GPAB Meeting – Thursday, July 25, 2024 (and minutes from May 2024 meeting)

KAREN THORNTON, CHAIR  •  ALEX CROW, VICE-CHAIR •  CHRIS LAIB, SECRETARY
JANE CARLSON  •  AARON CHUNG  •  JASON GREENWALD  •  BILLY GRIFFIN  •  AMY GUSTINCIC  •  ALEX PHILLIPS

NOTICE TO PAID REPRESENTATIVES- IF YOU ARE COMPENSATED TO MONITOR, ATTEND, OR SPEAK AT THIS MEETING, CITY LAW MAY REQUIRE you TO REGISTER AS A LOBBYIST AND REPORT YOUR ACTIVITY. SEE LOS ANGELES MUNICIPAL CODE 48.01 ET SEQ, MORE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE AT ethics.lacity.org/lobbying. FOR ASSISTANCE, PLEASE CONTACT THE ETHICS COMMISSION AT (213) 978-1960 OR ethics.commission@lacity.org.

MISSION: The Department of Recreation and Parks enhances the quality of life in Los Angeles by providing attractive, safe and well maintained parks with diverse opportunities to serve and enrich every community.
VISION: The Department of Recreation and Parks envisions an accessible, dynamic and sustainable park system for all Los Angeles residents and visitors to play, enjoy and build community.

Public Comment: Comments from the public on Agenda items will be heard only when the respective item is being considered. Comments from the public on other matters not appearing on the Agenda that are within the Board’s subject matter jurisdiction will be heard during the Public Comment period. Public comment is limited to 2 minutes per speaker, unless waived by the presiding officer of the Board. Agenda is posted for public review here and at the posting location as required by law. Griffith Park Visitor Center Auditorium, 4730 Crystal Springs Dr. Los Angeles, CA 90027

ADA: As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of a disability and upon request, will provide reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to its programs, services and activities. Sign language interpreters, assistive listening devices, or other auxiliary aids and/or services may be provided upon request. To ensure availability of services, please make your request at least 3 business days (72 hours) prior to the meeting you wish to attend by contacting Tracy James at (323) 661-9465.

CALL TO ORDER
Roll Call, board announcements

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

SPECIAL GUESTS
Comments from other City, County, State & Federal representatives in attendance

GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT
Members of the public who wish to comment on matters NOT listed on the agenda and are under the jurisdiction of the Board.

INFORMATION REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS
Haunted Hayride presentation for the 2024 season. Producers for the Hayride will present the layout, plans and will answer questions and hear concerns from the public.
This is a informational only, non-motion item.

SUPERINTENDENT UPDATES
Phase III Griffith Park Active Transportation Improvement Project Plan
Observatory Parking Meters
Fern Dell ADA restrooms
Pony Rides
Brush Clearance
Recent fires in Griffith Park
Mt. Hollywood Potholes
Independent Shakespeare Co.
Lake Hollywood Film Monitors

COMMITTEE AND AD HOC REPORTS
Executive Committee

BOARD BUSINESS
Comments from Board Members on matters within the Board’s jurisdiction and requests by members to schedule specific future agenda items.

ADJOURNMENT: Next meeting – Thursday, August 22, 2024

Griffith Park Advisory Board Regular Meeting / May 23rd, 2024 at 6:30pm
DRAFT MINUTES

Meeting called to order / 6:31 pm
Present: Thornton, Crow, Carlson, Chung, Phillips
Excused: Laib and Greenwald  Absent: Griffin 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Vice Chair Crow: Unanimously approved with one correction brought forward by Greenwald.
Special Guests: NONE
No Reports 

PUBLIC COMMENT
Liz: LAEC (Los Angeles Equestrian Center) is under new management. There have been two horse shows, and another one is coming up. Handed out fliers for an upcoming show.
Marion Dodge: Announced raptor survey (Los Angeles Raptor Study). Wanted to give a special thank you to Board member Chung and his parents for bringing attention to an owlet that had fallen from a nest too close to the road. Gerry Hans rescued the owlet and both owlets have fledged.
Steve: Thank you for having minutes available for review so quickly.
Chair Thornton: Minutes are always posted online if anyone wants to review.

