Monterey Park City Hall to Reopen on Fridays

The City of Monterey Park is pleased to announce that beginning April 1, 2014 city hall hours will return to a five-day workweek. City hall will be open every Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. and every Friday from 7:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

For the past three plus years, city hall has been closed on Fridays, due to a 10% furlough of general employees because of the recession. The furloughs, as well as other employee concessions, represented a savings to the city’s funds in excess of a million dollars annually.

The city’s financial circumstances had required significant cooperation from all of the city’s employee groups. The mayor and city council would like to acknowledge and thank all of the labor groups for coming to the table and agreeing to help the city during these challenging fiscal times.

Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library Presents Earthquake Preparedness Workshop

The recent earthquakes in Southern California are reminders of the importance of being prepared in the event of a natural disaster. To help the public with earthquake preparedness, the Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library will present an informative workshop, “Earthquake Basics: Lessons Learned,” on Sunday, April 13 at 2 p.m. in the Friends Room.

Winston Wu, Chinese American Citizens Alliance Youth Council advisor and a registered civil engineer and geotechnical engineer in California, will present information about earthquake basics, damages from past earthquakes, lessons learned, recent news and current research on earthquake related topics. Captain Matthew Hallock of the Monterey Park Fire Department (MPFD) will talk about preparedness before, during, and after an earthquake.

Following the presentations, the audience is invited to visit the MPFD mobile unit to learn how to shut off utilities, gas, power and water in the event of a disaster and how to get drinking water out of your water heater by allowing hands-on applications. Handouts and refreshments will be provided. The program is sponsored by the Chinese American Citizens Alliance Youth Council (CACAYC) and the Monterey Park Fire Department.

The Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library is the city’s public library located at 318 S. Ramona Avenue, Monterey Park, CA 91754. Library hours are Sunday 1-5 p.m.; Monday and Tuesday 12-9 p.m.; Wednesday and Thursday10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 10 a.m.-1 p.m. For more information about the free program call 626-307-1398 or visit the city website at www.ci.monterey-park.ca.us.

Seats Open on the Library Board of Trustees for the Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library

Monterey Park, Calif. – April 8, 2014 – Applications are now being accepted for two openings on the five- member Board of Trustees for the Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library. It is for a three-year term. Applicants must be a city resident and a registered voter. The applicants are interviewed and appointed by the city council at a council meeting. Appointees do not receive compensation and can be reappointed for another consecutive three-year term by the city council when his or her term expires.

Under Municipal Code 2.80.050, the five-member library board makes and enforces all rules, regulations, and bylaws necessary for the administration, government and protection of the Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library. The board meets the third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the Friends Room of the library. Meetings are usually about two hours in length. Special meetings may be scheduled as needed.

Applications are available at the city hall city clerk’s office at 320 W. Newmark Avenue, Monterey Park or on the Boards & Commissions section of the city website at www.ci.monterey-park.ca.us. Deadline for application submissions is May 16, 2014.

The Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library is the city’s public library located at 318 South Ramona Avenue, Monterey Park, CA 91754. Library hours are: Sunday 1-5 p.m.; Monday & Tuesday 12-9 p.m.; Wednesday & Thursday 10 a.m.-6: p.m.; Friday & Saturday 10 a.m.-1. For more City of Monterey Park news and information, please visit the city website at www.montereypark.ca.gov.

Southern California Edison and Monterey Park Reach Compromise Over Edison Trails

Utility company agrees to scale back its requirements to trim trees and vegetation at the park

Since 1965, the City of Monterey Park has had a license agreement to use and access the area known as Edison
Trails. The trail starts just east of Edison Trails Park along
South Garfield Avenue and travels east for four blocks before ending at Fulton Avenue just before coming to La Loma Park. It is a beautiful natural habitat that runs under the Southern California Edison (SCE) power transmission lines. Every five years the city renews its license for access to this property.

In 2013, stating safety concerns for their workers, SCE
doubled the amount of clearance space required around their poles and towers, increasing the clearance area to up to 50 or 100 feet in some sections. While this change is intended to improve worker safety, it also created great concern over the habitat in the trails. As the city started the mandatory clearing of trees that were infringing on this new safety zone, there was great alarm and concern from neighbors and hikers of the trail.

Through much negotiation and community involvement with SCE, they have now come back with a more eco-friendly interpretation. While there will be some trimming and thinning and removal of some of the cactus plants that don’t belong within the trails, the trees that will now be removed are the ones which have died over the years. This cleanup will occur in late April and early May.

In addition to the cleanup, the city also has an $80,000 grant for trail enhancements from Los Angeles County Regional Park and Open Space District. This work will be started by late summer. The City is also looking at transplanting trees at the trailheads at Garfield and Fulton Avenues. SCE has also pledged to try to assist in donating additional trees and shrubs that will further enhance the area.