SCV Reader March 2016

6 • THE Reader
SCV Economic Outlook
event March 10
By Tammy Marashlian
Staff Writer
Tickets are still available for the March
10 SCV Economic Outlook, a unique
event that gives the Santa Clarita Valley
community an in-depth look at the local
economy for
the year ahead.
The yearly
event, organized
by the SCV
Economic Dev
e l o p m e n t
Corp. and College
of the
Canyons, features
Dr. Mark
Schniepp of the
California Economic
Forecast, Dr. Mark Schniepp
Wells Fargo
economist Mark Vitner and Amy Lemisch, executive
director of the California Film Commission.
The event is scheduled 1:30 to 5 p.m.
March 10 at the Hyatt Regency Valencia. The
conference, with capacity for about 300 people,
typically sells out. Topics include the international
economy, especially involving
China, oil prices and global markets, the national
economic forecast, and data on the
housing market,
commercial
and industrial
developments.
“The event is
geared at the
business leaders
and decision
makers in
the Santa
Clarita Valley,”
said Holly
S c h r o e d e r ,
SCVEDC President
and CEO. “The presentations by the two
economists will give good perspectives on
the economy, both on the international level
and all the way down to the Santa Clarita Valley
economy. We get a local look and that is
distinct.”
Unlike previous years, this year’s outlook
includes specific discussion on filming and its
role in the SCV, Schroeder said.
“She’ll talk a bit about the industry in California,
as well
as in the Santa
Clarita Valley,”
Schroeder said.
“Since filming in
the Santa
Clarita Valley is
one of our priority
industries,
we thought that
p e r s p e c t i v e
would be very
Mark Vitner
interesting to
the attendees.”
Amy Lemisch
I n c l u d e d
with the price of admission, attendees will
take home an in-depth report with economic
data and the SCV forecast. While there are
other economic outlook events across Los
Angeles County, none focus so specifically on
the local community, Schroeder said.
“It’s a lot of information,” Schroeder said.
“It’s a data-packed event.”
Tickets can be purchased online at
scvedc.org/outlook. R
water merger
March 2016
Opponent claims violations of state open meeting law
By Robb Fulcher
Staff Writer
Acritic of a potential merger of two valley
water agencies alleges that officials
broke the state’s open meeting law as
they discussed the possible merger.
The allegation was denied by officials considering
the merger.
The idea of merging the valley’s water
wholesaler, the Castaic Lake Water Agency
(CLWA), with retailer Newhall County Water
District (NCWD), gained momentum early
last year, as representatives of the two entities
met to try to settle legal disputes between
them.
In a letter to the Los Angeles County District
Attorney’s Office, Lynne Plambeck, an
NCWD board member and critic of the possible
merger, accused the NCWD board of violating
state law when it met in closed session
Jan. 14 “as to whether or not the district
should proceed with consolidation” with
CLWA.
“No report of the action taken was made
after the end of the closed session,” Plambeck
wrote.
Plambeck also alleged that an ad hoc committee,
made up of representatives of the two
agencies, broke the law by failing to notify the
public that it was discussing a potential
merger.
The public meeting law limits the topics
that can be discussed behind closed doors. If
prosecutors find that a public agency improperly
made a decision in a closed session,
they typically direct the agency to make the
decision over again in an open session.
The law does not reverse the decisions of
public agencies, but is designed in part to
help the voting public monitor the practices
of public agencies.
Plambeck cited a notice for a Feb. 4 public
workshop on the potential merger, which
stated that for “roughly one year” representatives
of the two agencies “have been discussing
ways to enhance regional
collaboration, benefit ratepayers and advance
water reliability across the region.”
Plambeck argues that under the state law,
the ad hoc committee constitutes a “committee
of a legislative body,” that is governed by
the law.
Officials defending the merger discussions
said the ad hoc committee, and the NCWD
board, had been meeting to discuss ongoing
lawsuits between the two agencies, which is
allowed under the state law. The merger idea
developed as a way to settle the lawsuits, they
said.
Discussions of pending litigation are allowed
in closed session under the state’s
open meeting law, the Ralph M. Brown Act.
Plambeck contends the discussions “have
been about consolidation, not settling a lawsuit.”
NCWD General Manager Steve Cole denied
that the open meeting law had been broken.
“We’ve gone above and beyond what’s required.