INFORMATIONAL REPORTS & PRESENTATIONS
Park Rangers were available to answer questions.
Chair Thornton: Welcomed Rangers Trejo and Woods and asked that they introduce themselves.
Ranger Trejo: Rangers are moved around about once a year with about 29 total Rangers, responsible for 400 municipal parks including Griffith and Hansen Dam plus many small parks and recreation centers.
Chair Thornton: Are any Rangers 24 hours?
Ranger Trejo: Units work theater and events but generally don’t work at night due to lack of firearms. The rangers can call the LAPD, but LAPD is not familiar with the Park and doesn’t have keys for all gate entries.
Carlson: Have you seen an increase in unlicensed vending?
Ranger Trejo: When rangers ask for permit vendors sometimes produce a photocopy or deny the request. Rangers have spoken with street services. Technically, some vendors are unpermitted, or the photo is not accurate, but vending is non-criminal so unpermitted vendors cannot be arrested. The work-around was to implement citations and provide copies of the vending regulations. But unpermitted vendors will come back after just two days of not enforcing citations.
Phillips: If they had permits, could an unlimited amount of people be there?
Ranger Trejo: No, they have to be 25 feet away from each other.
Phillips: If one has a permit, can they vend anywhere?
Ranger Trejo: Yes
Phillips: Does it then come down to who shows up first?
Ranger Trejo: No, they can argue about who arrived first. Rangers recommend vendors take log or make note of time of arrival. And there are different permits, merchandise versus food.
Crow: How would they document when they arrived?
Ranger Trejo: Written log and suggested to have a photo with timestamp.
Crow: Are you citing them now?
Ranger Trejo: It is difficult to cite them because usually they don’t want to provide ID and they don’t have to. Helpful to call the permit owner. Street services has been difficult to get in touch with.
Crow: Sounds like you have already done a degree of legwork, is this a priority going forward? How do you think it will play out?
Ranger Trejo: Because it’s not criminal, it’s difficult, but with street services citing them it starts becoming expensive.
Chung: Is there precedent? Has it successfully deterred vendors in the past?
Ranger Trejo: It has, but there are challenges around perception because people think rangers are harassing vendors. The vendors do not have to cooperate.
Ranger Woods: It’s a priority but there are lots of issues and few rangers.
Ranger Trejo: Some vendors are following the rules, and it doesn’t seem fair.
Chair Thornton: I noticed a significant drop in flower vendors outside Martinez arena. Maybe down to 10%. Are you noticing fewer vendors anywhere in the Park?
Ranger Trejo: We don’t address the ones outside the park and haven’t noticed a change.
No coin
Carlson: How do you address park visitors’ bad behaviors?
Ranger Trejo: Rangers are usually not able to get there fast enough. Just yesterday rangers arrested two people engaging in nefarious behaviors.
Phillips: Not to put words in your mouth, it is difficult to deploy resources given all the issues and priorities.
Ranger Trejo: Yes.
Chair Thornton: If you have an hour, are there hotspots you visit regularly, and will you look into them?
Ranger Trejo: It varies, but there are hotspots around the Observatory, visitor center, soccer fields, car break-ins, Shane’s Inspiration, transitional housing, the Griffith Park Rec Center with narcotics, central service yard for catalytic converters theft and now stealing fuel. There has been an uptick in pickpockets at the Observatory and Rangers are making their presence known. Chung: Is the Old LA Zoo still a hotspot?
Ranger Trejo: Yes, but often they are gone very quickly.
Carlson: What can people do if they see an issue?
Ranger Trejo: Call it in with descriptors so people can be found very quickly. But taking pictures may be problematic. Even if it seems like things are not being done, call it in so they can keep a paper trail and focus on new hotspots, continue to call and take safe pictures if you can. These issues can escalate quickly, two Rangers were shot over open containers.
Carlson: Can you tell us about the Junior Ranger Program?
Ranger Woods: It’s twice a month on Saturdays, youth between 8 and 17 – we teach them all about being a ranger, do hikes, identify flora and fauna, hiking, firefighting, rope rescue, it’s a very hands-on program and a fun way to know what a Park Ranger does.
Chair Thornton: How do people find out?
Ranger Woods: Posted on City website, maybe on Friends of Griffith Park website, Instagram, LA Parks main website.
Superintendent: Has anyone gone through the program and become a ranger?
Ranger Woods: Not to my knowledge.
Superintendent: The chief ranger thought some people had gone through the program and became rangers.
Ranger Woods: We have discussed doing a long-term program.
Chair Thornton: Sounds like a great program to teach them to be rangers, but also to be good citizens.
Carlson: Is it well attended?
Ranger Woods: Seems so, has pretty good turnout. We cap it at 40 and we usually get between 30-40 participants.
Chair Thornton: Sounds like a fantastic program. Do you have repeat kids?
Ranger Woods: Yes.
Crow: Thank you for being here. From what I can gather, you are a key component to keeping the park safe. Is personnel the biggest issue?
Ranger Trejo: Personnel is an issue, but arms are also an issue. We have to change our tactics dramatically from what we are taught at the Academy. We have a history of incidences, and the trend shows that arms and knives appear with small incidents. We don’t have the tools to cover the Park.
Crow: Are your feelings representative of all Park Rangers?
Ranger Trejo: We need LAPD to book them, and LAPD thinks we are crazy doing this job without a firearm. We re-certify every year with firearms.
Chair Thornton: Do you carry tasers?
Ranger Trejo: We have used it (tasers) three times and it’s failed every time.
Carlson: Does LAPD come quickly?
Ranger Trejo: No. They don’t even have the keys to gates.
Crow: We have heard turnover is an issue – why do they leave?
Ranger Trejo: Rangers would have stayed if they had a firearm. We are in an academy class with many other types of officers, they would come over if we had guns.
Crow: Is there anything else that can be done to draw in new rangers?
Ranger Trejo: New tasers may help, but that’s unclear.
Chair Thornton: Anything else we haven’t asked?
Ranger Trejo: We also rescued an owl on a golf course.

