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North Westwood Neighborhood Council Recap – May 10

The in-person May 10 meeting of the North Westwood Neighborhood Council, with (from left) at-large stakeholder Nolan Gray, business stakeholder Maikel Kohanhediud and LAFD Station 37 fire Capt. Scott Quinn is pictured. (Jack Stenzel/Daily Bruin staff)

By Constanza Montemayor

May 12, 2023 12:02 a.m.

This post was updated May 17 at 12:16 a.m.

The North Westwood Neighborhood Council is the official neighborhood council representing UCLA and Westwood Village to the Los Angeles City Council. Meetings are held each month and are open to the public at UCLA’s Weyburn Terrace apartments. The next meeting will be held in person June 7.

The NWWNC biennial election was held May 4. NWWNC president Josh Trifunovic said final results will be announced in the coming months, and new council members are expected to assume their positions in July.

Comments by public officials:

  • Karen McClain, UCLA Alumni Association government and community relations liaison, reminded the council of the upcoming UCLA School of Law commencement ceremony Friday, adding that California Attorney General Rob Bonta will deliver the keynote speech. McClain also reminded the council that UCLA will be hosting a ceremony in honor of Memorial Day on May 25 at 11 a.m. in Wilson Plaza. She also informed the council that USA Track and Field will soon be hosting an LA Grand Prix at UCLA, with events in Drake Stadium from May 26 to 27 and a concert at the LA Tennis Center on May 27. She added that the JazzReggae Festival at UCLA will occur May 29 at Sunset Canyon Recreation Center and advertised that tickets remain available for UCLA’s Spring Sing music competition, which will also be held at the tennis center on May 19.
  • Scott Quinn, fire captain at LA Fire Department Station 37 on Veteran Avenue, discussed vacancies in the LAFD third platoon and invited the council to advertise applications. He said a diversity of applicants brings great value to the department. He also informed the council that Saturday is Fire Service Day, during which the public is invited to visit their neighborhood fire stations from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Quinn added that flagship station 69 in Pacific Palisades will hold vehicle demonstrations and all other stations will also be open to the public. He also urged the public to check that their smoke detectors are functioning properly and heed LAFD safety warnings during the upcoming wildfire season.
  • Sherwin Shamoeil, a field representative for District 51 Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, said state assembly bills on housing, climate change and housing justice, including the California Housing Security Act – which offers income-based rent subsidies – have been sent to the appropriations committee. Shamoeil urged the council to advocate for the bills, adding that he fears its funding may be cut because of a state budget deficit.

Public comment:

  • Roxanne Stern, a Westwood resident, said she was saddened by the NWWNC’s lack of online presence. She said the website was too vague and lacked information on the recent council elections, offering little direction on how to acquire an absentee ballot. She added that she hopes election results will be posted online soon, noting that only one council seat election was contested.
  • Winston Gee, a member of the Graduate Student Association, said registered campus organizations can reserve the Weyburn Terrace Skyview room – where NWWNC meetings are held – for free and questioned if that may be an option for the NWWNC to spend less on rent for the meeting room. Nolan Gray, an at-large stakeholder, said the council had previously been registered as an on-campus group but was not aware of the ability to reserve the room for free, adding that the council will look into the possibility of being registered as an on-campus group again.

Agenda:

  • The council approved the meeting minutes from April’s board meeting, with four members voting to abstain.
  • The council unanimously approved a motion to purchase two Zoom licenses for the council at a cost of $200 per year each.
  • The council unanimously approved a neighborhood purpose grant of up to $5,000 for the Friends of Westwood Library to purchase physical books for the Westwood Branch Library collection. It added that the library’s current funding has been toward electronic copies of media, which expire after a certain number of uses.
  • The council unanimously approved a neighborhood purpose grant of up to $5,000 for the LA Musical Salon to fund a series of free public concerts at the Westwood Branch Library.
  • The council unanimously approved a neighborhood purpose grant of up to $5,000 for UCLA Health Sound Body Sound Mind to purchase new fitness equipment for the Emerson Community Charter Middle School and University High School Charter.
  • The council unanimously approved the NWWNC’s January, February and March monthly expenditure reports. Kyle Schmidt, the treasurer of the NWWNC, said the council recorded zero expenses for those months.
  • The council unanimously approved a motion to approve up to $750 to rent the Skyview Room for the NWWNC’s June 7 in-person meeting.
  • The council unanimously approved a motion to approve up to $750 to rent the Skyview Room for the NWWNC’s July and August in-person meetings.
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Constanza Montemayor | News senior staff
Montemayor is a News senior staff reporter for the Bruin. She was previously the 2022-2023 News editor, the 2021-2022 features and student life editor, a News reporter, Photo contributor for the news beat and Arts contributor. She is also a fourth-year global studies student at UCLA.
Montemayor is a News senior staff reporter for the Bruin. She was previously the 2022-2023 News editor, the 2021-2022 features and student life editor, a News reporter, Photo contributor for the news beat and Arts contributor. She is also a fourth-year global studies student at UCLA.
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