October 31, 2017
Glendale City Council Special Meeting
Agenda items from the Glendale City Council’s regularly scheduled 6 p.m. meeting, which was cancelled due to a lack of quorum, were moved to an earlier 3 p.m. special meeting on Tuesday, October 31 at which all council members were in attendance.
New Route for the Holiday Trolley
The council designated a new route for the Holiday Trolley, which it approved at a special meeting on October 17.
The trolley service, which will operate free of charge to passengers, will now travel a Brand Boulevard-focused route, instead of the initially approved looping route on Brand Boulevard and Central Avenue.
“Conflicts with [the] Beeline and possible construction activity would delay and slowdown the headways,” said City Manager Scott Ochoa.
Community Development Director Phil Lanzafame addressed concerns about the trolley’s impact on Beeline ridership.
“Most of the people that are using the Beeline [routes] 1 and 2, are taking it from northwest or the north part of town all the way to the Transportation Center. So we don’t anticipate that we’ll lose riders from the Beeline to ride the [trolley],” he said. “Rather it will be shoppers that park in one place and want to shop up and down Brand Boulevard.”
For more information about the Holiday Trolley – in operation for two months starting on November 18 – read “Council Approves Downtown Holiday Trolley Service” on MyGlendale City News.
Glendale-Burbank Street Car Feasibility Proposal
City Council unanimously awarded a professional services agreement to HNTB, a national transportation and civil engineering firm with extensive streetcar experience across the country, to conduct a Glendale-Burbank streetcar feasibility study, which is expected to be completed in approximately 12 months.
The comprehensive study will explore many questions including possible sites, potential impact on traffic and utilities, and new technologies, and include a Glendale-specific cost estimate for building, operating, and maintaining the street car.
The Glendale City Council last considered the concept of a streetcar connecting Glendale’s Larry Zarian Transportation Center to the Burbank-Hollywood Airport in 2005.
Since that time several new funding sources have become available to fund such a transportation project, according Glendale Planning Associate Justin Robertson.
“Having this study allows us to implement that funding plan and move into the environmental process, to design the project itself, and then to really spend the big money on construction and, ultimately, operating,” Robertson said.
He continued, “The goal of this study is to, after 12 months, bring back to you, the decision makers on behalf of the City, the best information you could possibly have to make an informed decision.”
The near $450,000 agreement with HNTB will be paid in part by a $200,000 grant from the Southern California Association of Governments, or SCAG.
Council Approves Important Contracts for GPD, GFD
The Glendale Police Department (GPD) entered into a 3-year $850,000 professional service agreement with Glendale-based VITAL Medical Services, which provides medical services to arrestees and inmates in GPD’s jail, and at the site of arrests and DUI checkpoints.
GPD Chief Robert Castro said the service, which he said is “like a mini-ER,” has saved 8,500 officer hours over the past three years.
He said it “shows [that] Glendale [is] at the forefront of trying to save as much money as we can and keep resources on the street.”
Prior to this service, in 2014, the Glendale Fire Department (GFD) would make hundreds of calls to GPD to transport arrestees and inmates to local hospitals. Two officers were required to wait at the hospital with the inmate or arrestee and, occasionally, suspects would attempt to escape from the hospital.
Council also granted approval to an agreement between UCLA Center for Pre-Hospital Care and GFD for a nurse educator to lead paramedic and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) training. The agreement also provides continuing education, quality control and other types of training to make sure that GFD personnel safely deliver care.
With this agreement, said City Manager Ochoa, the City is “ensuring that everything our folks are doing in the field is consistent with guidelines.”
Next Meeting
The next city council meeting is scheduled for November 7 at 6 p.m. in council chambers at Glendale City Hall. For all agenda, minutes, and video and audio files for all city meetings, visit www.glendaleca.gov.
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