By Brett Callwood
At the City Council meeting on the evening of Tuesday, March 25, Item 14A called for, “Approval of One-Year Agreement with Townsend Public Affairs, Inc. for Legislative Advocacy and Grant Funding Services in the amount of $84,000.”
A staff note read, “Townsend Public Affairs, Inc (TPA) was hired by the City of Gardena in March 2022 to help secure state and federal funding for its priority projects. Efforts to advance the City’s priority projects included the pursuit of earmarks in the state budget and federal appropriations bills for Fiscal Years 2022-2023, 2023-2024, and 2024-2025. TPA partnered with the City to develop, advocate, and secure several major wins with our elected leaders in Sacramento and in Washington, DC. The TPA/City team worked together to secure over $12 million in direct funding for priority projects identified by the City.”
A representative from Townsend Public Affairs was on hand to answer questions about the funding that his company had been able to secure for the city, including $4 million for the Digital Equity for all Bridging the Digital Divide (Championed by Assembly Member Muratsuchi), and $3 million for Rowley Park Gymnasium (Championed by Senator Bradford).
The members of the City Council spoke highly of the work done by TPA with the exception of Council Member Wanda Love, who suggested that the work could be done by staff members via email, after she had consulted with various representatives.
This was quickly dismissed by both TPA and Love’s colleagues on the council. The item passed 4-1.
Item 16A called for the council to, “Approve the Installation of Gardena Decorative Street Lighting by Southern California Edison (SCE), JN 506, on Gardena Boulevard between Vermont Avenue to Western Avenue and 162nd Street between Denker Avenue to Western Avenue, Authorize the City Manager to execute the SCE Application and Contract in a form approved by the City Attorney in the amount of $182,000, Declare California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Exemption and Approve the Remaining Budget of $47,000 as a Project Contingency.”
The staff note read, “To enhance the aesthetic appeal of the Gardena Downtown-to-City Hall corridor, staff requests approval for the installation of decorative street lighting by Southern California Edison. This involves replacing the existing mast arms and fixtures on SCE-owned streetlights with decorative streetlights.”
The item passed 4-1, with Council Member Paulette Francis the no vote.
