Arcadia City Council has approved a new contract with the Pasadena Humane Society (PHS) to provide animal services to Arcadia. The contract is for $69,838, a 3% increase over the current year's agreement. The city has contracted with PHS since 1994. PHS handles dog licensing, answers calls for service and offers low-cost spay and neuter clinics. Other items were approved, including a contract with Engineered Plumbing Inc. for water mains and valves, the purchase of Mobile Data Terminals for the Arcadia Fire Department from Nida Companies, and massage therapist permits.
The Arcadia Historical Museum has been approved for a $100,000 grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for construction of a new museum.
Construction has started on the expansion of the Westfield Shoppingtown Santa Anita. There will be two parking structures to replace current surface parking, 104,400 square feet of retail space, 18,400 square feet of restaurants, a 7,800 square foot food court, 45,000 square feet of specialty stores, 54,300 square feet of movie theaters, and a 5,400 square foot auto center. The tenant list includes an AMC theater, Borders bookstore, and a Sports Chalet. The expansion is scheduled to be completed September 2004. City manager Bill Kelly said Arcadia will proceed to expand Fire Station 105 to serve as the new fire department headquarters and will rebuild Station 106. The city is considering building a new City Hall and youth center from city revenues from Santa Anita Park. The new police station, the first city facility partly financed through bonds, will be open this fall. A $1/2 million project to remodel City Council Chambers is finally complete, with the opening of the council conference room.
Arcadia City Council has gone on record as supporting the building of a new city hall that would be built on the other side of the Civic Center property. Out of three options presented by city manager Bill Kelly, the council consensus was for a new building at a cost of $6.6 million and adjacent to Huntington Drive West.
City Manager Bill Kelly outlined a $16 million program to finish all public building projects for Arcadia in three years, as part of the city's five-year capital budget. The spending would include a new $6.5 million City Hall, a $1.3 million upgrade to Fire Station 106 on Baldwin Avenue. The city plans to build a new fire station to replace Fire Station 105 on Santa Anita Avenue. A city gym for the civic center property is in planning stages. The city plans to re-roof the community center for $150,000 and to put up 1/2 of the $800,000 cost to make the high school sports field an all-weather facility.
The new fiscal year will bring about changes in the city. Most notably, construction will begin on a new $16 million police station. Other possible projects include moving fire stations around, new signs, upgrades to infrastructure and more.
City of Arcadia will reopen City Hall and other facilities to the public as part of the Safer At Work and in the Community Order issued by Los Angeles County. Beginning June 15, open facilities now include City Hall, Arcadia Fire Department, Public Works, and city parks and open spaces. The Arcadia Police Department, Community Center, Arcadia Public Library and Museum remain closed. Arcadia City Council meetings will still be conducted virtually in June.
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.
Arcadia's new city government first formed in 1903 and its first meeting took place at Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin's Oakwood Hotel, located at First Avenue and Santa Clara Road. Baldwin's hotel featured gambling and fine dining along with city government. The Oakwood Hotel burned down in 1911, and the city government moved to the McCoy Building at First Avenue and St. Joseph Street. Two years later, City Hall moved across the street to the Hibbard Building. In 1917, the first building was constructed as a City Hall at Huntington Drive and Second Avenue (?). A two-story colonial building was built for $18,000. This City Hall opened on July 13, 1918. City Hall moved in 1949 to a 13-acre parcel between Huntington Drive and the Pacific Electric railroad tracks.
New Arcadia police station opens to the public on Friday, October 3, 2003 at 4:30 PM. It is a state-of-the-art facility that is now bigger and better equipped than the old station that has since been demolished. It waas built using an $8 million bond measure in addition to $8 million that had alerady been allocated from the city general fund and city redevelopment funds.
The police station is scheduled to be demolished and a new one will be built behind the current facility. The project is estimated to cost $16 million. The new building will be 52,000 square feet and slated to open in the first part of 2003.
"Blind Justice," an 11-foot tall tile mural at the police station dating back to the 1950s, will not be preserved when the new police station is built. The mural was judged not to have significant artistic or historical merit. The mural will be archived, with some element maintained for display in the new building.
First Transit, Inc. takes over the city's dial-a-ride system, which has been operated by Southland Transit for the last 30 years. The city is transitioning from a dial-a-ride to a full service transit system. The contract with First Transit is $8,248,078 for 5 years.
The preliminary design for the Arcadia Historical Museum has been approved by the city council but more money is still needed to build the museum. Fundraising will be done by the Arcadia Historical Society.