City Council Approves ‘Arroyo Verdugo Communities Joint Powers Authority’ Agreement, Will Join New Coordinating Board

The Pasadena City Council has approved a Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement among the cities and town within the Arroyo Verdugo Subregion: Pasadena, South Pasadena, Burbank, Glendale, and La Canada Flintridge, paving the way for the composition of an “Arroyo Verdugo Communities Joint Powers Authority.”

With the approval last week, the City Council has authorized the City Manager to enter into the Joint Powers Agreement on behalf of the City. The City Council will then appoint a representative and an alternate representative to the governing board of the new Joint Powers Authority once it has been constituted.

For several years, the five member cities and town of the Arroyo Verdugo Subregion have been coordinating issues of common interest, mostly related to transportation, through an Arroyo Verdugo Steering Committee. Additionally, while the cities of Pasadena, South Pasadena and La Canada Flintridge are concurrent members of the Arroyo Verdugo Subregion and the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments, the cities of Burbank and Glendale, also AVS members, have their own San Fernando Valley Council of Governments.

Last year, city managers of the five member cities made a presentation to the steering committee about the concept of forming a new Council of Governments for the Subregion to formalize the existing relationship of the member cities. In subsequent discussions, both among the Arroyo Verdugo cities and within the member cities’ City Councils, it was agreed that a new Joint Powers Authority be constituted instead of an Arroyo Verdugo Council of Governments.

With the passage of Measure M, the Los Angeles County Traffic Improvement Plan that sets aside half-percent sales tax to be used for projects intended to improve freeway traffic flow, it has now become imperative that some form of legal entity or fiscal agent be identified and authorized for the acceptance and drawdown of future Measure M funding coming directly to the Arroyo Verdugo cities.

With an Arroyo Verdugo Communities Joint Powers Authority, the five member cities agree that having regional allocation of Measure M funds disbursed to the Arroyo Verdugo cities would be of greater benefit compared to disbursing the funds to the respective valley COGs.

Once constituted, the Arroyo Verdugo Communities Joint Powers Authority will have the existing five member cities and the County Supervisor’s office to represent the La Crescenta/Montrose unincorporated areas, or a total of six members. A Governing Board for the new JPA will also be constituted, consisting of one representative and one alternate from each member city.

To maximize the benefits of Measure M, the purpose of the Joint Powers Authority shall be focused on transportation policy and coordination at this time, but will be expandable to other issues in the future.

The city managers have also agreed to maintain existing in-house staffing within the Arroyo Verdugo Subregion and the AV Steering Committee, subject to re-visit as the need arises.