Mountain Views News, Pasadena Edition [Sierra Madre] Saturday, July 28, 2018

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Mountain View News Saturday, July 28, 2018 

CITY STAFF PRAISED FOR CREATIVE 
PENSION RATE STABILIZATION PLAN

WALKING SIERRA MADRE... The Social Side By Deanne Davis

"I am proud we were able to come to a solution 
without having to eliminate services or having to 
ask our residents to pay another tax. This Council 
has been committed to achieving a sustainable 
budget and invest in our infrastructure. Mayor Pro 
Tempe Harabedian was correct, the sustainable 
pension plan is another investment investment in 
our City. "

Sierra Madre Mayor Denise DelMar

Sierra Madre City Council approved a Pension 
Rate Stabilization Plan, Tuesday, which would 
require the City to pay a lump sum pre-payment 
to CalPERS for Unfunded Accrued Liability 
(UAL), and also authorize the establishment of a 
trust fund to help alleviate expenditures. 

 Pension costs are expected to increase over 
time, triggering the City to look at options that 
would not include depending on residents to 
foot the bill, or cutting or outsourcing services. 
For fiscal year 16-17 UAL payments increased 
from $754,000 to $1 million and another 
increase of 32% is expected for fiscal year ending 
18-19. 

 Paying CalPERS UAL rates above the annual 
requirements is one of the targeted goals 
suggested by City Management. Staff suggests a 
$5 million payment for UAL to be paid by July 
31, 2018, which will increase pension expense 
for this fiscal year, but will result around $6.9 
million in interest savings. The sources for 
the pre-payment of the $5 million of the UAL 
include: 

1. General Fund balance above 50% ($1.8 
million)
2. Sale of SCE underground credits 
($628,000).
3. Close out of accounts/transfers ($800,000).
4. Revision of General Fund balance from 
50% to 25% ($2.5 million). 


 During the July 24, 2018 meeting, Council did 
approve Resolution 18-40, to revise the General 
Fund Balance Policy from 50% operating 
revenues to 25%. This will free up approximately 
$2.5 million for pension stabilization. 

 In addition, a 115 Trust Fund is expected to 
receive subsidy at a later date and the City will 
earmark $600,000, which is one year’s PERS 
Rate payment to be deposited down the road. 
The City is expected to receive greater returns 
using the 115 Trust than they would with their 
current investment policy. And, these funds can 
be used to offset pension costs. 

 Local California government setting up 115 
Trust Funds is a pretty recent idea. The hope is 
this funding will also improve Sierra Madre’s 
credit rating, while the City continues to 
maintain local control over assets. The funding 
would also be available for emergencies such as 
fires, wind storms, etc. 

 Authorization of the lump sum payment to 
UAL, the establishment of the 115 Trust Fund, 
and the passing of Resolution 18-40, were 
all unanimously approved by Council. All 
members were present. 

 A few Council Members vocalized their 
displeasure over having to pre-pay $5 million, 
all took time to praise the efforts of the 
City Manager, Gabriel Engeland, Assistant 
City Manager, Marcie Medina and staff for 
constructing a “creative” pension stabilization 
plan that did not included raising taxes on 
Sierra Madre residents. “I do have to commend 
our City Manager and Assistant City Manager, 
and the staff and whole finance department for 
coming up with what we feel is a solution to a 
problem that we didn’t think had a solution,” 
Mayor Delmar said at the close of the meeting. 

 City Council will meet on July 31, 2018, at 6:30 
p.m. for a public hearing to discuss Proposition 
218, on Water and Sewer Rate Adjustment, 
before they break for the summer. K. 
McGuire/MVNews

“Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings 
in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours 
through and shines down upon us to let us know 
they are happy.”

 Do you think there are parades in heaven? With 
floats and princesses who ride on them and wave 
at all the saints and angels? Maybe! And if there 
are, our friend, Donna Sutcliffe, is organizing the 
princesses, making sure they sit up straight, don’t 
chew gum, and smile at everyone.

 For more years than we can remember, probably 
from about 1990 on, Doug and Donna Sutcliffe 
worked on the Sierra Madre Rose Float. Doug as 
a fix-it guy, bringing all those years of experience 
at JPL as a Fabrication Engineer to work on our 
float until he took up residence in heaven in 2013. 
Remember the float that year? The Sky’s The Limit 
with the little fishing boat with Doug’s name on it? 
Donna and the family were so pleased to see him 
honored that way. And now, we honor Donna for 
all the years she spent as the Sierra Madre Rose 
Princess Wrangler. It will be hard to find someone 
to take her place.

