City Spends $303,000 on Windstorm Cleanup

The South Pasadena City Council discussed and approved a lease agreement with during Wednesday's meeting. 

Here's a look into what went down:

Windstorm $17 Million Short of Disaster

Although Los Angeles County has applied for federal agency reimbursement for all of its windstorm relief efforts, the county has failed to qualify because it hasn't reached the $50 million threshold. Currently, the county has spent a total of $33 million on its efforts.

As of Thursday, Dec. 15, South Pasadena had spent a total of $303,000 on in its own windstorm cleanup. If the county fails to get reimbursement, the City will have to cover its expenditures from the general budget.

The damage totals are only for public damage costs incurred by public government agencies, not for private residents, though residents may still report damage by calling the LA County Disaster Hotline (1-800-980-4990) or 2-1-1.

Interim City Manager Sergio Gonzalez noted that the City has filled 250 truck loads with green waste—more than the City would fill in a normal two-year period.

The City expects it will take a full to six to eight weeks to clear all the debris. South Pasadena has employed two full time arborists and an additional eight employees to help with its efforts. The additional eight employees work Monday through Saturday and cost the City an average of $1,800 per day.

"We're looking at a balance of cleaning up the streets in an efficient manager that doesn't break the budget," said Gonzalez.

Change in City Council Start-time

Mayor Michael Cacciotti moved to have the City Council public session begin at 7 p.m. The time change would take effect at the Council's first meeting in February 2012. The Council will take no agenda items after 10:30 p.m. instead of its current 11 p.m. rule. 

"It's fine if we start earlier as long as we end earlier," noted Councilmember Robert S. Joe. 

iTennis to Stay in South Pas

The City Council unanimously approved a revised 10-year lease agreement with iTennis, Inc. to operate the . Under the new lease, which will take effect Jan. 1, iTennis will pay the full $7,000 rent to City each month, with an option to extend a second 10-year lease. The new lease agreement also requires iTennis to complete $224,250 in capital improvements, including re-roofing, court repair, installing drought resistant landscaping and air-conditioning.

Water Coservation Regulations

City Council unanimously approved to amend the Municipal Code to require commercial, residential and certain landscaping-only projects to provide water-conserving landscaping. City projects and standalone landscaping will now be subject to regulations—although the City will not be required to obtain a permit.