Community Corner

Summer Means Slow, Slower for City Council

Its only August agenda is pretty lean, with the hope that September will bring back meatier issues. City Council Tuesday night will address a skateboard park and a partial permanent fence for Sand Dune Park. Oh, yeah, they'll hear from SCE, too.

The lulling rhythm of the ocean is lulling business to sleep in Manhattan Beach, at least when it comes to City Council. Does summer mean "slow down" to you?

Here are five things to know about MB.

1. The usually robust ceremonial calendar has two items on it for the upcoming Tuesday night meeting compared to three items for the previous two meetings, four before that and three before that, all of these coming under Mayor Wayne Powell, who has set the agendas (as mayors do) since he became mayor during the May 1 meeting.

Find out what's happening in Manhattan Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

2. City Council only holds one meeting in August. They skip what would be their second regularly scheduled meeting in the month and do so again in December.

3. At their June 5 meeting, City Council had an agenda item to discuss and provide direction for final city-approved centennial events and approve $34,802.08 in city-incurred expenses for centennial items to date. The $34,802.08 was not approved and was pushed to another date. Curiously enough, the document prepared by staff that listed the city-incurred expenses listed the business where the item was purchased and the dollar amount spent minus any dates for the expenses. Perhaps when council gets around to addressing the expenses again, supposedly in September, the expense dates will become public knowledge.

Find out what's happening in Manhattan Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

4. A permanent fence above and below the dune at Sand Dune Park comes closer to fruition Tuesday night. The $50,000 fence, which will replace temporary fencing, will not surround or enclose the dune; rather it will be installed above and below the dune and be a fashionable sand color. The item is on the general consent calendar portion of the agenda with staff recommending approval.

5. There are two items of general business on Tuesday night's city council agenda: one is for Southern California Edison to give an update on recent power outages in the city; the other is to include the potential development of a skateboard park, including public input, in the Parks Master Plan, for which $100,000 has been budgeted to look into possible amenities for city parks.


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