WHAT HAPPENED: The City Council will present...

WHAT HAPPENED:

The City Council will present the Huntington Beach Central Library

Board with an offer of a gift from the Church of Religious Science.

It has also asked the city attorney’s office to further examine

possible implications of the offer and establish a policy on

accepting such gifts.

WHAT THIS MEANS:

The Church of Religious Science offered to donate to the city a

“peace pole,” which Mayor Connie Boardman recommended be installed at

the Central Library. At the suggestion of Councilwoman Debbie Cook,

the council opted instead to send the proposal to the city attorney’s

office, asking the office to establish a policy on gifts to the city.

Cook questioned whether approving a donation from one group would

legally bar the council from denying a donation from any other group,

including those that might be considered offensive.

The council approved a parallel motion to direct the library board

to consider the donation of the peace pole while the attorney is

crafting the policy.

Council members Gil Coerper and Cathy Green cast the dissenting

votes.

WHAT HAPPENED:

The City of Fountain Valley will pay the City of Huntington Beach

for 10 hours of emergency preparedness training per week.

WHAT IT MEANS:

The City of Fountain Valley will pay $23,300 annually to

Huntington Beach. In turn, Surf City’s Emergency Service Coordinator

will provide training to Fountain Valley city employees on all

aspects of emergency preparedness and disaster planning.

Services will include disaster planning and response training,

helping the city to obtain reimbursement for disasters, helping it to

acquire terrorism grant opportunities and assisting the city’s

management team in setting up and operating it’s Emergency Operations

Center.

WHAT HAPPENED:

The City Council rejected all bids for the Oak View Skate Park and

directed city staff to redesign the project at a lower cost.

WHAT IT MEANS:

In July of 2001, the City Council set aside $96,750 in block grant

funds for a new skate park to be built at the Oak View Community

Center.

The lowest bid heard at Monday’s meeting, however, was $145,000 --

almost double the original figure.

Instead of accepting the bid, the council sent the city back to

the drawing board to redesign the skate park so that it remains

within the originally allotted funds.

A skate park was approved at Oak View at the suggestion of a group

of Surf City youngsters, who spoke out at a City Council meeting in

September of 2001. It will be the third skate park in Huntington

Beach. The other two skate parks are located at Murdy Community

Center and Huntington Beach High School.