Rosemead and South San Gabriel Announcements

I attended the CDC (because of the recent discussions concerning the appointment of a new counsel) and city council meetings last night, and also chatted with several Rosemead and South San Gabriel friends.  Let me make some quick announcements.  I'll try to be as factual as possible.

     1.  The county's meeting at Evergreen Baptist Church (noted by John in a previous post) is at 6pm today (Wednesday, July 18).  The church is located on the part of San Gabriel Blvd that runs mostly east-west, and it's just west of Don Bosco high school.  It's a county meeting, so it's open to anyone.

     I actually looked all over the internet yesterday, and visited Supervisor Molina's website, trying to find information to confirm the date, time, and location.  Couldn't find anything.  This information is based upon word-of-mouth from people who have been talking with Molina's office.  I assume it to be correct.

     2.  The CDC did NOT appoint a new counsel for itself.  Tran and Nunez were prepared to vote, but Low asked that the firms that responded to the request for qualifications should come to the next CDC meeting to be interviewed.  Her motion was seconded by Clark, and approved, 302, with Low, Clark, and Taylor voting for the interviews.

     I believe that meeting is going to be in three weeks, but I am not certain about the date and time.  They are hoping to start that meeting a little earlier than the normal 6pm time, because they may have five firms to interview.  At twenty minutes and interview, that's nearly two hours for that alone.  I will post the date and time as soon as I am learn it.  You can also check with the city's website, swing by city hall, or call city hall yourself.  You can then post that information here yourself, or e-mail me and ask me or another member to post it.

     All of the firms that put in RFQ's were informed of last night's meeting, but only Alvarez-Glasman attended the meeting.  Also, from what I observed, it appears that Tran and Nunez are prepared to appoint Alvarez-Glasman.  It is clear that Taylor doesn't think the CDC needs a separate counsel from the city council.  I'm moderately sure that's Clark's position, too.

     3.  The CDC also awarded an exclusive negotiating agreement to Primstore to redevelop the Levitz property and the Rosemead Inn, both just north of the San Bernardino Freeway, just west of Rosemead.  I don't have my notes in front of me, but I think I heard that this is the same firm that recently put all those improvements into the Rosemead Square shopping center, which includes Target, Office Depot, etc.  They also already own the Levitz property.  Seemed like everyone (even a competing developer) agreed that they were the best suited to take on this task.  If they're able to bring something with more appeal to Rosemead's citizens and our neighbors, I think this would be a good thing.

     4.  The city gave itself a well-deserved pat on the back for the very successful Fourth of July parade and carnival (OK, this part is partially opinion and not entirely factual!).  But it was nice to watch the city (mostly) come together for that event.

     5.  To build on that, Barbara Murphy is now bending the city council's collective ear to get them to think about an Octoberfest on the last Sunday in October.  This would be to benefit the Savannah Pioneer Cemetary, which we have posted about on this blog before.  I'll bump it back up to the top of the Active Forum topics, to your right.

     Barbara encouraged a number of her neighbors and a number of businesses located near the cemetary to come to speak for the Octoberfest.  The presentations was unusual amusing, with people saying things like, "People are no longer dying to get into the Cemetary," and noting how quiet the cemetary is as a neighbor.

     The mayor direct staff to look into the feasibility of this event.  Can't argue with that.  I do  have questions about some of the specifics of the proposal, but we'll see what staff comes back with in a few weeks.

     6.  The council also agreed to provide funding to the Rosemead Rebels football program.