City Council Begins Tuesday Meeting Trial This Week

The City Council will break from its longstanding Monday schedule this week, holding the first of two trial meetings Tuesday as officials consider permanently changing the day the city’s top elected body conducts business.

The special meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in the Council Chamber at Pasadena City Hall, 100 N. Garfield Ave.

Councilmembers approved the Sept. 15 and Sept. 29 test dates last month, replacing meetings previously scheduled for Mondays. The experiment is intended to determine whether meeting on Tuesdays would give Councilmembers, city staff and the public more time to review agendas and prepare for council deliberations.

The council conducted the first reading of an ordinance Aug. 31 that would amend the Pasadena Municipal Code and permanently move regular meetings from Mondays to Tuesdays.

Councilmembers have said the additional weekday would allow them to meet with stakeholders, gather public input and obtain information from staff after agendas are posted on Thursdays.

The change could also reduce scheduling problems created by Monday holidays. However, it could force several city commissions and council committees that currently meet on Tuesdays to change their schedules or locations.

Tuesday’s agenda includes several contracts, infrastructure projects and federal funding proposals.

The council will consider a $3.87 million contract with American Pipeline Services to replace approximately 4,704 feet of aging water mains beneath Villa Street and Colorado Boulevard. Some of the cast-iron pipes date to the 1920s.

Officials will also consider extending the city’s bus shelter advertising and maintenance contract with Outfront Decaux Street Furniture LLC through August 2028. The agreement generates as much as $360,000 annually for Pasadena Transit while requiring the company to clean, maintain and repair advertising shelters.

Three engineering companies could receive on-call surveying contracts worth as much as $1 million each. BKF Engineers, Psomas and Tetra Tech Inc. would provide specialized surveying services for city construction and private development projects over terms of as long as five years.

The council will consider accepting $3.24 million in federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act funding for career services administered by the Foothill Workforce Development Board. The increased allocation would restore two grant-funded positions and expand job training, youth employment and layoff-response services.

Another proposal would accept $850,000 in federal funding for environmental review, design and other preliminary work on a proposed job-training and education facility at Pasadena City College. The two-story building could contain as much as 55,000 square feet and support professional, technical, health care and skilled-trade training.

The council is also scheduled to receive a quarterly report showing the city held approximately $1.15 billion in investments and other managed funds as of June 30.

The Finance Committee will meet at 4 p.m. Tuesday before the council session. The committee normally meets before Monday council meetings and had to adjust its schedule for the Tuesday trial.

The council’s second Tuesday test meeting is scheduled for Sept. 29.