Contractor Robert Godfrey told the La Cañada Flintridge City Council on Tuesday that preparation of the new City Hall, which will reside in the old Sports Chalet building in Town Center, is on budget and on schedule so far.
“Right answer,” Mayor Terry Walker told him.
Godfrey showed plans for the first and second floors of the new municipal facility and pictures of the current construction. The second floor has been completely gutted as the construction crew works to add framing. The next step will be to schedule roof and mechanical demolition and work on the site’s electrical and plumbing.
The first phase of the project, which received notice to proceed on July 5, is set to be completed on Dec. 31, and the second phase is scheduled to be completed on Feb. 28.
The City Council approved a contract on Tuesday for Charter Spectrum Enterprise to provide fiber internet and a government access channel to the new City Hall. It also voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance that amended the zoning map for the current City Hall at 1327 Foothill Blvd. and made the project exempt from California Environmental Quality Act.
GOOD SAMARITANS RECOGNIZED
The start of this council meeting was not a typical one.
Before the Pledge of Allegiance was recited, Walker called up six people to honor them for recently helping to stop two separate crimes in the city.
Charlie Kamar, the owner of a 76 gas station on Foothill Boulevard, and two employees, Derek Tesoro and Ara Eskenian, were thanked for helping to identify a suspected home invader who tried to purchase gas with a stolen credit card.
Walker also recognized three men who stopped what authorities said was an attempted carjacking at the Ralphs on Foothill Boulevard in June.
The suspect, Jose Quintanilla of Los Angeles, is alleged to have attacked a woman in her parked vehicle at Ralphs while trying to steal the vehicle, with the woman’s 8-year-old daughter in the back seat. Customers Dennis Yeon Le and Mark Kyte and employee Gavin Rajan heard the woman screaming during the attack. The men pulled Quintanilla, who is awaiting trial, out of the car and waited with him until sheriff’s deputies arrived.
“We heard the screaming, and you can’t stand there when there’s screaming,” Kyte said.
“Well, some people can,” added Walker, who said this was the first time this group of council members had honored people for intervening in incidents like these.
OTHER BUSINESS
Among other construction projects, the Gould Avenue and Knight Way improvement project near Paradise Canyon Elementary School should be completed on Thursday. It is not expected to affect traffic in the area once school begins.
This was the final City Council meeting before the governing body’s annual summer hiatus. The next meeting will be Sept. 18.
