Lawndale Tribune AND lAwNDAle News The Weekly Newspaper of Lawndale Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - May 22, 2014 Community Center Renamed for Former Lawndale Mayor Hofmann In a ceremony presided over by new mayor Robert Pullen-Miles and the City Council, the Lawndale Community Center was renamed "Harold E. Hofmann Lawndale Community Center." Approximately 100 citizens, including the former Lawndale mayor's widow, Doris Hofmann, her children and her grandchildren, attended the dedication. Hofmann, who was the longest serving mayor in the county and the state of California prior to his death on November 16, 2013, was instrumental in the building of the center, which opened in January 2012. Photo by Nancy Peters. Council Chooses Fifth Council Member and Five New Planning Commissioners By Nancy Peters The Lawndale City Council has been operating with four members since November 16, 2013 when then Mayor Harold E. Hofmann suddenly passed in his sleep. Mayor Pro-Tem Pat Kearney led the Council in line with his duties until April 28 when the newly-elected Mayor Robert Pullen-Miles was sworn in after he won the election held on April 8. That left one seat still vacant on the five-person elected official’s panel. An item on the agenda at Monday, May 5th’s Council meeting resulted in a decision to allow qualified citizens to submit an application to be considered as a new City Council member. Seven applications were received in the City Clerk’s office by the stated deadline; six of those candidates were present and spoke briefly to the City Council. The City Council members each supported applicant Daniel Reid, who had been a candidate for mayor in the recent election. Mayor Pro-Tem Jim Osborne stated he had supported Reid in the recent election and since Reid had garnered more than 700 votes, he felt the people had “spoken” and there is no need for a special election. Both Council members, Kearney and Larry Rudolph, stated their support for Reid in the election as well. Mayor Pullen-Miles stated that he was supporting the choice of Wanza Tolliver as the applicant to be appointed to the Council for several reasons, including the fact that she is a business owner in Lawndale, has served on the Planning Commission and understands the process, and also because a woman would add a much-needed perspective to the dais. He was not able to place a motion on the table as Osborne had made a motion for Reid prior to the discussion. Osborne called for the question and received a second before the vote. Daniel Reid was appointed to the Council by a majority vote of 3-1, with Mayor Pullen-Miles casting the dissenting vote. The appointments of the Planning Commission members whose terms all expire on May 31, 2014 after a two-year appointment garnered 17 applications, four of those from current serving commissioners. Twelve of the candidates introduced themselves from the podium to the City Council. These appointments are made by the mayor and approved by the City Council. Based on the applications for Planning Commissioners, the mayor appointed four members to allow a quorum and the Commission to meet since there are many items under its jurisdiction that require review. The four appointments were made after a motion was made and seconded, but only after lengthy discussion resulted in questions to the mayor as to why five appointments were not in his motion and Rudolph and Kearney stated they did not fully agree with one or more members of his list of appointees. Pullen-Miles responded that he still wanted to vet several of the candidates before appointing one of them. The vote for Randall Abram, Jerry Finley, John Martinez, and Pedro Cordova to serve on the Planning Commission for a period of two years beginning on June 1, 2014 was passed by a majority of 3-1 with Council member Kearney casting a dissenting vote. In other business, the City Council approved an ordinance amendment to include new noise regulation exemptions, such as emergency vehicles; public utilities and public works projects; safety and warning devices of railroads crossings; school events and activities on school property; an dcity events on city property. Parking penalties for any violations within the city of Lawndale will increase by $2.00, which could possibly add as much as $20,000 to the city General Fund with no penalties being subsidized by the city. The ordinance will take effect 14 days from May 19. Examples of new violation fines are $33 for exceeding the Time Limit, Stopping in prohibited or red curb spaces, or obedience to parking signs violations; $38 for double parking, parking in Temporary no parking, blocking a fire hydrant. The new parking penalties violation schedule is available in the City Clerk’s office. Incentives with lower fees for child participation in Lawndale Summer Program activities when a parent volunteers to coach or help out in some other way were approved in the Consent Calendar. The City Council honored Marcia McMahon as the Outstanding Older American of Lawndale with a plaque. Three Leuzinger High School scholarship recipients were honored by the City Council with Certificates of Achievement. The Council recognized National Public Works Week, May 18-24, 2014, was and thanked all the employees who work in that department for their hard work. Public Works Director Nasser Abbaszadeh presented the mayor and Council members with an old street sign for the street where they reside. New street signs are being installed throughout Lawndale and all old street signs are on sale for $10. The next meeting of the Lawndale City Council will be on Monday, June 2, at 6:30 p.m. • Inside This Issue Calendar...............................3 Classifieds............................3 Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................6 Hawthorne Happenings....3 Food.......................................8 Legals............................. 2,5,7 Looking Up...........................4 Politically Speaking............5 Police Reports.....................2 Seniors..................................6 Sports....................................4 Weekend Forecast Friday AM Clouds PM Sun 69˚/59˚ Saturday AM Clouds PM Sun 69˚/60˚ Sunday Sunny 73˚/61˚
Lawndale 05_22_14
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