By Jason KUROSU

The Glendale City Council’s latest “workboot” meeting, which brings city staff out of the council chambers and on the ground with city employees, will provide them and the general public with a firsthand look at Glendale parks services and programs.

The meeting will be held Tuesday, Feb. 16 starting at 3 p.m. and will be hosted by the Glendale Community Services & Parks Dept. The meeting will start at city hall, after which council members will visit the Deukmejian Wilderness Park Barn, Verdugo Park and the Pacific Community Center and Health Clinic.

In the past, workboot meetings have been held at locations that reflected upcoming items on the council’s agenda, such as the Scholl Canyon Landfill expansion and the city’s sewer diversion project, replacing aging Glendale sewer lines and diverting wastewater from the City of Los Angeles to the Los Angeles Glendale Water Reclamation Plant

But Tom Lorenz, Glendale director of Communications & Community Relations, said that wasn’t the case this time.

Lorenz said that Deukmejian and Verdugo were chosen because they are “two of the more popular parks,” with the council’s afternoon session covering one park in the north and one in the southern portion of the city.

The Deukmejian Wilderness Park’s Le Mesnager Barn has drawn discussion at recent council meetings, as it could be due for a $500,000 restoration that could include a new HVAC system, plumbing, electrical work, a new concrete floor slab, a new glass storefront entry and ADA improvements to the facility.

Through Los Angeles County’s Parks Needs Assessment, the city and county have recently been evaluating public input on how to spend $16 million in development-impact fees from development projects throughout Glendale.

But for now, the council along with public attendees will be touring some of the natural open space that the city has to offer and discussing city programs held at those facilities.

One such program is the “One Glendale” pilot program, a collaboration between the city and the Glendale Unified School District that kicked off in August, providing after school sports activities for four Glendale schools: Horace Mann, Cerritos, Edison and Marshall Elementary Schools.

Those attending the meeting can view a “One Glendale” youth soccer game, one of four sports within the program, along with flag football, basketball, and volleyball.

  Jason Kurosu