By Julie BUTCHER

The Glendale City Council began its Tuesday night meeting by recognizing the work of the nation’s public safety telecommunicators including the heroes who staff the Verdugo Fire Communications Center, which serves 13 local agencies.

“You are expected to multitask under emergency conditions with compassion, accuracy and professionalism – thousands of men and women who respond to emergency calls, dispatch professionals and equipment, and render life-saving assistance,” Mayor Ardy Kassakhian read from the proclamation.

Councilmember Vrej Agajanian then discussed a contract amendment that requests an additional $100,000 be added for work on the city’s West Glendale Sustainable Transportation and Land Use Study with the Crandall Arambula firm for special scrutiny.

“I’m just having a problem with this – there’s always a contract and then there’s an amendment to it. There’s this contract for $500,000 and then we add $100,000 to it,” he said, clarifying that his concern was not with this particular contract. “This is a general concern that I’m raising for the record.”

Councilmember Paula Devine recognized the city’s libraries as one of only 15 finalists for the prestigious 2022 National Medal for Museum and Library Service awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, “the nation’s highest honor given to museums and libraries that demonstrate excellence in service to their communities,” according to the organization.

“Whether you win in July or not, this is the nation’s highest award and we are very proud of this distinction,” Devine noted.

Mayor Kassakhian added, “Libraries are the tip of the spear in the fight against ignorance and bigotry. This is an important recognition.”

Devine continued, thanking Congressman Adam Schiff for helping to secure $700,000 in funding for the city’s crime lab to expand forensic testing and speed up DNA testing.

Councilmember Devine also applauded the work of the Montrose Shopping Park Association (MSPA) and the La Crescenta Women’s Club for Saturday’s “ever-popular Wine Walk.”

“It was a beautiful evening; the event was completely sold out; restaurants were crowded, and people were walking around, reconnecting and shopping,” she said. “It’s a good sign of the rebound here in our city.”

Finally, at the request of residents of the Riverside Rancho neighborhood, Devine asked staff to look into sending the horse manure gathered in the neighborhood to be composted in Griffith Park rather than going to the landfill, as is currently done.

Mayor Kassakhian urged residents to find information on the upcoming June 7^th election on the city’s “Glendale Votes” website: https://www.glendalevotes.org/ and invited all to participate in the city’s upcoming commemoration of the Armenian Genocide event at the Alex Theatre on Sunday, April 24 (for information visit https://www.itsmyseat.com/events/809470.html).

Last, the council heard an update on organics recycling. At the state level, SB 1383 aims to keep organic waste out of landfills by requiring cities and counties to implement and enforce organics recycling; requires outreach and education about organics recycling; and requires large food waste generators to donate leftover edible food. The city is distributing lists of the things that can be recycled in green bins currently designated for yard trimmings. New green bins and small kitchen-top compost bins will be distributed to Glendale residents over the next several years. City staff shared this video to help explain the new program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXF8H42NzUQ and can answer questions emailed to recycle@GlendaleCA.gov. Here is the city’s list of what can be recycled in the green container: https://www.glendaleca.gov/government/departments/public-works/organics.

“What do we do with pizza boxes?” Mayor Kassakhian asked.

The box part can go in with normal recycling, Public Works Director Yazdan Emrani detailed, and the greasy paper part can be folded up and recycled as organic waste in the green bin. Apartments that currently do not have green bins will need to sign up to receive them, he told the council.