Dear: County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavski, County Supervisor Don Knabe, and Beaches and Harbors Director Santos Kreimann, Community and Marketing Services Division Cheryl McGee I am concerned about how the changes being considered by Los Angeles County staff will affect the future existence of currently permitted beach camps as well as the safety provided by camps on Los Angeles County beaches. I am a client of one or more of the camps currently permitted on Los Angeles County beaches, and I have learned, over the years, to trust their competence and integrity. I have recently learned that Los Angeles County is considering changing its camp permit process to an RFP bidding process. This puts at risk the continued existence of camps in LA County, threatening both the long standing relationship that I have built up with them as well as the standards of safety that they have demonstrated. It is not acceptable to put camps that teach and supervise our kids, our clients and ourselves in the position of operating without knowing whether or not they will be able to continue operating in the future. This will discourage safe, reputable camps from applying, and will encourage the existence of questionable operators who are less concerned with whether or not they continue operating in subsequent years. I want to know that I can continue to work with the camps I trust, and it is not fair to either me or to the camps to threaten their stability. Current camp operators’ qualifications are evident from their track record and the fact that their clients continue to use and recommend their services year after year. They have earned my trust, and I do not want Los Angeles County to disrupt or destroy that relationship by changing the permit process. I strongly support the existing year-to-year consistency of permits over what appears to be an ill-considered effort by the County to achieve greater revenue. The economic crisis has affected everyone, not just the County, and our relationships with these camps are worth much more than the few extra dollars that may or may not be earned for the County by changing to an RFP bidding process. Revenue should not be a factor when public safety is at stake. Introducing a bidding system will only serve to erode the level of safety provided by these camps, and I strongly oppose it. Were the camps I use to lose their permit in LA County, I would be unlikely to switch to use the services of a replacement operator. I sincerely hope that the County weighs seriously these considerations and decides to act in the best interests of the community by not changing the current permit process. Do not take our camps away from us! Thank you, Concerned Citizen