Februar􀀝 is Blach. Histor􀀝 Month: Knou, The Past, Shape the Future! 
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2024 

VOLUME 18 NO. 07VOLUME 18 NO. 07

Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity 
laws. Lic. #01991628. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled 
from sources deemed reliable but has not been verified. Changes in price, condition, sale or withdrawal may be 
made without notice. No statement is made as to accuracy of any description. All measurements and 
square footage are approximate. If your property is currently listed for sale this is not a solicitation.
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TRASH RATES HAVE GONE 
UP, AND SO HAS THE 
CONFUSION

Athens compacts it all down - from new rates to new 
ways to sort your trash

By Kevin McGuire

Residents of Sierra Madre have certainly noticed a hike in their trash pick-
up rates over the last few years. The most recent one occurred on January 1, 
2024, with a shocking 56% increase in the disposal rate. In addition to the 
hike, there are new rules for sorting food waste, which now goes in with 
green waste. But why is there such a big jump in my Athens’ bill? And what 
about the bears? What is Senate Bill 1383, and why does it concern me? 

Christian Warner, Senior Vice President of Compliance at Athens Services, 
presented before the City Council on February 13 to help answer these 
questions and more. 

Why are my rates so high?

According to Warner’s slide presentation, the rate adjustment is broken 
down into three components: Service, Disposal, and Extraordinary. 

The Service Component of the trash rates is based on the trash Consumer 
Price Index (CPI). Between 2010 and 2021, the average rate increase for 
Athens’ services was a consistent 2.15%, but in the last three years, that 
number jumped to 6.45% due to high inflation rates. Remember those gas 
prices last year?

The Disposal Component refers to the rate for disposing of the trash in the 
Scholl Canyon Landfill. The Gate Rate, or price per ton, averaged a low 
0.09% increase from 2010 to 2021. This rate jumped 5% in 2022, 8% in 2023, 
and a whopping 56% in the last three years. The previous big hike is said 
to have brought the Scholl Canyon Landfill disposal rates up to the market 
rate comparable to surrounding cities. Warner noted that he was unsure why 
Scholl Canyon kept their rates low for so long. 

Unfortunately, because the new gate rates aren’t posted until the end of the 
year, this gave little to no time to properly inform Athens’ customers of this 
price hike. “It was very last minute that any of us knew what was going on,” 
Warner said.

City Council members expressed concern at the poorly communicated 
whopper increase, which also caught them by surprise. “We could have all 
done a better job of communicating that this was going to happen,” said 
Councilmember Kristine Lowe, noting that residents had just been hit with 
a rate increase in January. 

In 2010, the rate formula was based on Sierra Madre waste going down to 
Scholl Canyon Landfill. But, due to changes in industry standards over the 
last decade, that’s no longer the case. Now, the waste goes to the Material 
Recovery Facility (MRF), organics facility, and Construction and Demolition 
Debris Recycling Facility (C & D) in Los Angeles.

Warner stated that he approached the City Manager and Public Works 
Director around five years ago because the Scholl Canyon Landfill is a county 
sanitation facility, and Sierra Madre had no control over their disposal rates. 
According to Warner, a proposal was made to change to an MRF gate rate, 
or SBC Waste Management gate rate, or have the entire rate adjusted by 
the CPI. But, the decision at the time was for Sierra Madre to stay with the 
current gate rate because it remained low, which was advantageous to the 
city. However, this was not advantageous to Athens, (continued on page 3)

Sierra Madre News Briefs

GAS LEAK CLOSES STREETS - 

3 HOMES EVACUATED

 On Friday, the Sierra Madre Police Department and Fire 
Departments responded to calls of a gas leak on North Lima. 
Three homes were evacuated as a precaution and the Gas 
Company and Edison were dispatched to the scene. 

 Lima was closed between Sierra Madre Blvd. and Highland.
until the leak was repaired. The Gas Company cut off the gas 
lines and repaired the leak. 

 The leak was confined to a specific area and did not pose 
a threat to the rest of the city. Electronic alerts were sent to 
residents via Nixle.

 At press time, there were no reported injuries. The streets 
were closed from approximately 12:40 pm until 3:47 pm 
when they were reopened, evacuation orders were lifted and 
the gas leak was no longer a threat.

CITY COUNCIL HOLDS 
ANNUAL MEETING WITH LA 
COUNTY SUPERVISOR BARGER


On Thursday, February 15th, LA County Supervisor Kathryn 
Barger held the annual County Supervisor/City Council 
meeting at The Only Place In Town. 

 Topics of discussion included:

 Presenting Barger with an update on City and Regional 
efforts regarding Wildlife; 

 An update on the Carter Avenue Expansion and discussion 
on the progress of Los Angeles County Flood Control Districts’ 
assistance on this project; and 

 Metro Services in Sierra Madre - Council and staff provided 
an update to the Supervisor on the community’s concerns 
regarding the regional transportation programs.

Photo courtesy City of Sierra Madre

Call us, 
we would love 
to meet with you 
to discuss how 
we can help you 
achieve your 
2024 Real Estate 
Goals. 
Barbara Rogers 
626.484.8135 
CalRe# 01169115 
Eileen Benson 
626.278.0187 
CalRe# 01880650 
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theprinciplesoftheFairHousingActandtheEqualOpportunityAct. 
INSIDE THIS WEEK

Cancer Society Holds Annual Board Meeting

 Page 2

Walking Sierra Madre Page 3

Calendar Page 4



Pasadena News Page 5

Altadena/San Marino News Page 6

Around San Gabriel Valley Page 7

Food, Drink & Fun

 Peter Dills The Tasting Room 

 In The Kitchen

 Chinese New Year Firecracker Parade

 Page 8



Education & Youth Page 9

Best Friends & More Page 10

 Christopher Nyerges

The Good Life Page 11

 Savvy Senior

 Out To Pastor

Opinion Page 12

 Stuart Tolchin Rich Johnson Dinah Watkins



Legal Notices Page 13

SPORTS & FITNESS Page 15

SUZI DUNKEL-SOTOTop ProducerKEVIN WHEELER2nd Top ProducerSUE SGHERZI3rd Top ProducerTHE BALDRY TEAMTop TeamAndy & Julie Bencosme are pleased to congratulate the 2023 Office Top Producers!