PUBLIC COMMENT
Sarajane, HHH: Are there open positions for Rangers? How many does the City budget for?
Ranger Trejo: We should be staffed over 50, there are open positions, but the time to hire is long process. LAPD is prioritized to graduate.
Sarajane, HHH: Lake Hollywood vending, what are some of the other issues the vendors cause?
Ranger Trejo: Vendors seem to be picking up after themselves. For the most part it’s just the presence of vendors.
Sarajane, HHH: We have noticed fruit cups and forks. I don’t know where they are going to the bathroom and clean hands to serve food.
Ranger Trejo: Been trying to reach out to other entities and they can call the health department about the bathroom issue.
Sarajane, HHH: When are people leaving trash?
Ranger Trejo: It’s more customers leaving trash.
Superintendent: Appreciate them for coming out and everything you do.

BROWN ACT REVIEW
Joe Salacies reviewed the Brown Act rules. GPAB has to follow the rules because the City Council created the Parks commissioners, so we have to follow the transparency rules in meetings with the public. Agenda must be posted 72 hours before, posted on door of meeting location.
Chair Thornton: What happens if you don’t post it? Can you not have the meeting?
Joe Salacies: Technically you’re in violation, you would have to cancel meeting.
Crow: How long has it been in place?
Joe Salacies: Since the 1940s.
Crow: What would happen, would you sanction the board?
Joe Salacies: There could be a city council action, lawsuit, or other consequences. Motion items need more description, if informational you don’t need to have public comment.
Crow: Does the potential for a motion have to be on the agenda?
Joe Salacies: Yes, it cannot be done on the fly. Public has to be involved. Standing committees meet regularly, have to follow the Brown Act. Ad hoc committees do not have to meet in public. They are temporary. They do not have to follow the Brown Act. But you cannot have the Board members attend if they are not on the committee. Standing committees cannot have members of the public. And Board members should not meet in any group larger than a quorum to discuss board business. This applies to social media and phones. Chair Thornton: Can you talk a bit about email? Can we talk via email?
Joe Salacies: It’s yes and no. You can discuss meeting attendance, for example.
Phillips: I’ve heard to avoid emails with “should”.
Chair Thornton: there was an issue around public records request. Do they apply to us? 
Joe Salacies: The City attorney will handle. They can request your personal email and text.
Chair Thornton: Is it a request we can say no to?
Phillips: Sounds like a question for the City attorney.
Joe Salacies: Yes, this sounds like a legal question, not a Brown Act thing.

