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GLENDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING WRAP-UP
ARMENIAN RELIEF SOCIETY
City officials were directed to provide as much of a discount to the Armenian Relief Society as possible under existing city policies as the nonprofit prepares to rent the Civic Auditorium for an annual festival this weekend.
The society asked for additional discounts beyond the nearly $3,000 price break afforded the social services group through the recently-adopted special events policy, but the City Council declined to offer more because that could set a precedent for other organizations in the future.
The Civic Auditorium and Glendale Sports Complex are exempt from the major price breaks given nonprofits under the special events policy approved several months ago since they are considered to be enterprise facilities, which are operated to turn a profit for the city.
The discounts given to the Armenian Relief Society fall under the administrative purview of the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, and are separate from the council’s event policy.
Still, in a nod to the plethora of services the Armenian Relief Society provides to mostly new-immigrant families, the council directed city staff to review the charges once more to see if any discounts couldn’t be optimized for the nonprofit’s seventh annual cultural festival at the auditorium on Saturday and Sunday.
WHAT IT MEANS
The Armenian Relief Society will retain its current $3,000 rental fee discount, while at the same time city staff members will review charges to see if any possible discounts were missed, or can be enlarged per current policy.
NO VOTE
ADDITIONAL LIBRARY COSTS
The City Council on Tuesday approved an additional $35,560 to cover cost overruns for improvements at a satellite library branch in southeast Glendale.
The increased contingency amount is in addition to the $508,671 the council approved in April 2007 to overhaul the storefront library at 1100 E. Chevy Chase Dr.
While construction on the project is nearly complete, the additional money is needed, city officials said, to cover unforeseen expenses, such as fixing aged plumbing, floor covering, electrical work and removing asbestos from the 1928 building.
The scope of the project was also altered to include historically consistent exterior signage and modified custom shelving.
The library will be a temporary branch until a permanent location can be found for south Glendale.
WHAT IT MEANS
The storefront library, first approved in mid-2006, is expected to open upon the completion of the improvements, which can now move forward with the additional appropriation.
VOTE: 5-0
RECYCLING CENTER UPGRADE
The Recycling Center will soon undergo $1.5 million in site improvements after the City Council on Tuesday approved a five-year operating agreement with a private firm.
The Allan Co., Inc., has been operating the center at 541 W. Chevy Chase Drive since 2006 and paying the city $26 for every ton of recyclable material it collects.
In an effort to increase sorting efficiency, and eliminate the need to transfer materials to other sites, the company offered to install $1.5 million worth of new equipment at the site in exchange for an extension of its operating contract from October 2011 to October 2016.
Under the approved amendment, the Allan Co. will also increase its per-ton payments to the city by $5 for a total of $31, which is expected to generate an additional $65,805 a year based on 2007 collection figures.
The company has also agreed to install a portable classroom on-site for visitors to the center.
WHAT IT MEANS
The Recycling Center will undergo significant improvements, while at the same time, the city will see an increase in revenue generated by its recycling efforts.
VOTE: 5-0
PUMP STATION IMPROVEMENTS
The council approved a $99,800 project to replace aging equipment at the San Luis Rey Pump Station as part of Glendale Water & Power’s ongoing effort to upgrade the city’s aging stock of pump stations.
Equipment at the San Luis Rey station, which services the Verdugo Woodlands area, is approximately 50-years-old. In addition to a transformer, crews would install a new control valve and piping, and an overhead hoist to assist with future maintenance.
WHAT IT MEANS
Work on the improvements are scheduled to begin in June and take six months to complete. Water service to customers would not be interrupted.
VOTE: 5-0
DEVELOPMENT TRAINING
A two-year, $50,000 contract with a private consulting firm to provide development training to city employees narrowly passed the City Council Tuesday.
The firm, Ray Thorn and Associates, has been used in the past to facilitate leadership development sessions and has played a key role in strategic planning activities, but Councilmen Bob Yousefian and Frank Quintero voted against the contract citing uncertain economic times and a likely upcoming city budget crunch. Funds for the contract were already appropriated in a city account, but the need to have the expenditure approved by the City Council was triggered when the amount was reached in consecutive years.
Other services include team building, job skill and management development, as well as training on how to handle workplace harassment and discrimination.
WHAT IT MEANS
The firm’s consultants will continue to provide city employees with developmental training and other services, including team building, job skill and management development, as well as instruction on how to handle workplace harassment and discrimination.
The contract approval did not require any additional appropriation.
