By Robin GOLDSWORTHY

Members of the Crescenta Valley Town Council (CVTC) on Thursday night, Nov. 20, held its last meeting of the year. In attendance were Frida Baghdassarian, Kerri Lewin Brautigam, Chris Kilpatrick, Donna Libra and Aram Ordubegian. Though initially a quorum was not achieved, the arrival of board member Harry Leon secured the quorum.

CV Sheriff’s Station Captain Ryan Vienna gave a report on a variety of calls that deputies responded to in the month of October. He also offered this advice to thwart those who attempt ID fraud: “Watch your credit report,” he said, “and report [to the agency] if/when you are a victim of identify theft.”

Capt. Vienna also touched on the grand theft auto in October of the trailer used by local C.E.R.T. members. He said that a stolen white F250 was used to steal the trailer. He requested that anyone who has information regarding this theft to contact the CV Sheriff’s Station.

He also said that he is advocating for Flock safety cameras in La Crescenta. La Cañada boasts a network of the Flock cameras, which are automatic license plate readers.

Maria Grycan of the LA County Fire Dept. then reported that the fire department responded to 69 calls in October and reminded people that Thanksgiving is the leading day of the year for house fires.

“Make sure when deep frying a turkey that you stay outside … and keep a fire extinguisher handy,” she advised.

Officer Bay of the CHP said that there were six crashes in the unincorporated area of La Crescenta and said that now is a “good time to check your tire tread.”

Nov. 19 through Dec. 19 is CHiPs for Kids, a holiday toy drive spearheaded by the California Highway Patrol.

Glendale Unified School District superintendent Dr. Darneika Watson greeted the audience, stating that she and her staff are “very pleased to have a new field and new lights” at Crescenta Valley High School. She added that at this year’s Christmas parade (on Dec. 6) the high school’s marching band will not be participating due to a scheduling conflict.

Perhaps the reason many people attended the meeting was an update by Chris Kilpatrick on the recommendation by the Land Use Committee regarding the proposed project at Briggs Avenue and Foothill Boulevard. According to Kilpatrick, who also sits on the Land Use Committee, the meeting (which was held earlier this month) had more than 150 people in attendance. Of those, almost none approved the project in its current form. With that in mind, the Land Use Committee drafted a letter, which was sent to the CVTC, urging Supervisor Kathryn Barger to suspend all project approvals (a copy of the letter can be found at https://tinyurl.com/bdfnbu3h).

CVW reached out to Abode Communities to ask if there was a schedule for future outreach meetings between the company and the community.

“Yes, we’re planning more outreach in the spring,” stated Megan Folland, vice president, Advancement, Adobe Communities. We don’t have exact dates yet.”

A highlight of the meeting was the presentation of a commendation by Savannah Moore of Supervisor Kathryn Barger’s office to outgoing CVTC member Aram Ordubegian.

Finally, Librarian Marta Wiggins celebrated the achievement of the library as being number one as far as the number of items being checked out.

“I’m very pleased to be the steward of this ship,” she said. The library was previously ranked at number 14.

She also invited the community to the Christmas tree lighting on Wednesday, Dec. 3 and to participate in the library’s holiday gift exchange.

Robert Thomas extended an invitation to attend “A Christmas Carol,” which begins on Dec. 6 and plays on select dates. To learn more, visit https://tinyurl.com/5n8mjjkp.

The council finished the meeting by approving the treasurer’s report from October, the October minutes and the November agenda.