I Heart SCV

Happenings: A Raise, "The Ferdman Plan", and Budgeting

2013-06-11T21:24:00.002-07:00

Tonight’s City Council meeting was about money—I suppose they all are, but this evening was more explicitly about finances than usual[1]. The $180M budget was presented, council members voted to increase their future salaries, and fees were levied. Councilmember Frank Ferry was absent, Councilmember TimBen Boydston was grandstanding with alacrity, and Mayor Bob Kellar was wishing it would all be over sooner rather than later. In short, the council behaved as expected throughout.

A Dramatic Opening

Councilmember TimBen Boydston opened the meeting with an emphatic reading of the “Prayer for Government” written by Archbishop John Carroll, the first bishop of the United States, in 1791. Perhaps it was slightly modified. He closed by requesting that God Bless Santa Clarita.

Then, Boydston led the flag salute by inviting those in attendance to “face the flag of the greatest nation on earth” and pledge allegiance.

Yet more dramatic flair came from Mayor Bob Kellar. He spoke with sincere amazement and adulation about an Eagle Scout project completed at Wildwood Canyon. Scout Justin Reust managed meetings, resources, and twenty volunteers to install 2 benches, a kiosk, and some mulch.

The final dramatic flourish came from Alan Ferdman during Public Participation. He laid out the appropriately—and modestly—titled “Ferdman Plan” for meeting chloride limits. UV radiation is a central feature of the plan that would save millions of dollars over the existing preferred treatment options. “That’s quite a title,” said Kellar of the plan. It was. Ray Henry was the only other public speaker, mentioning that he would like to have a meeting between Sand Canyon Mobile Home Park residents and members of the panel that review rent increases.

Consent Calendar

There was very little discussion of the Consent Calendar. As one might expect in Southern California, the roads received a lot of attention—street sweeping contract, the spiffying up of bus stops, and landscaping and pedestrian improvements on Sierra Highway. A $110,000 allocation to support the Concerts in the Park series over the next two years and a number of other bookkeeping items rounded it out. All of the items passed with the recommended actions, though various members abstained, as needed, if they lived too close to a project.

Matters Monetary

According to the agenda, the Fiscal Year 2013-14 budget is $180.6M—or about $900 for every man, woman and child in the City. Sales tax is the single biggest revenue source, generating 17% of the total budget figure. In terms of expenditures, public safety has surpassed parks, recreation, & community services, gobbling up $21M while $20.7 goes to parks & rec. This represents a somewhat staggering 33.5% increase in public safety spending since the start of the recession. That is staggering, right? (I've been told I stagger too easily in the past).

City Manager Ken Striplin highlighted some particular changes and expenditures. He noted that extra law enforcement at Jake’s Way (2 two-deputy units) has decreased crime by a third, so it will continue to be supported. Additionally, over a quarter-of-a-million dollars will go to hire more librarians for young-adult programs and to assess Saugus’ library needs. I waited for a library privatization critic to comment, but none did. Striplin made the obligatory speech thanking the City Council for leading the way to a balanced budget with a healthy reserve. I found TimBen Boydston’s comment more refreshing: he thanked the taxpayers for giving the council money to spend on projects for which the council could then take credit. He also lamented the expenditure of $9,500 for a River Rally biologist each year and many other state agency-mandated line items, but was generally OK with the budget at large. Ultimately, the budget was accepted and will most likely be formally adopted at the next meeting. Councilmember Marsha McLean used her exasperated “yes” on the budget hearing as a vehicle with which to convey her annoyance at Boydston’s many questions and rhetorical flourishes. (I consider myself one of the foremost readers of meaning in McLean’s votes at the dais).

A series of public hearings formally accepted the adjustment and/or levying of fees for open space, stormwater pollution prevention, special districts and the like.

Art!
Paul Strickland left the Arts Commission, and Mayor Pro Tem Laurene Weste appointed Patti Rasmussen to fill-in for the remaining 7 weeks of his appointment. The other members of the City Council confirmed her choice, a courtesy not extended to TimBen Boydston when he tried to make appointments last year. (No one else brought it up so I thought I should). Weste’s reasoning behind the appointment was that Rasmussen would do well in continuing Strickland’s work to establish an Arts Foundation. Establishing such a foundation is critical in that it would make art initiatives in Santa Clarita eligible for federal grants and the like.

A Raise For Us, On Us

The City Council is allowed to increase the salary of future council members (they don’t vote on their current salaries but those received in the next term) by up to 5% per year, not compounded. This is a sore subject, because TimBen Boydston receives significantly lower cash-in-lieu benefits than do the other members of council, though his salary is the same. As Al Ferdman and Cam Noltemeyer would remind the Council during their comments, this disparity does not sit well with many in the community. City Manager Striplin talked about the “cafeteria-style plan” with the ability to customize benefits and packages, but it’s an issue that is still rather raw. When City Attorney Joe Montes chose not to say anything on the subject, Kellar and Weste laughed (more nervously than inappropriately, I think) at the attempt to keep the issue from flaring up again.

Boydston suggested that there should be no increase in salary. “When we have the opportunity to say ‘no’ to ourselves, it is a good thing.” No one would second his motion. Weste and McLean agreed that, like other City employees (which aren’t the same as elected officials…but logic doesn’t always reign at CC meetings) they should receive a pay increase. McLean suggested 3% per year for the past two years. Her motion passed, with Boydston dissenting. The cynical may argue that it was easy for Boydston to vote “no” in the knowledge that he could look selfless while still receiving the pay increase, but he had motioned for no increase initially, so perhaps he deserves the benefit of the doubt. In any case, effective July 2014, salaries will go up by 6% such that members will make about $100 more than the current $1,728.84 they earn each month.

Public Participation at the end of the meeting included only Cam Noltemeyer. She was upset that Laurene Weste served on the board of an environmental group that received nearly $1M for chloride and water quality outreach. Weste pointed out she hadn’t been a volunteer on the board for nearly a year, but this point comes up rather persistently, nonetheless. Finally, Boydston griped about not being invited to a chloride meeting held between business interests and regional water board administrator Sam Unger (the guy who holds up binders of papers as evidence that science has happened). Boydston didn’t have any new points to bring up, but he was butthurt—in today’s vernacular—that the council gave the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation hundreds of thousands of dollars, yet that funding doesn’t buy them all an invitation to regionally important meetings. Kellar, who had been invited, basically advised him to get over it—though not quite so directly. The meeting then ended.

[1]Enjoy the agenda. Really, please do.

Happenings: Adjusted

2013-05-29T06:07:00.003-07:00

Tonight’s City Council meeting was one of adjustments—to codes, to fees, to fire zone boundaries, to development policy—and consequently, it was pretty boring[1]. Everything has changed, but usually not meaningfully so. The main reason to endure the meeting was to keep an eye on candidates for the 2014 City Council election, but even this proved disappointing as everyone acted exactly as usual. The only carrot I can dangle for you, dear reader, is absurdity: a councilmember’s request for good vibes, going to jail for cracks in your driveway, and a debate of the (il)legality of forts in oak trees await you.

Mayor Bob Kellar mistakenly thought that tonight would be a short meeting. Hopefully, he observed, “We have a small gathering tonight; good…we might get out at a reasonable hour.” (The meeting would last over two hours).

The invocation was provided by Councilmember Marsha McLean. She mentioned yesterday’s Memorial Day ceremony and said that reading about Bowe Bergdahl really touched her, making her reflect on her own son’s time overseas in the military. Bergdahl is a US Army Sergeant who has been held prisoner in Afghanistan since 2009, and she made a sincere request to think about Bowe in hopes that “somehow” our “good vibes” would reach him. Perhaps she was trying to avoid the word “pray” for some reason or another, but that’s essentially what she was hoping people would do.

Next, Santa Clarita received a plaque and some cash from Southern California Edison. Apparently, the City of SC has reached the “Silver Tier” for energy usage reduction. By using 29% less energy in municipal buildings than was used in past years, some $154,900 in incentives have been paid to the City since 2010. Tonight’s check was specifically awarded for fixing up street/parking lot lighting efficiency.

During Public Participation, Alan Ferdman spoke about several subjects but was most upset at comments from a recent meeting about the draft EIR for a chloride treatment plant/strategy. He said that he proposed an option not in the EIR (it combined multiple strategies) that would save the City millions of dollars. However, his idea was shot down when the representative described data and numbers in the draft EIR—which cost $5M—as overly optimistic or incorrect. Ferdman was justifiably upset about this as was Councilmember TImBen Boydston, who spoke next. He noted that the first sentence of the EIR described a problem that is a fiction (i.e., chloride damaging avocados and strawberries). In short, five-million dollars seems to have been lavished on a document that its own authors and adherents admit is factually flawed. After this grand lament, the other members of the council gave their own updates on local issues and debated whether they could draft a letter asking for more time to review the EIR. City Attorney Joe Montes said no—drafting such a letter would have to be agendized—and this annoyed all.

On the Consent Calendar, a second reading and adoption of changes to municipal code drew comments from Ferdman, Boydston, and others. After the discussion at the last meeting, it was feared that painting a house the wrong color or having cracks in one’s driveways could be treated as a misdemeanor. Boydston said that cracked cement should not be a criminal but rather an administrative issue. The response was essentially one of “don’t worry about it; we’ll be reasonable”—which is pretty hard to formalize in the code. He recalled asking a “former City Manager” (there’ve only been three—we know of whom you speak) to look through code enforcement documents to see if they were reasonable, and he was flatly denied the opportunity. Mayor Kellar, whose ideological grounding is often baffling, said he could understand this encroachment on freedom—as Boydston painted it. Kellar said that cracks in a driveway could lead to legal liability and decrease and that they need to be fixed to protect the safety of citizens. Ultimately, everyone would vote for the code changes except Boydston.

Cam Noltemeyer spoke on an item to slightly increase solid waste disposal fees, but the wind was taken out of her sails when Councilmember Ferry pointed out that the fees might be slightly lower (or at least about the same) as they were 8 years ago. Noltemeyer’s complaint about the annual levy of open space assessments had more grounding, but since the issue has largely slipped from the public’s mind, City Manager Ken Striplin merely responded by saying the assessment had been passed as was legally prescribed, which is, at best, an over-simplification. These items and the rest of the Consent Calendar passed.

Up next, there was a brief discussion of changes to fire zone boundaries and classifications, which can affect some costs associated with home ownership. But since the new map didn’t leave much room for change or discussion since it came from CAL FIRE, it was adopted. Boydston gently ribbed Mayor Kellar, saying that the new map classified Kellar’s ranch in a higher-risk area and, for that reason, Boydston joked he was in favor of it. Kellar responded with a gracious chuckle, but the meeting had already stretched on too long for his taste.

The final bit of business this evening was the first reading of an update to development code. There were many changes, and TimBen Boydston mentioned that he had spent some 10 hours going through them with members of staff. There was a little concern about changes to Santa Clarita’s famous oak tree ordinance. Lynne Plambeck was concerned that two paragraphs justifying the importance of oaks in the city had been struck-through, but Councilmember McLean, who also a fan of these paragraphs, said they were actually just underlined to indicate they had been slightly moved around. On the topic of oaks, Boydston asked whether someone could build a tree house in their backyard oak tree (the short answer is “no”), and this saddened him. Mayor Kellar then provided an anecdote about a treehouse—complete with plumbing—built atop a local oak tree that had to eventually be modified so as not to hurt the oak. After these discussions of oaks, forts, childhood, and treehouses, there wasn’t much left to discuss. And with no public participation remaining, the meeting ended.

[1]Here is the agenda, for your reading pleasure.

Happenings: Unger Demolished, Kellar Criticized, Cemex Hopes Revived

2013-04-24T01:51:00.000-07:00

Sam Unger: unintelligent, disingenuous, out-of-touch, or patronizing?[1] I’m not sure which proportion of each Mr. Unger is, but the Executive Officer of the LA Regional Water Quality Control Board did not come off at all well during tonight’s meeting. He was invited by Mayor Kellar to deliver information about the chloride issue, but the presentation quickly turned into a tongue-lashing from all members of the council. It took up the better part of the evening. There was a bit of controversy about an oil pipeline and words exchanged about the Mayors Prayer Breakfast, but tonight’s meeting was mostly a chance for Claritans to come to a collective realization that they want to challenge unreasonable water quality mandates. As Councilmember Frank Ferry would convincingly say at one point, “We are that crazy”—in other words, Santa Clarita is ready to fight nonsensical chloride standards, whatever the odds or whatever ridiculous means are necessary.

After Ferry’s invocation—he read from a speech by Cardinal O’Malley following the bombing in Boston—we learned that Mayor Kellar had invited Sam Unger to talk chlorides with Santa Clarita. Unger, who umm-ed his way through some cheesy PowerPoint slides didn’t make a great impression. He was trying to explain why chloride total maximum daily loads (TMDL) were set to 100 mg/L, explained the history of setting the TMDL, and so on. It was almost embarrassing when he tried to explain the “science” that justified the limits set on chloride levels. After explaining that the law required protection of the most chloride-sensitive beneficial uses—farming of avocadoes and strawberries, for the Santa Clara River—he held up binders of “science”. What’s embarrassing is that these weren’t results of studies conducted with SCV wastewater on crops or even modeling or meta-analyses based on prior chloride/agriculture research. They were print-outs of other studies, which a team of purported experts reviewed to come to chloride TMDL recommendations. As Maria Gutzeit would very hilariously put it in her comments, “Calling this science is like calling a book report a great work of literature.” He quite literally wanted us to think gee whiz, that’s a lot of paper, you must have done a lot of good science.

Unger was then thoroughly lambasted by every member of the Council (except for Mayor Pro Tem Laurene Weste, who is marching to her own peculiar drummer on the issue). Marsha McLean kicked some serious ass. “I am going to try to be as respectful to you as I possibly can, but some of the statements you made are difficult for me to handle,” she began. McLean then pointed out that the “independent advisory panel” that reviewed “the science” was weighted in favor of Ventura’s agricultural community. She noted that farmers had enjoyed bumper crops despite chloride levels, and she wondered why TMDLs would be switched from 100 to 117 mg/L only if an expensive treatment plant were built by Santa Clarita. She also asked why there hadn’t been any field studies to go along with the literature review, to which Unger replied, “There would not be any further science that would be unraveled…” Essentially, she was frustrated that there was no “science” to back up TMDL standards or to support the notion of chloride-based crop damage.

Laurene Weste addressed Unger next, and she basically just had him talk about all the horrible penalties that could be imposed for violating chloride limits, unsuccessfully trying to make a point that compliance was a cheaper option (I think: I don’t know what point she’s making half the time).

Frank Ferry was more aggressive. He talked about how state water is already very salty, and how we’re given water to drink that isn’t good enough (in terms of chloride levels) to water avocadoes with. This is when we like Ferry to be brusque, and he didn’t disappoint. “What agency’s responsible for common sense to come through?” he growled rhetorically. He talked about how Ventura farming lobbyists were pulling strings but would be desperate for compromise if Santa Clarita stopped pumping water downstream for them to use. He suggested diverting our water to a big lake instead, saying “We are that crazy.” Ferry wouldn’t let Unger say science had prevailed over agricultural lobbying, demanding “Please do not insult this community…do not state it is not a political process with political appointees on a political board.”

TimBen Boydston also did well. He read from the scientific literature review noting that they had claimed no definitive chloride limits could be set for strawberries and ornamental plants. He pointed out that the only damage shown for avocadoes was leaf burn on one farm, and that yield of fruit hadn’t been affected. He asked a long list of questions about legal appeal options and how the choride TMDL could be challenged.

Finally, Mayor Kellar graciously gave Unger a chance for closing comments, which he squandered. This let Kellar finish with an anti-invasive-government tirade—verbal ground he has clearly tread before—about having to comply with exhausting regulations and wasting time and money fighting to keep some level of self determination.

Public Participation

Public Participation followed. Many community members spoke. Alan Ferdman said “I do not like being threatened” to Unger and noted that one of the threatened penalties would cost each household $73,000 a year in taxes.

Chemical Engineer Maria Gutzeit, a chemical engineer, ridiculed the TMDL science. Many others shared her sentiment. It was only Lynne Plambeck who used the chloride debate as a chance to lament rapid growth and a lack of standards enforcement for new developments.

On the topic of not-chloride, Susan Wachter wondered why an anti-gay individual was going to speak at the Mayors Prayer Breakfast. In response, Mayor Kellar pointed out the event is not run by the City and that he wanted it to be about prayer, not personalities. Kellar described himself as being in a “no-win situation” for the breakfast/speaker. A break followed.

Comments, Consent

At 8:27, the Council Members made their brief presentations to the City. Cemex was on the mind of Mayor Pro Tem Laurene Weste, who spoke about SB 771 from Senator Boxer’s office with co-sponsorship from Senator Feinstein’s office. Congressman McKeon has promised to support the bill “when” it makes it to the House

The Consent Calendar passed without much fuss. Councilmember Boydston asked if the City was paying a fair price for some open space near the planned Cemex mine, and he was assured they were.

