed its current degree of difficulty and safety rating as well as today’s yardage. The deal will also require approval from Chevron (talks between TopGolf and refinery officials are in progress) to operate the facility on the property, plus extension of an expiring agreement with Southern California Edison to use the area of land adjacent or under power lines. Hensley noted that TopGolf could not at this time commit to a practice putting green until it determines how much room will be needed for parking. But he added that the company will do so if commercially reasonable. “If it will fit, then they will build it,” Hensley said. Dugan voiced his concerns about losing a park and recreation facility that has a positive cash flow and said the people who make it profitable will be displaced. He described the potential transition to TopGolf as being “in the wrong spirit” of the community and also pointed to the accessibility and “very affordable” pricing of the current operations. The comments sparked an exchange with Councilmember Marie Fellhauer, whose position on who should benefit from the driving range differs from her colleague. Dugan had hoped to include golfers from outside of El Segundo in the early hours practice discount, noting that roughly 90 percent of The Lakes’ patrons are not local residents and are thus the ones currently keeping the facility afloat. Fellhauer argued that the positive cash flow was only a recent phenomenon and that the City has lost money from the facility and could not use enterprise fund dollars to make the loan payment. She also took exception to the idea of the City subsidizing The Lakes so that “90 percent of users outside of El Segundo can play golf at an inexpensive price.” See TopGolf, page 14
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