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 - December 18, 2014 Santa Is Flying to Town Santa Claus, played by Mark Adams of Los Angeles World Airports, took a break from his work at the North Pole today to visit preschool and kindergarten students from Gardena and Hawthorne’s Zela Davis and Wiseburn’s Cabrillo elementary schools. Santa arrived and read “The Night Before Christmas” to the students at the Westchester Senior Center. Even though there is lots to do at the North Pole, Santa posed with the students before departing. Photo courtesy of LAX. Hawthorne City Council Announces to Residents a Plan for Hawthorne Mall By Nancy Peters The Hawthorne City Council met on Tuesday, December 16 in what was called as a “special” meeting when the regularly scheduled second Tuesday of the month meeting of December 9 was cancelled for lack of a quorum. Due to the last meeting of this body on November 12, 2014, the agenda for the evening included several presentations, seven to 10 items on each consent calendar, and actually outlasted the schedule of the live streaming for the public to witness the meeting. A significant announcement, already part of a television news item four weeks ago, offered an update on the potential reopening of the Hawthorne Mall sometime in the next 12 to 18 months. The mall property will become an outlet mall, after some renovations and reconfigurations of the inside of the structure are completed. No announcement of stores committed to bringing their outlets was made at this time. The City Manager stated that the revenues from sales taxes, business license fees, Utility Use Tax, and property taxes could reach $6 to $10 million annually. The City Council approved a new purchasing policy within the city for goods and services designating each department head as a Purchasing Officer for the department. Each department must submit a request for supplies and services during the budget process and authorization for purchasing shall be approved if and when the budget is approved by the City Council. Purchasing of goods under $5,000 may be accomplished with informal bids made by three vendors. The purchase of any goods or services more than $5,000 must be submitted through a formal bid process after a request for bids has been published and bids received have been in compliance with the bidding process. Purchases of more than $25,000 require a formal proposal submission and must be approved by a majority vote of the City Council. The City Manager with the Purchasing Officer may award contracts of less than $15,000 and include the contracting of subject matter experts when there is not sufficient staff to fulfill requirements for a specific service deemed necessary to conduct required city business. The City Manager and the Director of Finance will work together to assure compliance by all staff of the new purchasing policies. All other purchasing policies are hereby repealed with the adoption of this policy confirmed by resolution approval. The Hawthorne Police Department is the recipient of a grant in the amount of $129,000 to conduct a selective traffic enforcement program (S.T.E.P.), which includes DUI Saturation Patrols, Distracted Driving Enforcement, DUI/CDL checkpoints, enforcement of the seatbelt laws, bicycle and pedestrian enforcement operations, and enforcement of speed and stop sign laws through special public awareness efforts. The immediate approval and implementation of a new URGENCY ordinance was approved prohibiting any approval for any business license, use permit, or any application for massage establishments in any zone throughout the city of Hawthorne. The demolition of city-owned property at 12711 and 12717 Hawthorne Boulevard was awarded to HYM Engineering after the bidding process was conducted and a qualified vendor determined by the Chief of Public Works. An item submitted under the City Manager’s consent calendar was extracted to be considered as a separate motion and vote by the City Council following some questions about continuing services from Robert Levy and Enviro Communications, Incorporated, who has been consulting on projects dealing with the HUD repayment demand and assisting with other public policy, strategy and advocacy for the city with federal, state, and regional agencies. The request included authorization for $5,000 per month for the services provided by Mr. Levy on the Hawthorne Boulevard Specific Plan, the Hawthorne Mall project, the Office of Inspector General HUD audit, the CDBG HOME audit, and the former RFK Hospital site project. Continuation of the services of Robert Levy and Enviro Communications passed by a vote of 3-2 with Council members Alex Vargas and Nilo Michelin casting the dissenting votes. A request to close City Hall on Monday and Tuesday, December 22 and 23, 2014 and Friday, January 2, 2015, was approved by a vote of 3-2 with Vargas and Michelin casting the dissenting votes, stating that the public should have the services of city staff and City Hall functions available to them on those days since City Hall will be closed on December 24, 25, 26, 2014 and then on January 1, 2015. Residents William Meyers and Darvis Johnson were appointed to serve on the Senior Citizens’ Commission. Carol Steinhauer will serve on the Veterans’ Affairs Commission. Barbara J. Hendricks was approved for appointment to the Civil Service Commission. All were sworn in by City Clerk Norbert Huber during a recess for a City Council Closed Session prior to the adjournment of the meeting. Chief of Police Robert Fager introduced two newly trained members of the K-9 Unit with their Hawthorne Police Department handlers. One of the dogs, a Dutch Shepherd named “Middo,” is trained in patrol, evidence search, narcotics, and tracking. “Tango,” a German Shepherd K-9, is trained to detect explosives, as well as narcotics, patrol, and evidence searches. Both handlers and K-9s completed the 10-week intensive training conducted locally and within the Hawthorne Police Department. A safety program in collaboration with the Hawthorne Police Department (HPD) and owners/operators/management of several shopping centers in the city was recapped by Chief Fager. The assessment of sites and the need for safety measures in all shopping centers to prevent crime in the parking lots and stores resulted in the requirement for each shopping center to submit a security plan to the HPD. Smaller scale stores in “strip” malls are also cooperating with the HPD to prevent crimes in their establishments. Any time a citizen sees suspicious activity or suspects a crime is in progress, they should report what they witness to the HPD by calling 911 or 310-359-2888. The public is encouraged to not leave any purses, cell phones, packages, money; or anything that might entice a potential thief to break-in to a vehicle. Cars should be locked and homes should be secured at all times to prevent thefts. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Hawthorne City Council is on Tuesday, January 13, 2015. • Inside This Issue Classifieds............................3 Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................2 Finance..................................4 Food.......................................5 Hawthorne Happenings....3 Legals................................ 6-7 Looking Up...........................2 Pets........................................8 Politically Speaking............6 Seniors..................................7 Sports....................................4 Weekend Forecast Friday Partly Cloudy 62˚/52˚ Saturday Partly Cloudy 63˚/51˚ Sunday Mostly Sunny 68˚/53˚
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