New traffic commissioner replaces Garvin

Joel Price was recently selected by the Thousand Oaks City Council to serve as a commissioner on the Traffic and Transportation Advisory Committee.

The opening on the committee came as a result of a traffic accident that took the life of Commissioner Glenn Garvin, who was struck by a car and killed while riding his bicycle in the northbound bicycle lane of Westlake Boulevard in September.

Price, a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department, has lived in Thousand Oaks for 15 years. He grew up in the San Fernando Valley and moved with his wife and children to the Conejo Valley for the schools and quality of life, he said.

The 27-year police veteran is currently a homicide detective assigned to the Devonshire area of the San Fernando Valley, but has also dealt with traffic and planning issues, he said. Price has spent about two years as a Ventura County Sheriff's Department reserve officer.

His dedication to public service is evidenced by his efforts as the co-founder and president of the Nicole Parker Foundation for Children, a nonprofit organization formed in memory of an 8-year-old girl who was abducted and murdered in 1993. The group has donated more than $100,000 to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

Price has also coordinated a golf tournament benefiting the Thousand Oaks Police Department for the past three years and works with the Thousand Oaks Police Charitable Foundation.

From 12 to 14 candidates were interviewed for this position, according to Public Works Director Mark Watkins.

The council voted 4-0 to appoint him, with Tom Glancy absent.

-Nancy Needham