Finally, there was discussion of an oil pipeline in Santa Clarita. Primary concerns were about a major accident, which could be exacerbated if a more explosive substance that crude were flowing through the pipeline. Thus, the Council decided to allow the pipeline but to require another meeting if the pipeline would switch to conveying a different petroleum product. On the once-more-controversial topic of campaign posters, the new ordinance allows people to pick up confiscated signs after the election. The meeting ended at 9:05

[1]Agenda

Happenings: EDC Makes Case for Self

2013-04-10T06:46:00.003-07:00

Santa Clarita has a Chamber of Commerce and an Economic Development Division, but what would we do without three more years of an Economic Development Corporation (EDC), too?  It supports at least one job--that of Jonas Peterson, the EDC CEO--and does some other stuff, too. Really, they promise. After tonight's meeting, the EDC will receive $200,000 in taxpayer support each year for the next three years. Additionally, we learned why building a conference center doesn't make economic sense for Santa Clarita, Mayor Kellar was grumpy, and TimBen Boydston didn't back down on MayorDude, though Frank Ferry did--a little.

Mayor Pro Tem Laurene Weste read the Gettysburg Adddress for tonight's inovcation. She admitted that she might have been a bit early for a Memorial Day gesture, but she liked the sentiment. Next, a choir of old men called the Men of Harmony (debatable) gave so-so renditions of "The Star-spangled Banner" and "Oh Shenandoah". There were recognitions for organizing a state-wide chess torunament ("It is a higher thinking reading critical skill: chess", said the eloquent Councilmember Ferry), for National Librarby Week, for the 50th Anniversary of the Santa Clarita Swap Meet at the Suaugs Speedway, and for Arbor Day as well.

Public participation began with Councilmember TimBen Boydston speaking on behalf of himself. Since he's not allowed to talk about his benefits at the dais, he used a three-minute speaker block to challenge Councilmember Frank Ferry regarding benefits. Recall that at the last meeting, Ferry said that Boydston was new on Council but wanted the same benefits that everyone else receives; right now, Boydston receives far less for waiving his healthcare. Boydston pointed out that Ferry received the same benefits as everyone else when he was new on council. He said a lot more, but the feed at santa-clarita.com, while delightfully commercial free, had audio issues the whole night, so I'm not sure what else was said specifically.

Ray Henry, representing the Sand Canyon Mobile Home Park, said he wants residents to get a fair hearing again. Alan Ferdman spoke out against funding for Community Conservation Solutions, noting that hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on the group for outreach efforts that Ferdman finds of questionable utility to the people of Santa Clarita in the midst of its water crises and perhaps even a counterproductive use of funds. Cam Noltemeyer came forward to give Ferry a talking-to about his conduct. She said his words to Boydston last week were "completely out of line" and brought up all the important catchphrases of City Council discontent: "gang of four", "Citizens for Integrity in Government", and so on. She, too, cut out for audio, so I didn't hear all of it.

Comments from individual council members came next. Ferry had nothing to say. McLean, likewise, had nothing to say, but it took her much longer to say it. (She addressed State issues we can't really do much to influence). Weste said that the community gardens will be expanding with more plots. Boydston didn't back down on Mayor Dude. He said his comments last week were made to protect Santa Clarita from investing in a similar program in the future. Ferry pointed out that three years of silence on the campaign meant it was a non-issue, but he didn't get nearly as impassioned and vocal as he did last week.

EDC Promotes Its Many Vague Accomplishments

The most-discussed item on the Consent Calendar was an item to support businesses, or as Mayor Bob Kellar calls them, "bih-niss-es." The Santa Clarita Economic Development Corporation is a group of local businessmen (mostly) that use local taxpayer dollars to leverage additional taxpayer dollars from LA County and then spend it on advertsising themselves and Santa Clarita to the business community. They also woo businesses and help them perform simple tasks, like helping with "site selection". Several speakers from the EDC made a case for their continued existence tonight. Jonas Peterson, the Executive Director, said he wouldn't go into the specific during his comments (after all, who wants to hear those?) but promised "the best is yet to come." Dante Acosta claimed 2,800 jobs had been created or saved and promised these results had been "verified." (By whom?)  Others pointed out that for every $1 the City invested in the EDC, $3 in additional funds were raised.

The one specific case that was offered was helping to attract St. John Precision Dynamics. Apparently, the EDC helped with site selection, "provided community information...and permitting assistance", for which they claimed credit in helping to bring "200+ jobs" to Santa Clarita.

Councilmemnet Boydston, rather hilariously, said that you could tell just how much money they wanted City Hall to spend based on who was showing up: "there's quite a power lunch here this evening." He snuck this little jab in amidst praise of business and mentioning that he is a smal business owner himself.  Boydston and McLean called for more specifics on what is actually accomplished by the EDC, and McLean asked for an escape clause in the contract to fund the group for the next three years. With these measures, this item--and the rest of the consent calendar--passed with unanimous support.

It's important to note that perpetual naysayer Cam Noltemeyer spoke on Item 5 (second reading of the Habitat for Heroes project) and had no criticisms, which was so remarkable that Boydston actually pointed it out and said how pleased it made him to have such a unviersally supported project.

A $65M Conference Center?

Santa Clarita paid for a detailed study/plan for a conference center, and there was a lengthy presentation tonight. We learned that a 40,000 - 60,000 square-foor center (this size would support a ballroom that could accomodate 1,500 people) would need 5 - 12 acres of land, be best located in the town center, require expensive and expansive parking, and might generate $250,000 per year for the City in direct tax benefits. The total cost of land, building, and so on would be about $40M - $65M. There were options for how to cut costs, but it looked like a very expensive proposition.

Concilmember Boydston pointed out that if 50,000 attendees were attracted each year (a wildly optimistic number based on projections), each would need to spend $10,000 for the City to earn enough sales tax to cover construction costs and financing. "I want everyone to understand how little sense this makes," he said.

Some speakers were offended that Boydston had thrown around the term "corporate welfare", and more than one person insisted that this would make money for Santa Clarita despite the numbers. Ferry said of Boydston, "You want us all to drive a horse and buggy"--he was saying that Boydston is always against new projects that end up being worthwhile.  Mayor Kellar, who had let the old men sing for 10 minutes at the start of the meeting, was grumpy that Boydston was having a lengthy discussion on a potentially $65M conference center, so he asked him to keep his comments brief. On the recommended action of pursuing a public-private partnership to build the center, everyone voted yes, except for Boydston. The meeting ended without further public participation.

[1]Here's the agenda. Read it, if you dare.

Happenings: Ferry Won't Fake It Anymore

2013-03-27T06:40:00.002-07:00

March 26^th marks the day that the real Frank Ferry returned to the Santa Clarita City Council. After being provoked by an admittedly annoying TimBen Boydston, Ferry revealed that he would no longer abide the advice of friends who told him to restrain himself. He revealed a new persona, “The Tiger”, to attack Boydston, whom he has labeled “The Sheep.” In a tour de force of sloppy analogies, naked threats, and passionate—if unsound—arguments, Councilmember Frank Ferry has promised to make the remaining year that he will serve with Boydston (unless he runs again, which he only half-jokingly threatened) a very unpleasant year indeed. While The Signal and KHTS will probably focus on the Habitat for Heroes Development as tonight’s big story, support for that project was a foregone conclusion—the real news is that Frank isn’t faking it anymore.

SCVTV began the broadcast some 20 minutes late, and once they decided to start airing the meeting, the USTREAM player interrupted the meeting every 15 minutes to broadcast two commercials. One day, perhaps, SCVTV will be able to broadcast a meeting start to finish without distraction, but I’m not holding my breath. Happily, though, the feed started just in time to see TimBen Boydston deliver comments that broke the camel’s back—or roused The Tiger’s furor, to use Ferry’s spirit animal.

Boydston Needles

During individual comments from each member, TimBen Boydston gave a very long, rather self-righteous account of his quest to determine whether the “Mayor Dude” campaign of four years ago had been a legal use of taxpayer dollars. In this campaign, ads featuring photos of Frank Ferry were released in an apparent attempt to make City Hall more accessible to youth and uninvolved residents. The campaign occurred as Ferry was running for another term, and Boydston felt it amounted to improper reelection advertisements at taxpayer expense. Boydston’s hunch was right, at least partially. City Attorney Joe Montes confirmed that then-Mayor Frank Ferry should not have been allowed to have his picture placed in non-subscription publications at taxpayer expense. However, Montes said that Ferry lacked the intent required to make this a serious violation; he didn’t know it was improper. And unfortunately, Boydston had an unwelcome air of political false piety, if I can use that phrase, during his lecture. He talked about discussing the campaign during his ethics training, and about how he hoped to prevent this from happening again in an unappealingly smug way.

Ferry Threatens

Councilmember Frank Ferry had had enough. He gets confused when he gets excited, and he tried to have it both ways at first. He painted himself as a victim of TimBen Boydston (“he has brought a hateful, hateful tone to the City Council”) and simultaneously as Boydston’s doom (Ferry called himself “The Tiger” that would destroy any candidates that TimBen “The Sheep” Boydston supports). Then Ferry tried to say that the Mayor Dude campaign hadn’t helped him at all (he won re-election by just over 30 votes) yet simultaneously maintained that it had been a huge, popular, rousing success for the City (Ferry pointed out its notoriety and visibility in the community).

Eventually, his passion crystalized into a mission to no longer stay quiet. He threatened to start a State Independent Expenditures Committee bearing his name that would let him challenge any candidate that Boydston supports to take Ferry’s seat in the upcoming elections. “Am I allowed to still run? I can ruin those plans a little bit, still,” Ferry mused aloud. He promised that he would be silent no longer, saying, “The tiger’s awake, I get a year of saying what’s on my mind.” Another highlight was Ferry’s bizarre, unwelcome insistence on bringing his son into the conversation. He said that Boydston’s attacks on Ferry’s character were also attacks on Ferry’s son: “I can’t think you have even minimal human decency for me and/or my son.” Ferry concluded by telling Boydston that “I don’t want it [the City] going to hell as a result of you and your minions”, and calling on an inquiry into how much taxpayer money was wasted by Boydston seeking staff time and legal opinions on things like sign ordinances and health insurance benefits.

Boydston added fuel to the fire by calmly asking City Attorney Montes if he should leave the Council while Ferry discussed his benefits package, so there was nothing improper. “If you wanna leave while I talk yeah, that’d be awesome,” said Ferry.

The Rest

I have to run now, but I’ll more coverage later. The rest of the meeting saw widespread support for the Habitat for Humanity project to build a bunch of affordable homes for military veterans, support for pre-zoning movie ranches to be annexed into Santa Clarita, support for Marsha McLean to continue her work with SCAG, and the self-righteous Glo Donnely coming forward during public participation to deride Boydston for coming forward to “to bitch about something that was so stupid.”

Happenings: Nothing, nothing at all

2013-02-13T02:01:00.001-08:00

With the State of the Union, the Christopher Dorner shoot-out, Mardi Gras-ing and all the rest, it was probably just as well that tonight’s city council meeting was short and dull[1]. The homeless shelter will be allowed to stay at its present location for three more years, and the city council allocated funds to maintain basic city infrastructure and services. That’s all that happened, and now that you know, we can move on to the important stuff, like why Ferry was gone again and the McLean-Ferdman alliance and TimBen’s favorite KFI talk show hosts, “Ken and Bob.”

Mayor Kellar broke the news about Councilmember Frank Ferry gently: he was “unable to be with us” for the evening. Ferry, who has not sat through an entire City Council meeting since November 2012, blew off the whole thing tonight. Perhaps it’s unfair of me to phrase it like that, but I assume if it had been an emergency, Kellar would have justified the absence. Ferry was supposed to deliver the invocation, so Kellar had to pinch-hit. He read something that a Castaic man wrote about being a man, but encouraged women to take the advice to heart as well.

Leading the pledge was a WWII veteran and purple heart recipient. He and other were honored thereafter, and Santa Clarita has apparently become an official Purple Heart City. Next, the Boys and Girls Club presented the City with a plaque for its financial support. Some 300-400 kids visit every day, and the City funds have allowed it to remain open Fridays.

Public participation consisted of two speakers and signaled what may well be the end of the Sand Canyon Mobile Home Park saga. Recall that City Attorney Joe Montes was charged with preparing a report about the recent increases in rents, which residents called unfair and illegal. The community’s Ray Henry asked to have a meeting with the city manager to go over the study. John Lang, who sits on the local manufactured housing panel, spoke to the fact that the panel allows increases only in accordance with our rent control ordinance. He said that the City could review that ordinance, but as it stands, the rent increases had been perfectly legal. City Manager Ken Striplin directed staff to work out a meeting to go over all of these issues with Ray Henry.

During individual comments, Councilmember Marsha McLean wondered about the potential for a public-private partnership to build more freeway lanes on the 5. Use of these lanes would require a transponder and cost drivers. While McLean was trying her best to make it a facts-only speech, her derisive use of the word “toll lanes” and her encouragement of people to give their opinions about these roads revealed her true feelings. Councilmember TimBen Boydston applauded Mayor Kellar’s town hall event for Newhall earlier this month, and he encouraged people to continue paying attention to a potential tax increase that John and Ken (“Ken and Bob”) of KFI dubbed the “rain tax”. It would have property owners pay a new storm-drain feee when they’re already paying to treat storm-drain runoff. Mayor Pro Tem Laurene Weste talked about a new website that makes it easier for people to find the bricks that honor veterans at the Veterans Memorial Plaza[2].

The recommended actions on the consent calendar—mostly just money to upkeep utility trucks, concrete, and bus security cameras—passed without comment from anyone.

The last item of the evening was considering a proposal to let Santa Clarita’s Bridge to Home Homeless Shelter stay at its Drayton Street location for another three years. It was originally intended to move to a new location every three years. With no one opposed to the plan and several prominent Claritans in favor, it easily passed. As a condition, Bridge to Home must meet a different milestone each year that should conclude in it finding a permanent location in Santa Clarita in year three at Drayton. Additionally, Boydston and McLean added provisions to have the group increase its insurance coverage to $2M and to come before the City before taking action based on achieving its milestones towards a permanent location.

The meeting ended a little after 7, but not before Al Ferdman made a comment about wanting to support McLean's efforts to inform the public (and oppose) plans for toll lanes. It was an unusually complimentary, chatty sort of comment between Ferdman and McLean. Is Ferdman aligning with McLean when both run for City Council? I may be reading far too much into a three-minute comment but, then again, I may not.

[1]Here's the agenda
[2]Go to www.santa-clarita.com/veterans

Happenings: Economic Development Over-Hyped, Committee Changes

2013-01-23T02:18:00.000-08:00

All of Mayor Kellar's City Council meetings have begun the same way: Boydston, Kellar, McLean, and Weste take their seats, and Ferry's chair waits: empty, alone, uncertain what's to come[1]. While Councilmember Ferry would arrive later in the evening, his fellow four council members were quite capable of navigating this less than crucuial chapter of Santa Clarita history on their own. Apart from securing janitorial supplies, allocating money to build more athletic fields, and changing a few committee appointments, rather little happened.

Awards and presentations this evening were few in number but skillfully drawn out. Some 900 volunteers were cheered for making Santa Claria'ta marathon a successful event. The City hosted over 5,000 runners, including some who made a last-minute trip after New York's was cancelled. Mayor Kellar read a letter from a trio of Nebraskan runners who fell in love with SCV during their run.

Representatives from the Santa Clarita Economic Development Corporation came forward to speak next. It was a riot. Don Fleming deadpanned promises to share stories of the EDC's "remarkable" acheivements and promised his colleagues would share "very specific, impressive results." Then we heard about all these stellar accomplishments: they got the media to run stories about local businesses (wow!); they helped some businesses grow and hire new people (so specific!); they sponsored some events and produced some publications (powerful!); and they called 500 businesses to pitch the perks of relocating to Santa Clarita (oh yes they did!). We weren't told exactly how many set up shop here after the calls, but I'm sure it was pretty much all of them. Kellar went to such lengths praising the EDC's efforts that it almost seemed like he wasn't in on the joke...almost.

Hunt Braly spoke first during public participation. He asked that the homeless shelter stay at its present location on Drayton Street location rather than move to Castaic, at least for the next three years. Alan Ferdman offered sincere appreciation for the opening of the Canyon Country Community Center. Ellen Blankenship asked for a new community room in the Saugus area, as demands on the current room prevent residents from having as many of the pre-school age programs that those living elsewhere in the City enjoy. Bill Reynolds said that he looked into whether any Claritans had died during the Vietnam War, then read the name of the fourteen who had perished. Reynolds asked that their names appear on a plaque at the Veterans Memorial Plaza. Carl Boyer began his plea to consider splitting up LA County with a quotation from Martin Luther KKing, Jr.: "Faith is taking the first step, even when you can't see the whole staircase." He said LA County has a larger population thatn most states and many nations and needs to be split up. Boyer wants to move forward with changing LA County in a public process with Santa Clarita's support. Ray Henry of the Sand Canyon Mobile Home Park came forward to speak on behalf of residents. He conveyed thanks that the City was looking fully into the legality of recent rent increases.

City Manager Ken Striplin responded to comments, noting that relocating the homeless shelter was a somewhat complicated process. Mayor Pro Tem Laurene Weste emphasized that a permanent solution to the need to provide homeless shelter must be sought.

Next, each of the councilmembers took to the microphone for updates and announcements. Councilmember TimBen Boydston was heartened by the turnout to oppose LA County's proposed stormwater tax, which he and others have said amounts to double taxation. The Board of Supes extended the protest period an additional 60 days. Boydston thought Boyer's ideas about the future of LA County deserved consideration, and Mayor Kellar suggested a study session as a first step. Councilmember Frank Ferry read a press release for an art-in-public-places exhibit soon to open. Councilmember Marsha McLean attended a meeting about a new HOT lane prosposal that would let driver pay to drive in special lanes on the 5; participation in the program would require a transponder and monthly fee, and more details will be out soon. Finally, Mayor Kellar talked about new legal protection for anyone who calls in emergency overdoses; they can't be prosecuted even if they've used drugs themselves.

