A woman came to the podium during the public comment segment of a recent Seal Beach City Council meeting. She said she wanted to remain anonymous.
That’s perfectly legal in California.
“The Brown Act permits members of the public to speak anonymously at a public meeting,” wrote City Attorney Nicholas Ghirelli in a July 31 email.
“This is also true in cities where the public is required to submit a speaker’s card to notify the clerk of their desire to address the body. See Government Code Section 54953.3,” Ghirelli wrote.
When fact, courtesy, and style collide
Recently, I chose courtesy.
When I was a young journalism student, back in the 20th century, we were taught to refer to council representatives as councilmen or councilwomen.
But wait, we’re in the 21st century now.
But wait, there was also an unwritten rule to be consistent whenever possible.
But wait, the Seal Beach city website nowadays refers to our council representatives as “council members”.
But wait, the Associated Press Stylebook says I should use “councilmember,” one word, if that’s the official title. (It is the official title in Avalon, but the Sun doesn’t serve Avalon.)
But wait, we’re also supposed to be courteous.
So a few weeks ago I asked the Seal Beach council members in an email for their preferred address. District Three’s Lisa Landau and District Five’s Nathan Steele preffered “councilwoman” and “councilman” respectively.
District Four’s Schelly Sustarsic preferred “council member,” but would accept councilwoman.
District Two’s Tom Moore and District One’s Joe Kalmick did not provide a preference at that time.
So for now, I’m going to refer to Landau and Steele as councilwoman and councilman, respectively, and the other three council members by the title on the Seal Beach website.
It isn’t consistent, but it’s polite.
How have council members spent their discretionary funds so far?
On Wednesday, July 19, District Three Councilwoman Lisa Laudau gave the Seal Beach Chamber $5,000 for the Summer Concert series held each Wednesday in Eisenhower Park.
“Our residents love attending Concerts In The Park each summer,” wrote District Three Councilwoman Lisa Landau.
“To help keep this beloved community event going strong for both our residents and our businesses, I donated $5,000 of District 3 discretionary funds in the FY 23-23 annual budget to help the Chamber of Commerce, as they work so hard to make it a great event every week,” Landau wrote.
So the Sun asked all five council members if and how they had spent their discretionary money.
• “I spent $18,000 in FY 22/23 to resurface 2 sport courts: a basketball court at Bluebell Park and a half-court basketball/ multisport court at Almond Park in CPE,” wrote Council Member Schelly Sustarsic in a July 21 email.
“The remainder of that year’s funds were used towards the purchase of flashing stop signs for one intersection on Almond Avenue in CPE ( the signs have been purchased but are yet to be installed).
“I have been using my discretionary funds for the last few years to make improvements to our parks: the playground padding was replaced at Almond Park approximately 3 years ago, a shade structure was added to Bluebell Park 2 years ago and the sport courts refreshed last year. Shade at the parks is a much needed and requested improvement. The others were to bring items that were in disrepair back up to good condition. The flashing stop signs are to try to improve traffic safety inside the neighborhood,” Sustarsic wrote.
• “I have not spent any discretionary funds yet this fiscal year for 2023/2024,” wrote District Two Council Member/Mayor Tom Moore in a July 21 email.
“Haven’t spent any money yet: looking for opportunities,” wrote District Five Councilman Nathan Steele in a July 22 email.
In a July 23 phone interview, District One Council Member Joe Kalmick said he hasn’t spent his discretionary funds this year. He thought he was back to $20,000 in funds. He said he was holding on to the money for now.
He said he had considered spending the money on sound blankets to reduce the noise from pickleball courts at Marina Park, but the estimated cost was at about $100,000. Kalmick said the sound blankets would need city funding.
Bay Theatre update
A social media post dated July 28 showed an update on the interior of the Bay Theatre. The before photo showed a pile of chairs. The after photo, which appeared recent, showed a re-painted theatre with green walls and red seats awaiting patrons.
The Bay Theatre closed in 2012. Escrow reportedly closed in or around January 2017.
The Sun asked owner/developer Paul Dunlap if he had a timeline for reopening the movie house.
“Not exactly yet, waiting on equipment delivery schedule,” Dunlap wrote in an Aug. 1 email.
District Three news
“My focus right now is the overgrowth in the Wetlands, specifically the Hellman Ranch property that backs up to the Hill. I am working with Joe Kalmick and City staff to get assistance from the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority to initiate next steps to get it cleared,” wrote District Three Councilwoman Lisa Landau in a recent email.
District Four news
On July 16, District Four Council Member Schelly Sustarsic wrote:
• “Street sweeping enforcement has resumed for all areas of College Park East. Street sweeping has continued, but enforcement in the area of sound wall construction along Almond Avenue was suspended during that construction, due to lack of available parking. The curb-and-gutter has been replaced along the Almond sound wall and street sweeping signs have been re-installed. Any signs that were covered during construction have now been uncovered and ticketing on street sweeper days will resume.
• “Public Works staff has been working on conceptual plans for the renovation of the playground at Heather Park. The Recreation & Parks Commission heard a report and provided input on the plan at their May meeting. I have been conferring with the College Park East Neighborhood Association (CPENA) regarding the plans, as they put on several special events at that park each year. I have also been collecting the priorities for renovation from CPE residents and speaking with park users. I was contacted late last week by Deputy Director of Public Works, Kathryne Cho, who has apparently taken over this project. I will share the information I have collected with Ms. Cho, so that we can begin to move forward with this project.”
