By Raymond Mendoza

Diamond Bar – Diamond Bar’s City Council met on Feb. 17 for its last meeting of the month, with heavy consideration being given to the Grand Avenue Beautification Project.

Before that, the Council overheard the schedule of future events which included a Planning Commission meeting on Feb. 24, a Parks and Recreation Commission meeting on Feb. 26, and the next City Council meeting on March 3.

The Council then moved onto approve all items on its consent calendar, which included the minutes for the Council meeting on Feb. 3; the Parks and Recreation Commission minutes on Nov. 20; the ratification of a check register dated Jan. 29 through Feb. 11 in the amount of $1,246,456.02; the award of contract to ICG, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $49,750 for the design of the Steep Canyon Connector Trail and the Pantera Park Trail; an award of contract to Ortco, Inc. for the removal and replacement of playground surfacing at Maple Hill, Ronald Reagan and Pantera Parks in an amount not to exceed $66,856.10, plus 10% contingency of $6,685.61 for unexpected conditions; approval of notice of completion for the traffic signal battery back-up system project; adoption of a resolution authorizing participation in the National Intergovernmental Purchasing Alliance to purchase janitorial supplies for City facilities from Waxie Sanitary Supply as distributor for network services in an amount not to exceed $65,000; and the award of contract to And 1 to officiate the City’s youth and adult basketball programs for the period of Sept. 14 through June 30 in an amount not to exceed $35,000.

Finally, the Council adopted the last item on the consent calendar for the award of two items for the Grand Avenue Beautification Project. The first being the construction administration services contract to Onward Engineering in the amount of $114,855, plus a contingency amount of $10,000, and appropriate Prop C savings of $53,000 from fiscal year 2014-15 Arterial Zone 1 CIP budget, Prop A exchange funds savings of $44,000 from fiscal year 2014-15 Residential Area 2 CIP budget, Prop C savings of $100,000 from fiscal year 2014-15 Dial-A-Cab Transit program, Gas Tax Savings in the amount of $180,000, and Unrestricted Traffic Mitigation Funds in the amount of $165,014 from fiscal year 2014-15 Grand Avenue Beautification CIP budget; adopting the resolution for approving plans and specifications and establishing a project payment account, rejecting the lowest bidder and awarding the construction contract for the project to All American Asphalt in the amount of $1,939,190, with a contingency of $193,900, for a total of $2,132,900.

After the final item was approved, the Council entered its committee reports and adjourned for the evening with plans to meet at 6:30 p.m. on March 3 at the Diamond Bar City Council chambers at 21865 Copley Drive.