Also, Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Jennings says he will take care of the fish living in the City Hall aquarium.
By The Malibu Times Staff
City Manager Jim Thorsen said at Monday’s City Council meeting that state officials showed interest in Malibu’s Legacy Park project when he, Mayor Ken Kearsley and Councilmember Sharon Barovsky traveled to Sacramento earlier this month. The city officials met with various government officials from state agencies regarding Malibu’s plan to enhance the city-owned Chili Cook-Off site (the future Legacy Park) into an element of a wastewater/storm water treatment program.
“Our project was very well received by those agencies, and we fully believe we’ll be on target for grants in the very new future,” Thorsen said.
Thorsen said he also spoke with State Water Resources Board officials about its loan program. City officials have said in the past that part of the Legacy Park project could be funded through a loan that would be repaid by those hooking up to the water treatment program.
The city purchased the 20-acre Chili Cook Off site from the Malibu Bay Co. last spring. Since then, it has chosen Santa Monica-based RMC Water and Environment as the consultant for the design of the Chili Cook-Off site enhancement project. The city must seek additional money to fund the project. Thorsen said Malibu’s public relations officer Susan Shaw has been creating fundraising programs. Also, at Monday’s meeting, Barovsky and Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich were selected to be the council members to help with the fundraising effort.
Thorsen said two focus groups have also been created, made up of local political and environmental leaders, to gather ideas on the design of Legacy Park. The focus groups will begin meeting next week.
The city has proposed in the past a basic concept for the project involved with Legacy Park. A water treatment plant would be constructed on a nearby property, possibly the Pepperdine University-owned Wave property behind the old City Hall on Civic Center Way (the university had offered to donate two acres of the land to the city in exchange for development benefits, although this has not been publicly discussed in a while). The plant would operate as a sewage collector for the Civic Center-area properties and others located nearby, including possibly homes in Malibu Colony and on Malibu Road. The wastewater would then be treated and sent to the Chili Cook-Off site, where it would be partially dispersed into vegetation and groundwater and be used for other purposes such as toilet water. The Chili Cook-Off property would also be used for stormwater management through the creation of wetlands, a small pond and other habitats.
Also at Monday’s meeting the council discussed expanding the city’s outdoor movie program, CineMalibu. Various issues were discussed, including making the program more beneficial for the youth and for city fundraising. The council did not vote on the issue, and sent it a subcommittee for further review.
The fish living in the City Hall aquarium may have found savior in the form of Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Jennings. Although the city staff had recommended the fish either be donated to Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School or to the vendor currently paid to maintain them, Jennings said he believed the fish should stay-and he was willing to take care of them.
Jennings asked for 30 days to find somebody who could teach him how to take care of the aquarium, and then he would do it. Jennings works as an attorney in an office next to City Hall. He said he was willing to spend an hour per week taking care of the fish.
“I think the fish are a good amenity… As far as I’m concerned we ought to keep them,” Jennings said.
The council last month had asked city staff to come up with a solution to rid the city of the $528-per-month cost of maintaining the tank.
Lastly, the council rejected the appeal of the Planning Commission’s approval for the subdivision of a two-acre Malibu Bay Co.-owned Trancas property into four single-family home lots. Each beachfront lot measures approximately half an acre. Since a Local Coastal Program amendment is needed for the subdivision, the item must go to the California Coastal Commission for final approval.