The consent calendar passed with the recommended actions on all items and without any additional discussion. If you're keeping track, this means that Royal Paper Corporation won a coveted janitorial supplies contract, $200K will secure more sports fields at Central Par, and City Hall will get a seismic retrofit.

With the consent calendar out of the way, there was a special presentation on an external audit of Santa Clarita. The council and audience sat riveted as an accounting firm partner gave the most intimate details of the audit. After what seemed like an eternity--a thrilling eternity, but an eternity nonetheless--we got the verdict: there were no material misstatements made by the City over the past fiscal year. While the audit was dull, it was heartening to have such an earnest accountant speak and not overdo it on praising Santa Clarita. If I have to hear about how we're in the black while other cities are going banrupt, I'll just scream. TimBen Boydston asked how thorough the check was and posed a couple of other questions about sufficient pension funds and other details. His questions didn't lead to any shocking revelations.

The last item tonight (an item concerning traffic stops was continued to a future meeting) involved changes to committee appointments. Mayor Kellar suggested a few changes, nearly all of them proposed so that he, as mayor, would sit on some of the more crucial committees. The cnages were as follows:

*League of California Cities Alternate: Weste replaced by Kellar
*School Trustee Association: McLean and Boydston serve, Ferry moves to alternate
*Budget Committee: Kellar and Weste serve, Boydston is alternate
*Community Services Grant: Kellar and Weste serve, McLean is alternate
*Downtown Newhall Specific Plan: Kellar and Weste serve, McLean is alternate
*Sanitation District: Kellar replaces Ferry

Councilmember Marsha McLean was not pleased to lose her spot with Downtown Newhall Specific Plan. She explained that she has a special relationship with some businesses in Newhall which have grown "used to me." Kellar listened, but was unswayed. Everyone assented to the changes.

There was no additional public participation, so the meeting ended at 7:40.

[1]Here's your agenda. Or the City's, rather.

Happenings: Water's Expensive

2013-01-08T23:50:00.003-08:00

Councilmember TimBen Boydston read a prayer from Dwight D. Eishenhower to begin this first meeting of the new year[1].  I feared we might very well need the prayer to endure what promised to be a long meeting--at least judging by the size of the audience.  But after endless awards, recognitions, and announcements, rather little happened. The process of selecting a mayor remains unchanged, our water wars continue, and we're getting $160,000 worth of mulch.  Happy 2013.

One chair sat empty at the beginning of tonight's meeting--do I really have to say whose? Mayor Kellar explained that Councilmember Frank Ferry would be arriving a little late (we later learned he had been at his son's soccer game).  In his absence, Boydston recognized the Saugus High girls' cross-country team for their 7th consecutive CIF championship. There's a word for their acheivement: unprecedented. The Saugus boys did well, too, placing second in the state.

John Dow of the Arts Commission spoke before the council next. While the commission had planned on establishing an arts foundation in 2012, they decided the hundreds of thousands of dollars needed to start and staff such a foundation made it an imprudent option for the time being. He said a foundation will be established eventually, however; Councilmember Marsha McLean suggested they work on getting the structure in place now even if there aren't the funds to operate it. Dow also described a study on how non-profit arts impact the local economy. He said that Santa Clarita sees an annual $11.4M in art-related expenditures, and that the arts support 300 full-time equivalent jobs in the city.

The final presentation before council was of a person, namely Assistant City Manager Frank Oviedo. He's only been in town for two days, but he said he was happy to be back in Santa Clarita (Oviedo worked at Santa Clarita's City Hall some years ago before he was city manager of Wildomar).

Public Participation

There was a half-hour of public participation spanning topics from drugs to politics to rent.

A spokesperson from Assemblymember Steve Fox's office conveyed well-wishings from Fox, whose district includes the northeastern bit of Santa Clarita in addition to the lesser cities of Palmdale, Lancaster, and Rosamond.

Krissy McAfee, who gave one of the most impactful three-minute speeches ever heard by the city council two years ago, returned to speak tonight. Recall that in 2010, she described the death of her son, Trae, from a heroin overdose, and in so doing she was largely responsible for getting the community to focus on the growing heroin problem. She spoke about an up-coming "Good Samaritan Walk" in recognition of a new law that protects people who call to report a friend who has overdosed, even if the reporter has been using drugs as well. She said that there were 15 deaths from ODs in 2012, and hoped the law would help prevent future deaths. Another mother who lost her child to an opiate overdose also spoke of the need to tackle our community drug problem.

Alan Ferdman spoke about just how costly it would be to treat chlorides in water we send down the Santa Clara River. Even the current "smaller" option would cost hundreds of millions of dollars, he said.

A self-identified older woman asked the City to consider a law regulating smoking in and around apartments.

Cam Noltemeyer was deeply dismayed about CLWA's acquisition of Valencia Water Company and its polluted wells. She distrusts their leadership, accusing them of not complying with the health department. "Now we have probably the worst people in charge of all of these contaminated wells," said Noltemeyer, who was at a loss for why the City was being so hands-off when it came to water providers.

Former Mayor Carl Boyer asked officials and residents to speak in favor of county governance reform, i.e., the problems of the behemoth LA County, which is more populous than 40 states.

We heard more about concerns over rent increases in a Sand Canyon mobile home community, particularly whether they were in fact legal.

Finally, a young Claritan named Isabella Clark delivered news of the success of her program to get kids to walk to school. She said hundreds of students in the Newhall School District have participated in the program "for their and the planet's health."

City Manager Striplin acknowledged all of the issues raised, but none of the concerns attracted much more than a promise for further investigation by staff.

The Council Comments

It was 7:06 when individual reports from council members began. Councilmember McLean made an appeal for information about the disappearance of Sarah Alarid, the 19-year-old young woman who has been missing since New Year's Eve. Councilmember Ferry asked that the City contact someone about re-striping the area around the 5 and 14 freeways, which is so marred with paint, lines, and marks that it's almost causing accidents. Councilmember Boydston asked to have the City Attorney look at the mobile home rent increases brought up during public participation. He said that the mobile community residents might not have the resources to hire their own lawyer. Boydston also brought up the topic of chlorides, which led to an utterly uneccesary rehashing of statements already said many times. It's a frustrating situation, this chloride treatment business, but little progress was made as the same points were repeated again tonight (e.g., we got rid of water softeners, no science to back chloride limits up, very expensive, etc...).

Consent Calendar

The Consent Calendar passed easily. The new historical ordinance has been officially adopted, the City awarded a contract for purchase and delivery of 300 cubic yards of mulch, and there was landscape maintenance district re-shuffling. That was it.

Mayor Me

It can be difficult watching City Council meetings online, especially when there are five minutes of dead-silence as TimBen Boydston explains why he'd like to work out some kind of mayoral rotation. My lip-reading skills proved inadequate. I'm sure details will be published when KHTS or TMS run their council stories, but for now, all you really need to know is that Boydston's proposal to shake up how a mayor is selected was rejected in a 1-4 vote.

Ferry pointed out that the unofficial rotation had been altered to avoid Klajic as mayor because she refused to join the rest of council, often dissenting in votes. This seemed to be a warning to Boydston to fall into line.

More Water Woes

If it's not chlorides, it's broadscale stormwater pollution. The "Clean Water, Clean Beaches" proposal to tax homeowners for stormwater treatment is widely unpopular in Santa Clarita. Tonight, it was called double-taxation (we already pay to treat stormwater), a money-grab, and all sorts of other unflattering names. It would mean an extra $54 in taxes for most property owners.

There's a week left to send in a protest to the measure. If a majority of property-owners do not protest, the LA County Board of Supervisors may put a vote on the tax on the ballot. The City Council decided to file a protest for all City-owned properties, and there was talk of letters and educating the community and pointing out a jurisdiction overlap (i.e., City/County both charging to treat stormwater?) as well.

Relatively little has changed as a result of tonigtht's meeting, but that may well be the case for some time to come. Many of the problems before Mayor Kellar et al. are big ones, and they're unlikely to be resolved in a single council meeting--or even at the council level. The meeting ended at 8:53.

[1]Here's the agenda.

Only in SCV: Christmas, a time for counting Birds

2012-12-19T21:23:00.001-08:00

It's time for me to make that perennial call to arms--or, rather, binoculars. This Sunday, December 23rd, LA-area birders will meet at the Western Bagel by Valencia Blvd./Bouquet at 7am. From there, they shall disperse to identify and count all the birds they can in the official Santa Clarita count circle. The information they collect will be compiled by the National Audubon Society, made available online, and analyzed to look at local and nation-wide trends in bird populations. Birds are easy to observe, diverse, and respond rapidly to environmental changes, so they are a great indicator of what's going on in the environment at large. And with over 130 counts in California and well over 1,000 counts nationwide drawing tens of thousands of volunteers, the Christmas Bird Count is an amazing example of "citizen science"--regular folks collecting data that is used to inform scientific research and policy.

You'll note that I said LA-area birders will be meeting at Western Bagel, not Claritan birders. That's because Santa Clarita is pitifully under-represented on its own bird count--at least the years I've gone. It helps if you have binoculars and can identify birds, but there are plenty who join the count just to get out for a hike or to help more skilled bird-watchers find and navigate the hidden city parks of Claritadom, which may be harboring birds aplenty. And when all the birds are counted, the counters assemble for lunch at Tacos y Burritos El Pato in Newhall--and you know how much your city council members want you to support small businesses in Newhall. So if you've done your Christmas shopping, consider spending the morning of the 23rd doing something for the birds. For more details, you can visit Audubon's website here:
http://birds.audubon.org/christmas-bird-count
and the page of the count organizer here:
http://www.cooperecological.com/SCRCBC.htm

Happy counting. (Below, I've posted an example of some of the information that emerges from these counts. Santa Clarita's quail numbers seem to be falling, while the familiar mockingbird holds steady, and exotic Eurasian Collared-Doves continue their invasion of California, growing quickly in numbers. Dozens and dozens of other species of birds are showing their own unique trends. What will this year reveal?)

Happenings: Good Ol' Kellar Leads Good Ol' Clarita

2012-12-11T23:50:00.000-08:00

Despite the new mayor, new city manager, and new business at tonight’s council meeting, it’s still the same old Santa Clarita[1]. It wasn’t a long meeting. Mayor Bob Kellar actually asked people to keep things brief since he had 150 people waiting for him at a restaurant (he prefaced this request with: “I know I’m being inappropriate…”). It was an even shorter night for Councilmember Frank Ferry, who skedaddled at six, once he stepped down as mayor. But Ferry didn’t miss much—just some budget tweaks, environmental issues, and mobile home discontentment. Perhaps it's fitting that this last city council of 2012, this final meeting before the 25^th Anniversary of Cityhood, can be summed up in five little words: what’s new is old again.

Exit Ferry, Stage Right

The change in council leadership began at 5pm, but I was a little late to the party. I began watching in the midst of a long procession of people congratulating Ferry on his abbreviated stint as mayor. Recall that if the April election had gone as usual, it would have been Mayor Laurie Ender everyone was wising well tonight. Bob Kellar was voted to be the new mayor, and Laurene Weste was voted mayor pro tem. Mayor Kellar promised that in 2013 he would, among other things, make it a “defining year” in the battle against Cemex mining, continue policies promoting economic development, and host some community meetings to reach out to Claritans in order to promote community involvement, unity and transparency.

City Manager Ken Striplin, soon to be father of four, gave a short speech as well. Now leading the crew at City Hall, he reflected on how they “truly are keepers of the good life.” Striplin planned conservative fiscal management, more capital improvements, and the continuation of other generally Pulskampian policies.

The Meeting Proper Begins

The change in leadership concluded with 20 minutes of restrained celebration. At 6:18, the regularly scheduled city council meeting began with Councilmember Marsha McLean delivering the invocation. She applauded Claritans’ giving, neighborly spirit, citing a recent story about one resident who helped replace the damaged roof on the home of a neighbor in need.

There were no awards, presentations, or recognitions on the agenda (a very Merry Christmas, indeed!), so the meeting moved swiftly to round one of public participation. Allan Cameron mentioned some big names from SCV history, paying tribute to the deceased members of the city formation committee as we approach Santa Clarita’s quadrancentennial (yes, that’s the right term—note the “n”). A group of students from Safe Rides honored Mayor “Kelly” with a plaque. Alan Ferdman spoke about inter-related water issues, providing an update on the chloride treatment challenges (late EIR, expenses keep rising, information not often readily available, etc.). One gets the sense that Ferdman is justly frustrated people aren’t realizing what a big, expensive deal chloride treatment promises to be for Santa Claritans.

Berta Gonzalez-Harper thanked and congratulated most everyone in Santa Clarita for jobs well done and jobs-to-be-well-done. She gave a special shout-out to Councilmember Ferry, praising him for staying “cool, calm and collected throughout some very contentious meetings” during his term as mayor.

The final comment came from Ray Henry, who said that the City had acted in an “absolutely illegal” way when mobile home rents increased. City Attorney Joe Montes, in a response to Henry, begged to differ. He said that Santa Clarita’s mobile home rent control panel had the final word in this arena, and it had allowed the rent increases to go through in a legal manner.

During updates from individual council members, McLean, Weste, and Boydston all discussed water issues. McLean advised people to keep an eye out for a mailing that details a proposed tax increase. Some $200M would be raised annually to treat stormwater runoff in the so-called “Clean Water, Clean Beaches Measure,” proposed by the LA County Flood Control District. McLean acknowledged that getting 50.1% of millions of mailer recipients to protest the measure, which she called double taxation (i.e., we already pay to treat stormwater), was all but impossible, but she made an appeal nonetheless. There were also remarks about chloride and a longish discussion from Mayor Pro Tem Laurene Weste about how there has to be a “better way” than buying products with chemicals that enter the water supply, causing us to spend more money on treatment.

Master of Mosquitoes & Other Consent Items

On the consent calendar, Councilmember TimBen Boydston asked for discussion of an item concerning vector control. He asked why a citizen doesn’t represent Santa Clarita for the Greater LA Vector Control District--currently, representation is provided by Robert Newman, Director of Public Works. Boydston argued that Newman’s time would be better served on other City business, and he said this was an unrealized opportunity from some community member to get involved in government. Boydston’s idea had problems. First, the representative should have experience relevant to mosquito control and related issues. The meetings are also held two hours away from Santa Clarita, and it would be likely that even if a citizen did serve as rep, he would need to consult with or attend with City staff. McLean suggested that they could look for citizens qualified and interested in filling the role, but for now, everyone except Boydston voted to keep Newman as representative. This, incidentally, was the item that prompted Mayor Kellar to ask Boydston (though not by name) to keep things brief as he had a celebration to get to. While Kellar’s request was brusque, it was, perhaps, reasonable to wonder why Boydston spends his time and finite political capital taking stands on issues like vector control boards.

On the matter of who’s allowed to sign City contracts, the Council decided to be slightly more conservative than staff proposed, limiting the signatories to the top-tier (city manager, assistant city manager, city attorney).

The last contentious item was a revisitation of the decision last meeting to allow a property-owner to subdivide his land in Placerita Canyon. Val Thomas said that a study on the hydrologic consequences of the division and land grading should be required, as increases in runoff could affect neighbors and the ability of emergency personnel to access certain properties during flood conditions. City Manager Ken Striplin said that’s exactly what will be required—a drainage study to prove the construction will have no impact on other properties.

Finally, the second reading and official adoption of historic preservation codes was continued to January, when Ferry would be present to vote.

Mayor Kellar asked City Manager Striplin for a brief presentation on mid-fiscal-year budget adjustments. Striplin joked that he would pare down his half-hour presentation for the anxious Kellar. It seems that Santa Clarita is in good shape financially, but the City is still generating about 10.6% less revenue than it was at its peak some years ago. A not insignificant surplus should still be realized this fiscal year. Among the $2.5M in expenditure adjustments were over $100K to fight Cemex, $150K for dedicated patrolling of the Jake’s Way area, and $25K to prepare for hosting the Tour of California. The adjustments were approved without discussion.

The second public participation segment featured Doug Fraser. He was present, as usual, to register his grievances about mobile home rent increases and their legality. He said that public record requests he’s been making for research have been taking longer than they should.

The meeting ended at 7:41, adjourned in memory of Rudy Cordova. He was the last of his 17 siblings, part of a family that lived and worked land in Castaic. They had to move their home for the Castaic Lake Reservoir, which swallowed up much of the cattle-ranching land the Cordovas had run since the 1800s.

[1]The Agenda, which I know you require.

Happenings: Pulskamp's Last Sit

2012-11-28T02:35:00.004-08:00

For his last city council meeting, City Manager Ken Pulskamp could have done worse[1]. It was a tour de force of all the things he’ll miss(?) when he moves to his new post in Burbank. Apart from a heartfelt sendoff and cake, this meeting had the vocal Placeritans, fierce ambivalence over property rights, Ferry inappropriateness, TimBen over-the-topness, and rah-rah outlook he’s become so familiar with over the years. There was real business, too—a parcel in Placerita and historic structures are out of limbo—but really, the story tonight was the end of the Pulskamp era.

