MINUTES

Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council

Regular Meeting of 04/10/2002

Ken McAlpine called the meeting to order at 7:13 p.m. There were about 75 people in attendance. The Pledge of Allegiance was said.

Welcome Newcomers

Ken welcomed all the newcomers and gave a brief overview of what a Neighborhood Council is and does.

Recognition of Guests and Dignitaries

Ken announced the guests and dignitaries present at the meeting.

Treasurerâs Report

Nedd Brown reported that we had income of $933.00 from water sales and Easter Carnival revenue (he received $2.00 more after preparing the Treasurerâs Report). The total expenses were $330.00 in postage, carnival booth fee and petty cash.Ê The Neighborhood Councilâs balance, as of 04/10/02, is $1,707.86. Nedd also recognized those who worked at the Easter Carnival.

Correspondence Report

Brenda McAlpine read the letter that she sent to the North Valley Area Planning Commission regarding the wall at the rear of the Albertsonâs lot and the Neighborhood Councilâs support of the neighbors on that issue. She also reported that 144 member cards have been issued to date.

Action Team Reports

A report was provided on Redistricting.

Ava Wrightsman arrived and took over from Penny Blackwell as Recording Secretary. Minutes of last monthâs meeting were passed out.

Minutes

The minutes of the February 13, 2002 meeting were approved as written.

The minutes of the March 13, 2002 meeting were approved as written.

Historian Report

Ernie Padilla spoke on his motherâs behalf and requested that Neighborhood Council members bring in photos, flyers, etc. for historical records on the activities of the Neighborhood Council.

Action Team Reports

Reports were provided on Planning Issues, Outreach, and Safety.

Claire Bartels, Chief of Staff for Council member Wendy Greuel, announced that the Sunland-Tujunga Field Office is headed by Pat Davenport. Wendy Greuel will be holding office hours at that location on Thursdays.

Pat Davenport announced that the phone number to the Field Office is (818) 352-3287. She also announced that the tie line to the Council District 2 Office in downtown is (818) 760-2259, so it is not a toll call. She will provide the number for the main office in downtown at a future meeting as that tie-line number has recently been updated.

Reports were also provided on Scenic Plan, Redistricting, Community Newspaper/Hallmark Project, Community Beautification and Valley Vote.

Programs - Open Forum/Announcements

Charles Brink of the Northridge Neighborhood Council announced that Northridge has also adopted a Town Hall format. They are having difficulty getting certified in that format. A letter from DONE requested that only the directors vote on issues concerning their Neighborhood Council; however, the DONE Commission supports the right of the Stakeholders to vote.

John Blue made a presentation regarding the use of the Hansen Dam area as a Solar Horse Hospital and a Rancho Tujunga Living Museum like Williamsport. He also suggested a solar powered carousel.

Elaine Brown moved that the Neighborhood Council form a committee to help John explore the Solar Horse Hospital idea. Greg Stark seconded. The motion passed.

An individual announced that there was a good turn out against ARCO. She announced that she has maps and information on the proposed ARCO project and urged people to call Council member Greuelâs office to give their opinions on the project.

Ken McAlpine announced that someone can get on the agenda by filling out an agenda card or by coming to the agenda meeting.

Jane Fanganiello stated that she is concerned that the bylaws state that the Neighborhood Council is supposed to promote business and that she isnât certain that we are following that part of the bylaws.

Mary Bernsen of the Foothill Trails Neighborhood Council suggested that we add a committee to our Action Committees to take back our trails.

Katerina Canyon announced that the Poetry Festival is April 20^th and she asked for volunteers for security and garbage pick-up.

Nina Royal suggested that our organization ask for accountability on bonds and disaster preparedness and suggested a letter writing campaign.

Elaine Brown announced that she implemented a Solar Electric program on her house and there is a lot of information on that program at the Council Office.

An individual announced that she would rather have a Trader Joes than an ARCO at Commerce/Hillhaven and Foothill.

Elaine Brown announced that Elizabeth Rostand and Herb Rostand have collected petitions for Trader Joes and have submitted those with a letter to the company.

Ken McAlpine announced the end of Open Forum and announced the dates and times of the next agenda meeting and regular meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:11 p.m.

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REPORTS

Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council

Regular Meeting of April 10, 2002

Planning Issues:Ê Dale Thrush, Planning Deputy for Council member Wendy Greuel, gave a report on planning issues.

Albertsonâs:Ê The public hearing was last Thursday. All of Albertsonâs requests were supported by the community and by Council member Greuel, except for the reduction in the height of the block wall to the rear of the property. The Commission found in favor of all of the requests, except for the wall.

Mekhitarist Fathersâ School:Ê They are trying to purchase the old ARCO lot next to their location. They will do many improvements to their site if they do acquire the additional lot.

6723 Foothill Blvd., formerly the Canyon Theater:Ê The public hearing occurred. Their requests combined to potentially become a nightclub. They are working with the community and the vice squad on restrictions.

ARCO:Ê Council member Greuel wasnât in office at the time of the hearing. She will be taking a position on ARCO.

Commerce Avenue Revitalization:Ê $165,000 money was lost for this project because the Mayor said it had to be spent in total by a certain date in order to keep the money. Council member Greuel has asked the Mayor to replace the money.

Verdugo YMCA:Ê They want to expand. Dale Thrush is working with them to ensure that their expansion will not affect the neighbors to the south.

Scenic Preservation Plan:Ê There was a public workshop on April 2^nd. They are trying to arrange a public hearing as soon as possible, hopefully in May.

Sprint Cell Phone Antenna:Ê The site in the neighborhood will not be used. The alternative county site will be used.

Outreach:Ê Jim Margolin announced that he would like to coordinate with the other committees to promote their events.

Safety:Ê Nina Royal announced that there have been cuts to the fire departmentâs budget. The August 6^th CERT class has been changed to September 3^rd. The Disaster Preparedness Fair was not well advertised in our area and it was last Saturday. The annual refresher course is this Saturday at the Westchester Police Department. CPAB (Community Police Advisory Board) volunteers are needed.

CERT Trainees were announced and their certificates were presented by Claire Bartels and Pat Davenport.

Officer Jose Castellanos, Acting Senior Lead Officer for Tujunga and Current Senior Lead Officer for Shadow Hills, Lakeview Terrace and Sunland, announced that he is available to help local residents, who can call him at (818) 608-4222.

Sergeant Bob Kirk announced that there will be a new Senior Lead Officer for Tujunga. The selection process takes about six weeks. He also gave out his cell phone number, which is (213) 509-9570.

Scenic Plan:Ê Mike Hall reported on behalf of Steve Crouch. Steve has not had time to compare the new version to the old version of the Scenic Plan. The new version appears to be less specific. More decisions are left to the Planning Director. A moratorium could be introduced by Council member Greuel to stop building until the plan is in place; however, that would stop private as well as large public builders.

Redistricting:Ê Ken McAlpine showed a map that the Redistricting Committee recommended for our district. Ken also showed a map sent by the Commission to the City Council. The redistricting is now in the hands of the City Council.

Hallmark Project:Ê The Community Newspaper Committee recommended to turn the project back to a local businesswoman. The vote to do so was close. We can potentially do another Hallmark Project.

Community Beautification:Ê Tomi Lyn Bowling reported that approximately fifty people helped in the most recent Community Clean-up project. She also thanked Pat Davenport for having the city pick up the trash.

Valley Vote:Ê Elaine Brown reported on some of the various names that are being considered for the new city. She also showed a map of the possible districts for the new city.