WESTLAKE VILLAGE : Mayor Sees Bright Economic Future

In a short address before a group of local business people, the mayor of Westlake Village said Friday that, despite difficult economic times, the state of the city is quite good indeed.

“All of us know times are not good for either business or government . . . but it’s hard to believe there is a recession in Westlake Village,” said Mayor James Emmons in his annual address before the Westlake Village Chamber of Commerce.

Pointing to a host of new construction projects around town, including the expansion of Westlake Medical Center and plans to build the world headquarters of Dole Food Co. there, Emmons said the city can expect to see a wealth of new jobs in the area in coming years.

“We see nothing but growth, improvement and progress,” he said.

Emmons, who got a standing ovation from the group, credited some of the city’s success to the teamwork of the City Council. He said the council’s conception of itself as a board of directors, and of the city as a corporation, had permitted the city to achieve many of its goals in 1993.

Among those was the opening of a new library in town, and the adoption of a city budget, which, despite tight funds, managed to preserve all major programs, he said.

Two issues the city government is likely to become involved with in the coming year are secession from the Los Angeles County library system, and the acquisition of the Las Virgenes reservoir watershed for parkland, Emmons said.

In past years, Westlake Village has unsuccessfully tried to get legislation that would allow it to form its own library district, which supporters say would allow the city to have better services locally. Emmons echoed that theme.

“Anyone with a pencil and paper can see it makes no economic sense to have a library system administered from 40 miles away,” he said. “What makes sense is to pool our money with Calabasas and Agoura Hills, and look at a new way to provide for library service.”

Emmons reiterated the city’s support for the 492-acre Westlake Vista open space acquisition. But he said the city would need to be continually vigilant to ensure that under control of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the property would not be sold off, or portioned out to campers and boaters without city approval.