South Bay Echo for April 16
Fire department blues, El Segundo pool closed and Metro Green line opposition
Hello friends… Welcome to the 30th edition of South Bay Echo, your source of local hometown news with a real estate angle.
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Redondo examines fire department
Redondo Beach has been taking a closer look at its Fire Department and ways it can improve its equipment and processes following the retirement of Fire Chief Robert Metzger last year.
You might recall that in 2019, rank and file at the department were pushing for LA County to take over because they saw response times decreasing, growing equipment needs and salary stagnation. Those plans were derailed when Councilman John Gran changed his mind not to undergo a department-wide analysis.
Well, fast forward to 2022 with new council leadership and the department has finished a report commissioned by Acting Fire Chief Keith Kauffman and authored by a consultant. The report, first obtained by Wayne Craig in a public records request, attempts to identify substantive changes needed at the department.
Most notable are quotes from firefighters saying that response times from Fire Station 2 in North Redondo often fell behind other departments on calls north of Artesia Boulevard and that Metzger was largely absent in his last year and didn’t like to mingle much with his men. That’s no surprise to anyone who ever met the guy. They also said overtime was out of control and the department deploys too many resources at times. A lot of the processes needed to be improved as well.
The report is available on the current City Council meeting agenda here.
Manhattan Beach firefighters in contract dispute
Meanwhile over in Manhattan Beach, firefighters don’t feel like they are getting enough support either. Firefighter Chris Grafton penned a message on the Manhattan Beach Residents Forum on Facebook asking for the public’s support.
Grafton said city leaders are attempting to enact a pay cut on firefighters, make them share more of their health insurance costs and reduce time off work while not increasing daily staffing which firefighters say they need. In the past five years the department has lost two young officers to other agencies, which Grafton said was unheard of for a destination department like Manhattan Beach.
The firefighters have now given their last, best and final offer to the city in the latest round of contract negotiations.
El Segundo pool closed for repairs
Just three years after opening its flashy new pool, the El Segundo Wiseburn Aquatics Center is now closed indefinitely until the city can source a new water heater. I’m not sure why they can’t just use the pool without a heater, but that’s another question.
Mayor Drew Bowles explained on the El Segundo Community Network page on Facebook that the heaters were undersized for the pool causing them to fail. The pool now needs $500,000 worth of replacement heaters and the city’s Request For Proposal process is slowing it all down. What a surprise, right?
Meanwhile, water polo and swimming families are back to commuting to Santa Monica and Torrance and wherever else there are pools to use.
Redondo reps fight back against Metro
Redondo Beach has basically become the ultimate NIMBY-ville. I’m hard pressed to find a development project of any kind that city leaders and residents actually support. In most metropolitan cities, owning property near a mass transit line is viewed as a boost to home values, but not in good old Redondo Beach.
On Monday, April 11, Metro officials led a walk for residents and local leaders showing where the proposed C Line (Green) Extension would go from the North Redondo Transit Center to the Torrance Transit Center on Madrona. The question is whether it runs down the old railroad track east of Inglewood Avenue through Lawndale and North Redondo or down Hawthorne Boulevard on an elevated rail.
When I lived in Portland, the light rail line was fantastic. Our home was directly across the street from the track and about a block from the transit center. We could barely hear the train as it passed and it was wonderful to have access to public transportation so close.
But unfortunately many residents in Redondo Beach, backed by their elected leaders, sing only one tune: Not In My Backyard.
All for now… Thanks for reading.
Well I disagree with you on this one David. Property values may increase near a transit stop, but not simply next to a train track. Property values are reduced by proximity to an active rail line. Here the noise would be exacerbated by the curve. Train wheels make much more noise when negotiating a curve. The project would require moving existing natural gas lines (yes, more than one) and moving the current freight rails even closer to the residential properties. And the crossing at 182nd is problematic. They may go under it to prevent impact to this busy road. But in all honesty, with the type of traffic analysis they use (VMT) they will not even be able characterize the traffic impact of trains every ten minutes.
The logical choice is down the middle of Hawthorne, elevated. It will not impact traffic. it is well distanced from commercial development and it is no impact on residential development. The stop will be a short walk from Redondo’s bus transit center and right next to the Galleria. This choice is so obvious, it is amazing that there is even a debate.
The metro train. A couple of years ago I went to a meeting on this. The topic was which route. I asked a guy from the metro why they didn't run it down the right of way between Condom and Firmona. I live on 171st and Firmona and we hear the freight trains a couple times a day to the delight of my little neighbor boy. My argument was it would be cheaper and less disruptive than tearing up Hawthorne Blvd. The guy said the metro entity or some such government entity already owned that right of way and the train lines pay them to use it. Well, when I stood up to root for the current right of way the silence was deafening. Why reinvent the wheel, get into lawsuits over inverse condemnation from businesses on Hawthorne Blvd when they can run another set of tracks, keep collecting from the train lines already using the right of way. At least I wasn't stoned.