Westlake Village : Council to Discuss Contingency Plans

Fearing that the planned closure of Westlake Medical Center will leave residents without emergency medical services, the Westlake Village City Council will meet tonight to discuss contingency plans.

Part of a special strategy session to help the council establish goals for the coming year, the meeting will also consider such topics as the development of a long-range library services plan and crime reduction.

Since medical center officials announced this month that the facility would close in about six months, city officials have been working to prepare for loss of the emergency room services, Mayor James Emmons said. One plan, he said, would reroute patients to Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Ventura County.

But it is not clear, he said, whether the Los Angeles County Fire Department, which provides the city’s paramedic service, would be willing or legally able to transport patients into Ventura County.

In the library matter, Emmons said the council will discuss how to maintain an adequate level of funding in the face of budget cuts by Los Angeles County, which helps funds Westlake Village’s library. Also, city officials, concerned about a 54% increase in serious crime from 1994 to 1995, said they are working with the Sheriff’s Department to focus on problem areas.

The 5 p.m. meeting at City Hall, 4373 Park Terrace Drive, will precede the council’s regular meeting at 7:30.