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. 46 - November 3, 2016 Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.....................14 Classifieds............................4 Community Briefs...............3 Crossword/Sudoku.............4 Film Review..........................6 Legals............................ 12,13 Obituaries.............................2 Pets......................................15 Real Estate.....................8-11 Sports....................................5 Weekend Forecast Engineering Pathway Exposes Students to a Field of Dreams The ESHS Engineering Pathway is made possible through the great generosity of Chevron and ongoing support of our El Segundo Educational Foundation. In addition, the curriculum is supported by the El Segundo Unified School District’s partnership with Project Lead the Way (PLTW). The pathway uses PLTW’s Engineering curriculum, empowering students to step into the role of engineers, adopt a problem-solving mindset, and make the leap from dreamers to doers. Each course in the Engineering sequence builds on the skills and knowledge the students gain in the preceding courses. Photo courtesy of the El Segundo Unified School District. See more in Community Briefs on page 3. • City Council Extends TopGolf Timeline, Postpones Vote on Oversized Vehicles By Brian Simon On Tuesday night, the El Segundo City Council Chevron Wins Safety, Project Awards as New GM Looks to Bright Future By Brian Simon When you live in a town with a number of major industrial tenants, ensuring community and environmental safety is critical for both residents and businesses. Given that fact, a piece of reassuring news can go a long way to alleviate any concerns. Such was the case when Chevron in El Segundo earned the title of safest operating refinery in the country after winning the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers Association’s (AFPM) 2015 Distinguished Safety Award-Platinum (DSA). It was the first Chevron facility to win the DSA since 1999. In being selected for the award in March by AFPM’s Safety and Health Committee, Chevron beat out a sizable list (over 600 applications) of candidates that ultimately narrowed to a final group of six. Of the 140 refineries throughout the country, Chevron was the only facility to satisfy each mandatory requirement outlined by AFPM. Among the notable achievements were a near-zero employee and contractor recordable incidence rate as well as no employee or non-employee workplace significant injuries for the previous five consecutive years. Additionally, the facility did not experience any community evacuation or sheltering events, nor any worker/contractor hospitalizations during the evaluation See Chevron, page 14 agreed to extend the timeline to satisfy the numerous conditions of the proposed TopGolf development. The due diligence period began February 2, 2016 with an initial expectation to take one year. But it also came with an option to tack on an extra 150 days—which will be necessary in this case to buy more time to fine-tune the design. Rupesh Bhakta, Vice President, Acquisitions and Development for project developer CenterCal Properties, said his company would be amenable to the Council’s request to add one extra month on top of the 150 days (pushing the deadline to Labor Day 2017 instead of the beginning of August) so that summer programming and events at The Lakes golf course won’t be disrupted. Both parties also asked for additional time (through February 2017) to resolve right-of-way issues with Southern California Edison and parking particulars with West Basin. CenterCal is also working with Chevron to nail down land deed approvals. Mayor Suzanne Fuentes and Councilmember Don Brann emphasized that they and their colleagues have yet to officially approve the TopGolf deal, but have been moving it along. This past May 17, the Council gave its blessing to the conceptual nine-hole course design recommended by the Golf Course Design Task Force as the most feasible option. The plan modified the original par-4 ninth hole to a lengthy par-3, while also reconfiguring holes three and four, and expanding the short game and putting green practice areas. The Council must still approve the final design in order for the project to proceed. Recreation and Parks Director Meredith Petit presented a tentative schedule of feasible dates should the Council move forward, with a 45-day public input period for the draft environmental impact report (EIR) in January/February, Planning Commission commentary in late January followed by a public hearing at the end of May, and a City Council certification hearing at its second June meeting with a second reading a month later. Final Council approval would then trigger the premises turnover, at which point CenterCal would close the facility and begin construction. Petit estimated the clubhouse and golf course construction to take six to eight months with a reopening in the spring of 2018. She projected 12 months to build the TopGolf facility at the driving range next door. Agreement provisions dictate that the clubhouse/golf course reopen at the same time or sooner than TopGolf. Upon the premises turnover, CenterCal would begin paying rent of $18,000 per month, with the amount increasing to $43,750 (or $525,000 annually) after 10 months or once TopGolf opens—whichever comes first. While fine with the new timeline and feeling the course design is as good as it can be given Friday See City Council, page 15 Partly Cloudy 73˚/58˚ Saturday Sunny 71˚/59˚ Sunday Partly Cloudy 68˚/57˚
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