Letter to the Editor: Occupy Manhattan Beach?

Dear Editor:

“Occupy the Beach?”  The Manhattan Beach City Council (MBCC) should be in the Hall of Shame for its lack of oversight in allowing our centennial celebration to evolve into an event limiting resident attendance to 1%.

The recent Taste of Manhattan Beach limited the number of attendees to 350 or 1% of our population, costing extraordinary resources per person above revenues from ticket sales. Although a ticket was $25 for food and alcohol, the event cost $104,000+, or over $300 per person. 

For this reason, former Mayor Jan Dennis, a member of the centennial committee, voted against the budget because of higher cost-benefit opportunities for other events. 

A similar potential outcome exists for the beach centennial gala by offering an unspecified number of sponsorship cabanas and reserved tables available for those willing to pay top dollar for the available 300-400 seats. 

A 12-seat cabana is priced at $15K ($1,250 per person) and guarantees a “Premier Location” and “Reserved Parking.”  The eight-seat reserved tables are available at $5K ($625 per person). 

Since there are no parameters as to the number of cabanas and reserved tables that can be sold, potentially only a small, limited number of the remaining seats may be available for the general public at a still unspecified price.

The MBCC should take action now to prevent re-occurrence of earlier centennial celebration decisions that have divided rather than united our community. 

If not, perhaps the 1%ers might be joined by the 99%ers who “Occupy the Beach.”

Sincerely,

Edward C. Caprielian, Ph.D.                                                                 
Manhattan Beach resident

Editor's Note: The Taste of Manhattan Beach was open to 500 ticketholders, of which 150 tickets were allocated for centennial sponsors as determined by their level of sponsorship. The 350 tickets made available to the public were sold at various prices, depending on number purchased at one time and whether or not any of the tickets were to include entry into the beer and wine tasting area.

MB Patch previously reported Taste of MB tickets prices as follows:

"Food only tickets cost $15 per person or $25 for two people (children under 12 years old free, 1 child per adult); Food, beer, and wine tickets cost $25 per person or $45 for two people..."

Therefore calculating precisely what was paid per ticketholder who attended will not be accurate until the committee reports its figures.

In addition, sponsorship money is being used to cover event costs.

The centennial committee is expected to provide the actual costs for the Taste of MB at its Monday, April 16 meeting. The meeting is scheduled to be held at City Hall, 1400 Highland Avenue, beginning at 5 p.m.

Letters to the editor are opinions and as such do not reflect the views of Manhattan Beach Patch. Letters are subject to editing for spelling, punctuation and grammar. Anonymous letters will not be published, so please include your real name. You can email your letter to Manhattan Beach Patch editor Liz Spear at liz.spear@patch.com.