By Julie BUTCHER

The City of Glendale has a new manager. On Tuesday night, the council officially appointed Roubik Golanian to the position. Golanian has been filling the job on an interim basis since the retirement of Yasmin Beers in October 2020. Beers retired after having worked for the city in various positions for 33 years.

“I’ll be honest – I came into this process thinking it important that we bring in somebody from the outside to get a fresh perspective, but Roubik won me over during the interview process. I think he understands that ‘That’s the way we’ve always done it’ is not an answer,” said Councilmember Dan Brotman emphasizing that the council’s decision was unanimous.

Mayor Vrej Agajanian expressed his support for the appointment.

“We certainly dedicated a great deal of time and attention identifying the traits and characteristics the next city manager must possess and, at every step throughout the process, Mr. Golanian demonstrated the professionalism, temperament, skill and forward-thinking we were searching for coupled with his knowledge of the organization, the depth of relationships he’s built in his decades with the city, his 29 years professional engineering and management experience in the public and private sector – he is the most qualified individual to lead this organization.”

Next, Councilmember Paula Devine requested a staff report on the possibility of implementing a local measure to add extra pay (“hero pay”) for grocery workers.

“The big grocers have seen billions in profits,” she said, “and I want us to look at paying these heroes like other cities are doing.”

Councilmember Brotman moved to support the inquiry.

“I’ve been working at Ralph’s for 32 years,” one caller told the council, “and way back at the beginning of this we were told it’s a deadly virus. And still we showed up, every day. It’s more than just the compensation; it’s about doing the right thing.”

In response to a worker concerned about maskless customers, Mayor Agajanian queried staff about the process of responding and enforcing mask mandates. The city follows county protocols, the city manager explained, and responds to complaints with code enforcement or police personnel, as needed, depending on the time of the call.

The number to call is (818) 548-3900 responded city staff to the mayor’s questions about who should be called if customers refuse to wear masks in Glendale businesses.

After some discussion and criticism, the council voted to approve the reallocation of up to $356,400 to finish work left uncompleted in the children and teen areas of the Central Library.

After the 2017 remodeling of the library, staff recalled, improvements to the teen and youth spaces remained outstanding. Responses to an RFP requesting proposals were short-listed and the department recommended moving the funds.

“Children are our most important asset. Unfortunately, while we were able to make some safety improvements these areas haven’t been updated since the early ’90s, and, as we’re approaching the fiftieth anniversary of the building in 2023, we’re excited to be able to offer premium library services, particularly to accommodate the heavy teen use we’re seeing at the Central Library, and to fix the inadequate restrooms on the second floor,” Library Director Gary Shaffer briefed the group.

“How much have we already spent?” Councilmember Ardashes “Ardy” Kassakhian asked. “Tell me again how we overlooked the children’s area in the first place? And is there a reason we didn’t do this work while the library’s been closed?”

The council authorized the expenditure of $550,439 for a 135,000-watt rooftop photovoltaic system for the city’s Beeline bus service maintenance facility to pilot the use of solar power for transit uses.

Once again, the council reviewed a staff report proposing a new design for a pilot to test “shared mobility devices.” As reported previously in the CVW, the council instructed staff to develop the details of a pilot to test shared standard and electronic bicycles and electronic scooters.

“In September 2020 we brought you a sole source vendor for this and the council wanted an RFP process so we released an RFP,” Bradley Calvert explained the history and the newest proposal before the council. As presented, the pilot would run 12 months with an option for early termination if the program fails to meet the needs of the city or for any other reason. The devices would be available in a defined part of the city, primarily in the southern downtown portion just a bit north of the 134 Freeway between San Fernando Road and Chevy Chase Drive, down to the Tropico Transit center into Atwater and Los Angeles, and is primarily aimed at helping with “first and last mile connectivity.” Calvert shared that the mobility devices would be available from 6 a.m. to 9 or 11 p.m., helpful he noted for “those working in the service industry, [as] it adds one more option.”

The pilot would test 750 devices: 250 electronic scooters, 250 shared bicycles, and 250 sit-down, three-wheeled scooters provided by one of two vendors, Wheels, Inc. The devices would be accessed via dockless parking hubs and the city would work with the companies to set up incentives and penalties for ensuring good behavior. Keeping the devices within the prescribed area would be accomplished by geofencing.

“How did we get from 500 to 750?” Mayor Agajanian wanted to know. “We went through this before. There was a gentleman who came to every council meeting to show us pictures of broken legs these scooters will create.”

“Do these companies agree to hire local Glendale residents for these jobs?” Councilmember Devine asked. “I’m against scooters for safety reasons. Consider the visual. Virtual hub parking is not a pretty picture. I prefer we go back and find a local company that can do bicycles and e-bikes. Wheels sounds interesting but I want to see the medical studies first.”

“Who’s going to be in charge of enforcement?” Devine added.

Councilmember Kassakhian urged the council to consider the goal of “successfully changing the culture of the city to encourage more biking, to encourage people to drive less across the city.”

“The scooters are a hazard and a mess,” Kassakhian said.

The council directed staff to return with updated information and recommendations updated based on the latest council input.