The City of Malibu has many top priorities, such as working with our community to increase safety on our streets. In addition, we have dedicated over $25 million towards protecting and promoting our environment through Legacy Park and various other storm water and waste water treatment facilities. Should the City of Malibu also promote the arts in every way that is both feasible and productive for our community or should our city ignore future cultural or arts programming?
On May 10, your new City Council decided to remove over 100 seats in the theatre to make way for a hallway. It appears that there was no will to work with the community to see how we could save the seats and/or make the theatre conducive to the needs of our community.
Instead, your City Council decided that the theatre will have about 230 seats. While the number of seats is more than adequate for any City Council and/or Commission meeting, is it adequate for artistic programming on weekends and at night when City Hall is closed? The needs of our community vis-Ã -vis the theatre were never determined or studied.
One of the stated reasons to remove the 100 seats was that there was no evidence that the theatre was successful in the past. Therefore, one may conclude that there would not be programming that would need 320 seats for use by the community. Another reason was the need for the six or so employees in Public Works Department to have access to the bathroom.
This is your City Hall, Malibu. You have and will continue to pay for it from your taxes. It is up to you to make your needs and wants known. Our City Hall will only be as good as our community insists that it be.
At the end of the day, the number of seats may not matter. It’s the vision for our new City Hall and how it will serve the public that really matters. Will it balance the needs of staff and the needs of the public or will it be the place you go only when you need to pick up a permit or to participate in a City Council meeting?
I will continue to act to make our arts community an active participant in our new City Hall. Will you join me?
Pamela Conley Ulich