City Council Meeting Tonight

The Claremont City Council meets tonight in the council chambers at 225 W. 2nd St. in the Claremont Village. You can watch all the action beginning at 6:30pm on the City's website.

CLOSED SESSION

The council will meet in a special closed session at 5:15pm to discuss the potential purchase of the water utility, currently provided by Golden State Water Co. Before anyone gets too excited, there doesn't seem to be any concrete action planned, though you never know what happens behind closed council doors.

Here's the closed session agenda. The Daily Bulletin had an article on the subject. The article, by Wes Woods II, quoted several councilmembers, including Sam Pedroza:

Councilman Sam Pedroza said the council expects to review several options, such as whether the city should take over its water provider or just continue to fight the water company's rising rates.

Pedroza said he brought the item to the council's attention because residents have been asking him about the increased rates.

In December, Claremont joined San Dimas, Apple Valley and Placentia in hopes of halting rising water rates charged by the water company.

"We've been talking about it for many, many years," Pedroza said. "Because of the water situation we're in and the economy, it's never going to be cheaper than what it is right now. We need to do something."

REGULAR SESSION

The regular session commences at 6:30pm with a couple ceremonial matters: a farewell to Claremont Unified School District Superintendent David Cash and a recognition of the David and Margaret Youth & Family Auxiliary Group's 38th Anniversary.

Tonight's regular session seems light, and the council may get out before 9:30 for a change. Here are a few items of interest:

• A lot line adjustment for three parcels at 101 S. Mills Ave. This property is owned by the Claremont University Consortium. This appears to be the maintenance yard between 1st St. and the Metrolink tracks.
  
  
• Institutional District parking standards. Staff is asking the council to affirm the direction the council has given regarding revisions to the parking standards for the areas in and around the Claremont Colleges. Staff wants to have the Municipal Code amendment and the necessary environmental review prepared by this fall.
  
  
• A resolution in support of the League of California Cities mounting a legal challenge to the state's proposed money grab. We talked about this yesterday. The staff report says that Claremont could potentially lose $600,000 in transportation funds if the state borrows money from the Highway Users Tax Account, money set aside for local governments from the state's gasoline tax. The money is used for local street maintenance.
  
  As we noted yesterday, other area cities have already adopted the same type of resolution.
  
  
• Senior apartment bonds. This is a request for the City to hold a hearing for the Claremont Villas under the federal Tax Equity and Financial Responsibility Act (TEFRA). The owner of the 154-unit senior housing complex, Claremont Senior Partners, LLP, wants to refinance and pay off its existing debt obligations in order to give the property 100% non-profit ownership.
  
  Claremont would bear no financial responsibility. The City simply has to hold the hearing for Claremont Senior Partners to be able to apply for the bonds. The City recently did the same thing for Western Christian Schools, and they have also held TEFRA hearings for Pilgrim Place and Claremont Manor.