Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich says the cost is too high. The Malibu City Council at its Oct. 26 quarterly meeting also received updates on city finances and the status of the sewer system due for completion by 2015.
By Knowles Adkisson / The Malibu Times
The Malibu City Council’s first quarterly meeting of the 2011-12 fiscal year featured a sharp dispute between Councilmembers Pamela Conley Ulich and Lou La Monte regarding money spent to move the city council’s dais in the city hall chambers. Additionally, the council received an update on the design of the sewer system due for completion in the Civic Center area by 2015, as well as a report on the city’s finances during Fiscal Year 2010-11.
The council voted 3-1, with Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich voting no and Mayor John Sibert absent, to spend up to $25,000 to move the city council dais from the floor onto the stage in the council chambers to improve sitelines for the cameras, which tape city council meetings.
The costs include $11,000 to install new electrical and audio video connections, $10,000 for moveable backdrops “to provide a contrast from the existing black curtain on the black wall of the theater,” and $2,500 for moveable staircases to access the stage.
Councilmember Lou La Monte, speaking by video conference from the East Coast, said the expense was justified because the council meetings on video looked “like a 7-Eleven security cam.”
But Ulich said that $10,000 was too much to pay for the backdrops, a series of interlocking panels that would be fitted with the city logo and finished with an acoustical treatment.
“I feel very strongly that we should not spend $10,000 to put a backdrop behind us. We have a perfectly fine backdrop now,” Ulich said. Ulich said the council could save money by simply putting the City of Malibu flag behind the dais. To prove her point, Ulich used paper clips to attach a City of Malibu flag to the projector screen hanging behind the council dais.
La Monte responded that on the camera he was viewing the flag “kind of looks like a horror movie.” He repeated that the expense was needed to make city council meetings appear more professional on camera.
After Mayor Pro Tem Laura Rosenthal and Councilmember Jefferson Wagner announced they would vote for the measure, Ulich said, “I guess we’ll have to answer to voters if they don’t like the way we spent the ten grand.”
Wagner added that he did not think the cost of the backdrops would reach the full $10,000.
City exploring deep-well injections for sewer facility
Public Works Director Robert Brager gave an update on the status of plans for the centralized wastewater treatment facility in the civic center area that is due to be built by 2015. The facility will be capable of collecting and treating wastewater, then either reuse or disperse the treated wastewater. It will replace on-site wastewater treatment systems in the Civic Center.
The city has budgeted more than $2.1 million for the design of the facility, although Brager said that cost is expected to rise over time, and that staff would need to bring a revised scope of work and cost appropriation to the council in the coming months.
The design funds will be used, according to the staff report, “for professional services to prepare an environmental impact report, a costal development permit, building permit, and construction plans and specifications and cost estimates for the final design.”
Brager said staff had met with its design team to begin a three-phase process to investigate deep-well injections to store the treated wastewater. The first phase, which includes drilling three test wells, is scheduled to begin “in the next few weeks,” Brager said. The cost of the first phase is projected at approximately $600,000.
Brager said the next two phases would include preliminary feasibility assessments, full-size well drilling and modeling work.
Brager also said Tree Elements, a firm hired by the city to maintain trees on city-owned property, has begun its first phase of work. The first phase involves identifying and removing trees on city property that are dead, in very poor health or in danger of falling over. Once that phase is complete, Tree Elements will begin systematically trimming overgrown trees.
Council receives city’s year-end financial report
Assistant City Manager Reva Feldman presented the year-end financial report for Fiscal Year 2010-11. Feldman said in FY 2010-11 the city realized slight growth in several tax sources such as property tax, sales tax, franchise fees and film permits. Feldman said those gains offset declines in the city’s interest earnings.
The city reported revenues of $22 million for its General Fund, which holds all regular revenue streams such as property and sales taxes. That figure was up approximately $500,000 from the previous fiscal year.
“I’m happy to be able to sit here tonight and say we’re in very good shape with our general fund,” Feldman said. “I know so many cities are hurting and cutting back, and we have learned to do more with less. Our revenues are holding steady, we’re doing very fine.”
The city spent $21.5 million from its General Fund in 2010-11, which was approximately 95.6 percent of the amount it brought in through revenues. Feldman said the city over the past 10 years has come in under budget in its General Fund, spending less than it takes in. However, she said the gap has started to close, and the city is basically spending what it projected to spend.
“I think it’s due to conservative spending and also the fact that we have a lot going on and we’re getting a lot done,” Feldman said. “[Every department] is very busy doing a lot of things.”
City Council highlights
– Voted 3-1 to spend up to 25K to move council dais
– City exploring deep-well injections for Civic Center sewer facility
– Year-end financial report shows city revenues holding steady