Pasadena City Council Approves Consent Calendar Items, Including I-210 Freeway Sound Wall Agreements

The Pasadena City Council approved a ten-item consent calendar on Monday, including agreements to build and maintain sound walls along the I-210 freeway, purchase surveillance equipment for the Water and Power Department, and amend the city’s budget to use American Rescue Plan Act funds.

The consent calendar is a list of non-controversial items that are typically approved by the council with a single roll call vote. The matters are usually non-controversial items that do not require much discussion. They are routinely passed without debate or much discussion.

The purpose of the consent calendar is to expedite meetings and reserve time for more important matters that need significant time and examination.

However, three items on Monday’s consent calendar were pulled out for focused discussion and review of public comment.

The first item was an agreement with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to build sound walls at various locations along the I-210 freeway between Fair Oaks Avenue and Wilson Avenue. The walls would be designed to reduce noise pollution for residents who live near the freeway.

The second item was an agreement to purchase surveillance equipment for the Water and Power Department. The equipment would be used to monitor water and power infrastructure, as well as to deter crime.

The third item was an amendment to the city’s budget to use American Rescue Plan Act funds to cover revenue losses. The funds would be used to support essential city services, such as public safety and public works.

After public comment, the council voted unanimously to approve all three items. The other items on the consent calendar were all passed by the roll call vote.

Here are the other items on Monday’s consent calendar which were approved:

• A Resolution authorizing the City to submit a grant application to the State of California under the Local Housing Trust Fund (“LHTF”) Program for a housing project at 280 Ramona St. that is proposed to provide affordable rental housing for seniors. The LHTF NOFA application is a competitive application with scoring criteria that emphasizes deeper affordability and the construction of new affordable rental housing. At least thirty percent (30%) of funds awarded must be expended to assist Extremely Low Income Households earning 30% or less of Area Median Income (“AMI”). In order for the application to score competitively, the remaining seventy percent (70%) of funds awarded will be committed to new construction rental housing developments that serve Low Income Households earning no more than 60% of AMI.

• An $83,340 purchase order with Meridian Rapid Defense Group for eight Anti-Terrorism Vehicle Barriers, trailer, accessories and training for department personnel. From time to time, the Police Department needs to provide closure to public streets and city venues from vehicular traffic. Closures for vehicular traffic require barriers able to stop vehicle-born assaults. The Police Department currently utilizes Archer AntiTerrorism Vehicle Barriers to secure the Rose Parade due to their designation by the Department of Homeland Security (OHS) under the Safety Act as Qualified AntiTerrorism Technology (QATT). The Act provides legal liability protections to the end users of designated QATT products.

• A $418,343 contract with Golden Sun Enterprise, Inc. in response to the plans and specifications for the Brenner Park Renovation project.  The scope of work for the Brenner Park Renovation contract consists of the following: Demolition and replacement of the concrete basketball court; preparation and application of Plexicourt sport surfacing system for the basketball and tennis courts; replacement of the basketball posts, backboards and rims; replacement of existing lights with LED fixtures; replacement of backstop and perimeter fencing; replacement of approximately 1,500 square feet of concrete walkway paving; and installation of new drinking fountains.

• Contracts with several vendors for library books and audiovisual materials. The Library requires book material vendors and audiovisual material vendors that can provide customized ordering and processing services, timely and high-level customer service and delivery, and a wide-ranging inventory of new, best-selling, and retrospective books and audiovisual items. Priority in requirements for book materials vendors includes the availability of newly published books from all major publishers delivered at or near first publication date. Priority in requirements for audiovisual materials vendors includes the availability of newly published DVDs, audiobooks on CD, music CDs, and other audiovisual formats from all major publishers delivered at or near first publication date.

• A $603,750 contract with Vicon Enterprise for the construction of an oil containment system at the Villa Substation for the Water and Power Department. Construction of an oil containment system at Villa Substation is needed to prevent environmental damage resulting from potential mineral oil spills originating from transformers or electrical equipment. Federal Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) regulations require that regulated facilities, including electric facilities, have Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure plans in place to ensure that potentially large oil spills be contained within the immediate area. A large oil spill can be very costly to remediate and has the potential to seep into the groundwater. The Villa Substation was constructed in 1980, prior to these regulations and it is currently not in compliance.

• A three-year $1,225,625 contract with Aaron Industrial for scrap metals purchase and removal for the Water and Power Department. Scrap metals from job sites are regularly delivered to the City Yards. These are discarded into roll-off bins which are labeled by the metal types. Metal types include copper wires, aluminum wires, brass, steel, lead, and ductile iron. PWP warehouse manages the disposal of these materials and as such needs the items to be picked up and recycled. The PWP warehouse coordinates with a vendor to load, remove and transport metals to a certified weighmaster. This includes labor, materials, equipment, tools and transportation. Proceeds are based on a percentage of the price per pound (or per ton) as quoted for Los Angeles County region in the American Metals Market (“AMM”) Index. For each load, the vendor is required to pay the City of Pasadena the percentage of the price per pound (or per ton) for the specific metal on the day the scrap metal is removed from the warehouse.

• Adopt a resolution acknowledging receipt of the Pasadena Fire Department’s report on its level of compliance with state-mandated annual fire inspections as required by Senate Bill 1205. On September 27. 2018, California Senate·Bill 1205 (SB 1205) was signed into law, which amended preceding law such that an annual report on State mandated fire inspections is now required to be submitted to the governing body of each jurisdiction having authority for conducting fire inspections.