City Council Roundup: Gold Line Extension, Nuisance Abatement and a Ceremonial Check

The City Council on Tuesday moved forward with plans for a Metro Gold Line extension and amended the Municipal Code section on public nuisance complaints.

The council voted unanimously to dedicate a total of $14.28 million to build a Gold Line bridge and station over the northwest corner of Santa Clara Avenue and First Street. Phil Wray, Deputy Development Services Director and City Engineer of Arcadia, said the funds come from voter-approved Bond Measures A and C.

An amendment to the Municipal Code regulating nuisance abatement also came up for a vote, which members also unanimously approved.

City Attorney Stephen P. Deitsch recommended a law prohibiting the recovery of attorney's fees by members of the public involved in a legal dispute with the city. The ordinance allows the city to recover fees if it wins a case that may result when a citizen challenges a nuisance abatement fine.

Councilman Bob Harbicht took issue with what he cited as the inherent unfairness of this measure.

"We should be recovering attorney's fees, I just think it should go both ways," Harbicht said. "The citizens should have the same rights as the city."

Deitsch responded that the decision to recover fees would be determined on a "case-by-case basis" and said it's very rare for the city to lose a nuisance abatement dispute.

To appease Harbicht and because Deitsch indicated this wasn't a timely issue, members agreed to enact the ordinance with an added direction to the city attorney to study the policy's effectiveness and implementation.

The law considers a nuisance to be disturbances involving lights, noise or other quality of life issues such as weeds mounting in a neighbor's front yard.  

The meeting's unanimously approved consent calendar featured the following items: $105,770 for "annual construction maintenance services at various city facilities," $44,080.19 to West-Life Supply Co. for "electrical lighting and accessories," as much as $90,000 to the Municipal Maintenance Equipment Co. for upgrades to the city's sewer cleaning vehicle and an agreement to participate in the San Gabriel Valley Council of Government's energy efficiency plan.

During the first portion of the evening meeting in Council Chambers, officials from the Upper San Gabriel Water District presented Mayor Peter Amundson with a ceremonial check for $88,514, a grant for the district's turf-removal program.

Eligible applicants can receive up to $100,000 for projects that install water-saving turf, said district spokesman Peter Rodriguez. Arcadia's grant money will install synthetic turf at the Civic Center Soccer Field.