Updated on June 10.

By Julie BUTCHER

“We want to keep coyotes afraid of humans,” Lauren Hamlett, director of Pasadena Humane – Wildlife Services and Education, said to the Glendale City Council on Tuesday night. The comment was made as the Glendale Police Dept. (GPD) introduced an Urban Wildlife Management Plan (UWMP) for the city.

The plan is a partnership among the GPD, the California Dept. of Fish & Wildlife, and Pasadena Humane, which provides the City of Glendale with animal control and care services.

GPD’s Lt. Mark Hess introduced the plan.

“One of the benefits of living and working in Glendale is being able to enjoy the comforts of the city while being close to the natural beauty of the Verdugo Mountains, the Angeles National Forest, and the many parks and open space we have,” he said. “With this beauty comes inevitable run-ins with wildlife and that includes coyotes.”

The plan aims to offer tools and tips to educate residents and keep them safe, provide a better understanding of what can be done to help minimize encounters and information on safely co-existing with wildlife. The partnership organizations will provide guidance in responding to wildlife concerns with an aim to protecting wildlife and preventing injury and disease in the community; using a preventive approach to reduce or eliminate conditions that attract wildlife; creating a reporting site to effectively track and document wildlife sightings; and helping identify behaviors and hot spots.

Hamlett explained why targeted relocation and euthanasia do not work in response to questioning from Councilmember Dan Brotman.

“People say ‘Just get rid of them,’” she said. She went on to explain that it is very expensive and not an effective long-term solution. Coyotes are extremely resilient, omnivorous and adaptive – “Our dogs’ brilliant cousins.” Utilizing evidence-based research, the best response is community hazing aimed at making coyotes more afraid of humans, to keep them wild and “less habituated.”

Pasadena Humane Chief Veterinarian Dr. Maria Pyrdek added that it takes a community to keep coyotes wild.

“It can’t be just one or two people,” she said. “It has to be the whole community working together.”

In other Council business, the overall city budget was on the agenda and scheduled for a vote by the full Council. However, Mayor Elen Asatryan asked that the final vote on the budget be delayed until June 25, the next time there will be five councilmembers present as Councilmember Ardy Kassakhian was traveling during this week’s meeting and the mayor will be heading to Armenia for the next two weeks, along with mayors from across the country, on a trip organized by the Dept. of State.

The Council approved two labor agreements covering the management and rank-and-file officers of the police department. The MOU for 234 police officers and sergeants will cost the city $25.6 million over the three-year term and provides wage increases of 4.5% in July 2024; 5.5% in July 2025; and 4% in July 2026 as well as other improvements in pay and benefits. The contract with police managers, 17 lieutenants and captains, includes similar improvements and pay raises and is expected to cost $2.5 million over three years.

A public speaker urged the Council to reject the agreements as a statement condemning public pensions.

Councilmember Ara Najarian responded, “Do I wish that in 1999 CalPERS didn’t extend such generous benefits? We’re in a competitive environment. Even cities like LA have given up hiring a full contingent of officers as it’s so hard to find them and hire them and keep them. My goal is to keep every single police officer that we have on the force, keep them motivated and happy so they spend the rest of their lives with Glendale, and we don’t lose them to other jurisdictions. They learn our city; they learn our residents.”

“We’re not just policy makers; we’re employers, and ensuring our employees retire with dignity should be as important,” Mayor Asatryan opined. “Talk about all the senior services we end up creating to help our community members having a hard time making ends meet – that’s because of the lack of a proper retirement system in the private sector.”

Earlier in the meeting, Councilmember Najarian reported that the Burbank Airport, which is co-operated by the cities of Glendale, Pasadena and Burbank, is forming a Citizens Advisory Committee to advise the Airport Authority on issues of noise, particularly noise from airplanes taking off. Each city is being asked to appoint three members to the committee.

Councilmember Vartan Gharpetian commended the Cars for Cops event that took place over the weekend. He also urged the city to turn on the fountain at Glendale City Hall, and reported on a briefing regarding Rockhaven. He encouraged the GWP to “bring utilities to each building” and for the city to “find funds for the facility.” Gharpetian further expressed his concerns about the safety of street vending and wants the pilot traffic-calming project on North Brand to end early.

Allan Durham announced a free screening of the Disney classic “Pinocchio” on Saturday, June 8 at 1692 Brand Park Drive in front of the Doctor’s House. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the movie starts at 7 p.m.

“Bring a picnic, blankets, lawn chairs,” Durham advised, adding the event is sponsored by the Northwest Glendale Homeowners Association, the Alex Film Society, Brand Associates and the Glendale Historical Society, with “generous technical support” from the city’s department of recreation and parks. There will also be free popcorn.