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September Full Board Meeting Teleconference
September 14, 2022 @ 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm PDT
AGENDA
Woodland Hills-Warner Center Neighborhood Council
FULL BOARD MEETING
Wednesday, September 14, 2022, 6:30 pm
VIRTUAL MEETING BY TELECONFERENCE
Zoom Meeting Online or By Telephone
(https://us02web.zoom.us/j/96493712127 )
Dial (1 669 900 6833) to Join the Meeting
Then Enter This Webinar ID: 964 9371 2127 and Press #
Click for August 10 Board Minutes
VIRTUAL MEETING TELECONFERENCING and PHONE NUMBER FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
In conformity with the September 16, 2021 Enactment of California Assembly Bill 361 (Rivas) and due to concerns over COVID-19, the Woodland Hills-Warner Center Neighborhood Council meeting will be conducted entirely telephonically with a call-in option or internet based service option.
Every person wishing to address the Neighborhood Council must either dial 1 669 900 6833 or go online via Zoom and enter Webinar ID # 964 9371 2127 and then press # to join the meeting. Instructions on how to sign up for public comment will be given to listeners at the start of the meeting. When calling-in telephonically, the public is requested to dial *9, when prompted by the presiding officer, to address the Board on any agenda item before the Board takes an action on an item. Zoom users should use the “raise hand” feature.
AB 361 Updates: Public comment cannot be required to be submitted in advance of the meeting, only real-time
public comment is required. If there are any broadcasting interruptions that prevent the public from observing or hearing the meeting, the meeting must be recessed or adjourned. If members of the public are unable to provide
public comment or be heard due to issues within the Neighborhood Council’s control, the meeting must be recessed
or adjourned.
Any messaging or virtual background is in the control of the individual board member in their personal capacity and does not reflect any formal position of the Neighborhood Council or the City of Los Angeles.
*PUBLIC INPUT ON AGENDA ITEMS – The public may address the Board on any agenda item before the Board takes an action on an item. Comments from the public on agenda items will be heard only when the respective item is being considered. Public comment is limited to (1) minute per speaker.
*PUBLIC INPUT ON MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA – Comments from the public on other matters not appearing on the agenda that are within the Board’s jurisdiction will be heard during the General Public Comment period. Please note that under the Brown Act, the Board is prevented from acting on a matter that you bring to its attention during the General Public Comment period; however, the issue raised by a member of the public may become the subject of a future Board meeting.
General Public Comment is limited to (1) minute per speaker and 20 minutes total unless adjusted by the presiding officer of the board.
____________________________________________________________________________________
AGENDA
Call to Order
Pledge of Allegiance
Roll Call
Public Announcements:
Office of Councilmember Bob Blumenfield (3 minutes)
Office of Local and State Officials – if available (3 minutes each)
Other Local Agencies – if available (2 minutes each)
General Public Comment, by the Public, on Non-Agenda Items:
General Public Comment is limited to (1) minute per speaker and 20 minutes total.
___________________________________________________________________________________
- Organization, Operation, Policies, & Procedures:
All comment is limited to 1 minute per speaker, unless adjusted by the presiding officer of the Board.
Time limits set for each agenda item may be adjusted by the presiding officer of the Board. Time limits may vary so the public is encouraged to join the meeting several minutes PRIOR to a specific agenda item being discussed.
- Approval of Minutes: Board Meeting, August 10, 2022 (5 minutes)
See posted support document. Roll Call Vote
- Officer Reports (5 minutes)
President – Joyce Fletcher
Vice President – Dena Weiss
Treasurer – Paul Lawler
Secretary – Karen DiBiase
Parliamentarian – Mihran Kalaydjian
- Items for Discussion and Possible Action:
Item No. (1) Treasurer, Paul Lawler
(22-085) August 2022 Monthly Expense Report – MER
Discussion and possible action: (5 minutes)
Motion for the board to approve the MER for August 2022.
