New City Manager Don Penman will promote Public Works Services Director Pat Malloy to the Assistant City Manager position and will promote Community Development Administrator Jason Kruckeberg to the job of Development Services Director. The City Council still needs to approve these appointments.
The City Council approved a contract with Rokni Electric for a new 800 Kilowatt generator and a new telephone system (not to exceed $342,251) from SBC-Pacific Bell for City Hall. A contract with Systems Source Inc. for furnishings for the new police station was also approved. The City Librarian job title was changed to Director of Library and Museum Services.
Arcadia City Council approves Water Master Plan update, presented by Pat Malloy, Public Works Services Director. The guide outlines a ten-year improvement program for over $44 million.
A package of new and increased city service fees designed to eliminate a potential budget shortfall will take effect on September 1, 2008. The higher fees are expected to bring Arcadia nearly $512,000 in the new fiscal year, by increases in fire services, swim classes, business licenses, plan checks and library services.
The city has hired an outside consultant, Cooperative Personnel Services, to look at the Arcadia Public Library and make recommendations on upgrading of services.
The Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum is now in a city-owned building, with a curator paid through the city, and is managed by the library and museum director Janet Sporleder. The Arcadia Historical Society owns the collection and a new agreement commits the city and the society to jointly pay for an insurance policy.
Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden has hired a new Chief Executive Officer named Dr. Mark Wourms. Wourms has a B.S. degree in botany from Ohio University, a Ph.D. in ecology and animal behavior from Boston University, and a certificate in business administration from New York University. He recently left the Kansas City Zoo, where he had been the zoo director since 1992.
The city of Arcadia hired Animal Pest Control Management Services to conduct a census of the city's peafowl. This was in response to the many complaints of the loose birds vandalizing residential properties.
Public Services Director Pat Malloy met with the Highland Homeowners Association to update the residents on the work that has been done after the fire that denuded the hillsides above their homes.
The Arcadia City Council is considering changes to fees charged by the city through the Development Services Department. One change might be a $25 fee for new business license applications. The fees may increase for design review of new commercial projects and appeals from an architectural review board to the Planning Commission. The General plan amendment fee may drop and tentative tract maps for condos may drop. The city plans to increase fines for code violations.
Arcadia Fire Department received Fire Engine No. 343 from the Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES). The number is significant and it has been specially dedicated by the state to the memory of the 343 New York City firefighters who died on September 11, 2001.
As ordered by the Los Angeles Superior Court, Arcadia city officials were expected to finalize the repeal of all approvals related to the Shops at Santa Anita mall project and the decertification of the environmental impact report (EIR). Jason Kruckeberg, Development Services Director for the City of Arcadia, said city officials are just starting the potentially year-long process of fixing the 11 faulty areas of the EIR. City officials have begun talks with CalTrans and the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts asking for their cooperation in fleshing out traffic and sewage studies.
Arcadia City Council has approved $55,000 to the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce for services such as providing information on the city to brokers, real estate agents, merchants, business people, new residents, and the general public. The Chamber prepares a monthly community calendar, a business hotline, a newsletter, an annual Civic Directory, a bi-annual map and a business directory. The city also lets the Chamber use the building they're in for no charge.
A report on fiscal year spending at area school districts shows South Pasadena Unified and La Canada Unified spend the smallest proportion of their general fund budgets on central administrative costs. Arcadia Unified and Temple City Unified spend the largest percentage of their budgets on teacher salaries.
Debra Amos, Food Services Director for the Arcadia Unified School District for the last 20 years, recently earned the Silver Special Achievement Award from the National Food Service Achievement Management Excellence program. She discusses her job and how tastes have changed over the years.