By Justin HAGER

The June 17 meeting of the Crescenta Valley Town Council contained many pieces of exciting news and celebrations of accomplishments, but perhaps more than anything, the meeting was remarkable for its repeated discussions of the steps businesses, organizations, individuals and the Council itself are taking to try and return some semblance of normalcy as COVID cases continue to decline.

Harry Leon opened the meeting expressing gratitude to the Briggs United group for their role in keeping a violent sexual predator out of the community.

Mike Baldwin of the CV Chamber of Commerce announced that, after raising $25,000, the Independence Day Fireworks would go on as scheduled. Although no one would be allowed to view the display from the high school field, all of the fireworks will be at an extra-high elevation so that they can be seen from the patios, yards and balconies of peoples’ homes.

Nem Ochoa of the CV Water District celebrated the completion of the Rosemont Reservoir upgrade as well as several pipeline replacement projects. He also reminded residents on El Caminito, Glenwood, Stevens and Paraiso Way that they would be seeing pipeline upgrades in the coming months. When asked about the ramifications of the ongoing drought, he explained that the Metropolitan Water District was in a reasonably good state and has sufficient water in storage to weather the current drought season and to support at least some development. He reminded all participants in the meeting that it is always a good time to be water efficient.

Jennifer Freemon of the GUSD celebrated the in-person graduation that took place for all elementary, middle and high school graduates, including a highly-successful high school graduation ceremony held at the Rose Bowl. She anticipated full-time in-person classes in the fall but was unable to provide further details as she awaits guidance from Los Angeles County Health. However, she did remind participants that the first day of instruction will be on Wednesday, Aug. 18, and the start time will be shifted slightly later at the middle school and high school levels due to legislation authored by Senator Portantino last year. Finally, she thanked many people involved in Prom Plus for throwing an outstanding graduation party.

In one of the few contentious moments of the meeting, Councilmember Desiree Rabinov reported on the Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Works’ planned street and crosswalk improvements in the Crescenta Valley including resurfacing, pedestrian safety upgrades, and improving water capture systems. Several councilmembers, apparently failing to understand that Rabinov was only reporting on the requests of the residents and the subsequent plans from public works and not actually a part of the decision-making process, inquired as to her role and position on certain specific issues. After clarifying her role as a messenger, she closed her presentation by celebrating the installation of slow streets signage throughout the community and offered to investigate why the signs had been removed near Rosemont.

Marta Wiggins of the La Crescenta Library informed participants that, while libraries are now open for in-person services, masks and social distancing are required.

Mike Baldwin, representing the American Legion and VFW, thanked Charly Shelton (who works for the CV Weekly) for putting together an outstanding Memorial Day video. He also invited community members to play bingo on July 10, at 5 p.m. at the VFW Hall (4011 La Crescenta Ave.), benefitting the CV Chamber of Commerce, and again on July 24 at 5:30 p.m. at the Glendale Elks Lodge benefitting the Verdugo Hills Council of the Boy Scouts.

The meeting concluded with an announcement of the students selected by the scholarship committee to receive scholarship awards. Alden Marriot of CVHS and Brandon Lau of Clark Magnet were selected for their dedication to community service; Kimberly Blood and Connor Harvey, both from CVHS, were selected for their academic achievement; and Sarah Ricci of CVHS and Alex Abnous of Clark Magnet were selected for their post-secondary goals.