Council amends benefits policy to extend lifetime community‑center membership to select former employees

Council members discussed and amended item 7 on Aug. 13 to update benefit program eligibility for lifetime memberships tied to the Calabasas Community Center. The change opens lifetime membership to any former community‑center board member and adds specific retroactive lifetime memberships for three former long‑term community‑center employees.

Mayor Pro Tem James Bizajan explained the amendment’s intent: to acknowledge long service by community‑center staff who were laid off when the center closed and to make clear the change is specific to the community center. He named the three employees he wanted included—Linda Schroeder, Brandon Ferguson and Jenna Ferguson—as examples of long‑term staff who should receive the benefit. “I would like to include those, and I’d like to include the 3 individuals who worked at the community center approximately 20 years each,” he said.

The city attorney cautioned about setting a city‑wide precedent and recommended clarifying language in the resolution to distinguish community‑center employees from other city retirees. The council agreed to add that clarifying language to prevent the action from being interpreted as establishing a general benefit precedent for all city employees. Council Member Ed Albrecht and others voiced support for the narrow, retroactive recognition of those affected by the community‑center closure.

The amended language was incorporated before the collective consent vote; the council approved item 7 (as amended) in the final roll‑call motion.