Within two years, Santa Clarita residents may have the chance to decide if the position of mayor will remain an essentially ceremonial title, or become part of local political races.If the City Council approves an item on Tuesday’s agenda, the April 2008 municipal ballot will include a measure allowing voters to decide if the city should have a directly elected mayor; and if so, whether the term of office should be two or four years.At present, the position of mayor rotates between the five council members once a year. Included in an agenda report on the item was a list of 31 California cities with a population of more than 150,000. Of those 31, 26 cities — including Garden Grove , Chula Vista , Salinas and Oceanside — have a directly-elected mayor, many of them with a four-year term of office. If the measure were to pass in 2008, one of the council seats on the next ballot would be designated as the mayor’s seat, and filled by an election. In other business, cutting down on Newhall traffic will likely come at the expense of banning on-street parking on part of San Fernando Road. Up for the council’s approval is a resolution to establish no-stopping zones on both sides of San Fernando , between Railroad Avenue and Sierra Highway . The restrictions are to make way for widening of that portion of San Fernando Road, to allow three lanes in either direction, plus Class III bicycle paths. Last June, the council signed off on a restriction of full-time parking along the same stretch. A contract for the project was awarded to Padilla Construction Inc. last month, and the widening is expected to be completed by late May. With the council’s OK, two retired Santa Clarita Transit buses will be transferred to the city of Los Angeles . The buses went into service in 1992, and were set aside in 2004 as backup vehicles, when the original fleet was replaced. With the fleet fully operational, the two buses are no longer needed.The Los Angeles Department of Transportation has requested the buses be donated to their Commuter Express service.
This story can by found in today’s Signal Newspaper.