The City Council approved a $3.4 million new fire station project bid by Merco Construction Engineers in Camarillo. The building will cost 20% more than originally estimated.
The city council has decided to appropriate $35,000 toward the design of a light rail bridge over Santa Anita Avenue. This is to pay for early design work needed for an environmental impact report. The bridge project is expected to cost the city $10.7 million which may come from a bond. The Construction Authority would pay $18.4 million bringing total bridge cost to $29.1 million.
Lava Man, with exercise rider Tony Romero, takes a jog on the Santa Anita Park race track's new surface, a Cushion Track that cost more than $10 million.
The city is asking residents to vote by mail by July 15 on a plan that would change the way the city splits the cost of street lighting. The city expects street lighting to cost about $1.15 million next year. Single-family homes on lighted streets would pay the most, $25.70 a year. Under the proposal, the assessments would no longer be tied to the value of a home but rather to the benefits that residents receive from street lights. If voters reject the plan, the current lighting assessment districts will expire in 2010. If that happens, the city will be responsible for paying the entire costs of street lighting.
Chen Suen becomes first Asian American fire chief in Arcadia. He takes over from Barry Spriggs who retired November 8, after 29 years of service. Suen is an Arcadia resident. He emigrated from Taiwan. He graduated from Arcadia High School, and attended Loyola Law School, UC Irvine, and Santa Ana College, before spending the last 18 years with Arcadia Fire Department.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed taking 8% of the property tax that cities receive. That would mean a loss of $1,202,358 for Arcadia. A chart shows how much other local cities may lose.
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.
The City Council increased the bed tax, charged to customers staying in a hotel, from 8% to 10%. The increase will generate an estimated $140,000 a year, which would help to close the city's projected $2.2 million shortfall in the 1993-94 budget.
County home prices were up slightly in April after more than 1.5 years of declines, according to the California Association of Realtors. Arcadia's median home price was $689,090 in April, down 8% from a year ago. A chart shows figures from other local cities.
Pasadena Fire Department officials spent more than $320,000 to purchase breathing apparatus from distributor L.N. Curtis and Sons, which is at the center of a lawsuit filed by rival equipment company, Arcadia-based Allstar Fire Equipment against the city and county of Los Angeles. 57 self contained breathing apparatus remain unused at Pasadena Fire Station 34 pending a judge's ruling next month.
Living without power. Wind troubles linger. Residents frustrated; damage costs elusive. Southern California Edison's (SCE) hardest hit areas include Arcadia, Monrovia and Templa City, where more than 2,800, 1,600, and 1,700 residents, respectively, are still without power. Arcadia's City manager Don Penman said he wouldn't be surprised if the public costs for recovery efforts exceeded $2 million.
Santa Anita Park race track attendance is on the upswing. It drew 40,810 on Friday, its biggest opening day turnout since 2011. On-track attendance was up 33% over last year, partly because of the free infield admission program, which drew more than 10,000 people. Total wagering, including bets placed from all over the country, rose nearly 30% to more than $17 million. On-site betting was more than $3.4 million. The City of Arcadia gets 1/3 of 1% of all on-site wagering.
More than 400 people crammed City Hall and an adjacent outside courtyard Tuesday, as City Council wrestled with ways to slash $2 million from its annual budget.
Measure A seeks to repeal utility users tax in Arcadia, on the April 12 ballot. The utility users tax is a source of revenue expected to generate $7 million for the city this year. Arcadia charges residents 7% for gas, water, and electricity, and 5% for telephone on utility bills. The city estimates each household pays less than $10 per person per month on average. The tax is 12.5% of the city's $54.9 million general fund budget. If repealed, it would mean a 12.5% cut to city services, including cutting 12 police officers, closing a fire department, increasing blight, street sweeping would be reduced from weekly to every other week. Programs for children and seniors would be eliminated and library and museum hours would be reduced significantly. Larry Papp helped author the initiative.
Arcadia City Council on Wednesday called for a study on whether it should contract with Los Angeles County for its fire protection services. The decision came after a marathon 5 1/2 hour session on the budget that attracted more than 400 spectators.
San Gabriel Mountains: Bobcat Fire grows, but Arcadia lifts evacuation warning. The fire has burned more than 19,796 acres. as of yesterday evening. It was 0% contained.