Red Lights and Writs at GLCA Meeting Tuesday Evening

By Ruth Longoria Kingsland

The Metro Gold Line Construction Authority (GLCA) met with an unexpected red light Tuesday night as the GLCA Board attempted to push forward plans to build a maintenance yard in the city of Monrovia, as part of the Gold Line Foothill Extension project.
“I’m sorry, this is a bit awkward,” said Michael Estrada, general counsel for the Metro Goldline Foothill Extension Construction Authority, as he interrupted the Board’s vote to adopt a handful of resolutions concerning plans to take by eminent domain several Monrovia properties currently in dispute.
Estrada asked the Board for a short recess and later procured the Board’s approval to table the resolutions until the July 13 Board meeting, allowing further consideration and review of legal ramifications, which may result if the Authority attempts to condemn the Monrovia land.
Estrada put the brakes on the project after one Monrovia landowner’s attorney, Robert P. Silverstein spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting.
Silverstein promised the Authority a lawsuit, should it continue the plan to take his client’s land.
Silverstein represents George Brokate, a Vietnam veteran, whose family has owned a piece of commercial property in Monrovia for about 50 years. Brokate doesn’t want to sell the land and objects to the Authority taking his land for an easement into its proposed maintenance yard.
Silverstein provided the Board with a large file of paperwork outlining why the project’s environmental, noise and other studies are flawed, as well as his other objections to the land grab. Estrada said the Board would investigate Silverstein’s information during the coming week, prior to its next meeting.
Although the Authority proposed taking by eminent domain several properties within the city of Monrovia, all of those lands are privately owned. The city owned land, which the city of Monrovia has been in the process of negotiating a sale with the Authority for the past few years, was not one of those listed in the Authority’s resolutions Tuesday night, said Monrovia Mayor Mary Ann Lutz.
Lutz declined comment on the Tuesday night proceedings, saying instead the city continues to be in negotiations and she is not opposed to a sale of that property; however, she would be opposed should the Authority choose to take the city’s 14-acre parcel by eminent domain.
Board members previously said condemning the city of Monrovia’s 14-acre parcel is one of four options being considered should the Authority not be able to negotiate a deal with the city.
After the meeting, Monrovia City Manager Scott Ochoa said the hour-long meeting was a bit confusing, in terms of order, as the Board excused itself to a closed session after a brief public comment portion and then progressed with a few uncontested Goldline updates prior to Estrada’s interruption of a vote on the contested resolutions.
Ochoa also said he’s pleased the Board is taking the time to consider all the information before moving forward.
The Authority “has a lot to deal with to come to an agreement with all parties,” he said, adding, “If they have to take a step backward to go forward, so be it.”
In other Goldline business, a video report shown at the meeting detailed plans for the coming year and construction set to begin later this month.
Much of the construction work that’s expected to disrupt traffic along the I-210, in particular between Santa Anita and Baldwin avenues, will be confined to the hours between midnight and 5 a.m., to lessen impact on commuters.
A 584-linnear-foot bridge is to be constructed across I-210 between Santa Anita and Baldwin avenues, and will include the construction of three massive concrete pilings, 11 feet in diameter and 110 feet deep. Each of the three pilings will take one week to construct, according to a video report from Lawrence DaMore, project executive with Skanska USA.
A few revisions to the Foothill Extension project also were reported, including moving a proposed 1.5-acre, 125-space parking area from the west to the east corner of Highland Avenue at Business Center Drive in the city of Duarte. This change due to a request by the city of Duarte.
Also in Duarte, a previously proposed 350-foot long sound wall construction east of Mountain Avenue would be eliminated due to a recent sound analysis, which deemed the sound wall unnecessary.
And, the Board is still considering which option is most cost effective and feasible in regard to a home on Angelino Avenue in Azusa, which sound analysis now says would be significantly impacted by vibrations, as the home is within 15 feet of the proposed Goldline tracks. The Authority will decide between a few options on that property, including acquiring the property or negotiating an easement with the property owner.
More information is available about the project and its future traffic information at www.foothillextension.org or by calling the I-210 hotline at: 1-855-446-1160.

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