Big End, Big Names

After Mayor Pro Tem Bob Kellar’s invocation (military/angel-themed holiday tree goes for $7,250 at Festival of Trees benefitting B&G Club), there was a series of presentations. First, out-going State Assemblyman Cameron Smyth was cheered for his terms in office. Frank called the Smyths the Kennedys of Santa Clarita, and pointed out accomplishments like protection of Elsmere Canyon, advocating for film industry tax breaks, and supporting enterprise zones. Councilmembers Marsha McLean and Laurene Weste heaped additional praise on Smyth, and Councilmember TimBen Boydston applauded his willingness to reach across the aisle in the legislature. Smyth was presented with a key to the city, his second (“I have the key to the front door and the back door,” he joked). His affection for Santa Clarita was clear in the speech that followed, which he concluded with recognition of City Manager Ken Pulskamp. Smyth recalled hiring Pulskamp to be city manger, and he called it his best decision on the council where once he served.

A Santa Clarita Sister City presentation came next. There was discussion of the exchange between Santa Clarita and its sister cities of Tena, Ecuador and Sariaya, Phillipines. Plans for the future include the 8^th medical mission to Tena, starting a student ambassador program, and looking for a third sister City. There was a Powwerpoint presentation that ended with the speaker moving to a slide of Ken Pulskamp’s supposed passport. She acted surprised and wondered what it could be doing there before jumping into a series of Pulskamp's accomplishments with the sister city group framed in a travelogue. Points for commitment to the acting were deserved. Former Mayor Carl Boyer presented Pulskamp with a small globe for his leadership.

To cap things off, new City Manager Ken Striplin gave a short speech in continuation of what he declared “All Pulskamp, All Night, All Love.” The speech was short, and I couldn’t discern whether Striplin was a bit choked up or simply tongue-tied during one lapse in oration. He was sincere, regardless. As a parting gift, he presented an oil painting of Beale’s Cut. (A gap in some rocks may sound dull, but it was actually quite a nice piece). Striplin embraced the symbolism, praising Pulskamp for having “created a pathway for Santa Clarita’s continuing success,” and said, “We’re going to miss you so very much.”

Comments from the council focused more on the man than his accomplishments. Weste talked about his ability to stay calm no matter what, but recalled a particularly excited call from Pulskamp one day when, while hiking, he saw a bear (“Can the bear see you?” asked Weste; “Naw he’s meandering,” replied the undefended Pulskamp). Kellar called it an honor to work with Pulskamp, but said, “It’s more of an honor to be a friend of his.” Boydston and McLean remembered selecting Pulskamp for the city manager position—Boydston on a citizen committee, McLean on council. The most personal words came from Mayor Ferry. Ferry began, “You become extremely guarded, and your circle grows smaller,” reflecting on how his circle of friends has shrunk since taking positions of power (i.e., principal and mayor). He counted Pulskamp as part of this circle, and remember seeing his “ugly mug” when he woke up from his coma (proof, Ferry joked, he was not in Heaven). Pulskamp helped Ferry through his divorce, and he was there as a confidant. Ferry promised more jokes, less “Kumbaya” at Pulskamp’s upcoming roast.

After some commissioners thanked Pulskamp for his work, the man-of-honor said a few words himself. “It stops being a job and just starts being your life,” he said of his role as city manager, and he thanked the council and citizens of Santa Clarita for being so active and supportive of their community. A break for cake was a fitting end to the saccharine—or, perhaps, bittersweet—farewell to the man who has helped shape Santa Clarita for essentially all of its years as a city.

Consent Calendar in Under One Minute

Once the cake break ended at 7:15, the five-item consent calendar passed with the recommended actions on all items, and there were no comments from council or public. The only big item was $5.3M for the purchase of eleven buses that run on compressed natural gas.

Announcements and updates from the council members were in the holiday spirit, encouraging support for the organizations that feed and house Santa Clarita’s hungry and homeless. Mayor Ferry cheered Santa Clarita’s fortune in being selected as the finish and start of stages 3 and 4, respectively, of the Amgen Tour—that’s the one where people ride bicycles on streets, except somewhat faster than usual and with considerably more cheering. Ferry said everyone is “thoroughly” invited. He also asked for an investigation of unlicensed car washes. These compete with the more expensive, legitimate washed that have the required licenses for water treatment, etc., He also asked for a study session on the role of city and county in providing senior services.

Placeritans Pontificate

I’m beginning to doubt whether it’s really as nice to live in Placerita as everybody says. The Hairell family has long wanted to divide its two-acres of Placeritan real estate into two parcels, but their request was denied by the Planning Commission. The denial came despite staff recommendation of allowing the division, which is consistent with the city-wide general plan. Curtis Hairell killed himself after the decision (he was already depressed and this setback may have been the “last straw”), and his father was present before the council in an appeal of the planning commission’s denial of the project.

Comments from the public were about evenly divided. Glo Donnelly said the owners had the right to subdivide their property, and she called on her fellow licensed realtors to defend said right. Most speakers in favor echoed the property rights argument, noting that there was nothing illegal about the division and that it was consistent with the master plan. Speakers against the subdivision argued that cutting down two oak trees and building a new, big structure would ruin the character of the community. Sandra Cattell was particularly tasteless in her remarks. She talked about “mourning” the horse breeding and training facility once on the property, calling it “part of the demise of the rural equestrian community”—all this morbid language in front of a father still grieving the death of his son. What a charmer. The neighbors spoke about the late Curtis’s dream home conflicting with the realization of their dream home. Threats of flooding, access issues, and odd lot boundaires were also offered as reasons to deny the appeal.

Ultimately, the city council took the stance that they oughtn’t stand in the way of a private property owner doing a legal sub-division of his property. Mitigation oaks are being planted (the city arborist actually discussed the health and prospects of the oaks to be cut down), and it seems that the neighbors will be consulted about including some kind of screening to prevent them from having to stare at the big new home that’s about to mar their view.

Finally, a Historic Preservation Ordinance

It’s getting late so I’ll be brief: the new historic preservation ordinance included a list of eleven historic structures in Santa Clarita (new structures can be added via an opt-in process). Property-owners on the list can do routine maintenance as usual, but if they want to make major modifications to their structure, they must get a permit approved. If the owner wishes to demolish a structure, they must appear before the city council first, and the council may offer to buy and move the structure, etc. Unlike previous realizations of the historic preservation ordinance, this one had more incentives, including grants for improvements to listed structures. Furthermore, there was a greater emphasis on the purchase and moving of historic structures as a means of saving them without infringing so directly on property rights. Mayor Ferry noted that this left a possibility for destruction of a historic place if the city is unable to afford moving costs (usually $15-$30 per square foot), but it was generally agreed that this was an unlikely scenario.

Comments were a mixed bag. TimBen Boydston—who had to recuse himself on this item because the theater property would be listed—called the proposal “immoral taking.” After her rousing speech in defense of private property rights, Glo Donnelly suggested they weren’t quite so untouchable when it came to preserving historic structures. Alan Ferdman questioned whether Laurene Weste’s list of key structures could be included in the proposed ordinance. He said the official minutes from the last meeting on historic preservation showed she did not clearly include the list in directions to staff for revising the ordinance. Leon Worden made an unconvincing argument (the word "argument" used loosely) about how property values are unaffected by historic designation. Manny Santana, owner of the old jailhouse, told the City, “You’ve done everything wrong,” when it came to construction of the library immediately next to his jailhouse, another listed structure.

Mayor Pro Tem Bob Kellar was opposed to the ordinance because those on the list had not “opted-in” to being on the list. However, his fellow councilmembers disagreed, and with some slight modifications and addendums, the ordinance was approved.

Public participation followed, and consisted of Berta Gonzalez-Harper thanking Ken Pulskamp for his dedication to the City of Santa Clarita. Ferry wanted a slow clap as the meeting ended and Pulskamp walked out the door. Instead, Laurene Weste adjourned the meeting in his honor. The Pulskamp era ended.

[1]The agenda.

Happenings: The Countdown Begins

2012-11-19T23:40:00.001-08:00

I've created a new blog that should last for just over a month. IHeartSCHistory will cover each of Santa Clarita's years as a city. You may recall something similar to this was planned at SCVTalk but I never got around to it. Now, I have. There's an introduction posted, a countdown clock to 4:30pm, December 15th, 2012, and by tomorrow, there will be a post covering highlights from 1987. I'll continue CC recapping here, as usual.

Happenings: Ideological Weirdness, Pulskamp's Not-Quite-Last Meeting

2012-11-14T03:00:00.002-08:00

The three eldest members of the Santa Clarita City Council were upset by one concept in particular this evening: free speech protection for video presentations[1]. While Frank Ferry was merely annoyed by the thought of video presentations, and Boydston is quite a fan of them, Weste challenged the City Attorney on whether the law did, indeed, require allowing council members to express themselves via PowerPoint and video if they wished. The meeting was, as a whole, annoying. It was long, gave me little confidence in how some grasp the idea of free speech, and despite lasting over three hours, it felt as if very little of importance was accomplished. Who wouldn’t want to read more after that?

Blather, Blather, Everywhere

Mayor Frank Ferry delivered the invocation, suggesting that we spend Thanksgiving with our families. He concluded with a prayer.

After presentations for breast cancer and domestic violence awareness months, there were photos, brief speeches, and an interesting suggestion by Ferry. “Husbands: there’s nothing more loving or cherishing you can do than make a breast cancer appointment”—for their wives, that is. In future meetings, perhaps Ferry will clarify whether wives ought to reciprocate by scheduling prostate exams for their husbands.

The Ferry Show continued with a speech in praise of State Senator Sharon Runner. Runner, who will be leaving the senate shortly, was recognized for her public service, leadership, and values. She did not choose to run for reelection after her double lung transplant surgery, after which she said she’s just starting to feel like herself again. She looked well, spoke confidently and graciously, and was wished well by all.

Public Participation came next. A woman from Canyon Country spoke about code enforcement and the meddling neighbors who report violations. She has a 23-foot long truck—in Canyon Country, who doesn’t?—that she parks on a slab in her yard. She mentioned her frustrations over inconsistent vehicle parking enforcement, questionable cause for a citation, and being singled out. Cam Noltemeyer made her presence known (she mentioned being overseas in past weeks) as she spoke about her continued dismay over a horse-race wagering facility. More interestingly, she asked why there was no list of 2012 lobbyists published online; recall that all paid lobbyists who speak before the City Council are required to register. Lynne Plambeck decided to do something fun this evening, kindly giving the City original newspaper coverage of the birth of the City of Santa Clarita on December 15, 1987.

Council member updates followed. As usual, the various members mentioned sundry events and causes to support, all of them worthwhile and worthy but quickly forgotten as yet more events and more causes were mentioned, jockeying for position in event-saturated schedules.

To What Do We Consent?

The consent calendar’s primary purpose, this evening, was providing Cam Noltemeyer with ample opportunity to make comments.

On an item moving Assistant City Manager Ken Striplin’s transition to City Manger from January 1, 2013 to December 1, 2012, Noltemeyer wondered about Striplin’s “executive benefits” and whether the City Council received comparable benefits. (City Manager Ken Pulskamp responded that only the city manager, assistant city manager, and department heads receive executive benfits; council members do not).

There was some property shuffling in the wake of the end of Newhall redevelopment, about which Noltemeyer wondered whether property transfers and such were really fiscally neutral.

Item 7 awarded a construction contract for a park-and-ride near McBean Parkway and Valencia Boulevard. The plants and animals living in the location will be displaced for a great paved expanse where commuters can park their cars. Bike lockers, bus bays, and more of the painfully homespun public art that already litters the City are also planned. Noltemeyer was upset about the unsavory elements this transit hub might attract, but Pulskamp noted there would be active patrolling of the center and no overnight parking.

Finally, an item concerning landscape maintenance districts attracted Cam’s critical gaze. She inquired about the 10% contingency that always seems to go along with bids and why the same company tends to win all the landscaping contracts. TimBen Boydston requested a review of the landscape company’s performance in two years.

The agenda was approved by all members of the council. Before moving onto new and unfinished business, however, Mayor Ferry asked Pulskamp to double-check whether the lack of registered lobbyists was legitimate or if there had been some kind of oversight. This was his shout-out to Cam Noltemeyer, he made known.

A Million Reasons to Annex Copperhill

Copperhill will be joining the Claritan fold sooner rather than later.

Time is of the essence because, unless annexed by December 1, the City would not receive a $1.3M transfer of tax revenue after annexing Copperhill. It would still be obligated to provide residents with services, but there would be no collection of tax revenue until 2014. To prepare for annexation, there has been a long sequence of mapping, formal agreements, public hearings, and so on. Tonight’s pre-annexation was the next step on the list. If all goes according to plan—which it likely will, as no one expressed opposition—then Copperhill and its 10,000 or so residents may be joining the City before year’s end.

Should, Shall, Will
or, Free Speech 101

After all of his talking, Mayor Ferry’s voice was growing hoarse, and he asked for a throat lozenge (excuse me, “lozenger”), which a member of the audience gladly supplied.

He had more talking to do as he fielded public and council member comments about the norms he and Mayor Pro Tem Bob Kellar had recently revised. The public spoke first, by which I mean Cam Noltemeyer and Diane Trautman. Both responded to the fact that rules based on common courtesy had been re-phrased to suggest, rather than compel, compliance (i.e., most actions went from “will”s and “shall”s to “should”s and “may”s). Noltemeyer though the language should be stronger, hoping it would “make this a city council that is transparent, that really does its business in public.” Trautman felt the opposite. She applauded the move from norms written as “directives” to norms written as “recommendations.” She suggested that they add a norm pertaining to interaction with outside public agencies, but the council was not responsive.

Both councilmembers Marsha McLean and TimBen Boydston had an exhausting list of tweaks to suggest, most of them changing the word preceding a recommended action. Some were minorly substantive. For example, McLean asked to revise a norm stating that all contact with the city attorney should be shared, and Boydston asked about changing the procedure for decision reconsiderations. But in the end, as Ferry and Kellar would both suggest, the non-binding norms really rely on the willingness of council members to use common sense and to be polite and respectful in order to work.

This point, and the Constitution, were forgotten during discussion of video presentations. There was question about whether videos should be sent out ahead of time (they can be, but there can’t be responses, per the Brown Act) and, more importantly, whether they should be allowed at all. Councilmember McLean made an argument that videos can be edited selectively to manipulate an audience or convey a false impression of events. She did not consider words could do the same thing, so she suggested that speech (literally, talking) be protected and allowed, but videos not be. She would call the possibility of videos presentations “dangerous” more than once.

Councilmember Laurene Weste shared McLean’s concerns. She worried that there would be five videos per item, and was inclined to keep presentations strictly verbal. Bob Kellar stepped up to support Weste, noting that was the way things had been done, and that things were working. Boydston, Ferry and Montes would all gently hint at the changing nature of technology, but McLean, Weste, and Kellar thought there was a clear distinction between a spoken and video-based presentations, feeling that the latter was disruptive and suited for banning.

City Attorney Joe Montes spoke up. He explained that freedoms of expression afforded the council and others were to be interpreted broadly. He recommended limiting the duration of video presentations rather than banning them outright, since the council clearly wanted some form of regulation.

Laurene Weste made repeated efforts to challenge Montes’ interpretation of the law. She was perplexed that videos ought to be allowed while not everyone was given the same amount of time to speak, etc. Montes assured Weste of his interpretation, but Weste asked, “How do you know that until you go study the law?” It was asked cheerfully, but Weste was implying that Montes didn’t know what he was talking about.

After a very long discussion, it was decided that video presentations will be allowed at council meetings. However, they must be under 5 minutes, and copies must be sent out prior to the meeting at which they’ll be shown. Ferry explained that seeing it advance would be helpful. “I don’t wanna blow up, so give me some emotional time,” he requested, to mentally process videos before they were shown.

TimBenefits, Again

Alan Ferdman was right. He’s the member of the public that was referenced in the agenda item covering reconsideration of a two-tier cash-in-lieu benefits program: “During the course of the October 23, 2012, City Council meeting, some members of the public expressed concern that the City Council in 2010 did not formally approve the cash in lieu two-tier benefit for unrepresented employees and Councilmembers at an open Council meeting as required by Government Code section 54957.6. A review of the resolution adopted by the Council on December 14, 2010, confirms that while other benefits were described in the resolution, the reduction in the cash in lieu benefit was not.”

This was a little embarrassing to be addressing so far after the fact, and it was clear that City Attorney Joe Montes wanted to get this item settled quickly. Speaking before a council of four—TimBen Boydston had to recuse himself as the item affected his compensation—Montes said that a resolution to “clarify the intent” to have a two-tier cash-in-lieu system would set things straight. If the council did not follow this action, then benefits for Boydston and all employees hired since 2011 (over 30 of them) would have to be changed in the same way.

Boydston, speaking as an individual, raised many points which he felt compelled the city council to award equal benefits to all. To my non-legally-trained ears, they sounded solid. He ended with what, read out of context, sounded like a legal threat, suggesting that the City would be at risk if he didn’t receive the same benefits as his fellow council members. But he said it more passively than threateningly, so who knows if he'll follow through?

Cam Noltemeyer and Diane Trautman spoke largely in support of Boydston. Trautman was particularly perplexed by City Attorney Joe Montes's invocation and confusing interpretation of adherence to the Brown Act in this case. Montes would offer counter-arguments to all of Boydston’s points that McLean asked be written down to allow her further analysis. As mentioned, his responses on this topic were quite quick and concise, but all seemed to support the legality of the recommended action over Boydston's own legal arguments. Again, without familiarity on the law surrounding benefits, Brown Act, and limitations, it wasn't particularly easy to follow to back-and-forth.

