By Julie BUTCHER

The Glendale City Council spent most of its long Tuesday evening meeting reviewing an updated report on renewable, clean energy options and heard from numerous callers urging the city to act as quickly as possible “to make Glendale a leader in clean energy.”

First, the council approved a proclamation celebrating Arbor Day this year. The city’s urban forester Loren Klick encouraged residents to share their tree stories. (The city is collecting and sharing special and memorial tree stories at https://www.instagram.com/myglendale/.)

“It’s Arbor Day in Glendale! For many years, local non-profit Glendale Beautiful has partnered with the City’s Community Services and Parks Dept. to celebrate Arbor Day at the Casa Adobe de San Rafael. The Glendale Beautiful memorial tree program encouraged residents to donate over 7,500 trees to our parks and public spaces. This year, please celebrate Arbor Day safely at home with this story of Glendale Beautiful’s auspicious beginnings,” the city’s site said.

Councilmember Paula Devine shared information about a local organization, Door of Hope, that is offering rent and utility assistance to those who need it – local residents can call (626) 304-9130 for more information or to apply.

Devine also commented on the uptick in attacks on members of the AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) community.

“I am deeply saddened by these acts of violence against innocent people based on racism, bigotry or just plain hate. I stand with you against this – you are welcome and respected in our community. We’ve worked so hard to recognize our racist past, so let’s all stand in solidarity against hate.”

Councilmember Ara Najarian mentioned potential concerns raised by comments made by former-Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, who reportedly made remarks denigrating Armenians in Artsakh. Najarian requested that condemnation be held pending the appropriateness of Walsh’s retraction and apology.

Councilmember Dan Brotman reported on a new low-cost auto insurance program aimed at helping low- and moderate-income drivers, regardless of their immigration status. 

“This could help reduce incidents of uninsured drivers, one contributor to hit-and-run accidents,” he noted. “Let’s get creative about reaching out to let people know about this.”

The council heard a mid-year financial update and plans to bridge the city’s current budget divide. City staff reported that the city could receive as much as $40 million if the recovery legislation pending at the federal level is approved “and the formula stays.”

Finally, the city heard an extensive update on the city’s plans for renewable energy. The city shared its “Progress Report on Glendale’s Clean Energy Future” with “updates on demand response programs, commercial customer programs, Glendale’s proposed Virtual Power Plant (VPP),  cost of electric service analysis, clean energy and storage at city facilities, and ongoing analysis for 100% clean energy by 2030.”

These plans were detailed in the Oct. 15, 2020 issue of CVW when the council adopted the preliminary outlines of these contracts for renewable energy.

Glendale Water and Power interim general manager Michael De Ghetto reminded the council that Glendale has a long history of supporting clean and renewable energy.

“In 1931,” he explained, “Glendale became one of the first California cities to contract with the federal government to purchase clean hydropower from the Hoover Dam.”

The city became one of the first municipal utilities to offer solar rebates in 2002, De Ghetto continued. Glendale included renewable energy in its portfolio beginning in 2003 and reached 23% renewable by 2017. In 2007, the city installed the first city-owned and operated solar system at Glendale City College. Currently, the city is at 35.8% renewable and expects to meet 60% clean energy goals by 2030, 100% by 2045.

Earlier in the day, the council spent time reviewing and debating plans for increasing transit and mobility, and participating in a study session on pedestrian and bicycle plans citywide traffic study. Discussion was also held regarding plans for the Verdugo Wash, a “slow streets” pilot program, and the city’s “Vision Zero” plan to improve pedestrian safety.