Bradbury : City Fires Consultants

Bradbury City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to fire the Monterey Park consulting firm that was preparing the city’s general plan update, and granted the remainder of the contract to a West Covina firm.

Lockman & Associates, which drafted the original general plan in 1972, has a long history with the city of Bradbury, but community members and city officials were dissatisfied with how consultants conducted public meetings on the plan, Interim City Manager Keene Wilson said.

In a special meeting Wednesday, the council voted 4-1 to suspend the $37,800 contract. About $22,600 of that will be transferred to the West Covina firm of David Evans & Associates, which has been retained to do the environmental impact report required for the update, Wilson said.

Wilson said he did not expect the change in consultants to delay the process. “The schedule is for it to be completed by November,” he said.

In other matters, residents trying to recall Mayor Audrey Hon submitted petitions to City Clerk Claudia Vestal on Tuesday.

The petitions have 59 signatures, which have not been verified, Vestal said. Thirty-six verified signatures are necessary for the city to hold a recall election, she said. If the signatures are verified and the petitions certified, the City Council has two weeks to call a special election.

Residents launched recall campaigns against Hon and Councilman Tomas Melbourn after allegations that former City Manager Aurora (Dolly) Vollaire had spent tens of thousands of dollars of city money for personal gain. Vollaire is under investigation by the district attorney’s office.