Council commends Sheriff’s Deputies for heroic rescue efforts
To start off the City Council meeting on Monday, Feb. 26, the Malibu City Council commended Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputies Francisco Espinoza, Jake Lobato, Daniel Bautista, and Rick Vigil for rescuing a drowning individual.
“Day in and day out, police officers and deputy sheriffs put on a uniform and they go to work, and most of the time, they don’t get acknowledged for what they do, but they have a commitment to public safety and to ensure everyone goes home safely at the end of the night,” Sgt. Chris Soderlund said. “So I want to thank the City of Malibu and all it’s residence for commending the deputies here for a job well done.”
Public Safety Commission Chair Chris Frost thanked the deputies for their commitment and dedication to public safety.
“It is my sincere hope that when you see an LA County deputy, a highway patrolman, a Volunteer on Patrol, that you will smile and tell them to thank you, and when you turn off the lights at night, rest ensure that they are just getting started,” Frost said.
To read more about the deputies, read Judy Abel’s story on A1.
For items not on the agenda, over 24 speakers attended the meeting and signed up to speak in support of the Malibu Marlins and their coach Erik Ran, and the Marlins efforts to get better times at the community pool. Currently, the club has only secured time at 6:30 in the morning (see Marlins story on A1).
“I am overwheled by the support of this community to keep and continue fighting for a swim team where community members are having a say for a local coach,” Ran said.
Ran was hired by the Seawolves during the pandemic and coached a total of 23 swimmers seven days a week.
“We quickly grew based on the principle that any Malibu resident was welcomed to join our team,” Ran said.
“There’s so many bigger issues that this City Council and the Parks And Recreation Commission has to deal with — this should not be one of them,” Ran said. “Can we please just have a few lanes that we can swim in, in the afternoon, that’s all we’re asking for.”
Swimmers, parents, and Malibu High School teachers spoke and shared their frustrations with having to wake up early to swim.
“I really do not like waking up early; there have been so many times where I’ve almost gotten to school late, and I have a hard time concentrating in my classes, especially in the first three, because I wake up early and it would be a lot easier for me and I think the whole community,” one Malibu Marlins student swimmer said.
“I believe that the Malibu swim program would have remained strong if they [the Seawolves] never decided to remove Coach Erik from the program,” Taylor Murrey said.
Parents shared their concerns about having to wake up their kids early in the morning for practice.
“If we value our community and we value our kids, we can make this happen,” Jennifer Gonzalez said.
The parents also said they were frustrated when the last Parks and Recreation meeting was cancelled last minute due to a lack of quorum.
Parks and Rec Chair Dane Skophammer spoke and apologized for the meeting being canceled last week but said they had created an ad hoc committee to address the issue.
“I apologize for us not having our meeting on Tuesday; several of the commissioners were sick,” Skophammer said. “The ad hoc committee reviewed the city’s contracts, the pool schedule, the regulations regarding the maximum swimmers per lane and by the hour… we set up a meeting on March 4. I think that this issue again highlights the need for more city-owned pool space and more city-owned practice facilities in general, the bottom line is we looked at the problem, we’ve assessed that even though there seems to be a simple solution, ‘Just let us swim,’ it’s not quite that simple.”
In response, Community Service Director Kristin Riesgo said they hope to have something finalized before summer.
The councilmembers said they hope to see a solution in the next Parks and Rec meeting on March 4.
City Manager Steve McClary provided an update on the recent road closures due to the storms.
McClary also provided an update on CHP enforcement and said they had issued 226 citations on PCH, 200 of which were for speeding.
Soderlund provided a brief update on traffic enforcement, and a road update with the recent storms.
“I want to give kudos to Caltrans and Public Works, they have been working 24/7 every single day after the rainstorms and they cleared the roadway as soon as they could and to make it safe for everyone,” Soderlund said. “It’s raining today, and we anticipate more rain next week, so it seems like more mudslides and rock slides to continue, and I just want to advise everyone to slow down while it’s wet, you’re not going to be able to see debris in the roadway so please slow down.”
For council reports, Councilmember Bruce Silverstein responded to the recent Planning Commission meeting during which the commission denied a Caltrans proposal to add a traffic light near Carbon Beach.
“I make it a habit to not speak to my commissioner, [and] let them do what they deemed to be appropriate at the hearings,” Silverstein said. “I watched the hearing, I have been up here talking about things we can do to slow down traffic on PCH to make it safer, and here we are being handed a golden opportunity to put up another traffic light, and they denied it. It’s tone deaf, I just don’t get it.”
To read about the Planning Commission meeting, visit page A6.
In response to the speakers addressing the Marlins issue, Silverstein said he hopes someone will bring them formal action they can take.
“We can have deliberation and make a decision on what to do,” Silverstein said. “I couldn’t have been more impressed with the students that spoke, and they’ll be sitting up here one day or doing something even better than what we’re doing because they showed such poise, maturity, and eloquence; it was just phenomenal to see.”
The council motioned to execute the Los Angeles County Measure M Funding Agreement for the Pacific Coast Highway Pedestrian Undercrossing at Malibu Seafood Project.
The PCH Pedestrian Undercrossing at Malibu Seafood Project was identified as Priority ID No. 78 in the 2015 PCH Safety Study. This project was also discussed during the April 11, 2022, City Council meeting. At this meeting, council received an update on Los Angeles County Measure R and Measure M Transportation funds and provided staff with directions on implementing future projects using these funds. The council identified this project as Priority Project No. 7 in the Safety Priority Project list.
The PCH Pedestrian Undercrossing at Malibu Seafood Project consists of constructing a new pedestrian undercrossing that would connect Corral Beach, across from Malibu Seafood, to the Sara Wan trailhead located next to Malibu Seafood. This project also includes ADA access and the construction of lighting within the pedestrian undercrossing to improve visibility.
“I was there when they originally proposed putting a crosswalk there, and the community went crazy; the tunnels are already there, so we just need to convert it to an underground passage,” Mayor Steve Uhring said.
The council addressed the Permanent Skatepark appeal for over two hours, and councilmembers raised concerns on the minor changes that were made since the item was appealed in November last year.
The Permanent Skatepark at Malibu Bluffs Park was initially approved at the Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, Nov. 30. The meeting was attended by dozens of Malibu locals, including skaters who have been advocating for the permanent skatepark to begin construction, many also attended the City Council meeting on Monday night as well.
Riesgo and California Skateparks Principal Designer Jaxon Statzell presented the skatepark plan.
After a heated discussion, council members addressed the appeal and substantial conformity category.
The appellant said the appeal includes grading and requests the city to be responsible for replacing any landscaping after the skatepark is built, but the council members admitted that they don’t know what the appeal includes.
“We have not seen the appeal, I read his appeal to the City Council but that’s not what’s going to be in the appeal document,” Uhring said. “Let’s bring it back; let’s do the appeal first in the next meeting.”
“I think this is a bad move for the city, this is a bad image, someone threatens to sue us, and we just roll over,” Uhring said.
The council had two closed sessions regarding the skateparks.
Councilmember Marianne Riggins motioned to have a public open hearing on Monday, March 4, to hear the settlement proposal as a standalone item.
Riggins and Councilmember Paul Grisanti were frustrated with the amount of time Silverstein was taking with comments.
“We need to get a finalization of this — our residents want this skate park,” Riggins said. “We had a responsibility here to make improvements for our community and make sure our residents have the facilities that they are clamoring for, and they have been clamoring for this skatepark for decades, and it’s down to get down to the brass tacks and get it settled this isn’t a game.”