See posted support document Roll Call Vote
Item No. (2) Vice President – Dena Weiss
(22-086) EmpowerLA Civic University 1.0
Discussion and possible action: (5) minutes)
Per EmpowerLA, motion for the board to appoint six (6) Woodland Hills-Warner Center NC board members to attend Civic U 1.0 in October 2022. Appointed board members must be able to attend all three sessions in October. Please share this opportunity with those who have never had the chance to attend a Civic U. Please also select a group of people who represent a mix of ethnicities and gender identities.
Civic U 1.0 sessions will take place:
- Thursday, October 06, 2022at 6:30pm: Power Structure at Los Angeles City Hall
- Thursday, October 13, 2022at 6:30pm: The Guts of City Government: Equity in Resources and Services
- Thursday, October 27, 2022at 6:30pm: Empowerment Toward Inclusion
Roll Call Vote
Item No. (3) Community Services and Public Safety Committee – Dena Weiss, Chair
(22-087) Funding for Neighborhood Cleanups
Discussion and possible action: (5 minutes)
MOTION for the Board to approve the Community Services Public Safety Committee to arrange monthly community clean ups in Woodland Hills, while inviting various community groups to participate. The clean ups will be on a Saturday morning, on a date to be arranged, and will be promoted on our website. An amount up to $500 is also requested from Budget line-item General Outreach Funds, to pay for necessities such as trash bags, gloves and trash grabbers and safety equipment if the Committee is unable to obtain these items from Councilmember Bob Blumenfeld’s office. Roll Call Vote
Item No. (4) Education Committee – Mihran Kalaydjian, Chair
(22-088) Letter to LAUSD and Accountability of LAUSED Funds
Discussion and possible action: (10 minutes)
The Education Committee asks the WHWCNC to pass a motion directing the preparation of a letter to LAUSD requesting an accounting of funds; billed, owed that are current, owed that are past due, written off, in dispute, and collected for the preceding 12 months from individual San Fernando Valley Charter Schools. The accounting should breakdown funds that are owed to the district and separately funds that are owed to San
Fernando Valley LAUSD schools
Roll Call Vote
Item No. (5) Woodland Hills Issues & Policy Committee [WHIP] – Heath Kline, Chair
(22-089) Council File 22-1111-S10 Personnel, Audits, and Animal Welfare Committee Meetings / Public Comment / Communication(s) from Public / 2022 (NO MOTION ATTACHED – only a general public comment file)
Council File 22-0943 Department of Animal Services / Animal Shelters / Budgetary Needs (AGAINST UNLESS AMENDED)
Council File 20-1177 Glue LLC / Marketing, Fundraising, Public Relations and Website Development and Management Services / Contract (AGAINST)
Discussion & Possible Action: (10minutes)
DRAFT CIS
Like most Angelenos, members of the Woodland Hills-Warner Center Neighborhood Council were appalled and disappointed by the reports in the Los Angeles Times [link to LAT] of mistreatment and neglect of animals in the care of the Department of Animal Services. It appears that the Department is understaffed and lacks skilled managerial leadership, and these shortcomings led to a profound breach of moral and fiduciary duty.
It is unfathomable how neither the Personnel Audits and Animal Welfare Committee (PAAW) nor the Mayor-appointed Board of Animal Services Commissioners gave any public indication of these problems. Instead, they left it to a newspaper exposé [link to LAT] and volunteers’ honest, heartbreaking words [link to ABC7] to make these conditions known to the broader public.
News media outlets have documented these conditions before, including occupied animal living quarters overrun by rats [link to Newsweek] and flooding shelters [link to CF 19-1584].
Necessary actions must be taken to quickly and efficiently process into the system the many people who have applied to be volunteers, including, as necessary, clerical staff being transferred to the Department to process backlogged applications. The City shelters’ substantial volunteer corps, without which the shelters could not operate, must be treated with the respect they deserve and given a formal seat at the table in current and future decision-making for the shelters and their procedures and operation. One option worth considering is the formation of a volunteers’ “Animal Services Advisory Committee,” with representatives elected by the volunteers from each of the City’s shelters.
