My time on the council is almost at an end.
I have served as your District 1, Old Town and Surf Side Seal Beach City Councilman for as long as I can. Seal Beach has term limits for City Council members.
We can only serve for two consecutive four-year terms, and then we have to step down for four years to let someone else have an opportunity to serve the community.
I would like to let you know that on my watch over the last eight years, the city has maintained a balanced budget with enough reserves to complete projects throughout the city. All the streets in the Old Town area (except 12th Street) from Electric Avenue to the beach have been repaved with new curb and gutter.
We adopted a pavement management plan to keep the streets in good repair. Storm drains have been built in Old Town, and more will be done. The redevelopment agency in Surfside is closed and the redevelopment agency in downtown will be closed soon.
Zoeter Park was completed, the swimming pool was repaired, City Hall was refurbished, the jail was remodeled and the police station was remodeled. The Pier has a new wood surface to make it more pleasant for walking and for strollers and wheel chairs. On Main Street we adopted a program to allow benches and bike racks on Main Street to make it more pleasant for customers.
While the state and federal governments cannot balance their budgets, and many cities are laying off employees, I have worked hard so that Seal Beach has lived within its means, maintained a balanced budget and not laid off any employees.
The Police Department was restructured to become more efficient and use civilian employees for duties that did not require a sworn officer. This saved money and did not reduce our level of service. Other departments were also evaluated and restructured to save money.
In this election, I am not endorsing any candidate. I wish all the candidates good luck in the election.
I urge everyone to vote for the candidate that is best for the community and will do the best job for all the constituents and the city. Remember, serving on the City Council is service, not a “power trip.”
I believe that you as a resident will benefit from all improvements to the city and the efficiencies that have been put in place over the last eight years, but we still need to continue working on them.
The city still needs to have the Local Coastal Plan adopted NOW so that residents don’t have to go to the Coastal Commission every time they want a building permit.
They have waited long enough—let’s get this done and not wait another day!
I hope that I have served you well and I will continue to serve you until my term is up at the end of the year.
After my term ends on the council, I will still be around and involved with you and the city.
Charles Antos is the Seal Beach council member for District 1.