 After a year of being in and out of the hospital, 
suffering the effects of leukemia, but never losing 
her optimistic spirit, even after eight solid weeks 
of hospital food, the family got permission to 
celebrate last Thanksgiving there in the cafeteria 
– bringing in the turkey and all the fixings. They 
celebrated! Donna left her family and friends on 
July 22, 2018 – just days after celebrating her 83rd 
birthday, which was a joyful event on several levels, 
not only was it her birthday, but she had just been 
released from the hospital and was ready to party! 
Son, Andrew, raced to Baskin-Robbins and found 
the perfect party confection – not just an ordinary 
old cake, but ice cream cones with sherbet! He 
bundled 83 birthday candles together, lit them for 
her to blow out, and you may remember a light in 
the sky on July 11th – Donna’s birthday candles! 
They celebrated! Last New Year’s Eve day, Donna 
was able to watch the float safety test and final 
judging, again, just after escaping the hospital. 
Another celebration!

 Donna’s parents, Irma Wanda Stewart and 
Melvin Orval Stewart, residents of Kansas, 
welcomed their new little girl on July 11, 1935. 
The family moved to California and Donna 
attended PCC. She met Doug Sutcliffe at The 
Church of Truth, their lifelong family church, just 
before he left to serve his country in the Korean 
conflict. They met again when he returned and 
were married in 1956 at, of course, The Church 
of Truth. The Sutcliffe’s moved to their first home 
on Montecito in 1956 and became lifelong Sierra 
Madreans. They moved to the home on Alegria, 
the former residence of C.W. Jones, the first mayor 
of Sierra Madre, in 1969. This home, built in 1906 
was a great place for Lynn and Andrew to grow 
up, along with the Blakeslee, Witter, Davis and 
Biely kids. And, of course, the family participated 
in the Halloween celebrations in a BIG way, Lynn 
as a witch up on the balcony, shrieking through 
the night, a coffin on the lawn with a Dracula 
rising up out of it. Good times! Donna left the 
house on Alegria to move into a charming condo 
on Sierra Madre Blvd. in 2013. It is now the home 
of Wyatt and Renee Sullivan, who have continued 
the Alegria Halloween tradition with great 
enthusiasm!

 Donna served for many years as the Wedding 
Hostess at Church of Truth, guiding countless 
brides and grooms through their rehearsal, 
making sure they knew what to do, where to 
stand, what to do with the bouquet, how to get 
the ring in place without dropping it when the big 
moment arrived, and then sending the brides and 
bridesmaids down the aisle during their weddings. 
She also served in this capacity at Santa Anita 
Church in Arcadia. But Donna’s first love was the 
Sierra Madre Rose Float and the princesses. She 
was so very proud of these young ladies and, in 
fact, for many years held the princess teas at their 
home on Alegria.

 Donna’s memorial service will be Saturday, 
August 11 at 10:00 a.m. at The Church of Truth, 
690 E. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena 91104. 
Donna was able to spend her last days at home 
with her family, all of whom look forward to 
seeing you. Donna leaves her son, Andrew, 
daughter, Lynn (Dan) Turpin, and grandchildren 
Christopher, Samantha, Ashley and Jacob. She 
was pre-deceased by her brother, Darrell Stewart.

 This service will be a true celebration of Donna’s 
life as she left definite instructions about what she 
most definitely did NOT want to have happen: 

1. Don’t let anyone say, “She’s in a better place!”

2. No singing Amazing Grace! 

 Instead The Desiderata by Max Ehrmann will 
be read:

 “Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in 
silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.”

 

 Donna Sutcliffe was a gentle, humble, kind 
person with a heart for her community and her 
family. 

“With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.”

 My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis 

Kindle books of all sorts and hardcover 
“Tablespoon of Love” are on there,

 as is “Star of Wonder.”

 Star of Wonder the CD is now on TuneCore! 
Take a look!

Blog: www.authordeanne.com

 Follow me on Twitter, too! https://twitter.
com/@playwrightdd


SIERRA JUICE COMPANY GETS NEW OWNER – 
3RD GENERATION SIERRA MADREAN

Sierra Juice Company has changed ownership. 
After 15-years of dedicated support and love 
for the Sierra Madre community, Nora Graham 
recently sold the business to Sierra Madre resident 
and 3rd-generation Sierra Madrean, Jed Reitman.

 Reitman is the father of two children at Sierra 
Madre Middle School. His grandparents, Norman 
and Annemarie Davidson moved to Sierra 
Madre in 1952 from Chicago for a teaching and 
research position at Caltech. Annemarie was a 
copper enamellist, her work displayed around 
town, at the Long Beach Museum of Art and in 
the Huntington Library. The Davidsons raised 4 
children in Sierra Madre – Terry, Laureen, Jeff and 
Brian. 

 The “New Sierra Juice Company” will feature 
fresh vegetable and fruit juices, smoothies, acai 
bowls, sandwiches, salads, hot-dogs, rice bowls, 
spring rolls, and vegan specialties like the “Cali 
Cheesesteak” and “Sierra Super-Torta”.

 “Our mission is to deliver health and vitality 
through the freshest, highest quality foods 
available,” said Reitman. “Health is wealth!”

 Other new features include a loyalty program, 
call-in orders and local discounts.

New hours will be 7am-7pm, 7-days/week


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