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The Weekly Newspaper of Torrance
Herald Publications - Torrance, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 7, No. 39 - September 28, 2017
Inside
This Issue
Weekend
Forecast
Community Comes Out for
Coastal Cleanup Day
The turnout was strong for Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday, September 16 with members of the residential and business communities on-hand along with City of Torrance and regional officials. The photo
shows Team Torrance getting ready to “save our beaches.” Photo by TerriAnn Ferren. •
Drivers Flunk at Safety
Around Area Schools
By Rob McCarthy
South Bay schools rank dangerously
low in traffic safety because of distracted
driving and parents’ refusal to use designated
drop-off zones, according to a
data-analytics firm recently featured on
the CBS Evening News.
San Francisco-based Zendrive gave
the majority of South Bay campuses a
“D” in its “School Safety Snapshot,”
which the company released as students
and teachers headed back to school in
August. Zendrive compiled data taken
from phone apps of drivers using roads
near public and private schools in South
Bay and Los Angeles County, and gave
each campus a letter grade ranging from
“A” to “F.” Cell phone use by drivers,
hard stops and quick acceleration in the
vicinity of a campus resulted in a lower
grade on the Zendrive scale.
“The roads around your kid’s school
aren’t as safe as you think,” the Zendrive
project team said after studying driver
performance data around 1,768 schools
in Los Angeles County.
Three schools in Inglewood received
a “C minus”--the highest grade given to
any South Bay campus. ICEF Inglewood
Middle and Elementary Charter academies
topped the list of local schools, along with
Inglewood Christian School. St. Bernard
in Westchester also got a “C minus” and
See Safety, page 7
Calendar of Events.............2
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................2
Classifieds............................6
Crossword/Sudoku.............6
Legals.................................6,7
Politically Speaking............3
Real Estate...........................8
Sports.................................3,5
TerriAnn in Torrance..........4
Friday
Sunny
79˚/63˚
Saturday
Sunny
75˚/63˚
Sunday
Partly
Cloudy
75˚/63˚
City Council Approves Agreement
for Sewer Manhole Modifications
By Cristian Vasquez
or approval) from a government agency which
eligible for use of Sewer Impact Funds. It is
The Torrance City Council on Tuesday agrees
may cause either a direct physical change in
requested that the entire available balance of
to allocate $14,511.70 from the Sewer Impact
the environment or a reasonably foreseeable
$14,511.70 be appropriated to the I-149 project
Fee Fund balance to the 2014-2018 Sewer
indirect change in the environment.”
to help expend the funds in a timely manner.”
Repairs, I-49 to create a new budget of no
The City Council approved the Sewer Impact
This project was advertised for bid in July
more than $1,041,944.68. Also approved were
Fee Program back in August of 2005.
and it was sent to 11 construction industry
the specifications for the Hollywood Riviera
Through this program, there are charges and
trade papers. The five bids received were
Sewer Manholes, as well as a Public Works
fees that must be paid by the applicant of any
from: Grbcon, Inc. ($274,016); David T.
Agreement with David T. Wasden, Inc. for the
approved development project in order to pay
Wasden, Inc. ($344,250); Atlas Underground,
construction of said manholes.
for the costs associated to public sewer facilities
Inc. ($382,595); Clarke Contracting Corp.
The agreement with David T. Wasden, Inc.
related to said project. Public sewer facilities
($447,317); and Mike Prlich and Sons, Inc.
is in the amount of $344,250, including a
are identified by the City as those in need of
($462,475). While Grbcon, Inc. presented
$51,637 contingency fee, and will fund two
construction improvements based on the City’s
the most affordable of the bids, a week after
years-worth of construction for the manholes
most current sewer facility plan.
receiving it the City received a letter asking
(September 26, 2017 to September 25, 2019).
“As of September 1, 2017, the City has collected
that their bid be withdrawn due to an error.
“Many of the homes in the Hollywood Riviera
$51,225.79 in Sewer Impact Fees. These
After reviewing the document, City staff agreed
area of the city are served through sewer lines
funds must be spent on qualifying City projects
that there was an error in filling out the bid.
constructed in the 1950s that lie within five- to
within five years of being collected; otherwise
As a result, staff evaluated the remaining bids
six-foot-wide sewer easements along the rear
the funds must be returned to the applicants,”
and decided that David T. Wasden, Inc’s “bid,
of private residential properties,” states the staff
states the staff report signed by Beste. “The
licensure, reference, qualifications, performance
report signed by Public Works Director Robert
Hollywood Riviera Sewer Manhole, I-149 is
See City Council, page 6
J. Beste. “Routine maintenance of these sewer
lines by the City’s sewer crews is impeded by
a lack of manhole access points.”
In order to improve access to those sewer
lines, it was proposed by the City to construct
nine backyard-manholes. Also approved by
the Council was the determination that the
Hollywood Riviera Sewer Manholes, I-149
are exempt from environmental review based
on California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA) guidelines. Based on CEQA Section
15301 (b), any minor alterations to sewer lines,
minor or non-expansive of their current use,
are categorically exempt from any provisions
established by CEQA for review.
CEQA only applies to certain activities in
which state and local public agencies engage.
Any activities defined by CEQA as a project
require that all agencies comply with CEQA
guidelines. The CEQA website defines a project
as “an activity undertaken by a public agency
or a private activity which must receive some
discretionary approval (meaning that the agency
has the authority to deny the requested permit