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Residents tell Baldwin Park council vendors, park bathrooms, graffiti and homelessness are pressing concerns
Summary
Multiple residents at the Oct. 1 Baldwin Park council meeting raised concerns about unpermitted street vendors, unsafe park restrooms, freeway graffiti and homelessness; library representative shared upcoming programs. Council urged use of the Baldwin Park Connect app and said staff will coordinate with code enforcement and waste management.
Speakers at the Baldwin Park City Council meeting on Oct. 1 urged the council to address several quality-of-life issues, including unpermitted street vending, park restroom repairs, freeway graffiti and homelessness. A representative from the Los Angeles County Library also highlighted upcoming programs.
Irma Morales of the Los Angeles County Library System told the council about library resources and events, including a writers summit on Oct. 5 and children’s programs and virtual offerings in English and Spanish. “You can find out information on lacountylibrary.org,” Morales said, listing an author talk and free vaccine clinic among events.
Several residents used public comment to press the council on enforcement and maintenance. One resident, identified as Mr. Rios, said he has observed more street vendors on Sundays and reported slow responses to code issues. He also said the Walnut Creek park restrooms remain unrepaired and urged the city to fix toilet hardware that he described as unsafe for people with limited strength.
Another resident said repeated trash, graffiti near the I-605 and I-10 freeways and encampments near some businesses are creating ongoing problems that local property owners are compelled to address.
Pastor Paul Flores of Church of the Redeemer described a planned prayer march and community resource fair on Nov. 1. “We are just wanting to come together to commit to prayer for safety, prayer against violence, prayer for unification,” Flores said, and he said the march will start at the corner of Francesquito and Ramona and conclude at Morgan Park.
Mayor Pro Tem Daniel Damien responded to the comments on enforcement and maintenance, noting staff availability and interagency limits where freeway corridors are managed by Caltrans. Damien encouraged residents to report issues through the Baldwin Park Connect app so staff can triage requests in the order they are received and said the city will coordinate with code enforcement and waste management as needed.
During council comments, staff and council members also thanked recreation staff for a recent boxing tournament and ongoing youth sports programs, and they noted that staff secured gap funding for two programs (Serenity and Esperanza) totaling about $916,000 this cycle plus about $330,000 the prior year to support operations for roughly another 12 months.
