Council Quick Take: September 15, 2020

Glendale’s Council Quick take is here to give you the breakdown on the City’s Weekly Council Meetings. On September 15, 2020, Council met for afternoon sessions, as well as their regularly scheduled Council Meeting.

Special Meeting: Glendale City Council

Community Development, re: Review Authority for Murals Murals have the potential to beatify areas, foster a sense of pride, and provide a chance to showcase local talent. On Tuesday, the Glendale City Council considered options to amend the mural review and submission process as a way to encourage the installation of more public art across the City. The adopted recommendations included the following:

Granting the Arts & Culture Commission design review authority over the mural application and review process, subject to appeal to Council. Reducing the application fee from $3,840 to $0.
Establishing a time limit for mural approval of five years, eligible for renewal, to accommodate changes in art program, building renovations, etc.
City-sponsored projects could be installed on places other than existing walls.
Directing the Arts & Culture Commission to develop a robust mural ordinance program as outlined in the Urban Art Program Plan. This Ordinance will be brought back to the City Council at a future date.

View full Report to Council

Glendale City Council Meeting

Consent Items

The following consent items were approved through one motion by Council:

4a. City Clerk, re: Minutes of the Special and Regular City Council Meetings of August 18, 2020 4b. Glendale Water and Power, re: Award of a Construction Contract for the Rossmoyne Substation Landscape Improvement Project, Specification No. 3848 4c. Public Works, re: Brand Park Restroom ADA Improvements Project

Action Items

City Manager, re: 2020 League of California Cities Annual Conference On Tuesday, September 15, 2020, the Glendale City Council selected Mayor Agajanian to serve as the City’s voting delegate during the Annual Business Meeting during the League of California Cities Annual Conference on October 9, 2020. Council Member Devine was selected as the first voting alternate, and Council Member Brotman was selected as the second voting alternate. During the Annual Business Meeting, each member city’s voting delegate votes on behalf of their city on resolutions presented by the League. This year, there is one resolution, sponsored by the City of Cerritos, that would enable the League of California Cities to call upon the U.S. Congress to amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 to require social media companies remove materials which promote criminal activity, and to be able to impose criminal and civil liability for such failures, among other things. The City Council voted 3-2 to support the resolution and have the voting delegate vote accordingly during the Annual Business Meeting. View full Report to Council

City Manager, re: Acknowledgement of the City of Glendale’s Historical Contributions to Racism On Tuesday, September 15, 2020, the Glendale City Council unanimously passed a resolution (see below) acknowledging Glendale as a “sundown town,” and the racially exclusionary past of the City of Glendale. As part of its examination of the historical role that racism has played in the City, Council also directed staff to prepare and issue a request for proposals to complete a historic context statement for the City of Glendale with a theme of race/ethnicity. The City of Glendale has also launched a year-long series of educational programming to enhance and elevate culturally diverse artistic voices and to bring additional focus on systematic racism by amplifying cultural voices through a lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion through the Glendale Library, Arts & Culture Department. View full Report to Council

Libraries, Art, and Culture, re: Chevy Chase Library Grant Acceptance The Glendale City Council approved a motion and resolution of appropriation for grant funding to implement Open+ at the Chevy Chase Library. This system will allow library customers to access Chevy Chase Library during extended hours without the need to have staff onsite. The grant will cover equipment and subscription costs for the first two years and provides up to $5000 for setup and installation costs reimbursable to the City. Total grant value, including two years’ subscription cost, is $23,000. View full Report to Council

Glendale Water and Power, re: Task Order Nos. 2 and 3 with Ascend Analytics, LLC for Software, License and Support Services and Consulting Services to Support Energy Resources Planning for Glendale Water & Power (GWP) The Glendale City Council authorized GWP’s to execute Task Order #2 with Ascend Analytics for continued software, license and support services for energy planning, for the amount not to exceed $375,000 for a three-year term, with an option to extend the contract to an additional two one-year terms. This software is used for resource modeling and facilitates long term portfolio planning and its ongoing scenario analysis guides GWP planning for energy purchases and procurement. GWP was also authorized to execute Task Order #3 with Ascend Analytics under an agreement with SCPPA for energy resource planning consulting services in the not to exceed amount of $221,825 on an “as needed basis”. This will include a study of 100% clean energy by 2030 as directed by council. View full Report to Council

The next Glendale City Council Meeting will be held on September 22, 2020 at 6:00pm. They will also meet at 2:00pm Special City Council Meeting as well as Housing Authority.

Meetings can be viewed on local cable: Charter Cable Channel 6 and AT&T U-verse Channel 99. They may additionally be streamed online by visiting our Public Meeting Portal, or by tuning in to our YouTube channel.