Officials Field Questions at Forum

Nearly 250 people turned out for a West Valley town hall meeting Thursday taking advantage of a rare opportunity to question local leaders on subjects from Y2K to sign language and hit-and-run drivers.

Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard C. Parks, Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti and City Atty. James Hahn were some of the officials on hand to field dozens of questions from the public during the two-hour forum.

Also turning out at the Manoogian-Demirdjian School were the newly named regional director of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, Tom Schulkin, and City Councilwomen Laura Chick and Cindy Miscikowski.

“I normally don’t have access to these people,” said West Hills resident Margie Ann Black. “I want to hear the questions that are asked and hear their responses.”

Chief Parks addressed issues of police morale and worries that reassigning senior lead officers to other police duties would hurt the relationship between the department and the public.

“It’s a misnomer to say they [senior lead officers] have been removed from the community,” Parks said. “They’ve been put back in the community [with additional officers].”

As for morale, police productivity is up, the chief said.

Chick assured those in attendance that an upcoming police facilities bond would build the structures its backers have promised, unlike some bond issues in the past. Miscikowski said plans were in motion for an “aggressive, active program” to prevent the Y2K bug from infecting city computers.

It helps, she said, that Jan. 1, 2000, will fall on a weekend.

More than 500 people attended the last town hall meeting put on by the area’s Community Police Advisory Board two years ago, said Virginia Huber, the board’s civilian co-chairwoman.

The advisory board was formed in 1993 in response to findings of the Christopher Commission. Seven communities are represented on the board: Tarzana, Encino, Woodland Hills, West Hills, Canoga Park, Winnetka and Reseda.