We lost one of Beverly Hills’ finest this week with the passing of Judie Fenton. I first met Judie over forty years ago when she ran the Beverly Hills Sports Camp that Nick Ostroff and Natalie Anne Ostroff attended. She was a tireless fundraiser for various City departments and charities. (See page 3).

More recently she used her comprehensive “Rolodex” to help elect some of our best members of the City Council and Board of Education including Lester Friedman, Julian Gold and her close personal advisor, Frank Fenton. Her son Steven Fenton was also a member of the Board of Education and was one of the leaders of the Beverly Hills High Athletic Alumni Association. She served as a member of the Recreation and Parks Commission (I had applied for that commission at the same time but had no chance once Judie expressed interest.). Most recently, she helped guide the One Beverly Hills project through the entitlement process.

Judie was one of a kind, irreplaceable and will be sorely missed.

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Shana Epstein

Shana Epstein, who has been the Director of the Beverly Hills Department of Public Works since 2017, has announced her retirement as Director to take a position in the private sector. City Manager Ryan Gohlich has stated his intention to announce a replacement “in the coming weeks.” Shana has been an unusually hands-on manager of the department so her departure may mark some significant changes.

Greg Barton

Our true Beverly Hills institution, Fire Chief Greg Barton, is retiring as soon as his replacement is installed so I thought that I would say a few words about him.

I must correct the notion that there will be a “replacement” for a guy that at least 1,000 Beverly Hills residents regard as their best friend. While we may have a new fire chief, there will never be a replacement for Greg.

Ironically, however, he says that he wants his legacy to be that as soon as he walks out the door, things will simply carry on smoothly and he will never be mentioned or thought of again. Sorry, Chief, that is soooooooo not happening.

Greg has been with the BHFD since 1995 and has risen through the ranks until he became Chief in 2017. He earned a BA degree from UC Davis and put himself through a fire fighter Academy at Solano Community College. He had intended to become a lawyer until he spent two summers with the United States Forest Service working in northern California and then had a seasonal job with the USFS in Angelus National Forest.

The process of landing a job with a fire department was very challenging when Greg was in the market. He applied with approximately 30 fire departments before being one of 12 successful applicants out of 1200 who applied for spots with BHFD in 1995. He says that it is easier now but 500 have applied for 10 open spots with the department. He is confident that the ten openings will be filled promptly.

Greg grew up in Woodland Hills and went to Carmelite Crespi High School and then UC Davis where he played varsity baseball. He once told me that his team traveled to Australia where he became hooked on meat pies. So, for our farewell interview, we had steak pies from Kitchen1437/Bronzed Aussie on S. Robertson.

He has had numerous high honors while chief including receiving the City’s Fred C. Cunningham Award for Distinguished Service, serving as President of Rotary and, most significantly, serving as a charter member of the exclusive and somewhat secretive BELCH men’s eating group.

As you may know, Greg is a man of faith, a devout Christian. I asked him how he fit so well in a predominantly Jewish city. He said: “People are people; I try to treat everyone with respect. Beverly Hills is a unique place; from the outset the community adopted me and my family.” He makes certain that every member of the department acts and feels that way. He says: “We do not tolerate egos.”

The Beverly Hills Fire Department, under Greg’s watch, holds two major distinctions that place it among the top fire service agencies in the United States. It holds a Class 1 Public Protection Rating, the highest possible rating granted by the Insurance Services Office (ISO) which helps in lowering property insurance rates. It is accredited internationally by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) and the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE). Having both of these places BHFD is an elite among approximately less than 1% of US fire departments.

Another special aspect of BHFD is its resident service orientation. Under Greg’s leadership, the orientation of the fire department is to help in every situation needed. Most of what the fire department does is respond to approximately 5000 Emergency Medical Service calls each year. There are only around one fire call per month and almost all of those are either false alarms or small kitchen fires. But the department is involved in all manner of helpful errands including rescuing exotic birds from tall trees or helping residents replace fire alarm batteries or turning off their sprinkler systems.

Greg says that this orientation stems from the Rotary credo of “Service above self.”

Greg credits the community and the Council for the department’s success. He says that the attitude of the Council has always been very supportive and the Council has provided everything the department has asked for. Accordingly, when I asked for his wish list, there was nothing on it.

So I will end with mine: I wish for a new Fire Chief who will carry on the legacy and high standards set by Greg Barton.

For Greg I wish nothing but the best for this paragon and his family.