Altadena Library Officials Send Message To Sheriff Villaneuva

Press release from the Altadena Public Library:

May 22, 2020

The Altadena Library District Board of Trustees sent the following letter to Sheriff Alex Villanueva on Monday, May 18, 2020:

Dear Sheriff Villaneuva,

As the trustees of an independent special library district in Altadena, we are the only local elected legislative body for the unincorporated community of Altadena. Representing one of the oldest independent special districts in the state of California, we and our staff are dedicated to providing outstanding services to our unique and vibrant community. We appreciate you considering our thoughts and concerns as described below; our goal is to advocate in the strongest possible terms for the continued safety and wellbeing of our entire community.

Like our neighbors across Altadena, we were shocked and dismayed to learn of your initial plans to close the Altadena Sheriff’s Station. Many others, including other elected representatives and our colleagues on the Altadena Town Council, have outlined the profound negative effects resulting from a closure, and we echo those sentiments. We remain deeply concerned by the plans to substantially and materially downgrade the presence there by merging administrative functions from the Altadena Station with those of Crescenta Valley. You yourself agreed (in a response to a question during the town hall on 5/14/20) that not having local leadership, in the form of Capt. Jacobs, the operations lieutenant, and administrative staff present in Altadena is a “valid concern.”

That is, in our opinion, a grave understatement. The leadership and membership of the Altadena Sheriff’s Station is a vital component of our community here in Altadena, and partner agency with whom we work closely on a regular basis. We rely on the proximity and trust with our local leadership to ensure that we can provide safe service to our patrons. Nearly 600 patrons visit our Main Library and our Branch Library every day, totaling more than 14,600 visits every month. It is because of Altadena Sheriff’s presence at our large community events and around the library that we can confidently focus on what we do best. It is not only the presence of deputies but the engaged, active leadership present at the Altadena Station that ensures the ongoing cohesion and positive trajectory of this community. We – along with many other groups in Altadena, including our faith organizations – prize our close working relationship with the leadership of the Altadena Sheriff’s Station, and removing that administrative presence will represent a real and profound loss to the community.

Closing the station is entirely unacceptable, and equally unacceptable is eliminating the administrative and leadership presence at our station. While it’s hard for the public, and other public agencies, to decipher the exact numbers, it appears as though the Sheriff’s Department is facing a budget deficit of just over $100M dollars. Your proposed cuts to the Altadena sheriff station only represent about 3.5% of that shortfall, but in reality, the impact to our community would be exponentially higher with the addition of your proposed cuts to parks and mountain rescue services. Surely we deserve a better explanation as to why you believe our community must carry such an outsized burden. The impact on Altadena is unwarranted and unfair, and we would strongly urge you to work collaboratively with the Board of Supervisors and the CEO in considering other options to resolve your budget issues. We hope you will prioritize the safety, wellbeing, community, and people of Altadena.

Sincerely,

The Altadena Library District Board of Trustees

Dr. Katie Clark, Board President & Trustee
Terry Andrues, Trustee
Jason Capell, Trustee
Betsy Kahn, Trustee
Gwendolyn McMullins, Trustee

CC: Congresswoman Judy Chu, Supervisor Kathryn Barger, State Senator Anthony Portantino, Assemblymember Chris Holden, President of Altadena Town Council Billy Malone, and Capt. Marjory Jacobs of Altadena Sheriff’s Station

Download a copy of the Board of Trustees’ letter to Sheriff Villanueva.

This press release was produced by the Altadena Public Library. The views expressed are the author's own.