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minutes indexThis data is provided by the Agua Dulce Town Council and published without editorial Comment
7:50 pm President Jim O'Keefe called the meeting to order. All Town Council members were present except Julianne Feuerhelm and Nolan Henderson.
POINT OF ORDER: There was a great deal of disturbance to the proceedings caused by an
attempt to video-tape the meeting. Dennis Dee MOVED, seconded by Lianne Swanson, that the
By-Laws are interpreted and it is the intent of the Agua Dulce Town Council that only the
Secretary may electronically record or video-tape record Agua Dulce Town Council meetings,
and only for secretarial purposes. There was a brief discussion. VOTE: 4 Ayes, 1 Nay
(Lampton).
OLD BUSINESS:
1. Model Criteria: tabled because Julianne Feuerhelm was not present.
2. Ritter Ranch: Tana Lampton reports that the Daily News carried an article indicating that the Ritter Ranch project in Palmdale has been foreclosed on. This project touched upon Agua Dulce on Sierra Highway near the Boiling Point.
3. Sierra Highway: Tana Lampton reports that she has had no information from Bob Barragan of LA County regarding the status of the Left-Turn Lane at Agua Dulce Canyon Road. Jim O'Keefe said that he would follow up on this issue. Darrell Readmond reports that vehicle speeds have significantly increased on Sierra Highway since the 65 mph limit went up on the freeway. Dennis will follow up on this issue with the High-Way Patrol.
4. Water Committee: Geri Dee reported on and distributed a copy of the meeting minutes with the California Water Resources staff. There will be another meeting on July 12, 1996 at 1:00 pm. Geri then introduced the Water Mitigation report from the Water Committee. She indicated that this report was voted on unanimously by the Water Committee for presentation to the Town Council.
Lianne Swanson MOVED, seconded by Jim O'Keefe, to accept the Water Mitigation report from the Water Committee, as modified, for presentation to the State staff.
Modifications include [a] remove the word "mandatory" from Community Awareness Plan addendum to the report, [b] remove the word "upgrade(s)" from Step 2, paragraph 3, and [c] remove the phrase "will be conducted by a professional organization."
VOTE: 5 Ayes, 0 Nays.
OPEN FORUM:
1. Art Brewer requests agenda time of 20 minutes at the July 24, 1996 meeting to make a presentation about the Nature Center.
2. Art Brewer requests a Parks Committee report concerning the Bull-Thistle issue in the Meadows portion of Vasquez Rocks County Park.
Tana Lampton responded by reading from the 6-17-96 committee meeting memo to the Town council that volunteers had begun to pull the Bull Thistle from this area. The LA County Botanist stated that there are no longer any native plants in the Meadows area, and they want to mow the Meadows at 6 inches in height so that there is enough plant leaves present to accept the application of a herbicide. LA County claims that budget constraints prevent mowing by LA County.
Art Brewer then stated that Tana's actions with the County had slowed down the process of removing the Thistle. Tana responded that LA County Parks and Recreation had called her to the meeting, not the other way around.
Howard Carlip reiterated a history of the Bull-Thistle problem in the Meadows. He indicated that community volunteers continue to pick out the Thistle where possible and that a "burn" is scheduled by the fire department for September, weather permitting.
3. Bill Bender brought up the issue of illegal workers congregating on Agua Dulce Canyon Road. He indicated that he wanted the Town Council to pass an ordinance requiring a permit for Day-Laborers to work in the community. It was pointed out that the Town Council did not have the authority to enact such an ordinance, but Dennis said that he would contact the Sheriff's Department and Jo Anne Darcy for help with this problem.
4. Bill Bender owns a firewood business on M-1 property. He states that there are 5
other firewood businesses in Agua Dulce that are operating illegally on other than M-1
property. Some of these businesses in his opinion are fire hazards. He said that he
reported this to the County but that no action was taken. Dennis indicated that he would
discuss this issue with Jo Anne Darcy when he called her.
CORRESPONDENCE:
1. Regional Planning: no items on agenda concerning Agua Dulce.
2. Rick Curtis reports that the Post Office Boxes are to be moved from the Century 21 location. He has arranged for Cluster-Boxes for the non-profit community organizations.
3. An Agua Dulce Town Council Certificate of Achievement was presented to Vincent Ortiz, of Cub Scout Pact 51, for achieving the Cub Scout Arrow of Light award.
4. There was an invitation from the Sheriff's Department to Town Council members to attend a conference in July.
5. Letter from Rodney Cooper of Parks and Recreation indicating that there are no County funds for projects within the Vasquez Rocks County Park.
6. Letter from Mary Lou Callender indicating that she is opposed to sewer and water infrastructure in the community.
7. Letter from an Agua Dulce School student - Kevin Riggen - requesting more
recreational facilities in the community. NOTE: at this point, Art Brewer interrupted the
meeting to demand a copy of the Introduction Letter from the Town Council to LA County
Parks and Recreation. A heated discussion occurred about both Art's interruption of the
meeting that interferred with the Council's business and Art's demand for the letter, and
at this point (10 pm) the Town Council quorum was lost and the meeting was adjourned.
ADJOURNMENT: 10:00 pm (loss of quorum)
Respectfully submitted, Dennis C. Dee