Volunteers suspended or terminated for speaking to the media, after bringing their concerns first to Department of Animal Services management and the Board of Animal Services Commissioners only to be ignored, must be immediately reinstated. Terminating highly skilled volunteers who run shelter programs such as dog playgroups, train other volunteers, and walk the more challenging dogs further harms animals in the shelters. Retaliation against employee whistleblowers is illegal, and reprisals against volunteers are equally wrong and erode trust in our City’s governance structures. Should the City be able to terminate a volunteer for engaging in good faith criticism of the City? Good governance depends upon the willingness of constituents to speak out without fear of retaliation.
A complete and comprehensive audit should be undertaken by the City Controller of the Department of Animal Services, including its volunteer program, to analyze the Department’s needs, budget, staffing structure and numbers, and the effectiveness of its expenditures.
Additionally, the exorbitant $1.5 million contract with the marketing firm The Glue LLC should be immediately examined, and the nature, circumstances, and expenditure on this contract should be investigated by the Controller for fraud, waste, and abuse. The contract is currently delinquent, and its costs are much higher than industry standards. This should include a review
of the change in the terms of use [link to Ordinance 185617] of the Animal Welfare Trust Fund instituted in 2018, which was approved by both the Animal Services Commission and the PAAW Committee. In FY 2021-2022, 63% of all expenditures from the donor-funded Animal Welfare Trust Fund went to the Glue marketing contract (for services that have yet to be delivered) rather than the care of animals. Animal care is why people donate to and the purpose of this trust.
Contrary to the motion [link to CF 22-0943] introduced by Councilmember Koretz, this is not simply a crisis of budgetary resources; it is a crisis of dubious priorities, inept management, and derelict and negligent oversight. For example, the City has never adequately funded or enforced its spay and neuter policies, which has directly contributed to the current overcrowding. Alongside these management issues, however, it is true that the City has chronically underfunded the Department of Animal Services and must henceforth budget appropriately for the needs of the animals. There is a clear need for the Department to have permanent independent, neutral oversight, such as from an ombudsman to whom issues of concern could be directed. This is especially the case given the Department’s substantial skilled Volunteer workforce. Often, they are the first to recognize needed changes and need a communication channel free of retribution.
The Woodland Hills – Warner Center Neighborhood Council strongly condemns the suspension or termination of Volunteers for speaking with the press or with Animal Services Department Management or Oversight Board about conditions in the City Animal Shelters or exercising their First Amendment rights. These suspensions and terminations should be investigated, and all the Volunteers terminated for these reasons should be reinstated immediately.
The shelter system’s animals, volunteers, employees, and taxpayers deserve the humane and ethical treatment that a better-run department would provide. The responsibility for delivering it falls to you and your appointees.
The WHWCNC will so inform the Board of Animal Services, Department of Animal Services GM, the Mayor, Members of the Los Angeles City Council, staff of the City Council, Personnel Audits and Animal Welfare Committee (PAAW), LA City Council Member Bob Blumenfield’s staff.
Roll Call Vote
Item No. (6) Woodland Hills Issues & Policy Committee [WHIP] – Heath Kline, Chair
(22-090) Community Impact Statement RE: LADWP Ratepayer Impacts of LA100 Proposal
& Necessary Public Outreach
Discussion and possible action: (10 minutes)
The Woodland Hills Issues and Policies Committee recommends that the Board of the Woodland Hills – Warner Center Neighborhood Council adopt the following motion:
The Woodland Hills – Warner Center Neighborhood Council [WHWCNC] supports the Water and Power Associates letter of June 20, 2022 [letter link], to the LA Department of Water & Power [LADWP] Board of Commissioners.
The WHWCNC strongly believes that all future rate increases projected under the LA100 Strategic Long-Term Resource Plan [presentation link], or come about because of, for example, but not limited to projected increases from increased use of water from the Metropolitan Water District [MWD] and their upstream providers and surcharges that these providers may be imposing on LADWP be communicated to its customers through the use of charts like those contained at the end of the Water and Power Associates letter [bottom of page 2]
LADWP should expand its projected rate increase charts for water and electricity to show the projected rate increases for both Zone 1 and Zone 2 (high temperature-consumption allotment areas of the San Fernando Valley & East LA) [map link], ratepayers. Additionally, LADWP charts should show customers under rate plans such as “Time of Use” or have dedicated meters-billing plans for EV charging or meters for outdoor water use. Charts should be available for any new rate plans offered.
