Sheriff’s sergeant discusses parking issues on Winding Way and Point Dume during Memorial Day weekend
The Malibu City Council took time before its Tuesday, May 28, meeting to recognize the efforts of Hunter Blaze Pearson, Alyssa Crosby, and Tracy Park for a Pacific Coast Highway Safety Awareness Campaign with T-shirts advocating for speeding cameras in Malibu.
“They have designed some T-shirt to support our efforts to get some speed cameras out here in Malibu,” Malibu Mayor Steve Uhring said.
“I was really honored to participate in this project to help with the problem on PCH,” Alyssa Crosby said. “Malibu has become like a second home for me.”
Gallery owner Tracy Park provided the council with a T-shirt and extended the invitation to the community.
“We’re just tired of the speeders and we would just like some stiffer fines for those who do speed,” Park said.
Malibu/Lost Hills Sgt. Chris Soderlund provided a report on the Memorial Day weekend and said parking citations wasa major issue on Winding Way and Point Dume.
“We couldn’t get tow trucks fast enough, we couldn’t cite fast enough, and people didn’t care, that was one of the hot spots we had to deal with, that and Point Dume,” Soderlund said.
Soderlund thanked the Malibu Volunteers on Patrol for assisting in citations.
“Excluding the VOPs, we [Sheriffs] issued 210 parking cites, but the VOPs, they added another 510 parking citations,” Soderlund said.
In addition, 46 vehicles were towed, and Soderlund thanked the City Council for approving the temporary tow yard at Malibu High School for the summer.
Mayor Pro Tem Doug Stewart and Uhring thanked Soderlund for the report.
“The amount of speeding that I saw was much less than what have been in the past,” Uhring said. “You guys are doing something out there that made an impression on those folks and slowed them down.”
For council reports, Councilmember Marianne Riggins responded to the previous City Council meeting in regards tothe way the council treated the Planning Department staff.
“What occurred in the last meeting was completely unacceptable, and we absolutely need to take a stand here to set the tone as council members and then down to our planning commissioners that we are going to be professionals ourselves and treat our staff as professionals and provide them the respect that they deserve and earned,” Riggins said. “I hope we can move forward with that and also address our behavior appropriately in the future.”
Councilmember Bruce Silverstein asked the city manager if they can get a safety report on a regular basis.
City Manager Steve McClary said they will provide a report on the next city council meeting on June 10.
Stewart responded to the latest meeting and submitted a Letter to the Editor to The Malibu Times. To read the letter, visit page A2.
“I talked to some of the prior councilmembers — they were appalled at what took place,” Stewart said. “I apologize to the public for allowing anything they felt that was unkind to them, and we’re going to try to do a better job going foward, at least I am.”
Uhring responded to the comments in his behavior towards the staff.
“If someone is doing something wrong, how are we going to correct them unless we bring it up to them,” Uhring said. “I am more than happy to give everyone all the respect they deserve — and I do that, but I think some cases they have to go out and earn that respect, and in this case, I don’t think it was done. I’m sorry, it’s not going to make anyone happy, but it’s what I feel … I think the City Council and the public deserves professional work that comes out of this department, and I don’t think that we got in that case.”
The council approved the Los Angeles County Measure M Transportation Funding Agreement and the Professional Services Agreement for Geotechnical, Coastal Engineering, and Environmental Health Consulting Services.
The council received a report on the Professional Services Agreement with Granicus LLC.
With Councilmember Paul Grisanti absent, the council motioned to move the Amendment to Professional Services Agreement with SDI Presence (Continued from May 13) to the next meeting.
The council received a report on collecting Fees to Implement the California Integrated Waste Management Act within the Malibu Garbage Disposal District.
The council received a report on the Amendment to Malibu Municipal Code Chapters 15.40, 15.42, and 15.44 To Require Additional Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems (OWTS) Requirements for Home Occupation Uses that Place Additional Strain on the OWTS.
The council received a report on the Proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 2024-25.
McClary said the budget includes the permanent skatepark but may require additional fundraising.
Stewart and Silverstein approved the funds for State Parks but were adamant about approving it.
“It is not the responsibility of the city to voluntarily dip into their budgets and further fund the states when the state is not allocating its resources appropriately,” Silverstein said.
Riggins raised her concern on the delay with the Malibu Bluffs Snack Shack. Public Works Director Rob Duboux said they are working on a proposal schedule as soon as the budget is approved in July. The council approved $100,000 to the Fire Brigade and $25,000 to State Parks. The council motioned to address the Zuma Foundation Inc. Road Race Agreement in a later date.
The next City Council meeting is on June 10. To view the City Council agenda visit: malibucity.org/agendacenter.