GLENDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING PREVIEW
INSPECTION PROGRAM
Glendale fire officials will seek authorization Tuesday from the City Council to submit a grant application to the state Environmental Protection Agency that, if approved, would help fund a new inspection program for hazardous substances stored above ground.
Currently, the state Water Resources Control Board inspects the handling, storage and disposal of hazardous substances — like petroleum-based products — that are stored above ground.
The Glendale Fire Department’s Environmental Management Center has been designated as a Certified Unified Program Agency since 1996, and currently assists with the inspections. The $43,600 grant would assist the department with establishing a new program to transfer responsibility of the inspections from the water board to the city management center.
Part of that would involve developing a new fee structure at the management center to absorb the added cost of administrating the inspection program — a move that isn’t expected to come until 2010.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The council will likely authorize the Fire Department to submit the application, especially since the grant would not require matching funds from the city.
SEWER MAINTENANCE
A $78,250 contract for a firm to inspect 185 sewer maintenance access holes will come before the City Council for approval. The inspection is part of a pilot program that will allow Public Works officials to assess the condition of some of the city’s oldest access holes to determine if future repairs will be needed.
Many of the city’s 7,450 maintenance holes were constructed in the early 1900s, and engineers are calling for the inspection program to assess their condition.
WHAT TO EXPECT
That City Council will likely approve the contract since it is about 10% less than the city engineer’s original cost estimate.
SLURRY SEAL
The City Council will be asked to approve an $847,000 slurry seal project for portions of Broadway, Central Avenue and Glenoaks Boulevard.
The project seals cracks in the pavement to prevent further street deterioration and prolong service life. Crews will maintain open lanes for traffic during the sealing, which is expected to begin in April if the contract is approved Tuesday. Work would likely finish in July.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The council will likely approve the project as part of the city’s annual infrastructure maintenance effort.
SMART METERS
Glendale Water & Power will seek $273,700 for an outside consultant who would help the utility develop a plan for implementing and maintaining smart meter technologies.
The move is part of a July 2007 directive from the City Council to transition the utility to smart meter technologies, which once installed could cut down on administrative costs and energy use.
Part of the consultant’s job would be to help power officials decide among a list of smart meter options and to come back with a suggested business plan for the chosen model in December.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The council will likely appropriate the funding since a decision on the consultant company, KEMA, came after a thorough Glendale Water & Power committee selection process.
WATER AND ELECTRIC
Glendale Water & Power will seek nearly $1.9 million for a new data collection and monitoring program for its water and electric systems.
The Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system, known as SCADA, would also allow power officials to remotely control electric substation circuit breakers.
The current monitoring system was installed in 1984 and is limited in its ability to incorporate new functions, such as power generation control and flow monitoring. It also uses proprietary technology, which limits the ability to sync the system with new devices that the utility has begun to use.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The council will likely approve the project since the current system is approaching its life expectancy and is a high priority project for Glendale Water & Power.