Torrance City Council – A Town Hall Style Conversation About Local Politics

Last Tuesday the City Council approved the creation of a new Social Services Commission that is intended to address issues relating to veterans, the city’s homeless population, special needs youth, and intellectually challenged adults. The cost for the new Commission is $15,000 per year.

The Commission will serve as a resource for veterans to find the services they need and will help veterans find employment by advertising for job fairs and other events.  The Commission will also address issues veterans have with healthcare, mental health, and homelessness.

New statistics quoted in the staff report put LA County’s homeless population at an estimated 45,000 individuals.  This rise in the homeless population in surrounding cities could impact Torrance even though a recent survey only showed approximately 50 homeless individuals in the City.

The Commission will act as a interface with the Torrance Police Department to assist and provide information to the homeless population and address their needs.  The Commission may also act as a sounding board for the community to become more educated about how to address homelessness.

Councilman Griffiths expressed strong support for the Commission at the meeting noting that he thought it would be a “fabulous benefit to our community.”  Mayor Furey echoed that sentiment stating that he was really proud of this and that he envisioned that an overwhelming amount of people would apply for the Commission spots.

The Commission will meet once a month on the fourth Thursday and like other City Commissions will likely be comprised of 7 members with appointments made by the City Council this January.  Interested parties will need to complete a Commissioner Certification Program provided through the City Clerk’s office. The last training of this year is scheduled for Tuesday evening, September 29th.

Mayor Furey has recently boasted that business is booming in Torrance citing as evidence his claim that in the past 18 months Torrance issued over 2000 new business licenses.  The figure was first noted in a guest commentary article published by the Daily Breeze.  It was later repeated in the Mayor’s State of the City address given today.  Resident, Mike Moran, has questioned that figure and provided the following letter to the editor submitted to the Daily Breeze.  What do you think?

Guest Editorial Comment by Mike Moran

Mayor Furey’s article has some rosy things to say about Torrance and the “booming business” we are supposed to be witnessing. However:

The article states, “…in the past 18 months more than 2,200 new business licenses were issued by Torrance”. According to http://www.torranceca.gov/business/ there are 1690 businesses in Torrance. Sorting by businesses with a count of more than 20 (total 997):

Accounting- 66;

Apartments – 5 or more units- 48;

Attorney- 87;

Auto Repair- 25;

Beauty Shop- 32;

Business Consultant- 67;

Contractors Office- 38;

Distributor- 34;

General Mdse.- 27;

General Office- 140;

Manufacturing- 39;

Medical-Dentist- 99;

Medical-Physician & Surgeon- 99;

Medical-Psychology Counseling- 39;

Misc. Retail- 65;

Miscellaneous Business- 29;

Real Estate- 34;

Restaurant w/alcohol- 29

Where is the discrepancy?

Toyota’s chief executive: “geography is the reason not to have our headquarters in California” … yes, namely that it’s a place called “California”. Can’t blame this all on Torrance, and Sacramento surely didn’t help.

We’re supposed to be thrilled that our process for opening a microbrewery is better than neighboring cities? $3800 and 12 weeks sounds like $3500 too much and 9 weeks too long. (I admit to not knowing all the details– teach me– but I can guarantee this thing is bureaucratic bloat.) Congrats to Torrance for being better, but saying “we’re not as bad as” is not the same thing as “we’re really good at”.

We are not business-friendly when we charge a lot of money and over-regulate; this kills businesses and jobs. Job holders pay taxes and grow the economy; jobless folks drain coffers. Economics 101. (Did you know there’s a per-employee fee in Torrance? Way to encourage hiring!)

“Companies are looking almost every day” (paraphrase) at moving to Torrance. OK, what percentage end up thinking it’s a good idea? One can look at 100 houses to buy in Torrance; if no sale, the “looks” mean a big, fat zero.

Finally: “There is much more in store for Torrance. The community can expect an even brighter future for our business community … stay tuned.”

Mr. Mayor, please fill us in, because the rosy picture painted so far isn’t the one many of us see driving around town.

Armed with golden shovels Torrance officials recently celebrated the ground breaking of the Torrance Transit Center.  Less than two weeks after that event, however, it would appear the project has been hit with yet another delay as City staff is recommending the Council reject all bids for Phase 1 of the project.

According to the staff report, Phase 1 (Rough Grading) includes the clearing and grubbing of the project site, importing the fill material, and the installation of the on-site drainage detention system.  A total of six bids were received for the project as follows:

           Bidder                                                            Total Bid

• LA Engineering                                            $1,715,000.00
• Sanders Construction Services                     $2,428,000.00
• Fata Construction & Development                 $2,783,500.00
• Walsh Construction Company                       $3,004,000.00
• Southern California Grading                         $3,207,000.00
• PALP, dba Excel Paving                                $4,248,432.00

The lowest bidder submitted a letter to the City requesting their bid be withdrawn after they discovered a mathematical error after the bid opening that would have increased their price by just over $1 Million.

Staff disqualified the second lowest bidder after an examination of their proposal revealed that less than 50% of the work would be done by the prime contractor.  In reviewing the contractor license for the third lowest bidder, staff found disciplinary action filed against the contractor in December 2014 that could result in their license being suspended or revoked.

The engineering estimate for the work was $1,900,000.00.  With the 4^th lowest bidder offering a price above $3 Million staff is recommending that the City “reject all bids and re-evaluate this phase of the project and the engineer’s estimate to determine if there are any potential options to reduce costs.”

The staff report also notes that to help mitigate any impacts to re-bidding this phase of the project that staff is exploring the availability of importing soil from other construction sites while the project is being re-bid.  The report acknowledges, however, that should predictions of a rainy El Nino season materialize that it could delay construction activities even further.

The project has already suffered a number of delays including a change of architects and a redesign of the project as reported by the Daily Breeze.  That same article also noted that the project is a catalyst for bringing the Green Line to the City by 2035.  At the last Council meeting, Mayor Furey claimed that was inaccurate hinting that he expects the Green Line to come to Torrance much sooner.