In the end, there wasn't much left to be said about Boydston receiving hundreds less per month in health insurance cash-in-lieu. Ferry wondered about whether they were being left open to a lawsuit, but Montes recommended that the City proceed with formalizing the two-tier benefit system. Kellar, who has displayed little sympathy for Boydston’s complaints about receiving $800 less per month in cash-in-lieu than his fellow members, moved the recommended action. McLean gave a resigned yes, but everyone else seemed less troubled in their affirmation of Boydston’s lower benefit exchange and moved on.

A Bad Idea

Few ideas are unambiguously bad, but Boydston’s suggestion for distribution of the City Council agenda two weeks in advance seemed to have very, very little going for it. He thought the public and council would benefit from more time to review items prior to meetings, but he was reminded that such an early release would increase response times, delay projects, cause a heavy workload on staff, potentially confuse the public, lengthen the time it takes to agendize items, and so on.

Out of 10 other cities investigated, none released an agenda more than 6 days in advance of a meeting. Santa Clarita does it 5 days in advance. Boydston unseuccessfully tried to change it to 6 days, but Mayor Ferry asked “Why is more [time to review] better?” With little additional discussion, all but Boydston voted to keep the same agenda distribution schedule.

With that, the meeting ended. There’s only one more meeting left where Ken Pulskamp will be the City Manager, so the late November meeting will likely be a big one. Stand warned.

[1]Here is the meeting agenda

25 Years: This is Not a Joke

2012-11-13T02:23:00.001-08:00

Dear Readers:

I rarely request favors, so I hope you’ll consider indulging me in this one. If you’re going to the City Council Meeting tonight and have a modicum of civic pride, please please please read this letter during Public Participation. I am unable to read it myself this evening. Without a wake-up call, I’m afraid the celebration of Santa Clarita’s 25^th Anniversary of Cityhood is going to be really lame.

Print out a copy, practice your timing once or twice, and read it. If we, the people who think and read and write about Santa Clarita don't enthuse about her big anniversary, who will?

Yours,

IHSCV

Council and Staff of the City of Santa Clarita: We have a question for you this evening, one famously posed by R&B group Jagged Edge: Where the party at?

Santa Clarita’s 25^th Anniversary of Cityhood will be celebrated on Saturday, December 15, 2012. It’s just a month away but still, no invite. We know you like to plan everything far in advance. That’s why we’re concerned that, as of today, there isn’t the merest mention of Santa Clarita’s 25^th Anniversary of Cityhood on the official calendar, much less mention of a 25^th Anniversary party or gala.

The SCV Historical Society is holding an open house and celebration in the afternoon, but we want—nay, we demand—a City-hosted event befitting this magnificent milestone. Perhaps you thought that the State of the City Luncheon, with its “25 Years of Success” theme, counted as a celebration. It didn’t. Maybe you think that your 25^th Anniversary web pages are sufficient observation of this milestone. They aren’t. We want an honest-to-goodness party for Santa Clarita's birthday. We want food and drinks and a competent DJ. Here are some other ideas which you may wish to think of including for the event. Please, take notes.

Idea 1: Have a New-Year’s-style countdown to 4:30pm, the time at which we became a city. At 4:30, shout “Happy Cityhood!”, etcetera.

Idea 2: Before the countdown, have some entertaining speakers talk about the past 25 years: think John Boston, Tony & Reena Newhall, Leon Worden…people who will talk about more than parks and roads.

Idea 3: Put out donation boxes for local non-profits, and challenge every Claritan in attendance to donate $25 to one or more cherished causes.

You’ve hosted lots of successful events, Santa Clarita, and we know you can pull off something great for the 25^th Anniversary of Cityhood. Once this anniversary passes, we don’t have another big one until 2037, and by that point, a lot of the VIPs on the guest list are probably going to be dead. So please, while the people who shaped Santa Clarita for the past 25 years are still alive, let’s do this thing right. Let's show just how much we all heart SCV.

CONTINGENCIES:

IF IN AUDIENCE: Begin slow clap at end of speech, building to thunderous applause.

IF MAYOR FERRY DEMANDS ORDER: Clap even louder, and yell variants of “We’ll stop clapping when you start planning!”, “Hearting SCV is not a crime, Frank!”, etc.

IF YOU PLANNED TO READ THIS BUT GET CALLED AFTER IT’S ALREADY BEEN READ: Simply state: “I, too, am here in support of a celebration befitting Santa Clarita’s 25^th Anniversary of Cityhood. Forgetting an annviersary is tacky, so don't."

Only in SCV: A Real Quiz for the 25th

2012-10-26T00:58:00.000-07:00

Santa Clarita's 25th Anniversary is now 50 days away. To its credit, the City has devoted a section of its website to this most glorious of milestones. There's a page offering 25 reasons to love your city, a page on Claritan history, and even a quiz to assess your local knowledge. Unfortunately, the quiz is kind of lame...which is not to say you shouldn't take it, just that you should feel badly about yourself if you don't get a perfect score.

In any case, the quiz was a nice idea. It just should be bigger. In the ideal Santa Clarita, there would be a splashy quiz bowl with an entry donation benefiting some local charity. Teams would be formed from local news outlets, groups like the historical society, and involved citizens--essentially anyone who wanted to prove that they really know the valley. And after a fun but brutal quiz, it would be known who really does.

Because this is not the ideal Santa Clarita, we have to compromise. So here's a quiz of 25 questions for you SCV aficionados, with emphasis on a post-cityhood Santa Clarita. It's by no means comprehensive, so I may post some more sets of questions as the anniversary nears. Good luck.

THIS OR THAT: Pick the right one.

1. Annual fees for a member of Robinson Ranch Golf Club: $4,500 or $14,500?
2. Castaic’s bigger lake: upper or lower?
3. The Northridge quake: magnitude 6.7 or 7.6?
4. Has a higher rating on Yelp: Saugus Cafe or Way Station Coffee Shop?
5. Where more people live: Canyon Country or Newhall?

QUOTABLES: Who said or wrote the following?
6. “You’re thinking ‘Ulyanovsk’ is something Marsha McLean hollers while in the throes of passion, only with more exclamation marks.” [Hint: famous local humorist]
7. “We’re confident that with the years of analysis, mitigation measures and scientific research that went into the approval of these permits that Newhall Ranch will prevail in court.” [Hint: PR legend]
8. “I’m a proud racist.” [Hint: elected official]
9. “Being part of the first City Council, and then becoming the first mayor, was quite an adventure…It was a bit of fun, it was a bit of an adventure, it was a challenge and it was an education and it was even a bit scary.” [Hint: he eventually made it big]
10. “I said they’d have to come and drag me out, and they did.” [Hint: he was being literal]

NAME GAME: Provide their names.

11. Valencia High School’s mascot.
12. Santa Clarita’s first female mayor.
13. The diminutive endangered plant that grows on Newhall Ranch.
14. Popular TV show on which Santa Clarita was nuked.
15. One of the current names of the road once known as San Fernando.

MENTAL MAP: Think place and space.

16. You’ve just had lunch at Salt Creek Grille and now you want frozen yogurt. Which froyoteries are closest to you?
17. What does the Iron Horse Trailhead Bridge span?
18. Along which street is City Hall?
19. What beautiful canyon was set to become a landfill in 1989?
20. Santa Clarita is the third largest city in LA County. Name the two larger cities.

ANNUAL EVENTS: Arrange the following events in their traditional order over the course of a year.

*Cowboy Festival
*Santa Clarita Marathon
*Concerts in the Park
*State of the City Luncheon
*River Rally
21. Happens Earliest in the Year:
22. Happens Next:
23. Happens Next:
24. Happens Next:
25. Happens Latest in the Year:

Scroll down for answers.

ANSWERS:
(1)$4,500 (2)Upper (3)6.7 (4)Way Station (5)Canyon Country (6)John Boston (7)Marlee Lauffer (8)Bob Kellar (9)Buck McKeon (10)John Quigley (11)Vic the Viking (12)Jan Heidt (13)San Fernando Valley Spineflower (14)24 (15)Main St., Railroad Ave. (16)Tutti Frutti, Spoon Me,,Golden Spoon, Menchie's, Pinkberry, Planet Yogurt in that order I think...I am honestly losing track; it's hard to play the frozen yogurt game in Santa Clarita (17)Santa Clara River (18)Valencia Blvd. (19)Elsemere (20)Los Angeles, Long Beach (21-25)Festival, Concerts, Rally, Luncheon, Marathon

HOW TO INTERPRET YOUR SCORE:
25: Congratulations! You know the ins and outs of the City of Santa Clarita.
24 and lower: You do not heart SCV: get out.

Happenings: The Public Disgracing of KHTS

2012-10-24T01:16:00.000-07:00

TimBen Boydston left tonight’s meeting without an increase in benefits to put him at parity with other councilmembers, but at least he still has his good name[1]. The same cannot be said of KHTS, its owners, or Congressman Buck McKeon. Reporter Mark Archuleta, recently fired from KHTS, took to the podium this evening to risk his reputation in order to destroy the reputation of his former employer, claiming that KHTS pandered to the desires and threats of Buck McKeon’s office. He claimed it managed news coverage to favor the congressman as well as at least one city council member. The bulk of the meeting was spent on mundane matters of landscape districts and employee benefits, but for three incandescent minutes, Archuleta did his best to take down an SCV institution and to preserve notions of journalistic integrity. Pity so few people watch these meetings—sometimes they’re actually interesting.

But First…

The meeting opened with Councilmember Laurene Weste. She offered a short, sincere invocation in anticipation of Veterans Day, expressing her gratitude to veterans and reminding Claritans of the ceremony to be held at the Veterans Historical Plaza.

The City of Santa Clarita was then presented with a prestigious Helen Putnam Award from the League of California Cities. Specifically, the Neighborhood Services Team and Outreach Program won an award under the heading of “Enhancing Public Trust, Ethics and Community Involvement.” Before cynical readers think up snide remarks about the accuracy of this lofty banner for Santa Clarita, note that the award recognized a specific program. It addressed crime, social issues, and citizen involvement in some of East Newhall’s less idyllic corners, and had measurable success.

Reputations in Ruin

Mark Archuleta’s speech tonight was short but devastating. He was (is?) one of the most accomplished reporters in Santa Clarita, and his political coverage was consistently acute and incisive. He and Carol Rock—a gifted writer whose endurance, experience, and knowledge of local issues put her in a class of her own—were widely regarded as major assets to KHTS. The firing of Archuleta and Rock led to much speculation with regard to timing; they were let mere weeks before the November election. Those wanting more details got plenty tonight.

Archuleta opened by promising, “I’m here tonight to end my silence.” You can read the full speech at NotesFromNewhall, but these are the main claims—again, claims; KHTS has not had an opportunity to respond—that emerged:

*He and Carol Rock were fired from KHTS for essentially political reasons.

*Buck McKeon made threats or complaints to the Goldmans, who own KHTS, over unflattering coverage on their website, written largely by Archuleta. It was removed in response. A McKeon endorsement and pulling Rock and Archuleta from McKeon coverage were additional favors extended to the congressman.

*A City Council candidate complained about an interview with Archuleta, and Goldman would not let it be published without alterations, citing the political aim of preventing a voting bloc on the council.

*KHTS altered stories and coverage to influence elections; they bent to political pressure.

The speech had many unpleasant ramifications. First, the reputation of KHTS has been sullied. News outlets are valued for being independent and expository, not for yielding to politicians and doing them favors. How KHTS responds—and how The Signal covers this story—remains to be seen. As for Archuletta, he probably won’t be getting a lot of local job offers, unless some new publication to serve an audience dissatisfied with The Signal and KHTS is in the works. (Excuse my outrageous joking). Congressman Buck McKeon has been painted as a media manipulator, and this isn’t the first time. Then there’s the unnamed council member who used their sway to secure favorable coverage (based on timing, it would have to be either Bob Kellar or Laurie Ender). And then there are implications for the new/remaining staff at KHTS. Do they owe their job to being more receptive to the Goldmans’ purported aims?

What a mess.

The Others

Public comments following Archuleta were bound to pale in comparison. Glo Donnelly twittered pleasantly about the State of the City Luncheon last week and highlighted Santa Clarita’s success in preserving open space. Doug Fraser made a comment about mobile home rent increases, the most recent in a series of comments on this topic over the past weeks. David Lutness offered political thoughts, arguing that people needed better salaries and that income disparity was a major problem in America. Ray Kutylo advertised SCV Letters to the Editor, his Facebook group. His remarks were particularly timely considering Archuleta’s words and the fact that this is “Free Speech Week.” Carole Lutness was last to speak, and said, “I, too, am outraged at the firing of these two fine reporters,” referring of course to Archuleta and Rock. She was particularly upset about Carol Rock (“who is an institution in this community!”). Her comments then moved to The Signal, which she said recently stopped publishing the “Environmentally Speaking” column in its opinion section. The column often challenges development and reminds readers of local environmental issues. Lutness acknowledged her role in “plagiar-gate” at The Signal (i.e., she was caught plagiarizing and removed from her writing post a few years ago), but promised her criticisms were more than just sour grapes.

City Manager Ken Pulskamp offered some comments in return. Regarding mobile home rents, he promised to look further into the particulars brought up by Doug Fraser this evening. As to the topic of KHTS and free speech he said, “We certainly support free speech. […] There is no collusion among the City and other members of the media. God knows we’ve taken our shots in all of those,” trailing off with a coarse chuckle. Councilmember Weste made a point to support Carol Rock, saying the veteran reporter had her care and love.

Updates, Consent

Individual councilmember updates were more of the usual. Particular highlights were Mayor Pro Tem Bob Kellar’s promise that several notable SCV Olympians (even Allyson Felix) would be at the Rubber Ducky Regata, benefitting the Samuel Dixon Foundation. Mayor Frank Ferry noted that public input was being solicited at an upcoming meeting regarding a master plan for a conference center in Santa Clarita.

The consent calendar was addressed next. Items that didn’t engender discussion included changes to dozens of speed limits in Santa Clarita (most were recommended to go up or down by 5 mph after traffic study); bikeway improvements and additions; and a janitorial contract. An item concerning landscaping contracts drew Councilmember Boydston’s attention. He spent a while discussing the nature of the contract, which included a large amount of money for unforeseen repairs and maintenance. Boydston was told that the landscaping bid was actually quite reasonable, and all unforeseen costs were noted as line items, so they could be easily reviewed for any type of abuse. After some inquiries by other members and assurances of the landscape company’s solid past performance, the contract was approved, with the stipulation that work would be reviewed in a couple of years to look at spending patterns.

Master Plan Planning

An item to assess the feasibility of a master-plan-envisioned road extension connecting Lyons and Dockweiler in Newhall was controversial, as are most projects that affect the vociferous enclave that is Placerita Canyon (or almost-Placerita-Canyon). Councilmember Weste recused herself from the debate on the grounds of “living way too close” to the proposed road connection, so she said she’d go have some dessert instead.

Most speakers asked that this item be continued to a future meeting. There was much concern about its inclusion of an at-grade crossing of the Metrolink line. Other speakers, such as Nanette Meister, wondered at how much Councilmember Weste stood to gain from the project, which would likely increase her property value. Other objections included insufficient notification of those who would be affected by the crossing and questions about cost-effectiveness.

There was a fair amount of discussion, with Councilmember TimBen Boydston stating his sympathy for the concerns expressed by property owners in the area. However, staff assured the council that this project would take at least a couple of years and was puaimed at producing preliminary documents to assess the feasibility of the project, not actually building the road. Furthermore, the road was part of the master plan, and the bridge and thoroughfare funds for the study had to be spent on transportation by law. Despite these seemingly compelling arguments to begin the study, TimBen Boydston did not vote to move forward as recommended, while his fellow council members did. He chose to “vote ‘no’ with explanation,” stating that he was uncomfortable about proceeding when not all affected neighborhoods had been properly notified. Councilmember McLean followed his vote with a “yes”, also with explanation. She said a study didn’t impact neighborhoods, the actual road did: “this is giving them the information that they need.” So the slow planning process will now get rolling.

TimBenefits

The final item before the council was consideration of benefits for council members. While they all receive the same salary and the same healthcare benefits, if a council member chooses cash-in-lieu of health insurance, they receive quite different amounts. Council members are treated like staff when it comes to payment and benefits, and in 2010, the council changed the structure of benefits for staff, such that those starting to work in 2011 wouldn’t receive as much cash-in-lieu of health insurance coverage. By extension, TimBen Boydston, elected in 2012, also gets less cash for foregoing City health coverage. His fellow members can receive $1,016.58 per month, but he can only receive $214.62. That’s a difference of nearly $10,000 over the course of a year, all based on his later election date.

Boydston recused himself from the discussion, though he could comment as a citizen during that portion of the item’s discussion (and he did). The formerly cheerful Glo Donnelly was not pleased with Boydston’s fuss about the discrepancy in benefits, suggesting he find a new job if he was being driven by monetary gain. Allan Cameron and Lynne Plambeck offered alternative legal interpretations to challenge City Attorney Joe Montes’ assertion that Boydston’s benefits could not be raised without also raising them for all employees hired since 2011. Many thought it was only fair for Boydston to get the same amount of cash-in-lieu as other members.

Boydston, however, offered the most intriguing solution. Rather than raise the amount of cash he would receive, Boydston suggested that his fellow council members vote to reduce their own benefits to his level. He said it would show they considered him an equal and would save taxpayers money, the whole point of the change in benefit structure to begin with.

