City of Cerritos paying for new Auto Square sign
CERRITOS - The Cerritos City Council has approved a deal to help finance a new Cerritos Auto Square digital sign located adjacent to the 605 Freeway.
The freestanding sign will be the same height (70 feet tall) as the existing Cerritos Auto Square sign and feature 911-sq. ft. electronic message boards on each side.
The new sign was proposed by YESCO Signs, LLC on behalf of the Cerritos Auto Square Dealers Association and property owner Bargain Rent-A-Car.
Under terms of the deal, Cerritos will pay the dealers association $927,761 - the total cost of the sign - once the sign is installed next spring.
The dealers association will reimburse Cerritos for 50 percent of the sign's cost ($463,880), plus 3 percent interest, through loan payments made over a 60-month term.
To pay for the sign's cost, the City Council agreed to use $276,950 from the Art in Public Places Fund, in combination with a $650,811 loan from its General Fund.
Payments from the dealers association will be deposited into the General Fund.
"Any funds derived from the future Art in Public Places contributions from Auto Square projects will be used to fully reimburse any remaining outstanding balance of the General Fund loan to the Art in Public Places Fund," the city said in a statement.
The agreement provides Cerritos six minutes per hour to display public artwork on the digital sign.
MORE CERRITOS NEWS
*The Cerritos City Council also approved a development proposal by Macerich to construct a new building for Jared the Galleria of Jewelry. The 6,057-sq. ft. specialty jewelry store will be a freestanding building on the Los Cerritos Center property at 18711 Gridley Road.
The store will feature a "classic design" with a taupe-colored brick exterior and a tan-colored brick wainscot. New landscaping will be added as part of the development, including circular tree planters, two rows of palm trees, shrubs, groundcover, turf and raised planters.
Construction is expected to begin in spring and be completed by fall.
*Eight tennis courts at Cerritos High School are being resurfaced for use by students and local tennis clubs.
The City Council awarded a $25,480 contract to Taylor Tennis Courts Inc. Work is taking place during the school's winter break, which ends Saturday.
*Cerritos will host its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day ceremony on Monday, Jan. 20, at 10 a.m. in the civic center.
The ceremony includes remarks by local dignitaries, songs and more.
The Cerritos Library sponsored art and writing contests for students with a theme of "We Are One World: Encouraging Unity through Tolerance." Selected entries will be displayed at the ceremony and authors may be invited to present their entry.
*Cerritos' cultural diversity will be celebrated at a "Festival of Friendship" on Saturday, Feb. 1, from 12-4 p.m. at Los Cerritos Center.
A variety of cultural entertainment will be presented on three stages, including performances by Amor de Mexico, the Chinese Yun Chi Dance Association of America, the Da' Hawaii Seniors Club; Danza Folklorico Puro Corazon, and more.
The festival is presented by the city of Cerritos and the Let Freedom Ring Committee, in conjunction with Los Cerritos Center. Admission is free.
*Cerritos residents were reminded this week that all Christmas lights must be removed by Jan. 16.
According to the Cerritos Municipal Code, all decorations and lights must be removed within 15 days after a holiday "to maintain the City's park-like appearance."
********** Published: Jan. 2, 2014 - Volume 12 - Issue 38