KHG 2018-2019 BOARD & OFFICERS
President: Tracy Thrower Conyers
1st Vice President: Aaron Torrence
2nd Vice President: Melissa Remer
Secretary: Chris Blatter
Treasurer: Open
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
It’s year end time for KHG and time for our Annual Meeting. The meeting has been set for Saturday, June 1st and we hope you can join us.
We also have three seats up for election. You will see in the separate election mailing with your ballot that we have three very strong members who have stepped up to serve next year. Please take a minute to mail your ballot back to the office. Or better yet, bring it to the meeting. You can read our candidates’ bios here.
With these three new additions to the Board, I’m super excited to see what we can do as a community next year. Our single-family lifestyle is under assault in LA, and it’s never been more important to have a strong homeowners association and voice in local government. Kentwood comprises 25-30% of all Westchester. We have a big voice.
ANNUAL MEMBER MEETING – SAVE THE DATE!
Our Annual Member meeting is set for June 1st at 12:30 pm. The meeting will be held in the Community Room at the Westchester Fire Station. A light lunch will be served at 12:30 and we’re working on a couple of speaker options for 1 pm. Watch our website for speaker updates. We will also send out an email announcement when the line up is con-firmed. If you’re not on our email list, you can add your email address at here.
Come out and meet your neighbors!
NO MORE KHG NEWSLETTERS
We are sending out one last newsletter to subscribers in the next 30 days, but the Board has elected to discontinue the newsletter program because we haven’t been able to find an editor for the program. The newsletter has been a nice little fundraiser for our association, but without an editor, the Board didn’t feel that the program could continue.
Want to step up and volunteer? The Board would be happy to reinstate the program if somebody will commit to piloting the program. The time commitment is to follow events within the association and wider community, and draft a four-page newsletter four times per year. You would work with KHG’s Outreach Committee to finalize and distribute.
NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL ELECTIONS
Do you follow our Neighborhood Council? Neighborhood Councils in LA are mandated by our City Charter to promote citizen participation in city government and make our government more responsive to local needs.
Our local NC covers Playa del Rey, Playa Vista and Westchester. Members of our NC are elected by area stakeholders – people who live, work, own property or otherwise declare a stake in our community. Fifteen of our NC’s seats are reserved for residents only. The other seats are dedicated to business, clergy, youth organizations and other local organizations.
Terms of office are split between two groups so that four-year terms are staggered. Read more here.
The NC is the first place for us to take our City-related concerns and complaints, and it’s important that we all understand the NC and its role in our community. We elect our representatives and it’s incumbent on each of us that we exercise this right to vote so that the NC, as constituted, speaks for us.
On Sunday, June 2nd, from 10 am to 4 pm, elections will be held for 14 seats, including one Kentwood seat – Residential Seat 7 for the area bounded by the Bluff, Sepulveda, 80th St and Emerson Avenue. Elections are held in the Community Room of the Westchester Municipal Building at 7166 Manchester Ave.
You can read NC candidate bios here. Pro tip: we vote on all residential seats, not just seats for the district where we live. It makes no sense, but that is how it works, so read all the bios and vote for people who align with your own city government sentiments.
NEIGHBORHOOD STARS
And speaking of the Neighborhood Council, each year our NC sponsors a Stars of the Neighborhood Award. The purpose of the award is to identify and honor unsung heroes in our community who “quietly, persistently and without fanfare” volun-tarily perform good deeds that serve neighbors and/or the community. Nominations are evaluated by an ad hoc committee of the NC, and the winning honoree(s) are honored at the Westchester Annual Fourth of July Parade.
Nominations are due June 14th and the nomination form can be found here.
COMMENTS INCLUDED WITH ASSESSMENT PAYMENTS
We recently wrapped up assessment season and I have to say, I was startled by some of the notes that came in with checks. I’m not sure who these commenters think are processing their payments, but I will tell you that it’s one hardworking part-time employee or on occasion, a hardworking volunteer. Our part-time employee is a also a fellow member and neighbor.
We are a small organization and each property owner pays, on average, less than $15/year. I’m proud of what we accomplish at that price point. Some of the comments that came in were beyond nasty and completely uncalled for.
On a happier note, we got some really nice comments, too. 🙂
DOCKLESS SCOOTERS
You’ve undoubtedly seen the dockless or “e” scooters and bikes around by now. They are mostly the black “birds” and “lime” scooters you see on our Kentwood streets, but there are at least 11 companies offering scooters and/or bikes in Los Angeles. Each company is allowed 3000, with many more allowed in some areas.