LOS ANGELES EQUESTRIAN CENTER
Joe Salacies provided an update on the Los Angeles Equestrian Center This is the third month of moving ASM Global into equestrian center. Had a Blenheim Horse Show. 

Chair Thornton: For those that don’t know the Blenheim Show is a big deal.
Joe Salacies: Every dollar that comes in goes back to the LAEC. There are lots of improvements needed. One of the barns needs all new electrical. Adding timers and sensors to lighting. Road replacement at Equidome. Bring back the Rancho District and all surrounding districts. Changed all the footings in arenas. Have contract with footing company. Want to bring in revenue.
Phillips: Sounds like at some point it should be a self-sustaining enterprise?
Joe Salacies: It should be. We have to build up the calendar. We opened up the Greek and it worked to fill the calendar.
Chair Thornton: Just driving by you feel like there is progress, like they painted the entrance, added rat boxes. It’s simple things. People don’t realize how important electrical is and how dangerous it is in a barn.
Chair Thornton: Are you going to have a board like the Greek (Theatre) does?
Joe Salacies: Yes, we are taking our time on it. Or waiting for the right time. We have started coffee hours.

PUBLIC COMMENT
Public: Talk about the food concession change. Talk about the options now available.
Chair Thornton: The food is much better at shows.
Joe Salacies: We are relying on outside catering for now, but ASM will bring in food.
Chair Thornton: Are you going to continue to have filming?
Joe Salacies: It’s a balance.
Liz: The commissioners approved $2 million for electrical. One barn is $600k and it’s so bad that you would have to turn off the power during rain.
Chair Thornton: How long until it’s done?
Superintendent: It will be years before it’s done. It’s just like the Greek. It was in such bad shape before we took over. We have to figure out how to prioritize.
Public: Has there been a decision about where the LA28 Olympics will be?
Joe Salacies: Unsure, but I’ve heard its Sepulveda Basin.
Chair Thornton: We could have prelims.
Carlson: IOC gets profit first.
Superintendent thanked Joe for handling this project.

SUPERINTENDENT UPDATES
– Active transportation project is scheduled to start on July 9th. Message boards are around notifying of road work. They are advertising the project will take 2 months, but it shouldn’t be that long. Contractor is tackling one piece at a time. Detour for cyclists will be noticed.
– Pote Field bleacher project complete, advise you to go take a look. They were very bad.
– Budget cuts, as expected scales back funding for all departments, but approved salary increase. Got 79 maintenance positions back. Cuts taking in part time budget. Maintenance and recreation impacted most. Not just rec and parks. Everyone will get a pay increase for next five years. Hard to retain employees without the pay increase. We used to pay competitive wages. It’s one of the top three worst times I’ve seen budget-wise. We will continue.
– Pony rides: nothing new to report, gathering information from polls and surveys. Board of Commissioners will make recommendations on how to move forward.
Chair Thornton: Late spring or summer still?
Superintendent: Yes.

COMMITTEE & AD HOC REPORTS

Chair Thornton: The Executive Committee met and talked about the last meeting and the next meeting.

BOARD BUSINESS

Chung: Fern Dell trail area – the bathrooms are still under construction, correct? Porta potties don’t appear to be there.
Superintendent: They have possibly been moved. I will check.
Chair Thornton: (Showed large spikes that DWP puts to mark pipes) They don’t seem like a good idea to have in the Park. Horses or people can step on them.
Superintendent: Who did we talk to before when this was an issue? Maybe take them to the council office?
Chair Thornton: Should we take this to Memet? Can they pull them out? Volunteered to talk to Memet.

ADJOURNMENT
Motion: Phillips first and Chung second, and Phillips second.
Unanimous at 8:30pm. Next meeting Thursday, June 27th, 2024.