The LADWP should maintain prominently on its website updates to the rate charts that show projected versus actual rate increases for the past five years. Projected versus actual billed rates should be explained. This information will allow customers to see trends and gauge for themselves the accuracy of LADWP rate projections and the reliance they should put on them.
Furthermore, the WHWCNC asks that the LADWP widely disseminate these updated tables showing projected rate increases in advance of future rate increases. LADWP should use billing inserts, NC outreach, email, and text alerts, social media, and print and broadcast media campaigns in sufficient time for the public to provide input before rate increases take effect. Most importantly, customers will be able to respond intelligently to the signals LADWP and the marketplace is sending them about their resource consumption, savings, and generation opportunities.
The WHWCNC will so inform the LADWP Board of Commissioners, DWP Management, the LADWP Rate Payer Advocate, the Mayor, the LA City Council Energy, Climate Change, Environmental Justice and River Committee, LA City Council Member Bob Blumenfield, and staffs of these bodies.
Roll Call Vote
Item No (7) Woodland Hills Issues & Policy Committee [WHIP] – Heath Kline, Chair
(22-091) Taxpayer Funded Northeast Valley Animal Shelter RFP To Operate As a Private Rescue Organization Facility
Discussion & Possible Action: (10 minutes)
WHEREAS, The Northeast Valley Animal Shelter is a City facility built with Proposition F funds to be a municipal animal shelter, open to the public. It was not meant to be a private facility to house rescue organizations. Nevertheless, the Board of Animal Services Commissioners has issued an Request for Proposal [RFP] to do just that, lease the Northeast Valley Animal Shelter to rescue organizations to operate; and,
WHEREAS, The Board of Animal Services Commissioners and Animal Services Department did not provide an opportunity for the affected Stakeholders and Neighborhood Councils [NCs] to provide input into this decision, the Department of Animal Services and City Council should receive input from the affected Stakeholders and NCs before releasing the RFP for rescue organizations to operate the Northeast Valley Animal Shelter; and,
WHEREAS, The Request for Proposal RFP was released without input from the affected Stakeholders and NCs; and,
WHEREAS, the City Council introduced a resolution (Council File 22-0897, Koretz and Blumenfield) to amend the City Charter to require that the commission associated with any department contemplating the issuance of an RFP hold a public hearing or the department hold a public meeting, to provide members of the public an opportunity to offer relevant ideas for consideration by the department prior to the drafting of the RFP; and,
WHEREAS, the Animal Services Commission doesn’t appear to be doing anything to stop the RFP for the Northeast Valley Shelter;
THEREFORE, the Woodland Hills Issues and Policies Committee recommends that the Woodland Hills – Warner Center Neighborhood Council RESOLVE, that the Board believes the Northeast Valley Animal Shelter should be a full-service municipal animal shelter as contemplated by Proposition F and that no action should be taken on the RFP until it is determined if this can be done.
The WHWCNC will so inform the Board of Animal Services, Department of Animal Services GM, the Mayor, Members of the Los Angeles City Council, staff of the City Council, Personnel Audits and Animal Welfare Committee (PAAW), LA City Council Member Bob Blumenfield’s staff.
