El Segundo council approves insurance waivers, awards $887,479 general‑plan contract and greenlights commercial waste franchises; hears homelessness, Plunge and

The El Segundo City Council on Feb. 18 approved a package of actions that city staff said will reduce administrative burden for small contractors, fund a long‑overdue update of the city's land‑use plan and formalize commercial trash hauler agreements, and the council heard progress reports on the city's homelessness outreach program and the Plunge renovation.

The council approved a limited waiver program that allows certain Recreation, Parks and Library contract instructors and vendors to request exceptions from the city's commercial auto insurance requirement; approved midyear budget adjustments and appropriations; awarded a contract to MIG to update the general plan land‑use element; authorized nonexclusive commercial solid‑waste franchise agreements with multiple haulers; and authorized an amendment to the Plunge architect contract and a related facility payment from the school district.

Votes at a glance

- Waiver of commercial auto insurance requirements for qualifying Recreation, Parks and Library contractors and vendors (pursuant to City Council Resolution No. 4813): approved 5-0 (motion carried). Staff said the program creates an individualized waiver process and a risk‑manager review for ‘‘low risk’’ instructors and a $15,000 earnings threshold for automatic waivers.

- Midyear budget/second‑quarter financial report: the council received and filed the midyear financial report and approved related budget adjustments (see details below); consensus to receive and file the report and subsequent motions approved budget amendments for specified funds, vote 5-0.

- Contract with MIG to update El Segundo's general plan land‑use element (not to exceed $887,479, including a 10% contingency): approved 4-1 (Mayor Pimentel opposed). Council also established a technical advisory committee (TAC) and named Council Member Keldorff as the council liaison.

- Nonexclusive commercial solid‑waste franchise agreements: the council authorized the mayor to execute nonexclusive franchise agreements with the following providers (start date proposed 04/01/2025, term two years): Athens Services; American Reclamation; EDCO; Holloway Rubbish Service; Key Disposal & Recycling; Patriot Services; Republic Services; Universal Waste Systems; Ware Disposal; and Waste Management. Motion passed 4-0. The council also introduced a municipal code ordinance (Title 5, Chapter 2) to allow the franchise approach; the ordinance will return for a second reading.

- Amendment to Arcadis professional services agreement (construction‑phase support) and contingency ($104,000 + $50,000 contingency): authorized 5-0. The council also authorized an amendment to the facility use agreement with El Segundo Unified School District to expedite the district's $1,000,000 contribution to the Plunge renovation; motion passed 5-0.

Why this matters

The actions move several long‑running items forward: the general plan contract initiates…