Rosenthal succeeds John Sibert and becomes the sixth female mayor of the City of Malibu.
By Knowles Adkisson / The Malibu Times
The Malibu City Council’s Monday meeting was largely ceremonial as Laura Rosenthal succeeded John Sibert as mayor. Rosenthal becomes Malibu’s sixth female mayor, an honor Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich recognized by giving Rosenthal some “mayor bling”-a ring passed down from the last two woman mayors of Malibu. Lou La Monte succeeded Rosenthal as mayor pro tem.
The council also voted to offer a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the death of a mountain lion in the Santa Monica Mountains in September.
Rosenthal expressed thanks and promised to work hard after a unanimous role call vote confirmed her status as Malibu’s mayor.
“I am delighted to serve as your mayor,” Rosenthal said, “and to represent our city as best I can.”
After being sworn in by her husband, Walter, Rosenthal addressed the top priorities she hoped to focus on during her term. Rosenthal noted upcoming efforts to improve safety on Kanan-Dume Road and Pacific Coast Highway as two projects she would like to see through during her mayoral term.
Rosenthal said she would like to be involved with the installation of the Malibu High School athletic field lights. The California Coastal Commission approved the limited use of lighting at the main sports field at MHS in October after years of controversy. Private funds must be raised in order to pay for the installation of the permanent lights.
Rosenthal concluded that she wanted to see through the recommendations of the city’s Arts Task Force. The task forced, formed in Oct. 2010, has been soliciting community input to make recommendations regarding the future of the arts in Malibu. It held a town hall meeting in October to gather final input from the community, and is expected to make its recommendations to the council during Rosenthal’s term.
Rosenthal’s predecessor, Councilmember John Sibert, was honored for his tenure as mayor by a host of officials from neighboring cities as well as Malibu’s elected officials in Sacramento. Mary Sue Maurer, Mayor Pro Tem of the City of Calabasas, called Sibert “a statesman, a good listener, a gentleman and someone that people like to work with.”
In his closing remarks as mayor, Sibert stressed the importance of civility and communication on the part of Malibu’s elected representatives to address the city’s challenges. After what he called a “somewhat raucous youth,” Sibert said the City of Malibu had matured as city officials were “starting to recognize that we don’t exist in a vacuum.”
Sibert in particular noted the efforts by Councilmember Jefferson Wagner and himself to meet individually with each member of the Coastal Commission.
“We now have a relationship that’s positive with the Coastal Commission,” Sibert said, “where I actually get calls from commissioners saying, “This is something that’s coming up, thought you ought to know about it, what do you think?”
Sibert continued that working in city government was a cooperative effort, and that mayors and mayor pro tems did not make much of a difference “unless you can find a way to get along in a reasonable way. Reasonable people can disagree reasonably.”
Council offers $5,000 reward for information leading to arrest of mountain lion killer
The city council unanimously approved a resolution to offer a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the death of a mountain lion in September. On Sept. 11, a 7-year-old mountain lion was found dead and mutilated in a canyon near Newbury Park in Ventura County. The animal was one of several in the region equipped with GPS monitoring devices as part of a National Park Service study and was known as P-15. Investigators believe the death was caused by human poachers.
The reward will be appropriated from the city’s undesignated reserve fund. A similar $5,000 reward from the City of Calabasas and other agencies brings the total reward figure to $11,700. Anyone with information related to the death of the mountain lion can call the State Department of Fish and Game hotline at (800) 334-2258.
City Council actions
– Adopted a resolution setting Tuesday, April 10, 2012 as the date for the next municipal elections
– Authorized City Manager Jim Thorsen to hire Willdan Engineering for approximately $100K to design bike route improvements along PCH.
– Authorized Thorsen to spend up to $300K for furniture and fixtures for the renovated Malibu Library
– Approved a $5K reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for a mountain lion death in Sept.