We firmly stand behind our process,”
blue light SPeCial
Santa Clarita shines a blue light on traffic violations
New traffic enforcement tool
installed at seven intersections
In an effort to improve traffic safety at
seven major intersections, the City of
Santa Clarita has installed new blue light
enforcers which serve as red light violation
detectors on traffic signals at each site.
The seven locations were chosen due to
their high incidents of red light violations. A
total of 15 blue lights have been installed at
the following intersections: Bouquet Canyon
Road and Newhall Ranch Road, McBean
Parkway and Valencia Boulevard, McBean
Parkway and Magic Mountain Parkway,
McBean Parkway and Newhall Ranch Road,
Bouquet Canyon Road and Seco Canyon
Road, Soledad Canyon Road and Whites
Canyon Road and Lyons Avenue and Orchard
Village Road.
The blue light allows sheriff deputies to
observe the status of a red light from across
the street. The light illuminates when a traffic
signal changes to red, allowing the sheriff’s
deputy to safely and easily monitor and
address motorists running the red light,
without having to pursue a vehicle through
an intersection. The blue lights are not red
light cameras.
The installations of these traffic engineering
tools were added as part of the City’s
focus this year to improve traffic safety which
also includes working with the Santa Clarita
Valley Sheriff’s Department on more enforcement,
and increasing education and outreach
to encourage safer driving.
The City of Santa Clarita has installed new blue light
enforcers which serve as red light violation detectors
on traffic signals at each site.
“We’re embarking on increased traffic enforcement
and to combat issues that are the
cause of the majority of traffic accidents in
Santa Clarita, such as speeding, failure to
yield, distracted driving and various other
unsafe driving habits,” said Mayor Bob Kellar.
“The new blue lights are a traffic enforcement
tool that we hope will ultimately improve
traffic safety,” he added.
For more information about this project,
please contact Andrew Yi, City Traffic Engineer
at (661) 255-4326 or at AYI@santaclarita.com.
he said.
He said no vote was taken at the Jan. 14
meeting.
“The heart of the matter has been, and continues
to be, settling litigation between public
agencies,” Cole said.
Cole said a response to the letter would be
prepared.
Joan Dunn, a former NCWD board member,
and her husband Ed Dunn, a former CLWA
board member, said they follow board meetings
closely and were surprised to find that
discussions of a potential merger had been
going on for so long, prior to the Feb. 4 workshop.
At the workshop, the Dunns spoke in opposition
to a merger. The two have called for
a forensic audit to determine the state of the
agencies’ finances.
Robert Sagehorn, former general manager
of CLWA, spoke in favor of a merger. In an interview,
he said the intricacies of managing
imported water, local groundwater and reclaimed
water would be better navigated by a
larger, more coordinated agency.
Officials involved in discussions of creating
a new agency have emphasized that no decision
has been made.
Proponents of a merger say it would save
money, secure more state grants for water
projects, and better coordinate a complex
web of water transmission issues. Critics say
a merger could bring rate hikes, and would
create a water “monopoly” too large and remote
for consumers to control. R
Earth Arbor Day event
coming to Central Park
By Ken Striplin
Santa Clarita city manager
Presented in partnership with the SCV
Family of Water Supplies, Earth Arbor
Day is a fun, festive and free way to learn
about new eco-friendly products, programs
and local organizations, as well as to increase
your family’s environmental awareness.
The 2016 Earth Arbor Day event will be
held on Saturday, April 16, from 10 a.m. to 5
p.m. at Central Park, located at 27150 Bouquet
Canyon Road. The event will include six
interactive zones including; the Community
Zone, the Eco Zone, an Alternative Transportation
Car Show, the Children’s Zone, the
Tree Zone and the Water Conservation Zone.
Entertainment, hands on activities and educational
displays, together with creative recycled
art exhibits and decorated residential
recycling carts make for a very green day in
Santa Clarita!
If that isn’t green enough, you will also be
able to take home a bag of garden mulch created
from last year’s Christmas trees. And if
you are bringing the young ones, they can
tour the City’s Community Gardens, learn
about how helpful ladybugs are for the garden,
make scarves from old t-shirts and bring
home an herb plant.
The Castaic Lake Water Agency is offering
guided tours of their Conservatory Garden
located above the park site. Live musical entertainment
and animal show, plus an interactive
water conservation demonstration are
also included. For more information on the
City’s Earth Arbor Day event, check out:
GreenSanta Clarita.com.