By Justin HAGER

The non-profit Crescenta Valley Town Council rang in the new year on Thursday with a swearing-in ceremony for its new councilmembers and held elections for new officers. New councilmembers included Elizabeth Ahlers, Dede Mueller, Frida Baghdassarian, Teri Madsen and Paul Barnes. Ahlers, Mueller and Baghdassarian will serve as regular three-year members of the council while Madsen and Barnes will join Ted Yu as alternates who serve one-year terms and only vote when a regular member cannot be present or is recused due to a conflict of interest.

Harry Leon will continue to serve as president of the Council, a position he has held since 2017. Chris Kilpatrick was elected vice president, Donna Libra treasurer, Jeffrey Rodriguez recording secretary, and Kerri Lewin corresponding secretary. Leon, Kilpatrick, Libra and Rodriguez ran unopposed for their officer positions as Lewin defeated newly elected councilmember Elizabeth Ahlers for the corresponding secretary position.

Other information presented at the meeting included an update from GUSD informing the public that, until COVID numbers decline, athletic events will be closed to parents and spectators.

The Crescenta Valley Community Association invited the public to attend two meetings on Thursday, Jan. 27. The first is the annual meeting for Crescenta Highlands Neighborhood Association from 6:15-7 p.m.; the second is the monthly meeting of the CVCA at 7 p.m. Both meetings can be accessed via Zoom (meeting ID: 916 4489 5134/password: 826439). Both meetings will include discussions of the OurNeighborhoodVoices petition to limit development of multi-story, multi-unit buildings next door to single-family homes and return local community control.

The primary agenda item at the Council meeting was a presentation by the Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Works (DPW) on the proposed La Crescenta-Montrose Transportation Improvements. With construction slated to begin in March 2025, the county presented information on proposed resurfacing of roadways, reconstructing curb ramps, constructing drywells to capture surface water and installing bike lanes, traffic bulb-outs and crosswalks to promote active transportation and pedestrian safety. (CV Weekly provided additional information on bulb-outs in the Sept. 16 issue at https://www.crescentavalleyweekly.com/news/09/16/2021/public-works-presentation-tonight-at-cv-town-council/.) The project originated as a request for study by the CVTC and has led to several lively conversations at CVTC meetings about the costs and benefits of traffic calming measures like bulb-outs that have significant costs, narrow traffic lanes and reduce traffic speeds versus continental crosswalks that cost less and provide greater visibility but may not have the same calming impacts. DPW stated multiple times at Thursday’s meeting that within the range of options presented, it is committed to following the guidance and recommendations of the CVTC. The Council tabled a decision on adopting recommendations until its new members have the opportunity to conduct outreach and digest the information presented by DPW.