Seal Beach District One Councilman Joe Kalmick was recently elected to the governing board of the San Gabriel Rivers and Mountains Conservancy. Kalmick’s two-year term will start in January 2020.
The San Gabriel River dumps trash from 43 upriver cities into the Pacific Ocean, which in turn throws the refuse on to Seal Beach’s sand.
“What I would hope to accomplish is to raise the awareness of the current plight of the San Gabriel River, and gain support for projects that could mitigate the flow of trash, debris, and pollution that comes down the river and ends up on our beach and in the water at the mouth of the river,” Kalmick wrote in an email to the Sun.
“I was elected by what is called The City Selection Committee, which is comprised of the mayors of the 11 Orange County cities on Thursday, November 14,” Kalmick wrote.
“Amongst the three candidates I received the majority number of votes required. Though I wasn’t known by any of the mayors, I was given the opportunity to speak and must have made a good case for election,” Kalmick wrote.
Kalmick is the second of two Seal Beach officials to get a voting position on the Rivers and Rivers and Mountains Conservancy board. The other is District Five Councilwoman Sandra Massa-Lavitt. She was appointed to the board by the governor of California. She is also a voting member.
Kalmick is also on the board of the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority. The Wetlands Authority meeting for November was canceled.
The Rivers and Mountains Conservancy’s mission “is to preserve open space and habitat in order to provide for low-impact recreation and educational uses, wildlife habitat restoration and protection, and watershed improvements within our jurisdiction,” according to the agency’s website.
“Our territory covers eastern Los Angeles County and western Orange County. This vast and varied area includes mountains, valleys, rivers, coastal plain, and coastline,” the website said.
