At Tuesday night’s Aladena Town Council meeting:
- The council swore in two re-elected members, Ruth Neilan Edwards and Alice Wessen, who were not at last month’s swearing-in ceremony; and made the following appointments: Chair Gino Sund; vice chair Edwards; corresponding secretary Jaime Bissner; treasurer Tecumseh Shackelford; Phil Barela, recording secretary.
- Appointments: Councilman Ken Roberts was appointed to represent Altadena on the Pasadena Unified School District’s school consolidation committee, which will consider which schools to close due to budget shortfalls. Allan Wasserman agreed to represent the council on the West Altadena Project Area Committee.
- The council gave out a plaque honoring the members of the Hillside ordinance committee for their work in drafting the Altdena Hillside Ordinance, recently approved by the count board of supervisors.
- Sund said he had been looking into complaints from many residents about feral peafowl who lurk in some neighborhoods. According to Sund, the council considers them wildlife, so animal control will only pick up a dead or injured animal. Peafowl are not protected nor endangered, so, Sund said smilingly, “whatever you do will have to be done privately.” The Arcadia city website does have a pamphlet available on “living with peafowl.”
- In public safety reports, Altadena Sheriff Capt. Steven McLean said that the station had made substantial progress in quelling the burglary wave: 42 suspects have been arrested since the beginning of the year, including two the day before. In May, there had been 39 residential burglaries reported; in june, 35; and for July, 13. “What I’ve witnessed in the last four months is as good a police work as I’ve seen in 30 years,” McLean said.
- Officer Ming Hsu of the California Highway Patrol said that the there were an increasing problem with miniscooters on residential streets. Such vehicles are not street legal and do not conform to motor vehicle standards, Hsu said.
- Following a lengthy discussion with county traffic engineers, the council voted to approve restriping north Lake Ave. from Altadena Drive to Loma Alta. Presently a four lane, it will become a two lane with a center turn lane to facilitate traffic safety.
- The council also approved an upgrade of the existing cell phone antenna on the property of Altadena Methodist Church.
