Council Hopefuls Meet at the Point Dume Club for Another of the Most Forums Ever for an Election

• Mobile Home Community Added Its Site-Specific Questions to the Mix

BY BILL KOENEKER

City council candidates met for another forum at the Point Dume Club mobile home park this past Saturday afternoon for an exchange of questions and answers with local residents.
There were questions specific to the park, such as how the city’s rent control ordinance impacts the two local parks differently, since the Adamson Companies sued the city and the settlement agreement amended the ordinance for the Point Dume Club only.
Much like their counterparts at nearby Paradise Cove, park residents wanted the council hopefuls to promise to uphold the current rent control ordinance and allow no further changes, and sought their assistance in beefing up the powers of the municipal Mobilehome Park Stabilization Commission.
Some of the residents’ questions dealt with issues already addressed in previous forums, such as code enforcement, what council hopefuls could do for the youth of Malibu and how to make the city a safer and better place to raise a family and the fire dangers associated with public overnight camping.
One questioner gave the candidates a chance to take a shot at the current city council and how it has handled the acquisition of the new city hall and the funding for the building’s improvements.
“The city blew it,” said Steve Scheinkman, who said there has to be a way to [both] house 67 employees and make the building available to the rest of the community
His fellow slate member, John Mazza, said the sitting council has tried to rush plans through. “It has been voted on by the present city council. It is unbelievable what they have done,” he said.
“I like the fact we have our own city hall,” said Laura Rosenthal. “I don’t like the $7 million [for improvements]”
Mike Sidley said he thought $7 million is too much to pay for improvements. “We overpaid for it,” he added.
Ed Gillespie said, since the city was the only one taking part in the bidding, it could have put in a lower bid. “Maybe we can stop it,” he said.
Matthew Katz said he went to the council chambers last week to object to the costs and thinks that he was treated badly by some council members. “I am upset at the way they talked to me about it. The answer I got was it was a good buy. I told them to hold back,” he said.
Another questioner wanted to know about why the city pays the sheriff’s department to patrol such beaches as Zuma and Surfrider, but does not share any revenue from the parking.
Sidley explained that the city pays because it has a contract with the sheriff for law enforcement. “The county owns these beaches so we get no revenue. We need to find a way to generate some revenue from those who use city services,” he said.
Rosenthal said the beach patrol is a public safety issue. “I want as many deputies out there as possible,” she said.
Gillespie said when he was president of the Malibu Chamber, there was discussion about taking over Zuma Beach for revenue enhancement, such as concession stands or a visitor center. “We were thinking of it as adding to the city tax base. I would want to talk to [Supervisor] Zev [Yaroslavsky].” he said.
Lou La Monte said, “Why does Malibu pay for the beach patrol? Because the county refused to.” La Monte went on to state that Malibu receives 10 percent of the parking revenues, and it is an issue that could be revisited.
Kofi said that is not enough because the city pays about $500,000 for the beach patrol
Katz said it should be studied further.
Scheinkman said the city needs to spend wisely as well as find ways to generate revenue. He cited as an example the new city hall building, purchased for $15 million, but the costs of borrowing the money and making improvements have caused the costs to rise to $27 million.
John Mazza said it is important to look at the numbers. The state is closing parks and beaches because they are loosing money and owning and operating such kinds of recreational enterprises.
The candidates also appeared at early morning forums sponsored by the local Rotary Club. On March 24, the first forum was held with council hopefuls Harold Greene, Rosenthal, La Monte, Mazza and Scheinkman. The other candidates met with Rotarians March 31.