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 25th
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.
