By Roman INGUANZO

At Tuesday night’s meeting of the Glendale City Council Mayor Ardy Kassakhian led the flag salute, and City Clerk Suzie Abajian offered the invocation. Abajian reported that the agenda for the meeting was posted on March 23 on the bulletin board outside city hall.

The first item on the regular business agenda was presentations and appointments. The council previewed the agenda for the meetings scheduled for Tuesday, April 4 and made a proclamation designating April 2023 as National Poetry Month.

In recognition of his achievements in poetry and his goal of promoting self-expression, finding common ground across communities and fostering solidarity that celebrates diversity and individuality, Raffi Joe Wartanian was chosen as Glendale’s inaugural poet laureate.

Tom O’Shaughnessy was assigned to the Audit Committee.

The council then considered the consent items. These included minutes from the special city council and regular city council meetings of March 21 regarding plans and specifications for the 2023 fiscal year as well as the Slurry Seal and Crack Seal Program. Additional grant funding of $225,000 was received from the United States Dept. of Homeland Security 2020 Urban Area Security Initiatives (UASI) Grant Program. 

The council then had a session for comments from the council/staff and community event announcements. Next, the council adopted two ordinances: one authorizing and approving a lease agreement between the city and Babak B. Golbahar for the Verdugo Jobs Center (VJC) facility located at 1255 S. Central Ave. in Glendale for a three-year period from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2026. The council also amended various sections related to the city’s administrative code about term limits for the seats on the city’s boards and commissions, including youth commissioner on specific boards and commissions. 

One of the items up for discussion was the state of the urban forest. The Public Works Dept. was tasked with providing an update. Two proposed ordinances and a resolution related to tree protection and enforcement mechanisms were the primary topics discussed. The first ordinance aimed to update standards and implement greater enforcement mechanisms for public and indigenous tree protection. The second ordinance focused on tree-related zoning provisions. The resolution proposed adding and modifying administrative citation fines in the citywide fee schedule for enforcement of the public tree and indigenous tree ordinances. 

These proposals had been long in the making, and the Public Works Dept. had worked tirelessly to prepare them for the council’s consideration.

The reports, proposed ordinances and resolutions were presented to the board as part of Action Item 8A. The council members listened carefully to the presentations, asked questions and debated the merits of each proposal. They recognized the importance of preserving and protecting the urban forest. However, after thorough discussion, many members wanted to learn more about the ordinance as well as take the time to discuss possible amendments that could be made to the proposal prior to voting. Items concerning the urban forest will be voted on in a future council meeting.

The meeting concluded with a call for the next regular meeting scheduled for April 11.