Merced Times

City of Calabasas issued the following announcement on Nov 6.

What a week this has been. The results of the Presidency are still too close to call as I write this letter.   As we near a winner, I can only hope that the divisiveness we have seen throughout this national election begins to subside.  

The City of Calabasas also conducted an election for City Council.  Contrary to the national stage, this election was one of civility, discussion of ideas, and respect shown by all the candidates for one another.  There were four candidates running for two seats.  Based on current unofficial vote counts from the Los Angeles County Registrar Recorder/County Clerk, I am honored to be reelected to another term and will be joined by our current Planning Commissioner, Peter Kraut.  The final election results are scheduled to be certified by the County on November 30th and the Council reorganization will take place on December 9th. 

COVID was not only a big issue in the Presidential campaign – it will be a big issue for months to come as we continue to need to deal with its implications on our community- both our residents and our businesses.  LA County is still in the Governor’s Purple Tier based on our numbers.  We need to move to the red tier so more businesses and schools can reopen.  To do that, LA County needs to get its daily average new case numbers down to about 700. Currently, the county’s adjusted case rate is 7.5 new cases per 100,000 people, a drop from last week’s 8, but not enough to meet the state’s requirement of 7 or fewer cases per 100,000 for two consecutive weeks to move into a less restrictive tier.  In order for this to happen, we must continue to wear a mask, social distance, and not engage in large gatherings.  New information from the County shows the increase in cases is due mostly from large gatherings.  

I know this is hard for everyone, but I also know how important it is for our children to have the option to go back to school and for more of our businesses to open and have a greater chance for survival.  Our path to a greater recovery is in our control if we can all do our part.  We must do what we need to do to get this virus under control.

On a positive note on the COVID recovery path, you might begin to see more cars on the road in the mornings and afternoons near our schools.  The Las Virgenes Unified School District was granted a waiver from the Los Angeles County Public Health Department for grades TK-2 to return for in person school.  Viewpoint School has also brought back grades K-2 under Public Health guidelines. 

One of the jobs of a Mayor is to deliver the annual State of the City Address.  Normally, it’s a relatively large event where residents, business, and education leaders come together to hear what has been accomplished during the year and plans for the future of the City.  Of course, this being a COVID year, we had to improvise a bit.  I delivered the address live on Zoom and CTV back in September.  Since I was also a candidate for office, city policy precludes the event from being repeated in the weeks leading up to an Election day.  Now that the race is over, we can show the address on CTV and on the web.  You can also watch it at: https://youtu.be/OGMvZ44Ff8I

I want to thank Interim City Manager Ray Taylor for his service as he re-enters his retirement.  Ray came on as we began our search for a new permanent City Manager back in May.   His experienced, steady hand helped guide the City through a very difficult time and we cannot thank him enough.  Because of state retirement rules, Ray’s number of hours with us was limited.  Because we are still interviewing for a permanent City Manager, we have hired Don Penman as our new Interim City Manager.   Don has served in a variety of executive positions for many decades, including a long stint as City Manager for the City of Arcadia.  We are pleased to welcome Don to our City and I know he looks forward to working with our residents and businesses. 

One important final item. This year we are unable to gather in person to honor our Veterans on November 11th.  Although we cannot be together in person, I wanted to take a moment to honor all of the brave men and women who have fought to protect us and our country.  We have many of these brave men and women who live in our community and they deserve our gratitude for all that they have done.  Hopefully next year we will be back in the Calabasas Veterans Garden to honor and recognize these brave residents and heroes. 

Have a wonderful and safe weekend, 

Alicia

Original source can be found here.