City Hall News

ALHAMBRA: There are seven candidates for three seats on the City Council in the November election, according to the city clerk. With Monday’s deadline for filing past, the most heavily contested race is in the 2nd District, where incumbent Barbara A. Messina faces Louis Kuan, Thaddeus Wiecek and Michael Raad. Council members Michael A. Blanco and Mary Louise Bunker are stepping down after serving the maximum 12 years. In Blanco’s 5th District, Paul Talbot, a Chamber of Commerce president, faces Elizabeth Mack, a community activist. In Bunker’s 1st District, Mark Paulson, a city planning commissioner, is unopposed.

ARCADIA: The Santa Anita race track could be transformed into one of the biggest outdoor venues for music and entertainment in the Southland if the City Council gives final approval Tuesday to an ordinance allowing such events. The City Council last week voted 3-2 to give preliminary approval to the ordinance that allows the track to hold outdoor entertainment with a permit. Council members Sheng Chang and Barbara Kuhn dissented. After hours of debate, the council unanimously approved a $44.6-million budget for fiscal year 1994-95 that cuts 5% from all departments and eliminates the vacant positions of community development director and assistant to the city manager.

DIAMOND BAR: Frustrated by the City Council’s deadlock over plans to build a permanent building for South Pointe Middle School, a group of residents has served papers initiating a recall drive on council members Eileen Ansari and Clair Harmony. However, the city clerk’s office staff said the group failed to file papers with their office in the time required after serving a member and must now serve the council members again if they wish to proceed. Harmony said he supports the group’s right to petition for a recall, but said he doubts it will succeed.

GLENDORA: City Manager Arthur Cook acknowledged that the City Council inadvertently violated the new Brown Act by not scheduling a public comment during a May 25 budget workshop. Cook said the council omitted a comment period because the city had held a public hearing on the budget the night before, and under the old Brown Act a public comment period is not required at special meetings. But the new act stipulates that there must be time for citizens to voice their views at any meeting where the council takes action. At the budget meeting, he said, the council instructed the staff to put the budget in final form and review several recommended changes, a request that counted as a council action under the new law.

MONROVIA: The City Council in a closed session discussed but took no action on whether to sue Newco Waste Inc., which collects the city’s trash. City officials declined to elaborate on the reasons for the discussion. The city, a finalist in the National Civic League’s annual All-America Cities competition, failed by the slimmest margin to be among the 10 winners in the national competition. Monrovia finished 11th after tying for 10th on four ballots. Thirty cities made the two-day final in Oakland.

MONTEREY PARK: The City Council has extended to September negotiations with BCTC Development Corp. over the planned multimillion-dollar North Atlantic Avenue development. The council last year approved an $11.5-million investment in the proposed high-end mall and multiscreen cinema complex. Mayor Judy Chu dissented and Councilman Francisco Alonso abstained. Chu also dissented on a resolution passed by the council opposing the Alhambra City School District’s proposed facilities assessment district.

PASADENA: The City Council has approved a $124-million budget for fiscal year 1994-95 and voted to use half of a $2-million Rose Bowl rental fee from World Cup USA ’94 to boost crime prevention. The budget was approved 5-1 with Councilman William E. Thomson Jr. dissenting and Councilman Isaac Richard absent. The $1 million will be used to pay for two new permanent police officers and a city prosecutor hired for a year on a contract basis. It will also be used for programs for parenting, summer jobs, recreation and park maintenance as well as a pilot gang intervention program. The other $1 million will be held in reserves in case the state cuts city funding or additional policing costs from the World Cup runs beyond $615,000. City Manager Phil Hawkey also announced that the Rose Bowl made a $200,000 profit.

TEMPLE CITY: The City Council has approved a new city budget, created a Public Safety Commission and abandoned plans for a park assessment district. The council approved a $10-million budget with minor cuts and a five-member commission to review public safety issues. The council also approved a law making it illegal for day laborers to solicit work on city sidewalks and decided against proceeding with an assessment on property to rebuild a center at Live Oak Park.

WALNUT: The Walnut Improvement Agency approved a $334,000 budget for the Material Recovery Facility Task Force, established to oppose the City of Industry’s recycling facility, planned to be built next to Walnut. The budget includes $218,000 for hiring special legal counsel for a lawsuit against the recycling facility.