Arcadia residents may vote again on street lighting fees. Under the new proposal, single family homes on arterial streets would pay about $17 a year, while those not on arterial streets would pay about $27 a year, making the assessments more fair. Voters in 2008 rejected a proposal to fund the lighting and now the city is considering another mail-in vote.
Arcadia property owners will be asked to renew a street lighting fee schedule and assessment in June, when funding is set to expire. Officials warned that without an extension of the lighting assessment district, the city would lose about $420,000 a year. Unless the assessment is renewed, the city might have to cut services such as police protection, fire and emergency medical response services, library services, and recreation programs. Arcadia property owners currently pay 40% of street lighting repair and maintenance costs, while the city covers the other 60%. That would remain unchanged in the new assessment district, but the amounts each household pays will be different. Family households in residential neighborhoods will be charged $28.44 a year, while single-family homes along major thoroughfares will pay $16.73 a year.
Arcadia property owners voted to continue paying for a portion of their street lights under a new formula after lighting district funds expired in June. 66% of the vote was cast in favor of extending about $428,600 of annual funding to maintain and repair street lights. A similar proposal on the ballot failed less than 2 years ago.
Doug Martin Contracting, Inc. will handle Arcadia's annual slurry seal project. The project will take place on city streets between Duarte Road and the south city limit, and between Santa Anita Avenue and the east city limit, started July 29, to be done August 23, 2013.
Arcadia city is widening and improving three major downtown intersections, a $1 million project that has caused significant congestion in recent weeks. The work is taking place on Huntington Drive at intersections of Santa Anita Avenue, Santa Clara Avenue and Colorado Place. Sixty percent of the funding is by the City and forty percent by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The city is also replacing an older sewer with a new larger one on Baldwin Avenue, northbound between Huntington Drive and Duarte Road, and will repave the road. Cost about $413,000.
Sign of the changing times in Arcadia. The new Rusnak Mercedes Benz showroom at Santa Anita Avenue and Santa Clara Street will be opening soon. It is perhaps the single largest development in Arcadia's history. Car wash owner and former mayor George Fasching joked on his business sign that the new building was an NFL stadium.
Arcadia imports Monrovia Street Fair patriotic kick-off event set for July 3. It will happen weekly on Friday nights in Arcadia's downtown area, on First Avenue between Huntington Drive and Santa Clara Street.
Gene Glasco at Chamber of Commerce networking breakfast on May 19, will talk about his vision for the Arcadia Vietnam War Monument to be installed at L.A. County Park veterans event on May 28, Memorial Day. Artist's rendering. Glasco is a Vietnam veteran and Arcadia City Clerk. Includes a description of the war memorial monument and its location (across the street from Arcadia Elks Lodge 2025).
Wind-swept cities slowly recover from a severe windstorm that blew through the San Gabriel Valley early Thursday morning. Arcadia was hit hard and "city crews and contracts are continuing to work hard to clean roadways," said Arcadia police Lieutenant Tom Leveque. Road closures that remained in effect in Arcadia on Friday morning included: westbound Colorado Street at Santa Anita Avenue; westbound Camino Real Avenue at El Monte Avenue; Longden Avenue between El Monte Avenue and Holly Avenue; Colorado Place between Colorado Boulevard and Huntington Drive; the 200 block of W. Leroy Street; the 1100 block of S. Fifth Avenue.
Arcadia city officials to seek opinions today on residential development. This was the second and final meeting for the update process to amend the city's Zoning and Subdivision Codes, which establish what can be built on individual properties in Arcadia, and determine the application review process.
Arcadia is sprucing up nicely. Phil Wray, Arcadia City Engineer, says the city has been making improvements to road medians. He is proud to share that, "We just finished our median island re-landscaping project from Michillinda to Baldwin." More drought-tolerant plants were planted on the median. The same re-landscaping will be done for the road median on Baldwin Avenue to Holly Avenue. Future projects include rehabilitation of pavement from Santa Clara Street to Fifth Avenue.
Dr. Andrew Lee is the Mardi Gras King at Arcadia Methodist Hospital's Mardi Gras gala, an annual fundraising event. Photos of Dr. Lee and his wife, and Bev and Ron Street.
Street closures for the 59th Annual Festival of Bands Parade hosted by City of Arcadia. Baldwin Avenue between Huntington Drive and Naomi Avenue will be closed 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Duarte Road between Golden West and El Monte Avenue closed 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM, and Campus Drive between Santa Anita Avenue and Holly Avenue closed 6:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Arcadia City Council does not pursue ballot iniative on home building rules. As the city's effort to update the zoning code continues into the new year, the Arcadia City Council briefly considered sponsoring its own voter initiative to rival a measure from residents that is currently the subject of a petition to qualify for an upcoming election ballot, but City Council decided against pursuing its own ballot iniative because the petition process would not conclude in time to qualify for the April ballot.
Arcadia Downtown Street Market now on Saturdays, 5-9 PM. It is run by Green Leaf Events on First Avenue between Santa Clara Street and Huntington Drive.
City of Arcadia Mayor Gary Kovacic proclaims March 2 "Bobbie the Bobcat's New Friend: Day of Kindness" for Barnhart School's student-created book launch. It will be read at Arcadia Public Library on Read Across America Day.
Arcadia's energy efficient street lighting program to start next month. Southern California Edison (SCE) is replacing SCE-owned inefficient High Pressure Sodium (HPS) street lights with energy efficient Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights. Conversion to LED technology will help reduce energy usage and cost by approximately $11,500 annually.
Arcadia Historical Society goes dramatic. Board members are forming a repertoire group called "Arcadia History Lives" and will, upon request, perform live skits recreating characters from Arcadia's past. Board members in photo shown in costume, including Beverly Street as Alice Billings (first president of Arcadia Woman's Club).
Arcadia-based grocery chain Vons, a division of Safeway Inc., headquartered in Pleasanton, California, is closing its Vons supermarket at 2340 Foothill Boulevard, LaVerne, California. It has been there for 10 years and is underperforming.