March 12, 2011 Meeting Summary

Agenda Items:
Preparation
Acknowledgments
Attendees
Meeting

Preparation

E-mail and phone reminders

Acknowledgments

Susan brought cupcakes

Attendees

15 members and 1 guest

Meeting

Agenda Items:

The meeting began about 11:25 am

    • Election of Association officers
      • This meeting included our annual election of Association officers.
      • Only the incumbents were on the ballot for President and Vice President. For Treasurer there were two candidates. There were no candidates for Secretary.
      • Voting took place from 11:15 am to 12:15 pm. The ballots were counted by Tim Price, visiting from Daisy Villa Association.
      • The results were:
        • President: Laura Ellersieck, 13 votes; no other candidates
        • Vice President: Kathy Vacio, 13 votes; no other candidates
        • Secretary: no candidate
        • Treasurer: Vinnie Torres, 7 votes; Rosalie Gonzales, 5 votes; 1 left blank
    • Results of City Council Election
      • There were 5 candidates running to be City Council member for our district.
      • No candidate received more then 50% of the vote, so there will be a run-off election on April 19 for the top two candidates: Gene Masuda and Jill Fosselman.
      • Although there are still some ballots which have not been counted (vote by mail and provisional ballots received at the polls on election day), there are not enough of those to move either candidate above 50%.  The final machine counting is now planned for Wednesday March 16.  The City Clerk also plans to do a required manual recount of 1% of the precincts that day.
      • The unofficial vote tally as it stands now is:
Gene Masuda 1355 37.9%
Jill Fosselman 1265 35.4%
Khatchik Chahinian 522 14.6%
Allen Shay 390 10.9%
Ranil Perera 37 1.0%

 

