“They Was All Switched Up” by Becca Shewmake part of the NOW exhibit that will be featured at the First Fridays Art Walk
See page 7
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Vol. 34 No. 18
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SERVING BIXBY KNOLLS, CALIFORNIA HEIGHTS, LOS CERRITOS, WRIGLEY AND THE CITY OF SIGNAL HILL
october 5, 2012
Your Weekly Community Newspaper
Chittick Field renovations break ground and celebrated as ‘dream come true’ for schools, youth and community
No water rate hikes this year for Signal Hill’s residents and businesses
Sean Belk Staff Writer
Bulldozers set the stage for an event that has been in the making for many years. Just two days before heavy machines began plowing dirt on Monday, 6th District Long Beach Councilmember Dee Andrews hosted a ceremony on Sept. 29 to celebrate the groundbreaking of major renovations to a 19-acre site, formally known as Chittick Field. The momentous occasion, attended by Long Beach and Signal Hill city officials, kicked off a $4.3-million project to create a new recreational sports park that will come with added lighting and a new parking lot at the site traditionally referred to as Hamilton Bowl, between Walnut and Cherry avenues, just north of Pacific Coast Highway. While the underutilized field will still serve as a Los Angeles County storm-water detention basin, hence its other nicknames “the hole” and “the dust bowl,” the grounds will eventually be overflowing with new athletic facilities, including a fitness circuit, three soccer fields, a 400-meter all-weather track-and-field and a football field. For Andrews and many central Long Beach residents, it’s been a long-time coming for the upgrades that are expected to benefit local schools, youth and 75,000 residents who live within
Sean Belk/Signal Tribune
During the Sept. 29 groundbreaking ceremony for Chittick Field, 6th District Councilmember Dee Andrews discusses the latest plans for renovations, including new athletic fields and facilities, at the 19-acre site that doubles as a Los Angeles County storm-water detention basin primarily during rainy season.
one mile of the site. “We’re finally going to get the renovation off the ground... putting something productive here that will be successful in a positive element,” said Andrews, who won the all-American high-school football and track award as a Poly High School Jackrabbit. “Really, it’s a dream come true.” It’s been seven years since The Salvation Army first proposed to help fund the construction of a Ray and Joan Kroc
Community Center in Long Beach. Chittick Field was chosen as the site to build a vast community complex, once envisioned with a price-tag of about $140 million, that would have included swimming pools, baseball and soccer fields, a gymnasium and community meeting rooms. Like other Kroc Centers, the proposal was made with the assumption
New SHPD headquarters expected to be operational by January 2013 see CHITTICK page 13
Nick Diamantides Staff Writer
In spite of the unexpected and unexplained abandonment of the project by the original construction contractor earlier this year, the new Signal Hill Police Department (SHPD) headquarters is close to completion. According to Signal Hill Deputy City Manager Charlie Honeycutt, police administration, officers and civilian employees will probably move into the new building in about three months. The original contractor was Irvine-based FTR International, which began work on the project in November 2010. “They basically abandoned the job site in February of this year,” Honeycutt said. “We still do not know why.” He added that city officials have sent several letters and emails to the company’s offices. “There has been no response to any of our communications,” he said, adding that the company has apparently moved its headquarters to a new location, but city officials do not know where that is.
Cory Bilicko/Signal Tribune
The new Signal Hill police station encompasses about 21,500 square feet in two see SHPD page 6 separate buildings.
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CJ Dablo Staff Writer
Following a presentation from the City’s public works department, the Signal Hill City Council concurred Tuesday with a staff report that recommended against raising the water fees for residents and businesses. “Hopefully, we’ve been able to prevent unnecessary rate increases that can’t be justified,” Councilmember Larry Forester declared just after the Council voted to receive and file a report on the water rate issue from Steve Myrter, the city’s public works director. The City relies on getting its water from imported sources and groundwater from wells, and Myrter explained that both the Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD) and Central Basin Municipal Water District, two water agencies primarily responsible for managing the groundwater supply and selling imported water to Signal Hill, have also not raised their rates this year. It’s a delicate process for the City to determine just how much water to buy from each source, and the City must have a relationship with two different
October 5 through October 9, 2012
Vote for Martha Flores-Gibson 70th District - State Assembly
Courtesy SH Public Works
Graph of Signal Hill’s water costs. The City relies primarily on groundwater sources but also purchases imported water (indicated in light blue).
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This week’s Weekly Weather Forecast sponsored by: The
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entities. The WRD is the agency responsible for managing the underground water supply for the Central and West Basins. The Central Basin Municipal Water District is the agency that sells wholesale imported water to the City. Over the last several years, the City’s water rates have increased dramatically. According to the public works director, the WRD increased their replenishment assessment fees approximately 77 percent from Fiscal Year 20062007 to the present. Rates for imported water have also seen a dramatic jump in prices. Myrter’s report indicates that the cost of imported water has risen 83 percent from Fiscal Year 2006-7 until 2013. Water rates around the nation have recently faced scrutiny, and the California government is now paying closer attention to how the rates for this important resource are determined. Myrter’s report explained that a legislative audit committee will now audit water agencies in California to study “the various factors that contribute to monthly charges.” The committee would also determine see COUNCIL page 14
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