Council Changes Mind, Will Hire Independent Outside Review Of Woolsey Performance
Written by 991KBU on January 29, 2019
Malibu’s city council … hearing about a pending recall petition drive against two of its members … has voted to hire an independent expert to evaluate the city’;s response to the Woolsey Fire disaster.
One of the two targets of the possible recall … Skylar Peak … said the move was a response to a very angry segment of Malibu voters.
NEWSCART 02899 SKYLAR 1111
“I’d like to add an item a city council agenda that would consider hiring an independent investigator to evaluate the city’s performance in managing the Woolsey Fire, and also consider a performance evaluation of our city manager.”
The other target of the possible recall … councilman Rick Mullen … bristled at the word investigation.
He told Peak that implies something was wrong.
NEWSCART 02055 MULLEN PEAK
MULLEN: “You feel there is an investigation warranted, but that you are responding to a lot of social media …
PEAK: “I’m responding to a lot of people in the public.
“And I think that what ultimately what this community needs is the best tools for us to move forward.
“And I think that part of those tools for us moving forward involve the city evaluating Reva’s performance because I think that that helps …
“I think it would help me, it would help each of us, but more importantly I think that would help people in this city who are grieving and they don’t understand how all the mechanisms of the city works, and they want answers.”
Mullen saw the four votes in favor of the idea … and asked that the language be changed from investigation to review.
That was done … and the plan passed unanimously.
New city council members Karen Farrer and Mikke Pierson will now have the task of finding some sort of outside expert on municipal affairs … to review how the city and its city manager handled the emergency.
Feldman’s defenders have pointed out that California law gives a city manager zero control over county fire department truck deployment or sheriff’s department evacuation tactics.
Both of those have come in for blistering criticism … aimed at Feldman … fairly or not.
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Creation of a new city job to handle fire preparedness was approved bu a unanimous vote last night.
City manager Reva Feldman said last night that the idea is to empower the volunteer garden hose fire brigades … the people who stayed behind in the Woolsey Fire … for when the next one hits.
NEWSCART 02805 FELDMAN BRIGADES
“We suggested adding a position, hoping to get someone who has a back in firefighting, perhaps a retired firefighter, who could do things that have been suggested like setting up neighborhood fire brigades. in our n that have been trained and work with our residents and coordinate that with our with our fire department.”
City council members strongly recommended that this new fire outreach officer be a Malibu local … and several reeled off names of retired firefighters who’ve in Malibu whop would be likely candidates for the job.
The new hire was approved on a unanimous vote.
