The Weekly Newspaper of Torrance Herald Publications - Torrance, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 4, No. 42 - October 16, 2014 Inside This Issue Calendar...............................3 Certified & Licensed Professionals.....................10 Classifieds............................4 Crossword/Sudoku.............4 Food.......................................5 Legals....................................9 Pets......................................11 Police.....................................3 Politically Speaking..........12 Real Estate.........................12 Sports.................................2,6 Weekend Forecast Cancer Survivors Salsa with the Pros at “Dance or Bust” Breast cancer patients, survivors and staff from Torrance Memorial Medical Center’s Vasek and Anna Maria Polak Breast Diagnostic Center at “Dance or Bust,” an event raising awareness for the importance of early detection and screening mammograms. See more photos, page 2. Photo by Christina House. Friday Mostly Sunny 70˚/58˚ Saturday Partly Cloudy 71˚/60˚ Sunday Partly Cloudy 73˚/61˚ Council Approves Construction Support Services for Crenshaw Rehabilitation By Cristian Vasquez On the recommendation from the Public Works Director, the Torrance City Council approved an amendment for consulting services with AndersonPenna Partners, Inc. in order to provide support services for the Crenshaw Boulevard Rehabilitation. With the amendment the council agreed to increase the initial agreement from $137,070 to no more than $167,070 for the Crenshaw Boulevard Rehabilitation, T-22 project which extends from 190th Street to 182nd Street. Funding for the amendment will not be made available from the general fund as it is provided through federal grants, which according to the staff report were “previously appropriated.” The initial agreement with AndersonPenna Partners, Inc. and the City of Torrance was for consulting services for 100 working days on a project that was scheduled to begin during the summer. Construction began on schedule and continues to date. However, the staff report indicates that city staff and the contractor encountered unexpected soil conditions that have slowed the construction phase with regards to landscape improvements. Due to the soil issues discovered the overall construction efforts of project were delayed. Until the uncovered soil issues were resolved, construction was halted and included scheduled pavement repairs on Crenshaw Boulevard, all the way under the 405 Freeway, ending just south of 182nd Street. The initial 100 days of construction have been extended to 130 working days, which is considered to be enough time for the repairs for the project to be completed. The approval by the council will ensure that construction support services will be used throughout the entire phase of the project. Services will include assistance to city staff with no matching funds required by the city. Council Amends Agreement for GEAR-UP Training Services A third amendment was approved to the agreement with the El Camino Community College District in order to provide an additional $30,000 for GEAR-UP training services. GEAR-UP is a “supervisory development and training program designed to provide supervisors the principles, practices and resources to perform successfully as a first line leader” stated the staff report. El Camino College customized the training program, along with staff. The overall objective of the program is to prepare employees on advancement within the organization. In addition, it continues education for supervisors and managers, while “enhancing current work techniques” that all employees can adopt and which are expected to reflect a higher quality service to the community. The staff report states that during the 2006-07 fiscal year the city council approved funding the development of a citywide training program with the goal of enhancing services to the city and city staff performance. By March of 2012 the GEAR-UP program was launched as a pilot program to be used as a training program for supervisors in order to have a critique of the program’s effectiveness based on its curriculum, methodology and the trainers. Based on the information provided staff was able to work with El Camino College in order to customize the training program to fit the needs of the city. As a result, the program was modified in order to offer two different training tracks: one for current supervisors and one for city staff working toward achieving a supervisorial position. The staff report states that to date the supervisor track is a 40-hour program that is a combination of leadership concepts with specific policies and procedures established by the City of Torrance. Through the track trainees learn supervisory knowledge and acquire skills that they can apply throughout the city. For the second track of training, designed for aspiring supervisors, prepares current employees to become supervisors through a 22-hour training program. So far 95 employees have enrolled in the GEAR-UP program with 48 employees in the current supervisor track and 47 in the aspiring supervisor track. The GEAR-UP training program has achieved a 97 percent completion rate with 14 percent of the employees who have graduated from the aspiring supervisor program actually earning promotions into supervisory positions. With the amendment to the initial agreement, there will be an increase of $30,000 to the initial contract. The contract will extend until Dec. 31, 2016 and the funds for the new agreement will be made available thorough the City Manager’s Operating Budget. •
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