VOTE: 3-2
City officials were directed to provide as much of a discount to the Armenian Relief Society as possible under existing city policies as the nonprofit prepares to rent the Civic Auditorium for an annual festival this weekend.
The society asked for additional discounts beyond the nearly $3,000 price break afforded the social services group through the recently-adopted special events policy, but the City Council declined to offer more because that could set a precedent for other organizations in the future.
The Civic Auditorium and Glendale Sports Complex are exempt from the major price breaks given nonprofits under the special events policy approved several months ago since they are considered to be enterprise facilities, which are operated to turn a profit for the city.
The discounts given to the Armenian Relief Society fall under the administrative purview of the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, and are separate from the council’s event policy.
Still, in a nod to the plethora of services the Armenian Relief Society provides to mostly new-immigrant families, the council directed city staff to review the charges once more to see if any discounts couldn’t be optimized for the nonprofit’s seventh annual cultural festival at the auditorium on Saturday and Sunday.
WHAT IT MEANS
The Armenian Relief Society will retain its current $3,000 rental fee discount, while at the same time city staff members will review charges to see if any possible discounts were missed, or can be enlarged per current policy.
NO VOTE
ADDITIONAL LIBRARY COSTS
The City Council on Tuesday approved an additional $35,560 to cover cost overruns for improvements at a satellite library branch in southeast Glendale.
The increased contingency amount is in addition to the $508,671 the council approved in April 2007 to overhaul the storefront library at 1100 E. Chevy Chase Dr.
While construction on the project is nearly complete, the additional money is needed, city officials said, to cover unforeseen expenses, such as fixing aged plumbing, floor covering, electrical work and removing asbestos from the 1928 building.
The scope of the project was also altered to include historically consistent exterior signage and modified custom shelving.
The library will be a temporary branch until a permanent location can be found for south Glendale.
WHAT IT MEANS
The storefront library, first approved in mid-2006, is expected to open upon the completion of the improvements, which can now move forward with the additional appropriation.
VOTE: 5-0
RECYCLING CENTER UPGRADE
The Recycling Center will soon undergo $1.5 million in site improvements after the City Council on Tuesday approved a five-year operating agreement with a private firm.
The Allan Co., Inc., has been operating the center at 541 W. Chevy Chase Drive since 2006 and paying the city $26 for every ton of recyclable material it collects.
In an effort to increase sorting efficiency, and eliminate the need to transfer materials to other sites, the company offered to install $1.5 million worth of new equipment at the site in exchange for an extension of its operating contract from October 2011 to October 2016.
Under the approved amendment, the Allan Co. will also increase its per-ton payments to the city by $5 for a total of $31, which is expected to generate an additional $65,805 a year based on 2007 collection figures.
The company has also agreed to install a portable classroom on-site for visitors to the center.
WHAT IT MEANS
The Recycling Center will undergo significant improvements, while at the same time, the city will see an increase in revenue generated by its recycling efforts.
VOTE: 5-0
PUMP STATION IMPROVEMENTS
The council approved a $99,800 project to replace aging equipment at the San Luis Rey Pump Station as part of Glendale Water & Power’s ongoing effort to upgrade the city’s aging stock of pump stations.
Equipment at the San Luis Rey station, which services the Verdugo Woodlands area, is approximately 50-years-old. In addition to a transformer, crews would install a new control valve and piping, and an overhead hoist to assist with future maintenance.
WHAT IT MEANS
Work on the improvements are scheduled to begin in June and take six months to complete. Water service to customers would not be interrupted.
VOTE: 5-0
DEVELOPMENT TRAINING
A two-year, $50,000 contract with a private consulting firm to provide development training to city employees narrowly passed the City Council Tuesday.
The firm, Ray Thorn and Associates, has been used in the past to facilitate leadership development sessions and has played a key role in strategic planning activities, but Councilmen Bob Yousefian and Frank Quintero voted against the contract citing uncertain economic times and a likely upcoming city budget crunch. Funds for the contract were already appropriated in a city account, but the need to have the expenditure approved by the City Council was triggered when the amount was reached in consecutive years.
Other services include team building, job skill and management development, as well as training on how to handle workplace harassment and discrimination.
WHAT IT MEANS
The firm’s consultants will continue to provide city employees with developmental training and other services, including team building, job skill and management development, as well as instruction on how to handle workplace harassment and discrimination.
The contract approval did not require any additional appropriation.
VOTE: 3-2
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