Mayor Pro Tem Bob Kellar responded brusquely. He lectured about the need to follow the exact letter of the law—at least on this issue. Mayor Ferry responded next. He spoke about having no intention of singling out Boydston when they voted on the new benefit policy two years ago. He said of Boydston defeating former Councilmember Laurie Ender, “Didn’t see that one comin’!” He then made some grand statements about declines in all kinds of compensation and benefits because of the sluggish economy, going so far as to imply that Boydston should be grateful he wasn’t receiving even less, as future council members may. Ferry called his appeal for equal benefits “self-serving.” Just like Kellar, he did not so much as entertain the idea of cutting his own cash benefits to Boydston’s level, however.

Councilmembers McLean and Weste were more understanding of Boydston’s dismay. Surprisingly, McLean offered a very conciliatory statement. Of the discrepancy in benefits, she said, “I totally understand where Councilmember Boydston is coming from […] it’s probably like a slap in the face.” She and Weste both made dramatic, almost apologetic pauses before voting, as Ferry and Kellar did, to not change benefits for Boydston.

There was a startling revelation/suggestion during Alan Cameron’s public comment following this item. After talking about the other matters from this evening, he mentioned the LA Times’ investigation of Boy Scout abuse, noting there had been an incident, apparently, mapped to Saugus. He asked for an investigation. With that, the meeting ended.

[1]Here's the agenda.

Happenings: Norms, Chills, Contracts

2012-10-10T03:48:00.002-07:00

Chilled

Everyone was feeling a little chilly at tonight’s city council meeting[1]. Claritans of consequence arrived in force to speak against revisions to council norms they deemed “chilling”. The proposed revisions would arguably change the nature of communications, council-manager dynamics, and meeting policies in ways many found troubling. Mayor Ferry’s response to naysayers was, in a word, chill. He wanted people to calm down while he explained that the changes he and Mayor Pro Tem Kellar crafted were wide open for revision. As more than one person said tonight, words matter—especially those words that define the rules and norms by which the council governs.

Councilmember TimBen Boydston delivered the invocation. He responded to a speaker from last week who was dismayed that the phrase “In God We Trust” appears in the council chambers. Boydston read the US Congress’s 2011 re-affirmation of “In God We Trust” as the national motto and made a generally rousing speech culminating in the pledge of allegiance.

Next came a proclamation for the 10^th Rubber Ducky Regatta to benefit the Samuel Dixon Family Health Center. A woman in a duck suit sat in the audience and posed for a picture, to the delight of all, I venture. We were reminded of the center’s work to provide medical services for the un- and under-insured.

Lousy Courts, Unsavory Wagers

In the first round of public participation, Thomas Graney was upset by the injustice of the SCV’s justice system. He described an awful judge, having to drive from the SC Valley to the SF Valley for routine services, and the hassle of going over the hill for jury duty. The other public speaker was Cam Noltemeyer, who was dismayed by the off-track horse wagering now taking place in Santa Clarita. She wondered why such an undesirable business hadn’t been stopped or at least discussed by the City Council. Assistant City Manager Ken Striplin said the State of California was in control of both courts and wagering, so there was little he could do to appease either comment-maker. Councilmember Marsha McLean, who said that Santa Clarita is “totally underserved by the courts,” asked that a letter be written explaining situation. As for horse racing, Striplin said that since there was no opposition voiced to a wagering center (technically, the one opposing party removed their objections), the development was allowed to go forward without appearing on a council agenda.

With these matters addressed, the council members made their generally bland comments applauding or previewing community events.

Supporting Materials

The consent calendar was slight, comprising just six items. One of these items was a contract for landscape maintenance services—not usually a cause for alarm. But Councilmember Boydston asked to continue the item to a subsequent meeting because he had not been given enough time to read the contract on which he would be voting. This is the third times he’s called out staff for failing to get him contracts and other supporting materials in a timely fashion. Mayor Ferry asked Striplin whether the landscape contract was pressing, and Striplin agreed it could be carried on to the next meeting without problem, satisfying Boydston. Cam Noltemeyer was also leery of this item, but for a different reason: she asked if those providing landscaping services are required to use E-Verify to determine whether their employees can legally work in the US. Apparently, they are not required.

Council Norms

Proposed revisions to city council norms and procedures were contentious. The Signal’s well-composed editorial on these revisions was on everyone’s mind (especially its use of the word “chilling”), and it makes for useful background reading[2]. The piece really focused tonight’s discussion on the council/manager relationship, responsibilities pertaining to council communications, and majority rule. For example, council members would be asked to report any interviews or statements they made to the manager, they would be asked to submit questions to the city manager before asking them at a meeting, and they would need assent from other members to put items on the agenda or make special presentations involving video clips.

Mayor Ferry introduced the item with a series of defensive statements. He assured the audience that, despite allegations to the contrary, the changes to norms were not about stifling free speech: “This is never to squelch any given member.” He didn’t like the idea that changes had been labeled “unconstitutional,” and promised that he was open to changes. He asked people to keep that in mind “before you come up here with the torches and the pitchforks.”

Despite the plea, people still brought pitchforks.

One public speaker looked at City Attorney Joe Montes and insulted him while maintaining good eye contact, saying, “If you’re the one that wrote this up, I think you should go back to law school.” Navy veteran Darryl Manzer was upset as he revealed, “I’m trying to remember what I served for.” Apart from the new norms, he was also quite unhappy that Mayor Ferry pronounced his name improperly (man-ZEHR vs. MAN-zuhr). “Don’t put a French inflection on it: my Dutch ancestors wouldn’t like it,” said Manzer, who would also state the pronunciation of Castaic as properly being “cah-STAKE”, never “cah-STAY-ik.”

Other speakers made more succinct and useful comments. Lori Rivas employed a parallel structure to ask, “Who is being served when…”, then running through a list of questionable changes of little apparent benefit to the public. Former mayor Carl Boyer said that he thought questions should be allowed whether submitted prior to the meeting or not. He clarified that norms are not binding but rather guidelines, and suggested voters will take care of council members they feel shirk the norms. He said that’s what Jill Klajic did, which led to her political losses: “She did herself in.” Ray Kutylo was frustrated as he exclaimed, “All I can say is: what were you thinking!?” Kutylo speculated that staff had initiated many of the changes. Dianne Trautman was the last speaker (and the third or fourth to call the proposal “chilling”), and she summarized concerns about shifts of power to the mayor and manager. Individual power was simultaneously diminished with new requirements to add an agenda item, give a presentation, or talk to the press without reporting to the manager.

All the council members agreed the item needed work. Ferry did a fair bit of back-peddling, saying that the spirit or intention of some rules didn’t come through in the language they selected. For example, the item about submitting questions prior to asking them at meetings was intended to allow the city manager to prepare for questions that might require specific information—it was not meant to silence spontaneous questions that arise during the course of a meeting. He would not back down from some points, however. Both Ferry and McLean were worried that Boydston might try to show a video with unfair or unflattering editing to make a point, which is why they defended a rule to ask for approval before showing a video clip during a meeting.

Ferry also challenged Boydston about reporting media conversations to Gail Ortiz or Ken Pulskamp/Striplin. Ferry said it was responsible, while Boydston thought having to report his near daily conversations with media outlets would be onerous and threaten his free speech. For both this debate and the debate over adding items to the agenda, Boydston argued that council members have common sense. That is, they wouldn’t make wild or speculative statements to the press without telling others, and they wouldn’t abuse the ability to agendize items. Ferry had a worst-case scenario mindset, though. He worried about being “blind-sided” by quotes from fellow council members and asked what would stop members from putting hundreds of items on the agenda every week if they could.

Unsurprisingly, no solution was reached, and the norm revisions will be worked on some more.

[1]A link to the agenda, just for you.
[2]The editorial

Only in SCV: 50 Shades of Mud

2012-09-26T16:07:00.001-07:00

50 Shades of Mud

A Poem for the Old Town Newhall Library's Grand Opening this Saturday

As the library op’ning nears

I find the structure looking...drear.

Its towers soar, its rafters span,

But the impact’s short of grand.

It’s quiet, this new place in town,

In muted shades of ashen brown.

It’s all tinted about the same,

This color, praytell, what’s its name?

This color of a soggy plain,

This color of dust slaked by rain,

This color of dirt after flood,

Ah yes: It’s fifty shades of mud.

Columns in mud-colored stone,

Pillars stained a muddy tone,

Murals of mud-coated steeds,

Mud shelves for mud-covered reads.

Chairs picked for their muddy hues,

Halls with muddy light imbued,

Odd quotes from muddy intellects,

Each turn finds muds more muddy yet.

But just, perhaps, it’s by design:

Libraries are built for the mind,

So why not drab-en outward glory

To highlight words, books, and stories?

Let their celestial light efface

The chthonic tones of this dull place.

And further yet, mud’s the hue

That fits dear Old Newhall most true.

The great West is tan, dusty, dun,

We honor shades that others shun.

Libraries of New York and Rome

Can shine in glass and gleam in chrome

Can keep their marble, rose, and gilt,

We like mud for the one we built.

[NOTE:]These pictures come from the City's wonderful Flickr account.

Happenings: History Deferred, God Trusted

2012-09-26T01:03:00.004-07:00

Is Nothing Sacred?

At tonight’s meeting of the Santa Clarita City Council, we witnessed history, God, and scavenging for recyclables all come under attack. These are turbulent times for us Claritans, so we best get straight to recapping[1].

I am laboring under a slight handicap, however, because SCVTV now broadcasts meetings with obnoxious commercials popping up at the most inopportune moments. Thus, for the introductory portion of tonight’s meeting, I can tell you that Councilmember Marsha McLean delivered the invocation, but I cannot say about what in particular. Following her words and the pledge, there was a proclamation for Hispanic Heritage Month about which Paul de la Cerda spoke at some length. He recognized several leaders in the Hispanic community, then posed for a photo beneath the City seal.

PP: Rent’s Too High and the Anti-Petz

Public participation followed, including two comments about the difficulties facing those who live in mobile homes. With rent prices on the rise, many are finding it hard to get by and looking to City Hall for help. The City is supportive of those whose rents are being raised by more than the legal amount, but it seems any hikes—even below the legally allowed limits—may be the problem. Another speaker wondered why the City was enforcing a scavenging ordinance that prevents people from taking recyclables from bins. Mayor Ferry would explain that it’s enforced to protect public health and because waste haulers count on some revenue from recyclables in bins, which scavengers may divert.

The most contentious comments, however, came from a certain Mario Alvarez. He gave a peculiar opening to his speech, asking the council to listen to him using their most "civilized" and "educated" of sensibilities. Then he got to the punchline—he was a speaker representing those who are “free of all gods and all religions.” He continued: “We are the most discriminated group against." He explained their goal of freedom from (not of) religion, and restated “We get offended more so than any so-called ‘people of faith’ when we see phrases like that one up there,” pointing at the proclamation of “In God We Trust.” Alvarez said, “We would like very much for that to be removed from the City Council,” and also asked for removal of all traces of God-trusting from the new library.

Mayor Pro-Tem Bob Kellar addressed his comments. He said that hundreds of major American cities, especially Washington, D.C., bear the phrase “In God We Trust” on their important structures. Councilmember TimBen Boydston would try to clarify the difference between freedom of/from religion, but Alvarez tried to engage Boydston from his seat, prompting Mayor Ferry to threaten Alvarez with being removed if he couldn’t be silent. For convenience' sake, I may hereafter refer to Mario Alvarez as the anti-Petz. Petz, of course, is the nickname of realtor Steve Petzold, who worked dilligently to get “In God We Trust” displayed in City Hall—without quotation marks.

Marsha Frets People Crushing

During reports and updates from the council members, we learned that Councilmember McLean earned a perfect score in the “Dancing With Our Stars” charity event. Some $200,000 was raised by the dancers for twelve Claritan non-profits. Other comments concerned the very busy Saturday we have approaching, with the library grand opening, street fair, jazz and blues festival, box city homeless fundraising event, pet shelter fundraising event, youth grove evening of remembrance, and more[2].

With their thoughts on the most epic Saturday ahead, the council members had relatively little to say about the consent calendar, which would pass with the recommended actions on all items. Councilmember McLean did offer a few suggestions, however. On item 3, she wanted a letter opposing military spending cuts that would adversely affect Santa Clarita to be written more succinctly. On item 8, which concerned community grants, she expressed interest in being more dilligent about rotating grant review responsibilities. But her gravest concerns regarded item 6, which would entail adding many ominously named BigBelly Recycling Units to the SCV. These units collect and compact recyclables, and they’re “smart” units, allowing workers to remotely determine whether a unit needs to be emptied. McLean was worried about people climbing into or being thrown into these devices and being, well, compacted. City Manager Ken Pulskamp assured her the openings were too small for that, so the good people of Santa Clarita are unlikely to be squashed in a BigBelly.

Other items on the consent calendar were plans to spend $32,500 to preserve a few acres in Wildwood Canyon, the purchasing of six buses for $3.8M from Yolo County (and why not?...you only live once), and establishing a loading zone in front of Egg Plantation for the loading/unloading of human cargo, specifically. The calendar was reviewed and approved by 6:50.

History Takes Time

Discussion of an ordinance to protect Santa Clarita’s historic monuments lasted well over an hour. The discussion dragged on because the ordinance on this evening’s agenda was a very weak one. It made the process of historic designation contingent on the property owner’s consent—a 100% opt-in process. Property owners would get certain tax benefits and other perks for listing their historic structure as such, but they would lose the ability to make many structural modifications without approval. Unlike previous ordinance versions, a property owner would have to be on-board before his property could be listed. This was good or awful, depending on one’s perspective.

Thinking it was a good idea were Mayor Pro Tem Bob Kellar, TimBen Boydston, Alan Ferdman, and others. Boydston had to recuse himself on this item and speak strictly as a private citizen since a historic (no, not “an historic”) building is where he makes his living. During his speech, he spoke with Jeffersonian rhetoric, arguing that we should not ignore private property rights in our quest to protect historic structures.

Many of Santa Clarita’s residents didn’t fully agree with Boydston’s support for the ordinance, however. Thoughtgul comments from Carol Rock, Leon Worden, Alan Pollack, Berta Gonzalez-Harper and others suggested that this ordinance was toothless, doing nothing to force and little to entice property owners to list their structures as historic If the goal was saving the most historic of local buildings, this version of the ordinance was not the way to do it.

Despite disagreement in the property rights/historic preservation debate, there was consensus that some buildings need protection and that there should be stronger incentives for property owners to make up for limitations associated with historic listing.

When public comments ended around 7:40, it quickly became clear that the ordinance was not going to pass this evening. McLean almost immediately revealed that she’d be voting no, saying “We can do much better.” She didn’t like the opt-in approach, and she thought a commission for historic preservation might be a good idea. Councilmember Weste also signaled that she would be voting no, saying she wouldn’t be the person to vote for an ordinance that would do so little to prevent the demolition of historic structures. Mayor Pro Tem Kellar liked the fact that the ordinance respected property rights and thought that a $5000 check for every person who opts in might work well as an incentive for participation. Mayor Ferry also wondered why there weren’t more concrete incentives for owners of historic properties, and he brought up an idea from last year about simply buying the structures that are most central to the City’s heritage.

At one point during the diuscussion, Kellar asked “When are we gonna put this thing to rest?”, noting that six years of discussion had failed to produce a solution. Councilmember Weste tried to offer an idea, prioritizing 11 structures (including Newhall Ice Company, Melody Ranch main gate, Old Newhall Jail, American Legion Hall, among others) to preserve, noting that each might need special treatment. The ice company is still a viable business, for instance, but all would be watched and funds made available if the structure needed to be purchased and moved, etc.

City Manager Pulskamp tried to distill the many, potentially conflicting directions he had been given by the council members. The ordinance—the public hearing for which was continued to a later meeting—will be discussed again with more incentives, opinions from the LA Conservancy, ballpark values on Weste’s eleven most valuable historic monuments, and language for a preservation process a la Weste. McLean added that something about plaques would also be useful. History, in short, remains to be written.

The other special items—statewide community development bonds for Einstein Academy and a new EIR for the Master's College development (200 new dorms units first, extension of Dockweiler second)—were yessed through pretty quickly, and the meeting ended at 8:44.

[1]Here's the agenda.

[2]Here's that busy Saturday.

Happenings: Striplin to Rule; Boydston still "Difficult"

2012-09-12T03:08:00.003-07:00

Tonight’s was a one-issue meeting, that issue’s name being Ken Striplin. After mostly supportive comments from the public regarding Striplin and a half-hour closed session at the behest of Councilmember TimBen Boydston, the contract to make Striplin our next city manager was approved. Apart from dealing with this most central of personnel issues, the council had to pat itself on the back for an awful lot: becoming LA’s third largest city, a rather favorably spun public opinion poll, and the glory of a triple-A rating from Standard & Poors. In short, we got approval for a new city manager who will, by current indicators, be inheriting an all but perfect city[1].

Mayor Pro Tem Bob Kellar delivered the invocation this evening. He considered how his September 11, 2012 was experienced in a way not unlike the same date in 2001—watching the horrific footage and feeling a sense of shock both then and now. He ended by remembering George Bush’s words that “a great people has been moved to defend a great nation” and by appreciating those who have served in the armed forces to fight terrorism.

Next, Councilmember TimBen Boydston delivered a proclamation for National Preparedness Month. He cited the memory of 9/11 as an impetus for preparing our families for a variety of threats both natural and man-made. His words were prefaced with the concern that Islamic labels were being used in the public discourse about 9/11 and called the events acts of terrorism rather than acts of a particular religion.

