A proposal by a regional state agency to move a gang prevention program into the old oil town of Mentryville, a California Historical Landmark, has been scheduled for consideration by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, June 2 – but Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich is asking his fellow board members to delay the decision until June 30 so the proposal can be publicly vetted first.
Antonovich’s request appears in a supplemental agenda, which came out after the supervisors’ regular agenda for Tuesday’s meeting was published.
Antonovich’s staff has coordinated with the West Ranch Town Council to hold a public hearing on the gang-prevention program June 3. That meeting is slated for 6:30 p.m. at the Stevenson Ranch Library Community Room.
If approved by the supervisors, the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority – the agency that owns and manages Mentryville – would be authorized and funded ($250,000) to move a program for court-referred “at risk” youth from all over Los Angeles County into Mentryville’s Johnson Park.
Johnson Park is located halfway up the trail in Mentryville, between the historic town buildings and the capped-off oil wells at the back of the canyon that gave rise to California’s oil industry.
According to a report to the supervisors from Russ Guiney, director of the county’s parks department, the Johnson Park location “is not in a sensitive environment, and there are no cumulative impacts, unusual circumstances, or other limiting factors” that would require full-blown environmental review.
However, Mentryville, including Johnson Park, is California Historical Landmark No. 516-2. According to an official with the California Office for Historic Preservation, the landmark designation includes the entire Mentryville area, from the buildings to the oil wells – not just the little town at the base of the canyon. The OHP official was unaware of the MRCA’s at-risk youth program proposal.
According to Guiney’s report, the county’s 1992 park bond measure included $12 million for gang prevention programs, of which $3 million is earmarked for the MRCA. Previously, the MRCA was running a gang prevention program in East Canyon west of Interstate 5, southwest of Newhall in the Santa Clarita Woodlands area – which is not a state historical landmark.
The East Canyon program would move to Mentryville, if approved.
Guiney’s report says the project calls for “renovation of existing facilities and construction of an overnight camping facility for vocational training, recreation, and education of at-risk youth.”
A check of Johnson Park on Friday revealed that the park facilities, including men’s and women’s restrooms, are in good, working condition.
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21 Comments
Are citizens allowed to go there and speak? I don’t know how this works.
Absolutely, but “there” is actually down at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Adminstration in Downtown L.A. Tuesday ….. you figure some people in Stevenson Ranch might want to speak up about the court-referred inner-city gang members they’ll be busing past their homes.
Yikes! Shereen Lahham Manning you need to go speak up!!
So it sounds like your issue with this isn’t the use of a landmark to host the program, but it’s the scary “inner city” gang members that may be passing through?
Stupidity, why do we need to screw up historical landmarks?
Courtney , Malinee, and Robyn…in your backyard!
As I have said before- this is not good!!! Having troubled youth ( gang members) down the street from Southern Oaks and Stevenson Ranch is a recipe for disaster. If this is allowed to pass its just a matter of time until the affects are felt in Stevenson Ranch, and NOT in a good way!!
No !!! This is not good we do not want this!!!
We live in this community to get away from derelicts. So now they want to move them up here and use Mentryville as the location? What Dummy is doing the thinking on this one?
You know we have gang members here in Santa Clarita? Also, heroine and marijuana are running rampant in our city, and there’s drug dealers outside of our schools, selling these drugs to our kids…or, worse yet, recruiting our kids to sell in their schools…
So, why not have a gang prevention place in our city?
Yes this is all very true. I feel like they don’t want to shed light on the SCV’s dirty little secret. They started flushing all the was junkies out of the local wash,and that was a good start . This sounds like they want to bring outsiders in.
It’s not in a city, and it doesn’t involve SCV youth. The program is primarily for court referrals from inner-city L.A.
You have to go through OUR city to access said location. To bring in outside Riff Raff. I guess this is part of ” Shared Responsibility ” You have destroyed your life and all the nice things around you. So come to my town and do the same thing. This is poor decision making.
Russ Guiney, director of the county’s parks department, the Johnson Park location “is not in a sensitive environment, and there are no cumulative impacts, unusual circumstances, or other limiting factors” that would require full-blown environmental review.
According to an official with the California Office for Historic Preservation, the landmark designation includes the entire Mentryville area, from the buildings to the oil wells – not just the little town at the base of the canyon. The OHP official was unaware of the MRCA’s at-risk youth program proposal.
Good Reporting AN ENVIRONMENT IMPACT NEEDS TO BE DONE.
WHEN DID MRCA’s CHARTER INCLUDE “AT RISK YOUTH” ARE”T THEY SUPPOSE TO PROTECT OUT MOUNTAINS? THEY ARE ALREADY RECEIVING MONIES FOR THE WOODLANDS/TOWSLEY CANYON AREA WE NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THAT AS WELL….
IF THIS IS PASSED ON TUESDAY WHAT AS CITIZENS OF SANTA CLARITA
CAN WE THEN DO TO STOP THIS???
Kristen Felan Hayes Tammy Howard Hutten Tracie Mathews
Jo, umm no!
Yeah take them there so they could carve their damn names everywhere.. Real Damn smart thinking!
Kimberly Demmary
This just sounds like horrible plan when looked at from any angle. If you own property or live in Stevenson Ranch (I don’t) you’d better be at the June 3, 6:30 PM meeting at the Stevenson Ranch Library. I don’t know if this article is late in being reported or the Board of Supervisors is pulling a fast one. Regardless, everyone should get the decision moved to a later date so that the local citizens have time to voice their opinions.
Where is the anti-salt water injection crowd. This may arguably have more direct impact on home prices and recreation lands. Are you going to go for a walk in Mentryville after this “gang prevention program” is installed? Push a stroller up the nice paved road? What is this “program” ? What are they going to do. Where is the water and sewage coming from and going?
Don Teller; Just because people ask relevant questions doesn’t beget irrelevant responses like yours. My guess is that you are the type who thinks they know better than anyone else. Closed minded, when you think the opposite.