    • Some election details, including campaign financial reports, are available on the City Clerk’s web site.
      http://www.cityofpasadena.net/cityclerk
      Look at the links on the right hand side of the page.
    • The financial reports show who has donated or loaned $100 or more and how campaign funds were spent.
    • There probably will also be a run off for School Board seat 6.
  • Water shortage Emergency March 18 to 27
    • NO outdoor watering from Friday March 18 through Sunday March 27.  Save water in any other possible way.
    • The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) is stopping all delivery of water to Pasadena and neighboring cities while it does a seismic retrofit of its water treatment plant in La Verne.
    • That MWD water is normally 60% of Pasadena’s usage.
    • By drawing down filled reservoirs and maximum local pumping, Pasadena can supply a third of that deficit for the 10 days. That still leaves a 40% shortage from normal.
    • There are no other supply sources available, so demand must be reduced.
    • The City Council has declared a Level 4 Water Shortage Emergency from March 18 to 27.
    • It includes a total ban on outdoor watering. The only exception is use of water from containers filled prior to the emergency.
    • There is also a total ban on such things as filling pools, spas, fountains, etc.
    • Additional personnel will be assigned to patrol for water waste and respond to water waste reports.
    • You are also asked to save water in every other way possible. For example:
      • Shorter showers instead of longer ones or baths.
      • Do laundry before and wait to do again until after.  If you must do laundry, do full loads.
      • Do you really need to run the dishwasher?  Only run it full.
    • It is also possible something will slow down the treatment plant work and the emergency will have to be extended.  If water is being used too quickly, additional emergency restrictions might be required to preserve drinking supplies.  There will supposedly be daily updates on this website:  http://www.cityofpasadena.net/shutdownor call the Water Shortage Hotline at 626 744-8888.
    • You are also advised to fill containers with water ahead of time for emergency usage.  You should have that anyway for emergencies like earthquakes.  Use this as a reason to get it done or renew your supply.
    • For the week before (March 11 to 17), the day a week and other restrictions on watering are lifted so that you can give your plants a good soaking ahead of time (if needed).  For a week after the emergency is lifted, you will also be allowed to water as much as needed.
    • PWP asks that you report any outdoor watering or waste to 626 744-8888 or at
      http://www.cityofpasadena.net/waterandpower/watershortage/waterwastereport.htm.
  • New fire ladder truck + party for it
    • Fire Station 32, located at 2424 Villa St has a new ladder truck replacing one from 1985.
    • They say the expected life expectancy of a ladder truck is 20 years and the old one didn’t meet current safety regulations.
    • The total cost of the new truck was $1,013,652
    • According to the press release, the new truck “meets National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards for firefighter safety, including an enclosed cab for all firefighters, improved safety equipment for operation in all conditions, more available storage for ladders and rescue equipment, and the safest cab and structural design in the industry. As an added plus, this ladder truck has the lowest maintenance cost per mile in the industry, which will help reduce the overall cost of operating the unit.”
    • Tim Price said he was told it was less expensive to buy a new truck then to keep trying to fix the old one.
    • Some of us may have seen the new truck already – over in the Trader Joes parking lot while the firemen apparently ate at the grill place.
    • Today, March 12, at 4 pm, the fire department is throwing a party at Fire Station 32. Including station tours, photos, refreshments. Kids can get in the driver’s seat and get a free badge and helmet. Park on the street.
  • anything else attendees wish to discuss
    • PCC student parking
      • The southern streets in our neighborhood continue to be heavily impacted by PCC student parking.
      • In addition to making street parking unavailable to residents, there continues to be many instances of illegal parking, blocking access to driveways, blocking Culver Alley, leaving trash (typically fast food stuff) all over the place.
      • This issue was actually brought up this time in conjunction with the police advice to call them about unfamiliar cars and people. When you have a constant stream of unfamiliar cars and people with legit reason to be there, that advice is not useful.
      • The street parking issue is exacerbated by the fact that PCC charges for parking in their mostly empty lot.
      • Discussed possibility of residential permit parking. Some attendees said this was brought up years ago in meetings between residents, PCC, and city representatives and they were told that PCC was required to charge for parking and that residents would have to get 100% agreement from the home owners on the block to get it approved. That would be impossible hurdle.
      • Need to check on that because it is impossible to even track down 100% of owners. Things like getting humps approved only require 2/3 positive response.
      • It was suggested that residents ask the Council candidates what they know and what they would do about it.
      • Was suggested to contact the PCC board director for our area, Jeanette Manning, as a first step in finding out who to talk to at PCC.  Maybe current administrators are more willing to do something about their impact on the neighborhood.  What information is being given to students who sign up for classes there?  Is it really a requirement to charge for parking and, if so, whose requirement is it?  What about charging less, for example a quarter?  At a minimum students should be informed that parking enforcement will be called and tickets for parking illegally are very expensive.
      • Even though parking enforcement does not always show up in response to complaints, residents should continue to call and complain. It is very frustrating, but the squeaky wheel gets the grease. It would also be useful to keep a log of when you call and if/when they show up. Parking enforcement is contracted by the city. If they aren’t doing their job, they should be held accountable, but can only do that if have specific information.
      • Vinnie volunteered to make some calls.
    • Neighborhood Watch
      • Las Lunas had a Neighborhood Watch formation meeting today (which conflicted with our meeting time). Hope it went well.
      • As with most instances where a Neighborhood Watch is formed, it was instigated by break-ins and attempted break-ins.
      • Question was raised as to what use a Neighborhood Watch is, especially at night. Answer is that people have varying schedules and habits. There are neighbors coming and going or looking out the window even in the middle of the night. For jobs, walking their dogs, can’t sleep. And many of the break-ins are occurring in the middle of the day when lots of people are away at work but there are also many people who are home. If neighbors know each other better and exchange phone numbers, they can look out for each other.
      • Renters can be an issue. One useful thing is for neighbors to know who owns the place and have a phone number to call if there are problems or potential issues. It is also very useful if there is someone willing to approach new people and let them know there is a neighborhood watch, find out something about them, and provide them an opportunity to connect with their neighbors. Renters can be a valuable neighborhood asset, and sometimes they stay a long time.
      • Also discussed how police have been telling everyone to call them about problems or anything suspicious, but they don’t always show up or don’t show up in a timely way, because they are “too busy”. Although that response is very frustrating, it is important to call anyway. Sometimes they will show up, and even if they don’t, the call is logged. They keep statistics. If no one calls, they think everything is fine and resources go elsewhere. On the other hand, if they see a pattern of reports, they might do something.
      • f you want to organize a Neighborhood Watch for your block, talk to your neighbors to see if they interested and then contact Police Specialist Laura Morris at 626 744-7657.

Next meeting is April 9, 2011, 11:15 am, at Hastings Branch Library

Adjourned about 12:50 pm