Montecito Association’s Annual Meeting

By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   January 10, 2019
New Montecito Association board members Aimee Miller and Marshall Miller

Tuesday, January 8, 2019 was the 71st annual Montecito Association meeting, marking the retirement of directors Frank Abatemarco, Frank Blue, Barbara Matthews, and Michelle Saltoun

Outgoing president Charlene Nagel thanked the board for their service during her two-year tenure as president, noting the achievements of the Association in the last year, including several successful events, forums, and navigating the rebuilding process following the 1/9 debris flow. Nagel described the events of January 9, 2018, and thanked many people in the community for their service during that time. “It was my intent to serve with integrity and transparency,” Nagel said. “I hope I’ve achieved that and I hope my work was appreciated. I am filled with great gratitude for our membership, and I can’t thank you enough for your continued support.” Peter Van Duinwyk praised Nagel’s accomplishments, calling her a lifeline to the community during the 1/9 debris flow. 

Five seats were filled on the Board, each for a three-year term. The newly elected directors are Laura Bridley and Cindy Feinberg, who have served on the board in prior years, and Robert Kemp, who was reelected. New board members are Aimee Miller and Marshall Miller (not related). Aimee Miller is a local interior designer, interested in the safety and resiliency of the community. Marshall Miller is a fourth generation Montecito resident, with children at Montecito Union School. A new slate of officers was appointed, including Megan Orloff as president, Peter van Duinwyk as first vice president, Houghton Hyatt as second vice president, Kathi King as secretary, and Linnea Pattillo as treasurer. Bridley will serve as Land Use Chair. 

During the monthly board meeting, which commenced following the annual meeting, the Board received a report from Flood Control Director Tom Fayram, who refuted a recently published Los Angeles Times article which blamed the County of Santa Barbara for not clearing out Montecito’s debris basins sufficiently prior to the 1/9 event. First District Supervisor Das Williams reported that the County is committed to maintaining Montecito’s debris basins, and said that the article made “huge leaps” in its reporting. 

“I want to assure all of you that while the fire was still going on, we moved in to start cleaning the debris basins,” Fayram said. “I’m obviously disturbed by the conclusions that were made, and they are simply not true, except for the cheap shot that our crews took Christmas off. Yes I gave them Christmas off,” he went on to say. Fayram said all 11 debris basins were cleared out by January 5, and will continue to be cleared out after every storm. “The debris flow on the ninth overtopped the basins by twenty feet. The relative capability of our system to what came down upon us makes the whole issue a moot point,” Fayram said. “I give you my promise that we will continue to clear out the basins; I sleep at night knowing that we completed our mission in January 2018, and we will continue to do that.” 

Moving forward, Fayram reported that the Army Corps of Engineers is currently working on a study of the basins to help the County formalize next steps. “The current design of the debris basins do a relatively poor job of preserving room for rocks,” Fayram said, adding that the basins can be modified to perform better. A new basin is slated for Randall Road. 

During community reports, Montecito Fire Chief Chip Hickman reported that the MFPD board is making amendments to the Community Wildfire Protection Plan, following extensive study of the Thomas Fire. A draft of the amendment will be available this Friday. 

Pat McElroy with the Partnership for Resilient Communities gave an update on the steel nets; construction crews are beginning to stage and the nets have been ordered following the approval of County permits in December. Fundraising continues for the project; nearly $3M has been raised so far for the $7.5M project. “We feel confident that we will have the money that we need to do what we are going to do,” he said. “We look at these as a series of brakes, that supplement the existing debris basins,” McElroy said. See below for more about the Partnership and an important upcoming meeting on January 16. 

Montecito Hall will have a new art piece on its walls, thanks to Hazel Blakenship of the Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation, who helped facilitate the donation of an American flag made out of old fire hoses from Montecito and Santa Barbara fire departments. The flag was created by retired firefighter John Carrillo, and is one of several available for purchase. Proceeds from the flag go to the Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation; for more information go to www.pcvf.org. 

The next Montecito Association board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 12. 

 

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