Roll Call Vote
- Area Reports – (10 minutes)
Area 1 – Aaron Quantz, Karen DiBiase, Mark Schwartz, Reina Cerros-McCaughey
Area 2 – Arturo Velasquez, Paul Lawler, Sean McCarthy, Kathleen Barth
Area 3 – John Sandy Campbell
Area 4 – Martin Lipkin, Dena Weiss, Don Patterson, Rachel Tabak
Area 5 – Vacant
Area 6 – Leslie Simon, Mihran Kalaydjian, Heath Kline
Area 7 – Joyce Fletcher, Houtan Hormozian
At-Large – Kathleen Barth
Youth Member – Talia Isaacs
- Committee Reports – (10 minutes)
Budget Committee – Paul Lawler, Chair
Community Services and Public Safety Committee – Dena Weiss, Chair
Education Committee – Mihran Kalaydjian, Chair
Environmental & Beautification Committee – Karen DiBiase, Chair
Governance Committee – Joyce Fletcher, Chair
Public Health and Homelessness Committee – Aaron Quantz, Chair
PLUM Committee – Don Patterson, Chair
Social Media & Community Outreach Committee – Chair, TBD
WHIP Committee – Heath Kline, Chair
Ad-hoc Committee – Flight Path and Noise Advisory Committee – Martin Lipkin, Chair
Announcements:
The next Regular Board meeting will be held on October 12, 2022, by teleconference. Please visit the calendar page at whcouncil.org for the complete details and to confirm the date and time.
Meeting dates for 2021 -2022 year: Full Board meeting are held the second Wednesday of every month at 6:30pm. Check the NC website calendar for a complete list of committee and board meetings. Meeting dates and times are subject to change. Check the NC calendar for updated meeting schedules.
Due to COVID 19 ALL in person meetings have been moved to virtual teleconference.
HOWEVER, please check the www.whcouncil.org website calendar page for any changes that may occur.
Adjournment of Meeting:
*THE AMERICAN WITH DISABILITIES ACT – As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and, upon request, will provide reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to its programs, services and activities. Sign language interpreters, assistive listening devices and other auxiliary aids and/or services, may be provided upon request. To ensure availability of services, please make your request at least (3) business days (72 hours) prior to the meeting you wish to attend by contacting Joyce Fletcher, at (818-340-6554 or email j.fletcher@whcouncil.org or the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment at (213) 978-1551 EmpowerLa@LACity.org
*PUBLIC ACCESS OF RECORDS – In compliance with Government Code section 54957.5, non-exempt writings that are distributed to a majority or all of the board in advance of a meeting may be viewed at our website: www.whcouncil.org or at the scheduled meeting. In addition, if you would like
a copy of any record, if available, related to an item on the agenda, please contact Joyce Fletcher at
(818) 340-6554 or email j.fletcher@whcouncil.org
*PUBLIC POSTING OF AGENDAS – agendas are posted for public review as follows:
• www.whcouncil.org and go to the website Calendar page and click on the date – Board meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month. Check the calendar for any change of meeting date
and/or time.
• You can also receive our agendas via email by subscribing to L.A. City’s Early Notification System
at https://www.lacity.org/subscriptions
- A copy of this agenda is also physically posted on the outside of the window of the West Valley Warner Center Chamber located at 6100 Topanga Canyon Blvd, Ste 2330, Woodland Hills, CA 91367. The Chamber is located at the Promenade Mall outside the east entrance of the mall and to the left of Ruth Chris Restaurant. The Chamber office is accessed from Owensmouth Street. Parking is free.
*RECONSIDERATION AND GRIEVANCE PROCESS – For information on the WHWCNC process for board action reconsideration, stakeholder grievance policy, or any other procedural matters related
to this Council, please consult the WHWCNC Bylaws. The Bylaws are available at our website at www.whcouncil.org
SERVICIOS DE TRADUCCIÓN – Si requiere servicios de traducción, favor de avisar al Concejo Vecinal 3 días de trabajo (72 horas) antes del evento. Por favor contacte a Joyce fletcher de la Mesa Directiva, al j.fletcher@whcouncil.org o por correo electrónico avisar al Concejo Vecinal.
Notice to Paid Representatives – If you are compensated to monitor, attend, or speak at this meeting, City law may require you to register as a lobbyist and report your activity. See Los Angeles Municipal Code §§ 48.01 et seq. More information is available at ethics.lacity.org/lobbying. For assistance, please contact the Ethics Commission at {213) 978-1960 or ethics.commission@lacity.org