The Arcadia City Council plans to seek more than $1 million in damages against its original contractor for cost overruns in the City's Downtown 2000 revitalization project.
Between August 11 and September 30, the city will install brick sidewalks on Huntington Drive between 2nd Avenue and Santa Clara Street as the first major phase of Arcadia's downtown revitalization project.
The Arcadia City Council approved 12 goals of revitalization of the downtown area. The approval came following a public hearing intended to solicit input on the matter from merchants, owners and the public on the issue.
A disappointing turnout of less than a dozen people (mainly real estate developers) attended the public meeting to discuss phase I of the Downtown Arcadia Revitalization Study held Tuesday, July 31. One idea offered at the meeting was to create an "Avenue of the Thoroughbreds." More interaction with business owners affected by such suggestions was hoped for.
Arcadia City Council has approved setting aside $270,094 in Community Development Block Grant funds for fiscal year 1984-85 to be used in a continuation of the 1983-84 business revitalization project.
Members of the Arcadia Business Association were briefed on the downtown revitalization study at the monthly dinner meeting by Al Warot, project manager for Willdan and Associates, which is conducting the study.
City of Arcadia has budgeted $55,000 for a downtown revitalization study, City Manager George Watts told members of the Arcadia Business Association at their monthly dinner meeting. See hard copy in Box 51.
Arcadia hasn't been quick enough in spending its Community Development Block Grant and as a result the county might take back 18% of the money. In response, the Arcadia City Council voted to shift $100,000 from the Downtown Revitalization Program to the Housing Rehabilitation Program.
The first phase of the Downtown Arcadia Revitalization Study has been completed by Willdan Associates, engineers, architects and planners. A public meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday at 8:30 A.M. in the council chambers at City Hall to present to Arcadians in general and downtown merchants and property owners in particular the consultants' preliminary findings.
Downtown 2000, the $4 million revitalization project, will primarily affect Huntington Drive and First Ave. Huntington Drive will have more landscaping and lighting, while First Ave. will have angled parking and landscaping to be more pedestrian oriented.
City Council approved lending the city redevelopment agency $1.2 million Tuesday to cover additional cost overruns with Downtown 2000 and other projects.
A call for comments on the proposed Downtown Revitalization Plan brought several suggestions and a few complaints at the Arcadia Planning Commission meeting.