LA very recently launched a one-year pilot program to regulate who can ride, where they can ride and where they can leave these scooters and bikes.
The rules:
- Bike lanes must be used when available
- No riding on the sidewalk
- Helmets are encouraged
- Parking must be at bike racks or by the curb
- Traffic rules must be obeyed
- ADA access ramps and building entrances are not to be blocked
- Parking is not allowed on ramps or at blue, yellow or white curbs
- No parking on sidewalks less than 3’ wide
- Users must be 18 years old and have a valid CA Drivers License
- Only one person at a time on a scooter
- E-scooters cannot exceed 15 MPH
If you see a scooter or e-bike improperly parked, you can submit a service request through the MyLA311 App on your phone or LADOT’s website at www. ladot.lacity.org. The company owning the scooter or bike is required to respond within two hours to a request between 7 am and 10 pm. Scooters and bikes that haven’t been moved after five days are subject to impound.
You can read more about dockless scooters and bikes on LADOT’s website here.
REPLACING TRASH BINS
Do you have broken or damaged trash, recycling or yard waste bins? Getting them replaced is as simple as pulling out your cell phone and opening the MyLA311 app or calling LA Sanitation at 800-773-2489. They will ask you for your bin’s serial number. When I did this recently, I had my new bins within a week. Pro tip: take a picture of your bins. My neighbor had one stolen recently. She thinks a construction crew took it, but without a photo, it’s hard to prove what is yours.
ORGANIC GARDENING
Are you into organic gardening? The Friends of Venice Library are hosting a series of workshops on May 25th, July 13th and September 14th. RSVPs are required. More information can be found on their facebook page.
And don’t forget the Emerson Avenue Community Garden right here in the heart of Kentwood. They are always hosting educational workshops and other community events. Find their upcoming events on their website.
LAX MODERNIZATION PROJECT
Did you know that LAX is the fifth busiest airport in the world and the second busiest in the US? Representatives from the LAX Modernization Project (“LAMP”) joined us at a recent Board meeting to share details on LAMP’s roll-out.
The Automated People Mover (“APM”) is an electric train system on a 2.25 mile elevated guideway with six stations – three inside the terminal loop and three outside. LAX expects the the APM to be fully operational in 2023. Construction should be starting in Summer/Fall of this year. In addition to reducing traffic, the APM will also leverage cutting-edge sustainability practices to reduce the airport’s overall carbon footprint. Find renderings of this exciting project here.
The APM project is expected to cost $2B and create more than 2,200 construction jobs. Ride duration is 10 minutes end to end and frequency is expected to be every two minutes. The cost to ride is free.
Other components of the project include the Intermodal Transportation Facility – West (“ITF-W”) scheduled to open in 2021, the Airport Metro Connector Station (AMC) scheduled to open in 2023, and the Consolidated Rental Car (ConRAC) facility, scheduled to open in 2023.
ITF-W will be a facility where passengers and employees can be dropped off or picked up outside the terminal area. The facility will include a 2.8M square foot, 4-5 level parking structure with 7,700 public parking spaces, concessions and other amenities. The parking structure will also provide office space for the LAX Security and Badging Office. The parking structure is expected to open at the end of 2020.
The ConRAC facility will relocate over 20 existing rental car locations scattered around the airport into one location adjacent to the 405. The approximately 5.3M square foot facility will connect to the APM and feature 6,600 ready/return spaces, 10,000 idle vehicle storage spaces, 1,100 rental car employee spaces and “Quick Turn Around” facilities for car washing, fueling and light maintenance.
The Airport Metro Connector (AMC) Transit Station will be located near Aviation/96th and will include three at-grade Light Rail Transit platforms to be served by the Crenshaw/LAX Line and an extension of the Metro Green Line. There will also be a bus plaza, bike hub, pedestrian plaza and passenger vehicle pick-up and drop-off area. Read more about this exciting project here.
Read all the latest LAMP news here. You can also subscribe for updates on the same page.
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Kentwood Home Guardians 8921 S. Sepulveda Blvd., #118 • Westchester CA 90045 310.670.5111 phone • 310.670.5859 fax http://www.kentwoodhomeguardians.com info@kentwoodhomeguardians.com |
