Two Burbank city council members speak out on two very different issues
- Burbank City Councilman Dr. David Gordon photo from Burbank website
In the past few days, two members of the Burbank City Council have sent letters to two different newspapers about two very different concerns — producing quite a contrast.
In last Saturday’s Burbank Leader, Dr. David Gordon responded with a rebuttal to the newspaper’s article of July 14 about the controversy surrounding the accounting of millions of dollars by the Burbank Unifed School District.
As Dr. Gordon stated in his letter, he began asking questions after”… it was brought to my attention that millions of school bond, state grants and $23 million provided by the city for district-wide modernization of school facilities had been inappropriately used, were not properly account for or simply disappeared.” Gordon criticizes the Leader’s article for its “…distorted and inaccurate..” portrayal of his position. Here’s the link to Gordon’s letter on the Leader website.
Also, Burbank City Councilman Dave Golonski was prompted to write a letter to the Orange County Register for a personal reason — a project in San Clemente where he owns property. Apparently, Golonski is concerned because he says “…the project is upside down financially and the City Council is considering bailing it out using taxpayer funds.”
I first saw a post about this letter on the Semichorus blog, where there’s a discussion going on about how Golonski supported a project in Burbank where developer, Michael Cusumano, got a piece of city land for only $100. The property is at Third Street and Olive Avenue. It’s where the $20 million Cusumano Plaza was built.
Burbank city officials react to yet another lawsuit
Photo: FLLewis/Media City G — Activist Mike Nolan is a frequent speaker at Burbank Police Commission and Burbank City Council meetings
In another strange twist in Burbank politics, Activist Mike Nolan has joined forces with Burbank Business Owner, Greg Bedrossian, to try to legally block the development of the 24 Hour Fitness Super Sport Center, at 1903 Empire Avenue.
Nolan and Bedrossian (the owner of the Burbank Athletic Club), have sued the city on the grounds the Burbank City Council’s vote/decision on May 18 approving the controversial project “… failed to comply with the applicable provisions of the law.”
In a Burbank Leader article, Burbank Spokesman, Keith Sterling, would not comment directly on the lawsuit, but is quoted as saying city officials were “vigorously defending our position and the decision that was made.” Isn’t that the knee jerk reaction of Burbank officials lately? Rather than looking at the merits of a recent slew of lawsuits involving the police scandal — they are fighting them all by spending thousands and probably millions of dollars of taxpayer funds. Great for the lawyers, not so good for the city and taxpayers paying the bills.
Controversial tape of the BPOA President’s shaky testimony
You gotta wonder what the fallout will be from that tape up on YouTube of Burbank Police Officers’ Association President, Detective Mike Parrinello. The tape shows a portion of Parrinello’s deposition given in matters dealing with the Burbank Police Scandal/Corruption/ mess. It’s spliced with snippets of an audio tape and transcriptions, which appear to demonstrate that Parrinello told less than the truth under oath.
The audio tape is hard to understand at times, but Parrinello’s body language speaks volumes. Get the hook up for the tape on the Semichorus blog.
Gripes & complaints
Photo: FLLewis/Media City G — A Burbank city inspector recently checked out the repair work on East Angeleno Avenue in the hillside area
I’m still hearing the unhappy stories from hillside residents about what they consider as tacky work done by Kalban — a contractor hired by the city of Burbank to repair sidewalks and ramps in the area.
I first reported about the complaints from homeowners in a City Buzz column last month on June 23. And I’m hearing new complaints. Also, the homeowners are apparently doing their own investigating. I’m told the initial inspectors of the project were freelancers hired by Kalban not by the city of Burbank.
I did spot a Burbank inspector recently checking out the repair work done by Kalban on East Angeleno Avenue. The Burbank inspector admitted hearing complaints of so-called substandard work and damage done to some properties by Kalban from homeowners. However, the inspector dismissed those complaints and told me he approved of Kalban’s work.
Clearly there is a disconnect between the city standards and the expectations of homeowners. The construction project is expected to be completed by the end of August. More details on the Burbank city website.
