SATURDAY, AUGUST 12, 2017 
VOLUME 11 NO. 32 
SIERRA MADRE EDITION 
VOLUME 11 NO. 32 
SIERRA MADRE EDITION 
SATURDAY, AUGUST 12, 2017 
Sierra Madre City Manager Gabe Engeland (standing) responds to questions from residents 
ranging from water rates to conservation. There was a standing room only crowd at the HartPark House Wednesday evening. S. Henderson/MVNews 


SIERRA MADRE CONCERT IN THE PARK THIS SUNDAY, AUGUST 13, 2017: 
Pat O’Brien and the Priests of Love 
Have you heard Pat O’Brien and the Priests of Love? Well you can this Sunday 
(08/13/2017) as the Sierra Madre Firefighters’ Association is sponsoring this Concert 
in the Park! Bring your blanket, some chairs, a picnic basket and join us as we 
listen and dance to the rockin’ beat. Come join us before our Concert in the Park 
series is over. We look forward to seeing you here! 
COMMUNITY'S QUESTIONS ABOUT


WATER ADDRESSED 


As a result many inquiries 
from residents regarding Sierra 
Madre's Water Supply, the City 
of Sierra Madre hosted a Town 
Hall type Q & A in an effort to 
bring the community up to date 
on the city's water issues. 

City Manager Gabe Engeland 
and Water Department Director 
Jose Reynoso answered most of 
the questions presented. Also in 
attendance were Public Works 
Director Chris Cimino, Mayor 
Rachelle Arizmendi and Mayor 
Pro-Tem Denise Delmar.

 The most pressing issue of the 
evening was billing/water rates. 
The current system is rather 
complex acknowledged Engeland. 
He noted two changes that 
the city would implement in the 
near future, the first being changing 
from bi-monthly billing to a 
system that generates bills every 
month. The second change will 
be to have the entire system on 
the same water rate. (For example, 
in the last billing cycle, half 
of the town was billed on Summer 
Usage Rates while the other 
half was billed on Winter Usage 
Rates). 

While those answers did help 
clear the air a bit, the cost of water 
in the city was the number 
one topic. 

Accusations that the city's water 
rates were unjustifiably high, 
that the rates were not properly 
noticed and that the city was billing 
at a future rate (2018 rates) 
rather than the current year's 
rates were all presented to city 
staff. In addition, the rumor that 
residents of the City of Arcadia 
paid less for their purchaed water 
than SierraMadre does was also 
addressed. 

Engeland and Reynoso noted 
in great detail the following: 

1. The cost of water is higher 
due to the fact that we are still 
purchasing more than half of our 
water from the MWD. Reynoso 
informed the residents that while 
our wells are replenishing, we 
are still well below the minimum 
level of 500 acre feet. (See chart 
Page 3). 

2. The city's rate from MWD 
is not higher than what other cities 
pay for untreated water, however, 
Sierra Madre does pay an 
additional cost to treat/improve 
the water quality. 
3. When comparing the Sierra 
Madre water rate to what consumers 
in Arcadia pay , it was 
noted that the City of Arcadia 
subsidizes resident rates. Sierra 
Madre is not able to provide such 
subsidies due to the fact that Sierra 
Madre has virtually no com-
mercial/sales tax revenue. 
4. The rates currently being 
charged to residents is for the 
2017-2018 fiscal year which began 
July 1st. It was also noted 
that there had been no additional 
rate increases since the last voter 
approved increase a few years 
ago. 
Detailed explanations were 
given on the Tiers that people 
are billed under. There are currently 
4 Tiers, with Tier 1 being 
the lowest and Tier 4 the highest 
with the highest rates and 
penalties. 

Several residents presented 
bills that did appear to be flawed. 
Bills were presented and discussed 
that were over $1,200 for 
one billing period. One resident 
had a bill that skyrocketed from 
$200 to $1600. Others had bills 
that had significant spikes of several 
hundred dollars, and many 
in attendance complained about 
the penalties. 

The city encouraged any resident 
that felt that bill was miscalculated 
to file an appeal and the 
billing would be investigated. 