Councilmember Laurene Weste was in charge of the next proclamation, which supported “No Texting While Driving Pledge Day.” She said 43% of teens admit to texting while driving and repeated the pledge day’s catchphrase, “It can wait.” I’m not sure how well city council meetings do with viewers in the 12-17 age group, but others will be repeating her message, I’m sure.

The final presentation covered highlights from a recent public opinion poll commissioned by the City[2]. Assistant City Manager Ken Striplin gave the presentation, his hands characteristically fidgety and his voice animated in a forced sort of way. He promised highlights and, indeed, only highlights were offered. According to the poll, people trust the City of Santa Clarita, overwhelmingly approve of its services, believe we’re in a stable financial position, and are satisfied with our parks, landscaping, and stores. Notably missing were statistics about the areas where less than a majority is thrilled with the City, like regarding its performance in protecting air quality, controlling growth and development, and attracting new jobs (though he would lament that 52% of Claritans work outside the valley). Striplin chose to let the City bask in its favorable statistics rather than hear mention of the less spectacular stats. Even when he reached the topic of Cemex, he explained the lack of public knowledge/interest in the topic as the result of less City outreach following the truce between city and corporation. He was proud that 49% of people surveyed knew at least a little bit about Cemex “even with the limited outreach that we’ve done.”

The last page of the poll results presentation said that residents want an “Applebees”, omitting the apostrophe. In any case, a gentleman from the polling firm said Santa Clarita had truly excellent numbers compared to other cities and advised “whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.” In response to Councilmember Marsha McLean’s question about sampling methods, he revealed that calls were made from a pool comprising both landline and cell phone numbers. In response to TimBen Boydston’s question about what the City could do better, he was at a loss to answer, noting his papers were presently elsewhere.

During public participation, John Cassidy of Isabella Parkway expressed “grave concern” about his street and how fast people drive on it, often to cut through. City Manager Ken Pulskamp promised a speed measuring trailer and increased speed limit enforcement.

Committee reports followed, during which we learned about Santa Clarita’s excellent triple-A rating from S&P and the official annexation of Fair Oaks and Jake’s Way into Santa Clarita. Kellar said that the annexation makes Santa Clarita the third largest city in Los Angeles County, behind LA and Long Beach but ahead of Glendale. For his comments, Boydston asked that agendas be published well in advance of meetings and hoped that contracts set for voting would be furnished to council members so they have enough time to read them over prior to the meeting.

Discussion of Ken Striplin’s contract to serve as city manager began next. City Attorney Joe Montes said that a few modifications needed to be made regarding penalties from abuse of the office or felonies. Language regarding cost of living increases was also updated.

Most Claritans had good things to say about Ken Striplin during their comments. Duane Harte and many others thanked the City for saving money by hiring in-house rather than starting a lengthy, cross-country job search. Dee Dee Jacobson was thrilled at the hiring of who she called "a comapny man." A few speakers, however, were upset at the expeditious hiring and said they would have preferred to see a more thorough and open candidate search. The tone of most speeches was congratulatory and expressed great confidence in Striplin, though his qualifications were described rather vaguely. He handled communications well during the serious wildfires a few years ago, he’s a good baseball coach and involved in numerous community non-profits, and he has spent a lot of time listening to Ken Pulskamp. Those, in a nutshell, were among his most notable qualifications.

Mayor Frank Ferry said that he and others had known all along that Striplin was well-suited to work as City Manager. In one of the worst analogies ever, he said losing Pulskamp was like losing Steve Jobs, but Striplin was a solid Bill Gates, so it was better to hire him right away than to go to Atari and find its manager.

Councilmember Laurene Weste said that Striplin’s knowledge of local issues like Cemex was invaluable in that it saved the City the downtime of an outside applicant reading up and get acquainted. Weste had an interesting perspective on what makes the SCV interesting itself—our cowboy history, consumer culture, colleges, and unified opposition to outside forces that will change us (e.g., Cemex, the Elsmere landfill...). Kellar moved to approve the contract for Striplin, but Boydston stepped in and said he had questions. Indeed, he did. After asking about benefits, severance packages, etc, he requested a closed session to discuss details of the contract. Mayor Ferry said the council could vote on the standing motion to approve Striplin’s contract, but with support from Bob Kellar, they instead entered a closed session for just over 30 minutes.

Since it was a closed session, there’s not much to say, but TimBen Boydston emerged from the session voting “no” to approve the contract, making yet another 4-1 vote. He explained that he thought all executive positions should enjoy pay raises as a reward for performance, not automatically to keep up with cost of living increases. That said, he expressed great faith in Striplin and had no complaints about him. All the other council members were happy to approve the Striplin contract. After Boydston’s explanation for a “no” vote, McLean was clearly annoyed and said “no” to Boydston when he asked if he could offer a comment. Luckily for Boydston, McLean is not mayor, and Mayor Ferry allowed Boyston to talk to his heart's content. McLean wanted to express what had been said in closed session but couldn’t directly, so she hinted that Striplin wasn’t making out with the kind of outrageously good compensation that Boydston might have suspected. She did so by asking if she could ask whether the employee got the amount he originally asked for, smiling slightly as she spoke and was told to keep mum by City Attorney Montes.

Striplin’s approval was followed by examination of an utterly unremarkable consent calendar, and the meeting ended at 8:25.

[1]Agenda
[2]Here's the survey

Happenings: The Striplin Decision

2012-08-31T04:56:00.000-07:00

For details on the 4-1 vote to select Assistant City Manager Ken Striplin as the man to replace City Manager Ken Pulskamp upon his retirement, read SCVNews coverage here.

There is one word for this evening’s hasty, closed-door city council vote to select Ken Striplin as the next city manager: Enderic[1]. By that, I mean it’s like Laurie Ender’s approach to library privatization: it may be a logical thing to consider, and it may even be the right decision, but when you rush onward with no apparent need for rushing, it raises suspicion and ruffles feathers. It is August, after all, and City Manager Ken Pulskamp will not be retiring until the very end of December, some four months from now. Naming our next city manager this far out can’t exactly be called urgent[2]. Why couldn’t there be an item at the public meeting Tuesday after next to discuss the selection process and listen to comments from everyday Claritans? Councilmember TimBen Boydston asked for that very thing. Instead, it appears that Striplin was the only person given full consideration. We may solicit competitive bids for landscaping firms and garbage haulers, but when the council looks for the next person to manage the third-largest city in Los Angeles, its 300+ employees, and its nearly $200M budget, making the decision at a special meeting days after the issue is raised seems adequate. Enderic, indeed.

The decision was shades of the library debacle in other ways, too. Striplin was selected with Boydston's dissenting vote in favor of a more thorough selection process; on the library vote, of course, it was Bob Kellar who dissented on the same grounds of prudence. In another parallel, Berta Gonzalez-Harper gave her blessing for both the library privatization and the as-then-unannounced selection of Striplin (she said the Council should “shop local” and hire him when she spoke at the CC meeting earlier this week). It seems like the recipe for accomplishing really big things in Santa Clarita is mixing together a hyped sense of urgency, a sole dissenting voice, and the Blessing of Berta.

You get the point, I know. The decision was unduly rushed and can be deemed opaque, arrogant, and hasty even if it is, ultimately, the right decision. That means we can move onto the more complex question: who is Striplin and was he indeed the right choice to manage Clarita?

One crude caricature of Ken Striplin is that he’s just another Ken Pulskamp…only better looking. The two have worked very closely for over a decade, so it doesn’t seem an entirely illogical assessment. Just think about what dramatic changes you'd expect to see in the Striplin versus Pulskamp regimes...it's tricky. Striplin doesn’t talk at council meetings or get quotes in The Signal nearly as often as Pulskamp, and probably not even as often as the deputy city manager. He's just not the most public of public figures. Therfore, in an effort to learn more about him, I watched a half-hour interview on Leon Worden’s Newsmakers series from SCVTV[3]. Worden, bless his heart, has a lot to say about the State, redevelopment, and Newhall, so he didn’t give Striplin much time to shine (“I'm sorry for talking so much, but…” Worden says 20 minutes in). I was, however, able to glean these facts from Striplin's interview on the topic of enterprise zones and redevelopment:

*He likes notes for security, bringing a stack of papers with him to the interview.

*Striplin speaks relatively quickly but softly, and he occasionally has awkward phrasing like, “we have outreached to so many businesses.” He is generally articulate, though.

*He exhibits skillful use of rhetorical chuckling and affirmations while Worden continues to talk and talk and talk. His sincere desire to establish a rapport with Worden using verbal and non-verbal social skills indicates that he is probably not a sociopath.

*Striplin can confirm and recite some key economic figures without hesitation.

*His answers to questions about budget changes, business outlooks, and so on aren't particularly bold or daring but rather in-line with City Hall's typical messages.

In short, I still don’t really know a lot about Ken Striplin, but I hope he’s the right guy for the job and I assume that his work at City Hall has acted as a long, thorough, honest interview in and of itself. Even if his promotion was a foregone conclusion, going through the motions of outlining a selection process, seeking public comment, and acting with purpose rather than haste would have made this decision less, well, Enderic.

[1]Maybe more than one word as here, I think "Ferryic" would be more apt...just harder to say. I don't mean to vilify former Mayor Laurie Ender since other council members were willing to move hastily right alongside her...but again, that's an idea that is not tidily summed up in one word, better relegated to a footnote.

[2]I mean hell, Mitt Romney was just officially named the Republican Candidate for President of the United States, and that election happens two months before we need to bother replacing Pulskamp!

[3]Here's the interview from SCVTV. Worden might do well to consider shorter furniture than this pub-style stuff. He has a habit of distracted foot shuffling.

Happenings: Mortality, Boydston Theatrics, Scouting

2012-08-29T03:04:00.001-07:00

The End

Tonight’s City Council contemplated mortality. It was broader than the notion that people die—though there was a fair amount of discussion about that. Ken Pulskamp’s impending retirement, the cause of feeding the homebound elderly, TimBen’s failed committee appointments, a sense of inevitability about Cemex…all contributed to a focus on the end and the finite this evening[1].

Perhaps Mayor Ferry’s invocation is to blame for the tone. He spoke about the many preventable deaths and serious injuries plaguing the valley: tragic accidents involving children at swimming pools, motorcycle accidents that result from speeding, and alcohol- and heroin-related deaths among teens. Ferry was particularly frustrated with the last group, noting that dealers are offering heroin for free in order to get kids hooked. Drug prevention efforts will continue, and a plan to raise awareness about reckless motorcycle driving is in the works.

Next, there was a departure from the normal meeting sequence to address City Manager Ken Pulskamp’s impending retirement. On Monday, he submitted his resignation to the council, stating his plans to leave his post at the end of the year. He has been city manager since 2002 and was assistant city manager for many years preceding. Having been here since incorporation, Pulskamp was probably justified in saying that he was proud of “helping to shape its [Santa Clarita’s] destiny.” With four months left, it wasn’t clear whether this was his big farewell speech, the kickoff to a string of farewell speeches, or something else entirely, but he touched on some of his proudest accomplishments. High on the list were his close, productive associations with a stellar staff and the city council members. The council gave brief responses, nearly all highlighting Pulskamp’s greatest legacy of mentoring, training, and developing the hundreds of City staff members. McLean thanked Pulskamp for always treating her with respect, observing with a smile “You gave your opinion, and I could either take it or not.” Laurene Weste, the city council’s most practiced eulogizer, was reflective and ended by saying, “Thank you isn’t enough, but it’s all we have.”

Mayor Ferry pointed out the recent departures of City Clerk Sarah Gorman, City Planning Manager Lisa Hardy Webber, and City Manager Ken Pulskamp was a lot to endure, and there will be a closed session meeting this Thursday to discuss “personnel issues”—primarily the need to fill Pulskamp’s post. Reliably, though, Ferry would bring this discussion to a more upbeat note with his promise of a raucous and thorough roast of Pulskamp before year’s end. “We’ll have four months to really send you off right,” Mayor Ferry said, to the inscrutable Pulskamp’s delight or dismay.

Cemex

Oddly, tonight’s awards and recognitions included one for work opposing Cemex. I’ve always thought it’s more customary to make proclamations once the battle is done, but the Sierra Club and Sandra Cattell were thanked for their legislative work, lobbying, and community outreach regarding Cemex mining that may still very well happen. At the microphone, Cattell encouraged Congressman Buck McKeon to “stop talking about his influence and start using it” to keep Cemex from mining in the SCV.

This topic spilled over to Public Participation. First, Cattell may have ruffled feathers of some on council when, after accepting her award, she advocated appointing Valerie Thomas and Alan Ferdman to Arts and Planning Commissions. Both were snubbed by a majority of the council at the last meeting, so she was essentially telling her awardees they messed up. When Duane Harte spoke, he was a little peeved that other key figures in the fight against Cemex--including his wife and members of SAFE--didn’t get an award like Cattell’s. He sounded at once resigned to the victory of Cemex yet committed to fighting the corporation. McLean would assure him that all the key parties would be getting an award in time. Other comments came from Dr. Gene Dorio, who offered a tortured analogy about the Senior Center being an ailing old woman in need of help, and a business owner wanted to build a public square in downtown Newhall and even presented a diorama complete with miniature trees and a wall of water to hide an auto shop.

Councilmember reports followed. Boydston suggested that residents support non-profits like Carousel Ranch and asked for a public meeting on city manager selection. Kellar suggested residents patronize his friend’s steakhouse, Bergies. McLean spoke on transportation issues and advertised a $60 library gala to be held at the Newhall Library benefiting Friends of the Santa Clarita Public Library. Weste mentioned the library grand opening and coincident street fair, and she remember the late veteran and community advocate, Harry Gratz. Ferry asked for broader dissemination of the results of a 400-person community poll. Highlights included 80% of residents saying they trusted or strongly trusted the City and 82% of those interviewed assessing libraries as good or excellent. He read off a number of figures that had one underlying conclusion: the vast majority of people in Santa Clarita are content with things.

Consent Calendar

There were a few highlights from the consent calendar. Some $75,000 will be spent for a conference center master plan to meet a need identified in an earlier study and shared by local hotels that want to attract conferences and conventions that need bigger meeting spaces. Funds were directed to construction for the Canyon Country Community Center. A contract for sport field lighting was awarded. It seems Realtor/Astronomy Enthusiast/Lighting Pollution Advocate Steve Petzold commented on this item to the Council, as Councilmember McLean said “we are very concerned with night sky contamination,” and asked for details on the lighting plan, which City Manager Ken Pulskamp was ready to answer in considerable detail, stressing that lighting was carefully planned to minimize adverse impacts. The calendar items passed with unanimous approval, excepting item 13. Boydston pulled it for a separate vote and abstained. He said he had only been given materials about the item 15 minutes before the meeting, leaving him too uninformed to give his support for a plan to allocate money for unforeseen landscape maintenance repairs. As you might expect, this little discussion went over extremely well with other council members, especially McLean.

Boydston Digs on Climate

In order to avoid future litigation and other unpleasantries, Santa Clarita is charged with developing a Climate Action Plan (CAP) by the State of California. Jeff Hogan presented on this topic, noting CAP mitigation goals based on greenhouse gas emissions from the year 2005. To meet mandated cuts in carbon emissions, planners are modeling (i.e., hoping) for a major reduction in vehicle miles traveled. During the question-and-answer session that followed the presentation, it would be revealed that mixed, denser, and smarter developments are seen as significantly reducing the average distance of trips people will be making in the future. Open space acquisitions also helped meet greenhouse gas emission reduction goals. Essentially any development that is consistent with Santa Clarita’s new General Plan will also be consistent with CAP. However, projects that require modifications to the plan will need to show a 12% greenhouse gas reduction (relative to what, I'm not sure) in order to meet CAP mandates.

TimBen Boydston asked numerous questions on this topic, most revolving around use of old versus new general plans and old versus new projections and data. He expressed disbelief at an assessment that traffic conditions and resulting air quality would not get much worse despite adding more cars to unimproved roads over future years. But it is modeled (again, hoped) that the future of Santa Clarita will be characterized by shorter car trips, more walking, and more public transportation, helping alleviate traffic woes.

Public speakers on this item were generally upbeat, excited, and supportive of making a better environment. The Lutnesses spoke about the serious problem of global warming and their hope for community-wide efforts to ensure a better future. Two girl scouts, one of whom was their granddaughter, spoke on this item as well. They talked about wanting to work with the City to get more kids to walk to school and to make streets more walkable with sidewalk additions.

Mayor Pro Tem Bob Kellar had a somewhat different take on the whole idea of CAP. He believed that state mandates compelled him to vote for it and that many ideas from the plan were good and worthwhile. But then he got to his real point, saying that we’re losing jobs, businesses, and people because “we’re losing balance.” Kellar said the focus on greenhouse gases was coming at a dear cost in other areas and was entirely too much.

No Val or Al; Kellar Upset at Boydston

Following a 15-minute recess, it was time for TimBen Boydston to appoint members to Arts and Parks Commissions. Recall that at the last meeting, he could not get a majority of votes for Val Thomas for Arts Commission, and he couldn’t even get a second for Alan Ferdman for Parks Commission[2].

Mayor Ferry asked City Attorney Joe Montes very explicitly: “Your legal advice is we cannot take a second vote on previously rejected people?” Montes said, “Right.”

