August 20, 2005 Meeting

Preparation

An e-mail was sent to each member who has provided a contact e-mail address.
Susan Chu and Kathy Vacio phoned each other member who has provided a contact phone number plus a few e-mailees known not to read their e-mail often.

Attendees

7 residents attended the meeting

Meeting

Agenda Items:

• new park
  • loss of south east corner and pedestrian entrance
  • rename status
• ice rink project going forward
• anything else attendees wish to discuss

The meeting began about 11:25 am in Hastings Branch Library’s meeting room.

• new park

• loss of south east corner and pedestrian entrance
  • Households within 300 ft of the park received a letter at the end of July saying that the park master plan needed to be changed.  Edison had discovered the eastern rank of power lines are too close to the ground to allow public access beneath them.  This means that the south-east corner of the planned park would have to be fenced off and the planned pedestrian entrance could not exist.  The fenced off area would not be landscaped – it would just remain weedy dirt.
  • At a park commission hearing on August 2nd, city staff said they had changed their mind and decided not to change the master plan because it is possible that sometime in the future Edison will raise the lines and then the currently approved plan could be completed.  They were hopeful that in the meantime an entrance further south could be created as part of the ice rink project.
  • Todd Holmes, the landscape architect, said he’d look into possibilities for screening landscaping of the “safety zone” weed patch.
  • Councilman Haderlein has since informed us that city staff is working on a plan for a wavering path that would go from the south end of the park to the west of the wires that are too low and eventually go east to a pedestrian entrance on Avocado.  They are hoping to get the plan made, approvals complete, and the construction done before the park opens.  (This seems very optimistic.)
  • A rough estimate of distances indicates that the wires continue to be too low until somewhere south of Del Vina and therefore the entrance will be somewhere south of Del Vina.

• north east corner safety zone not to be fenced
  • also learned that the area in the north east corner of the park where the two high tension towers are will not be fenced off.  The existing ivy covered fence along Orange Grove to the east of the park entrance is to remain, but within the park the area around the towers will be barren ground but not fenced.  It would be expensive and might impeed Edison’s access.  The towers are to have “climbing arrestors” on them (probably means something like barbed wire).

• rename status
  • The request to rename the park Viña Vieja has not yet gone beyond he city manager.  Councilman Haderlein said in July that he had heard it would be on the Parks and Recreation Commission’s meeting agenda in September.  If so, that should be on Tuesday September 6 at 4 pm at the Senior Center.

• ice rink project going forward

• On August 8 the City Council approved hiring the architect, the environmental report and mitigation measures, and general terms of the management agreement.  It was approved 7 – 1.  The only disagreement was regarding the management agreement.

• Nothing about the existence of, or terms for, an access agreement with PCC was included in the agenda materials, discussed at the meeting, or in any other known public forum.  This is a real source of concern.  Councilman Haderlein has said he understood from a private session in June that an agreement has been reached.  But since that agreement is essential to the ice rink plan, why hasn’t it been made public?

• Councilman Haderlein says a landscape buffer along Avocado is in the plan, but it was not it was not discussed by the city council and the agenda item said only it could be added to the plan.

• expect a meeting or workshop with the architect for community input to the design as early as September

• street lights

• In mid-July at the request of Manual Vargas, City Engineer Dan Rix came to our neighborhood at noon to discuss street lights and undergrounding of utilities.  Manuel and Laura Ellersieck met with him.

• Laura Ellersieck gave Mr. Rix a list of trees that need to be trimmed for existing street lights to be effective.  He said he’d pass it along to correct person.  No effect seen yet but if they’ve been added to the city-wide list something may happen in 4 to 6 months.
• Was good to have him see some of the neighborhood – apparent he’d never been in the area.
• Information received on street lights and undergrounding was pretty much as discussed at last meeting
  • can add lights to existing poles if immediate neighbors agree
  • can increase wattage of existing lights if immediate neighbors agree
  • undergrounding is extremely expensive, only major streets being done now and for next 40 years
  • there are some streets in the city that have had no street lights and have no utlity poles to add lights to which have been getting lighting systems.  The electricity for the new lighting systems is undergrounded, but the utilities on those streets are not being undergrounded.  Estado between Santa Paula and Avocado Ln is on the list to get such a system and it is now expected to happen next year.  The residents along that portion of Estado will get to choose what kind of lights they want.

• Mr Rix said he was willing to come to an evening meeting in the neighborhood since many residents work during the day.  If it is after dark he will also be able to see the effectiveness or lack thereof of the street lights.  This meeting has yet to be scheduled.  If you are interested in attending, send an e-mail including what days/times would work for you and we’ll be sure to inform you when the meeting is scheduled.

• anything else attendees wish to discuss
  • Hastings Village revenue, Allstate building, possible signal for Electronic and Sierra Madre Villa, Toyota dealership, corner of Sierra Madre Villa and Foothill, traffic, recent house sales, housing speculators, when houses were built and how

Next meeting is September 10, same time, same place.

Adjourned about 12:15 pm?