Fire Prevention Festival at the Sierra Madre Fire Department 

Saturday, Oct. 17th - 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. 


SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2015

VOLUME 9 NO. 42

MEET SIERRA MADRE’S 2016 PRINCESSES


UTILITY USER TAX MEASURE 
HEADED FOR APRIL BALLOT

 On Tuesday, the Sierra Madre 
City Council unanimously agreed 
to move forward with the necessary 
steps to place a Utility User Tax 
Measure on the April 2016 ballot. 
The decision follows in part the 
recommendation of the Revenue 
Committee, however the measure 
will only ask for a 10% UUT. The 
committee’s recommendation was 
for an 12% increase.

 The current UUT will bottom out 
in the next fiscal year at 6% leaving 
the city with an estimated $1 million 
dollar shortfall.

 Although the last attempt to 
maintain the UUT at 10% failed to 
get voter approval in 2014, the city’s 
current financial position along with 
an apparent shift in public sentiment 
has convinced all members of the 
council that an increase is needed.

 Mayor John Capoccia was very 
pleased to have consensus among of 
the members on the ballot measure. 
In addition to raising the tax to 
10%, the new measure will not have 
a sunset clause, nor will it have 
an oversight committee. It will, 
however, have exemptions for low 
income households.

 

 Council members Denise Delmar 
and Rachelle Arizmendi who both 
campaigned against the UUT at its 
last offering have changed positions 
on the matter, seeing no other 
solution to increase revenues for 
the city. “I want facts, not spin”, 
said Delmar when referring to the 
upcoming ballot measure.

 Mayor Pro Tem Gene Goss and 
Councilman John Harabedian both 
favored following the committee’s 
recommendation of increasing 
the tax to 12%. There was even 
discussion of raising the tax to 11%. 
In the final analysis the 10% figure 
gained the support of all five council 
members.

 Residents attitude towards an 
increase in the UUT appears to have 
changed since the last time the issue 
was presented to voters. The city 
has held several community input 
meetings and a citywide Town Hall 
meeting. As a result, the consensus of 
those attending was that an increase 
in the tax is needed.

 Harabedian pointed out that of 
those responding to the various 
forms of community outreach 
and education, 91% agreed that an 
increase was needed and of those 57% 
wanted a 12% increase compared to 
43% who thought a 10% increase was 
sufficient.

 The council did not, however, 
feel that it was necessary to spend 
$30,000 for a survey of residents by 
an outside firm.

 Revenue Committee Member 
Holland voiced what many have 
come to realize, “If we want to live 
in Sierra Madre we have to pay for it.

S. Henderson/MVNews

The Sierra Madre Rose Float Association is pleased to 
announce our 2016 princesses, who were crowned on October 
4th, 2015. These young women are Sierra Madre residents, are 
16 or 17 years old and have a 3.0 or better GPA. They will be 
riding SMRFA’s float, entitled “Rollin’ on the River”, on New 
Year’s Day.

 Congratulations to Emily Lopez, Alverno High School, 
Cameron Martinez, Alverno High School, Kari Savoie, 
Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and Katie Stapenhorst, 
Polytechnic School.

 The above photo, from left to right, shows Emily, Cameron, 
Kari and Katie – in the same order as listed above.

MEET OUR PIONEERS AT SIERRA MADRE CEMETERY

 Turning a piece of real estate that was nothing more than 
“sagebrush and jackrabbits” into a town – our town – complete 
with businesses, schools, homes, and pepper tree-lined streets, 
was no job for the bland and boring. Our pioneers and the 
people who came after them were a scrappy and resourceful 
bunch who all had a dream of what Sierra Madre could be, and 
they made that dream come true.

 This is your chance to meet some of those colorful folks in 
person. On Saturday, October 17th, important Sierra Madre 
figures from the past, whose wish had been to be interred 
nowhere else but in the town they helped build, in its own 
cemetery, now called the Pioneer Cemetery in their honor, will 
be standing right there in the flesh to tell you about themselves 
and their eventful lives and hard-won achievements.

 Please come to our charming cemetery and listen to their 
stories as they bring old Sierra Madre to life. 

Saturday, October 17 

4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Pioneer Cemetery

601 E. Sierra Madre Blvd.

$ 5.00 per person.

Tickets sold at the entrance gate of the cemetery

SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL

MEETING ON WATER ISSUES

Sierra Madre, CA. – The Sierra 
Madre City Council will meet for a 
special meeting Monday, October 19, 
2015 at 7:00PM to address key issues 
affecting the City’s water resources, 
including discussion on water 
penalties, repairs to infrastructure, 
and the State’s Notice of Violation for 
failing to meet water conservation 
standards.

 In July 2015 the City began 
assessing penalties for customers that 
exceed their conservation targets; the 
City Council will being reviewing 
this policy and providing direction 
regarding the imposition of penalties 
for excess water use that results from 
a leak on private property. The City 
is also greatly concerned with the 
number of leaks in the City’s 80+ 
year old water pipe system over the 
last several months and will discuss 
replacement of some of the city’s 
worst leakers. Water conservation 
has been of increasing concern for 
Sierra Madre as the gap between the 
City’s water usage and the State’s 
conservation target widens. The latest 
statistics reported for October show a 
shortfall in conservation targets for 
the fourth month in a row.

 The City Council special session 
will take place on Monday, October 
19, 2015 at 7:00PM in City Hall 
Council Chambers. Residents 
are encouraged to attend and the 
opportunity for public input will 
be available. The meeting will be 
televised on Time Warner’s channel 
three and streamed live from www.
cityofsierramadre.com for those who 
cannot be present. 

Inside this week: 

Scarecrow Winners

Page 18

 


CALENDAR Pg. 2

SIERRA MADRE NEWS

 Pg. 3

PASADENA/ALTADENA

 Pg. 6

SAN GABRIEL VALLEY

 Pg. 7


ARCADIA NEWS Pg. 7 
MONROVIA/DUARTE Pg. 8

EDUCATION & YOUTH

 Pg. 9

BEST FRIENDS

 Pg. 10

FOOD & DRINK

 Pg. 11

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

 Pg. 12

THE GOOD LIFE

 Pg. 13

BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS

HEALTHY LIFESTYLES

 Pg. 14

THE WORLD

 Pg. 15

OPINION Pg. 16

 
LEGALS Pg. 17