Mayor Announces Ambitious 100-Day Plan
* White Paper Sets Out Goals, Policies and
Legislation
The reorganization meeting of the Malibu
City Council last week lasted longer than usual and was filled
with so much controversy about the mayoral succession, the
actual changing of the guard, when outgoing members make their
farewell remarks and incoming council members pronounce their
intents, was overshadowed.
When the dust settled, newly installed
Mayor Pamela Conley Ulich lost no time presenting what she
called her 100-day plan for Malibu’s future, but had
little time to elaborate on it.
The four-page white paper lays out the
goals, ambitions, and legislation of the second-term lawmaker.
At the top of her list is public safety,
with Conley Ulich calling on the need to develop, implement and
communicate emergency plans that will increase public safety.
Along that line, Conley Ulich indicates she
wants a town hall forum scheduled to bring community leaders,
stakeholders and the public at large together to explore what
lessons were learned from the three wildfires of 2007 and what
new services are offered by the municipality.
While Conley Ulich expressed interest in a
volunteer fire brigade, she said that education and
training must be available for folks who want to take matters
in their own hands. “What could happen when fire
blows through if people emulate Matt Haines [who purchased fire
equipment that saved his home and others last Nov. 24] and
fight the fire?’ she asked.
Conley Ulich also talked about creating a
plan for the Civic Center, building out Legacy Park, and
exploring the feasibility of providing a home for
Malibu’s library, a sheriff’s substation, teen
center, senior center and farmers market.
The white paper also lists traffic as a top
priority, suggesting the city council work with Caltrans to get
a traffic monitor for PCH.
She wants to see legislation enacted for a
formula retail ordinance, view preservation or what she calls
tree ordinance, and sustainable city-wide green initiatives to
promote water conservation and recycling grey water.
Conley Ulich also wants to explore the
feasibility of purchasing “green” power for Malibu,
looking at creating a “clean bus” that goes from
Trancas to the Civic Center at peak hours and exploring the
possibility of planning separate bike lanes up the coast from
Trancas to Oxnard.
Other eco-goals set for the city include
adopting and implementing a wastewater plan, banning “the
worst stuff that pollutes our air and water,” adopting a
strong green building code and offering green transportation
programs.
Earlier in the evening, outgoing Mayor Jeff
Jennings in his outgoing remarks thanked his many supporters,
and then launched into what he called his
“lecture.”
He said after serving on so many different
councils, he believes the ninth council has been the most
achieving one. He said there were a number of reasons that made
the outgoing council different than others.
“We got good at setting priorities.
We learned we can’t do everything. That was not always
the case on previous councils. We adopted a protocol,” he
said.
Jennings indicated council members
learned to suppress their natural competitiveness that goes
with most public figures. “There is no limit what you can
do if you don’t care about who gets the credit. We
developed a level of confidence to allow others to take
ownership of issues. Andy took on LNG. Pam had the library and
county and I was given the California Coastal
Commission. Sharon and Ken took on Legacy Park,”
said Jennings. “It always hasn’t been the case
in each council.”
“It is a collegial body. But you
still have to have three votes so nobody could get too far in
front of the council,” he added.
Jennings said it was also important for the
city to speak as one voice with other agencies. He said that
had not always happened previously.
The outgoing mayor tried to dispel that
notion of a council that was in lockstep. “You could say
it was easy for you, because you all agreed. That is not true.
We just did not allow our differences to become personal. I
don’t think I ever voted against anybody to spite or for
punishment. I don’t think anybody did that to me,”
Jennings added.
Outgoing Councilmember Ken
Kearsley, a former school teacher, said his final remarks would
be his “last lecture” and talked briefly about his
history in Malibu that led up to his term in office.
He said he has been asked if he has any
regrets. “Not really, but I have had some
disappointments. That would be hypocrisy.” He said he was
“quoting from Billy Connolly, who said,
‘Hypocrisy is the Vaseline of political
intercourse.’”
With mild titters from the audience,
Kearsley then went on to say, “I guess I should have
quoted Euripides, who said, ‘A noble face hides
filthy waste.’”
Kearsley said the biggest municipal
accomplishment, he believed, was to what he did not
do, but what the people of Malibu did when they came
together to acquire Legacy Park and what that might mean
for future generations. He said one day he hoped to sit
under the shade of one of the trees planted in Legacy Park.
Due to the late hour, both new
Councilmembers John Sibert and Jefferson Wagner made very
brief incoming remarks.
“It is different sitting on this side
of the wall. It is a great start,” said Wagner.
Sibert, echoing his own remarks on the
campaign trail, said he wanted to spend time on legislation and
not litigation, and he too thought the evening was off to a
good start.
