By Mary O’KEEFE

Glendale Councilmember Ardy Kassakhian wants residents and those who work in Crescenta Valley, including far North Glendale and Montrose, to know that their voices and their opinions matter. To gather those opinions, on Fridays he can be found at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, at the corner of Ocean View Boulevard and Honolulu Avenue, from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. for his “Let’s Talk” outreach.

Kassakhian is the newest elected official on the Glendale City Council but has a deep knowledge of the city after serving years as city clerk.

During a recent Glendale City Council meeting, members of the Council seemed to dismiss the fact that part of the Crescenta Valley and Montrose are included within the City of Glendale. Kassakhian was the lone councilmember who supported the CV area.

Kassakhian has ties to the Crescenta Valley; his parents live in the CV area and his brother went to CV High School.

The sting from that city council meeting is still being felt by residents, as was evident when they spoke to Kassakhian at one of his Friday meetings. In addition to discussing the relevancy of the Crescenta Valley to Glendale, residents and those who work in the area asked for help with a variety of things, like construction permits. A business owner stated that she has been in “permit limbo” during a remodel and that she was concerned that she would lose clientele as the process continued to stall.

Kassakhian filled his notebook with issues presented to him, and handed out his business card and said he would find what information he could to help those who had brought concerns to his attention.

One resident stated it was nice to see a Glendale councilmember in Montrose.

Kassakhian said he would be holding “Let’s Talk” outreach events in the future throughout neighborhoods that make up the Glendale community including Kenneth Village and Adams Square. He wanted to start in Crescenta Valley/Montrose area because he wanted residents and business owners to know he was “there for them.”

Kassakhian will be at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf this Friday but will be taking a break on June 25.