By Julie BUTCHER

“I take immense pride in Glendale being one of the few cities in the world that has a Comfort Women statue,” said Councilmember Elen Asatryan, expressing her support at the beginning of the Glendale City Council meeting on Tuesday night for the proclamation issued commemorating July 30 as Korean Comfort Women Day.

The proclamation reads in part: “The City of Glendale has a long-standing history of recognizing cultural diversity and has been a strong advocate for human rights around the world. This was evident in 2012 when the City of Glendale first proclaimed July 30 as the Comfort Women Day, and in 2013 when the Glendale City Council voted to approve the Comfort Women monument in the Glendale Central Park. Since the decision was made, the City of Glendale has continued to support the efforts to secure the rights of those known as ‘Comfort Women.’”

In Korea, the comfort women statues are monuments representing women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. These statues, particularly the Peace Statue depicting a young girl, symbolize the suffering of Korean women and serve as a reminder of the unresolved issues surrounding this historical event. 

Also on Tuesday night the Council approved this year’s schedule of fees and assessments requiring weed abatement on properties in wildfire danger areas. 

“If you’re a homeowner and you receive a notice for weed abatement, please don’t ignore it,” said Mayor Ara Najarian, “because you will be followed up on and if the work is not done the County will perform the work – not necessarily at the most reasonable price but with contractors that are well established and certain to get the job done right.” 

Mayor Najarian noted that the city’s Glendale Youth Alliance https://www.glendaleyouthalliance.com/ provides brush clearance services and can be contacted through the City.

“Don’t ignore the notice,” the mayor reiterated. “You’ll get a hefty bill plus you’re adding to the danger of the wildfire season, if it can be still considered a season.”

The council voted 2-1 to deny Mills Act contracts for two properties in neighborhoods designated as historic. 

According to the staff report, “The owners of 324 Lawson Place and 1833 Niodrara Drive, two contributing properties in designated historic districts, have submitted applications requesting Mills Act property tax reduction contracts for their respective properties … In 2016, City Council established a policy that contracts potentially be made available to owners of contributing properties in historic districts.”

Only two homeowners have applied to be part of the program of approving Mills Act contracts to properties considered “contributory” in an historical sense. In both cases, the city’s Historical Preservation Commission [HPC] recommended approving the requests. 

The owner of the home in the Niodrara Drive historic district noted that the home was purchased before the neighborhood was deemed historic. 

“We love the house and we love the neighborhood,” stated the homeowner. “We applied for the Mills Act eight years ago and we think it’s important to preserve the history.”

The Mills Act is a California state law that encourages the preservation of qualified historic structures by reducing property taxes for participating owners. It allows cities and counties to enter into contracts with property owners, agreeing to maintain and restore historic properties in exchange for reduced property assessments, which lowers their property tax burden. 

Councilmember Asatryan voted against the Mills Act contract for both properties. She noted that she was not on the council when the ordinance was adopted in 2016 and questioned what took so long for the applications to be processed. 

“If we’re going to lose revenue, I’d rather take this money and create programs that are helping our families that are trying to keep a roof over their heads,” she said.

Councilmember Ardy Kassakhian voted to grant the Mills Act contracts. “People look for homes in Glendale for a variety of reasons – some of it is the schools, some is for public safety and city services, but also it is the charm of our neighborhoods, what they feel like, what they look like,” he said. “We take these things for granted and a lot of charming homes and structures are lost.”

“When you have people who voluntarily come forward and say they’re willing to do what it takes to maintain these homes with a certain character and style from the time period to make sure they’re preserved, I want to support that. It doesn’t mean we’re going to have a run on the city for all these folks to slash our revenues. The HPC approved these requests,” Councilmember Kassakhian added. He also noted that perhaps the Council could wait until all the members were present.[Councilmembers Dan Brotman and Vartan Gharpetian were not in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting.]

In additional business, the Council approved the release of a request for proposal (an RFP) to repair the roof of the Grandview Library. City manager Roubik Golanian explained that the roof has surpassed its expected life and leaks when it rains. Normally contracts of this nature are not reviewed by the Council but because of the alternative project delivery method of a design-build project, Council authorization is required. The project would place a membrane over the roof with a photovoltaic energy generation system included, “a solar energy system,” Golanian detailed, with a 30-year warranty. 

The benefit of “design-build,” he added, is that a single firm would be responsible for both the design and construction, adding improved accountability, speed and cost control.

Glendale resident Mike Mohill called in to the meeting to advocate for the closure of all but two Glendale libraries. 

“Most people use their phones and do a Google search,” Mohill said, calling for a “moratorium on all libraries. Close them down.”

The Council voted to release an RFP for field lighting at Glorietta Park and Mayor Najarian expressed his hope that the “specifications call for a parabolic lighting system with appropriate shielding directing the lights only at the field to eliminate some of the light pollution that spills into the neighborhood.”

Finally, Councilmember Asatryan requested the Council consider opportunities during the upcoming World Cup and Olympics events “to put Glendale on the map.” She asked that the Council consider establishing an ad hoc committee.

The Glendale City Council will meet again on Tuesday, Aug. 12.