Malibu’s City Council held a special meeting exactly 10 years after the city’s landmark March 28, 1991, incorporation.
In honor of Malibu’s Youth in Government Week, five Malibu High School students joined the City Council in typical meeting mode. They listened to presentations of staff reports, asked potent financial questions about proposals and voted on agenda items.
Two key agenda items — the approval of a $24,000 Traffic Information/Emergency Radio (TIER) maintenance contract and the approval of continuing current operating hours at Papa Jack’s Skate Park — were approved by the council. Funds supporting the TIER contract will be pulled from the city’s general fund. Also, Brad Sherman obtained $650,000 in Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century funds, earmarked for safety improvements along Pacific Coast Highway, and the design and acquisition of a radio system. Operating costs are expected to be $2,000 each month.
The 24-hour radio station will broadcast routine and emergency information (including Caltrans highway advisory information) to Malibu and, in some spots, through the canyons and to the Highway 101 corridor. A primary radio tower will be located at the Point Dume sewage treatment plant. According to the city, work on the radio equipment is almost finished and the contractor expects to start constructing the facility soon. Most of it will be operated by solar and wind power.
And, citing the skateboard park’s popularity, the city voted in favor of continuing the current operating hours of Papa Jack’s Skate Park. They also decided to launch a quarterly review of the schedule.
Paul Adams, Malibu’s director of parks and recreation, said that the park’s lack of adequate lighting means the park must close by sunset and the park’s primary market is in school during the day. For these reasons, the current operating schedule should not be altered.
The March 28 meeting followed an anniversary celebration at Malibu High School’s auditorium. A crowd of about 200 enjoyed snacks, three large decorated sheet-cakes; musical performances by the Malibu Middle School Band, the Malibu High School jazz band; and dance performances by Malibu Civic Ballet Co. and D-Gen Dance Co., an offshoot of Malibu Ballet Studio by the Sea and Performing Arts Academy.
Two visual exhibits illustrated Malibu’s history — a cityhood celebration mural with handwritten messages of congratulations or acknowledgment, and a Malibu Wall of History with photos and newspaper articles about the city.