Following this clarification, 14 of 15 public speakers asked TimBen to submit Valerie Thomas and/or Alan Ferdman for a vote again, some questioning Montes’ legal opinion. The extensive qualifications of Thomas and Ferdman were highlighted, and Ray Kutylo said of the at-times outspoken community activists, “These people are not adversaries.” Allan Cameron remembered an incident from 1998 in which Frank Ferry had expressed a strong desire to let council members take responsibility for their appointments rather than seeking approval from the full council, a position he has now clearly rejected. Other speakers pointed out that the resolution prohibiting re-nomination of Thomas/Ferdman could be voted down (Montes would say such a vote requires placement on the agenda at a future meeting). In general, then, people wanted Thomas and Ferdman to get commission seats. But one out of the 15 speakers, the indomitable Berta Gonzalez-Harper, supported the move not to appoint Alan Ferdman.

With comments completed, TimBen Boydston said he wanted to present a video about Al Ferdman. Mayor Ferry simply would not have it. He told Boydston the presentation was useless since Ferdman could not be nominated again, and he challenged Boydston to defend his assertion that the video would be in keeping with a norm allowing for presentations relevant to the item at hand (Ferry’s point being a video of an ineligible candidate was a waste of time). McLean gave one of the most vitriolic scowls I’ve ever seen (and she’s scowled quite a lot through the years) after she said Boydston wouldn’t give a complete or accurate view of Ferdman from a single, biased video clip. Ultimately, Boydston did not get to show his video of Ferdman praising City staff for something or other, and he could not renominate Valerie Thomas or Alan Ferdman.

Mayor Pro-Tem Bob Kellar was quite upset at the whole production. He said it’s “going to be a tough four years,” implying that Boydston opposes almost everything. Kellar expressed particular outrage at being asked to do something very basic: explain why he didn’t want Alan Ferdman as a commissioner. He took it as a personal affront that he should have to justify his rejection of Boydston’s candidate--because public officials are expected to make decisions and never bother justifying them to the voters. In classier Kellar fashion, he talked about meeting personally with both Ferdman and Boydston and hoping to maintain relationships with both.

Ultimately, Boydston found no interest in changing commission appointment procedures, so he picked new candidates and his nominations of Michael Cruz for Parks and Gary Choppe for Arts were unanimously approved.

$200,000 for kids and seniors

Three hours into the meeting, we arrived at an item to address the dire financial circumstances of the Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center and Boys and Girls Club. Mayor Pro Tem Kellar made a motion to give a one-time infusion of $100,000 to each of the two organizations considering that their services are vital and their finances extremely tight. There was a great deal of conversation on the potential $100,000 from staff, directors, the council, and so on. The public, too, chimed in. Carole Lutness said that Santa Clarita's affluence should mean donations of $200,000 each, not a mere $100,000. She said this would help to “make up for the sins of the rich oligarchs that have brought us to this terrible place.” In the end, the seniors and kids got the money, which will go towards feeding homebound seniors and to avoiding furlough days at the Boys and Girls Club. The long-term outlook for these local institutions is far from secure, but McLean is pushing for a letter to Supervisor Antonovich, asking if he will use discretionary funds to make a matching contribution.

Finally, the second round of public participation began with Doug Fraser speaking on behalf of residents of manufactured homes. He said the CPI dictates rent increases, but home residents are not informed of these changes while home park landowners are. He asked for the City to do a better job of communicating the kinds of rent increases residents might see, and was referred to the City Attorney’s office. Berta Gonzalez-Harper spoke in favor of “shopping local” to fill the City Manager position. “Consider the other Ken, Mr. Striplin,” she said. When she talked about knowing both of the Kens for a long time, she had to scold the mayor with “Frank, Frank, Frank!” as he made a comment about hair loss—his second for the evening. Finally, there was another Girl Scout comment on adding a sidewalk to a stretch of Orchard Village Road to improve walkability. Ferry promised to help the scout work on her goal while teaching a lesson in “Government 101” about trying to make multiple parties happy.

[1]Here’s the agenda.

[2](I recapped the events of the meeting on SCVTalk which, as you well know, has archives that are temporarily offline after Mr. J-to-the-Wilson had hosting troubles. I am restraining myself from making comments about the newest incarnation of SCVTalk as Notes from Newhall, a land where only pithy, anonymous comments thrive. Like other loyal SCVTalkers, I hope things all work out.)

Happenings: Bag Ladies, Bay, Books

2012-06-27T06:28:00.002-07:00

Viewed in isolation, this evening's city council meeting would make you think that, environmentally, we're one of the most forward-looking communities in the nation[1]. One-third of the meeting was spent discussing the legal viability of a plastic bag ban; the "Bay Delta Conservation Plan" was agendized and supported; and council members rallied Claritans to support public transportation and celebrate the preservation of Elsmere Canyon. If you pay more attention to personal politics than issues, things were a little bumpier. Mayor Ferry, ever self unaware, lectured Cam Noltemeyer on the importance of paying attention, and Boydston's still working out how to do what he does without grating on nerves. In any case, this wasn't one of the more pivotal meetings.

Tonight’s recognitions went out to an Eagle Scout candidate who raised money to install a “fitness zone” in Central Park. Next to be honored were the dentists and dental staff that support the Foundation for Children’s Dental Health. Mayor Ferry remembered that, while working as an educator in Santa Clarita, there was a girl with very bad teeth whose appearance got her into frequent fights. With help from the foundation, things (i.e., her teeth and tendency to fight) got better. Ferry called forward the dentists who donate their time to serve the toothy needs of Clarita’s youth, one of whom happened to be his fiancé. We learned that the foundation has served 70,000 children since 1993, and a spokesdentist said that they are mostly children of Clarita’s working poor.

Mayor Ferry now has a policy of kissing those receiving awards and recognition from the City (at least when they're his fiancé).

During round one of public participation, two women pointed out the dangers facing drivers and pedestrians at the intersection of McBean and Decoro. They asked that the City focus its attention on this area and implement changes like a lower speed limit, right-hand-only turning lane, and longer pedestrian crossing time. Next, Sandra Cattell spoke about her plastic bag colletion in astonishing detail. She gave a brief comment about the need for reusable bags, but her real passion shone as she pulled bag after bag out of a large reusable bag, noting the event at which the bag had been received. For most of her speaking period, she credited several river rallies, some informational events, and local institutions for her impressive reusable bag collection. It seemed her point was that it’s not difficult for an active community member to collect a lot of reusable bags—in Cattell’s words, a “plethora of bags!”—that can replace disposable bags. Mayor Ferry was laughing as the exercise continued and continued, asking Cattell if she would be offended at being called a bag lady. Lynne Plambeck spoke on the same topic next, but with more tell and less show. She offered to loan a copy of Bag It, a 70-minute film on the problems with plastic bags, for the City’s use in educating the public. At least one council member (Weste) seemed keen on the idea.

City Attorney Joe Montes dampened the enthusiasm. He said there are several lawsuits regarding plastic bag ordinances in process. The suit for LA is being appealed, and there are suits in San Francisco and Marin County. He noted that a Manhattan Beach lawsuit had suggested that a city the size of Santa Clarita would need an EIR before implementing a bag ban (there may be environmental effects like increased demand for paper bags, he speculated). In any case, the council seems to be supportive of the bag-banning sentiment. Councilmember Marsha McLean said she has “no doubt” the City will implement an ordinance once legal concerns are cleared up, and Councilmember Boydston said he was “in McLean’s corner” on the issue of discussing ways to limit plastic bag use. Mayor Pro Tem Bob Kellar said he wanted to be sure the public’s sentiments were heard, but did not seem entirely opposed to the idea.

At 6:41, bag talk ended. Council members offered updates, with most at least mentioning the Fourth of July Parade (Boydston called it “world famous.”) McLean, per usual, had the most to say, asking residents to get informed on the ½-cent sales tax associated with Measure R coming up for review; to attend a celebration of the protection of Elsmere Canyon; and to get informed about the Orange Line’s proposed commuter rail project.

The consent calendar passed with just a few hiccups. Council decided to support the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, which supports constructing a peripheral canal (or some similar new means of water-routing) that would, in theory, help with both environmental needs of the bay-delta region and secure water supplies for Santa Clarita. Cam Noltemeyer and Lynne Plambeck said that the council should have a study session before supporting this plan, which is not without controversy. City Manager Ken Pulskamp and a representative from the Castaic Lake Water Agency assured the council that they the plan was sound and important, and it ultimately received less discussion by council than the issues relating to plastic bags. In response to a question, Pulskamp said a new conveyance plan would help Santa Clarita with chloride issues, although a new canal wouldn’t likely be built until the mid-2020s, rather past the window we have to address chloride issues.

Councilmember Boydston made a point to ask why some streets were being repaired and others weren’t in the street slurry program. Mayor Pro Tem Bob Kellar noted that the question is answered almost every couple of years, and it was again this year. Essentially, it’s a really complicated selection process, but it’s mostly dictated by a software program that assesses road quality and repair priorities.

Finally, Cam Noltemeyer wondered why funds under the umbrella of construction were being used to beef up the Newhall Library’s opening day materials collection. It was explained that all the accounting practices were standard and sound, and adding books, CDs, and DVDs (or as written on the agenda, “CD’s” and “DVD’s”) was a fundamental part of building the new library.

Acting in his mayoral capacity, Ferry decided to offer some constructive criticism for Cam Noltemeyer while the council voted to support the consent calendar’s items. He told civic-minded high school students in attendance that “all the negativity and attack that she made on the Council was not for the purpose of creating change.” This was all because Noltemeyer usually leaves the chambers after making her comments. Ferry, who is widely praised for his spotless attendance record and for the rapt attention he affords speakers, was challenged by Boydston who noted that “Sometimes they [speakers] can’t stay,” and suggesting that Noltemeyer had started some important discussions with her comments. A discussion was bubbling between Ferry and Boydston, but Weste stepped in to end it by motioning approval of the consent calendar items (excepting the library one, where she had to abstain due to her proximity to the project).

The meeting ended at 7:35.

[1]Here's the agenda.

Happenings: Sign Jail, Boydston/McLean Tensions

2012-06-13T06:18:00.003-07:00

Apologies for my absence: now to business[1]. Tonight’s meeting included Frank Ferry telling TimBen Boydston “You got screwed,” open space acquisitions in Agua Dulce, and updated committee assignments. While TimBen Boydston continues to clash more or less spectacularly with most of his fellow members, it's the McLean/Boydston dynamic that remains least friendly. Tonight didn't help.

Mayor Frank Ferry added some rhythm to the gavel banging that signals the start of the meeting. It positively delighted City Manager Ken Pulskamp[2]. But the levity was short-lived, as Councilmember Marsha McLean decided to issue a patriotic challenge—a call to arms, if you will—during her invocation. “I was shocked at the answer when I asked my granddaughter if she recited the pledge…she said her teacher apparently told her there was no time,” McLean explained. She was worried that no time for the pledge of allegiance signaled we may be “in deep trouble as a country”, and asked anyone with children or grandchildren to inquire about their classroom pledging habits.

Awards came next, and Councilmember Laurene Weste was recognized as LA County’s Volunteer of the Year. A representative from Supervisor Mike Antonovich’s office highlighted Weste’s commitment to important political, environmental, social, and historical causes. A tearful Weste gratefully accepted the honor and praised Antonovich for being supportive and always taking her calls.

Public Participation began with words from Steve Petzold. He gave a shout-out to former Claritan and current pledge of allegiance supporter Roger Gitlin. Then he got to his real passion and invited the council to attend a special event at the Valencia Library featuring a film about the dangers of light pollution. Rather than dwelling on the profound notion that to see the light of stars we must pursue darkness, Petzold used the balance of his speaking term to enthuse about a book on sniping and its availability at local libraries[3].

Cam Noltemeyer spoke next and used her three-minutes to talk about all of the environmental issues that remain unresolved in Santa Clarita. These range from noise and air pollution problems created by the proposed high-speed rail to the toxins from Whittaker-Bermite to OVOV’s air quality issues.

The last public speaker was Karen Hudson, who expressed concern about cuts in the number of meals delivered by the SCV Senior Center. During his response, City Manager Ken Pulskamp seemed to favor an approach of talking with the center, but City Councilmember TimBen Boydston asked if the council would be in favor of acting right away to send $5000 to help support meal programs. “We have to be careful there,” said McLean, who noted that previous donations from the City of Santa Clarita had led to an equal amount of financial support being withdrawn by other parties, leading to no net gain for the seniors. Councilmember Weste and Mayor Pro Tem Bob Kellar also encouraged speaking with the center before taking action, leading Boydston to relent for the time being.

The public had spoken, and now members of the City Council took to the mics for their own causes and updates. Weste talked about the new trailhead over the Santa Clara River. She paid tribute to the recently deceased Reverend Monsignor Renahan, leader and counsel to Claritan Catholics for decades. Marsha McLean was impressed by how well her grandchildren and their classmates sang at a recent performance. Boydston asked to agendize a timeline to switch library board positions from the council to members of the public. He also asked for a delay in the discussion of benefits for councilmembers out of legal caution; Boydston has been inquiring about the disparity between his benefits and those enjoyed by his fellow council members. Boydston said that he received a memo from Mayor Frank Ferry about concerns over “talking to lawyers”, and Boydston said it was no big deal to talk (he clarified that he hadn’t retained a lawyer), saying that Ferry himself has a law degree but Boydston still talks with him. Kellar congratulated Bill Reynolds and Stanley Cockerell for their Bronze Stars after service in the Vietnam War. Kellar hopes to bring the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Moving Wall to Santa Clarita some time next year. Comments concluded when Mayor Ferry spoke about meeting with local school kids about Santa Clarita’s 25^th anniversary as a city.

The consent calendar’s biggest item was adoption of the 2012-13 budget of some $183M and associated plans for capital improvements and employee compensation. Councilmember Boydston has requested line item breakdowns of the City’s various contracts and budget items and thanked staff for providing 18 pages worth of these details. After perusing the line items, his few issues were quickly resolved. Speaker Alan Ferdman was pleased to see that Canyon Country was getting some attention in the budget, but worried about employee benefits.

Boydston was concerned about another item on the consent calendar pertaining to acceptance of large-scale projects. Currently, the City Council accepts/approves these projects, but the item would allow the City Manager to act in this capacity instead. That would shorten the time it takes for contractors to be paid (they have to wait for project acceptance), but Boydston worried that the public wouldn’t be able to speak out against project acceptance as effectively if there were problems. Councilmember McLean challenged him to produce an example where the public discouraged project acceptance, and Boydston said a less-than-satisfactory road repair job in Canyon Country led to complaints. That would have been a case where he would have delayed project approval by the council. Regardless, McLean and Pulskamp said that they usually hear about problems with big projects, and the item passed with a vote from everyone save Boydston.

An open space acquisition piqued the interest of speaker Cam Noltemeyer. She wondered about the purchase of open space in Agua Dulce using Claritan tax dollars since most of the area is located miles east of Santa Clarita’s easternmost boundary. She also said that the map of areas to be purchased was vague as to whether 600 residential units would still be built or whether the land they were going to be built on was part of the acquisition. Pulskamp would clarify that the City purchased the land that would have held these units and that it would, indeed, become open space. Thus, with the exception of the item pertaining to purchasing policy updates (specifically the city manager’s ability to accept public works projects), the consent calendar passed with recommended actions.

Discussion of political signs came next. It stretched on for quite a while and revealed that there are still raw nerves following the most recent election, with words growing especially contentious between Councilmembers McLean and Boydston. Not helping matters was a video that Boydston had put together to describe the history of political sign policy in Santa Clarita—essentially clips of people talking about signs at past meetings. Mercifully, Mayor Ferry asked to stop the video and simply talk 6 minutes in (there is nothing worse than watching stale council footage nearly two hours into a live council meeting, and Ferry said the video was half-an-hour long). There was a long debate over the efficacy of fines, the cost-benefit analysis of printing small signs and putting them in out of bounds areas, and the ability to control sign placement activates by volunteers. McLean recalled an instance of pro-Boydston signs being bolted to live trees. When Mayor Ferry said Boydston wouldn’t do that himself, McLean snapped back that they really had no idea which person it was doing the tree damage. She was not pleased with Boydston and what she called his efforts to embarrass her and Laurene Weste on the video.

In a moment that must have been gratifying for TimBen Boydston, Ferry said “You got screwed,” when it came to sign policiy in the past. He admitted that Boydston had played by the rules and paid for little signs when bigger signs were not allowed in the policy, but sitting council members had printed bigger signs knowing they wouldn't face stiff consequences.

Ultimately, the council decided to get rid of fines to reclaim signs and instead implement a “sign jail” policy. Any signs placed in the public right-of-way will be seized and held until after the election, and the city attorney will clarify an appeals process to be approved at a future meeting. Everyone was in agreement.

The meeting ended with Ferry’s allotment of committee appointments to council members. It was all fine and good until Alan Ferdman asked the council to more carefully consider Laurene Weste’s service with regard to sanitation distrcits. He implied that she was too closely associated with parties pushing sanitation policies that will cost Claritans a lot of money. Boydston decided to push Ferdman’s suspicions and questioned Weste, who clarified that she had indeed attended events and associated with many governmental and non-governmental groups interested in water policy. She said it was important to build and maintain these contacts, and Ferry defended her actions.

[1]Here's the agenda.

[2]At leas that’s whose giggle I thought I heard.

[3]The title, apparently, is unavailable at LA County libraries.

No CC Update Tonight

2012-05-08T17:09:00.000-07:00

It's going to be an important City Council meeting (changes to public participation and the mayoral rotation are being discussed) but there are at least 28 reasons why I can't recap it tonight; apologies. Fear not, though, as I'll be council-watching again at the next meeting.

Here's the agenda.