At the mention of filing an ap


peal, several residents expressed 
frustration and dissatisfaction 
with how appeals had been handled 
in the past. Engeland and 
Reynoso assured the audience 
that with the recent reorganization 
of city staff, the process will 
be more responsive to citizen's 
concerns. At that point, Mayor 
Pro-Tem Denise Delmar accurately 
noted that she had always 
stressed better Customer Service 
by city staff when dealing with 
residents. 

Engeland also noted that if 
your water usage is beyond Tier 
1, then your conservation efforts 
are not effective and penalties 
are accessed accordingly. He 
reminded residents that despite 
the fact that the Governor has 
declared the drought over, cities 
are still required to enforce conservation 
efforts and are subject 
(both the city and resident's)to 
fines and penalties for failing to 
do so. 

Other items discussed were 
conservation targets, smart meters, 
how meters are read and 
where the city stands in terms of 
our water bonds and water company 
financing. 

And, to the surprise of many, 
Engeland pointed out a number 
of decisions that were made in the 
past regarding the Water Company's 
financing and the need for 
the city to address those issues in 
the near future. His comments 
seemed to verify Moody's (the 
municipal credit rating agency) 
statement in a Sierra Madre 
credit analysis a few years ago 
that noted the city "lacked the 
political will" to correct the water 
company's financial problems. 
See: http://mtnviewsnews.com/
v07/htm/n50/index.htm 

To learn more about the city's 
water situation go to: http://
cityofsierramadre.com/cms/one.
aspx?pageId=237412 

S. Henderson/MVNews 
HAVE YOU SEEN CARL FOOTE? 



The Sierra Madre Police Department and Sierra Madre Search and Rescue are asking for thepublic’s help to find an experienced hiker and cyclist who’s been missing in Sierra Madre 
since Sunday.

His family told police that Carl Foote, an avid hiker and walker, had planned to hike thebase of Mount Wilson’s trail on Sunday. He left his home in the 100 block of Laurel Avenuewithout taking his car, wallet or cell phone and has not been seen since, according to SierraMadre police.

Foote’s wife reported him missing Sunday night and he did not report to work on Monday,
police said.

 Authorities have canvassed the area using all available resources including dogs and aerialequipment but as of press time, to no avail.

Foote is a Vice President of a well known aerospace industry firm and formerly served for16 years as the Director of Human Resources at the Huntington Library.

Carl Foote is white, about 6 feet 9 inches tall and 200 pounds, with hazel eyes and brownhair with a gray patch behind his right ear. He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, khakishorts, white socks and tennis shoes. 

Anyone with information about his whereabouts was asked to call Sierra Madre police at

(626) 355-1414 or dial 911. 
ARCADIA FIREFIGHTERS HELP RAISE FUNDS FOR 
FAMILIES AFFECTED BY KENWOOD APARTMENTS FIRE 


The Arcadia Firefighters’ Association (AFFA) 
is spearheading fundraising efforts to provide 
aid for the families displaced by the fire at the 
Kenwood Apartments. All the proceeds will go to 
the nearly 40 residents affected by the fire which 
occurred in the 800 block of Fairview Avenue on 
the morning of August 3rd. 

The AFFA has set up an account for the 
Fairview Fire Families Fundraiser and is 
accepting monetary donations via mail. Checks 
for the Fairview Fire Families can be made out 
to Arcadia Firefighters Relief Fund and mailed 
to Arcadia Fire Fighters Association, PO Box 
661865, Arcadia, CA 91066. Donors can also give 
online via GoFundMe at https://www.gofundme.
com/fairview-fire-families. 

The Association will work with the American 
Red Cross to determine the displaced residents’ 
needs and use that information to decide how the 
money is distributed. 

In addition, on August 14, Matt Denny’s Ale 
House Restaurant located at 45 E. Huntington 
Drive in Arcadia, will set aside 25 percent of all 
proceeds from 11 a.m. to closing for the families 
affected by the fire. 

For additional information, please contact theArcadia Firefighters Association at affa3440@ 
gmail.com. 

From Arcadia's Best 

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com