Huntington Beach Happenings
by: Chris MacDonald
Posted: September 9, 2019
HUNTINGTON BEACH...A very Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary to Joe & Colleen Whaling of Huntington Beach.
Huntington Beach Public Works Department Project Manager Ken Dills Said: The sewer manhole installation on Warner Avenue between Algonquin and PCH should be completed by the this weekend or early next week. Repair of the pavement was completed this week and only restriping of the roadway remains. The project ran into a number of unforeseen delays.
From Huntington Beach City. Councilman Patrick Brenden, a summary of highlights from the September 3rd Council meeting...
1) In a study session presentation, Council received information about the Short Term Rental market, existing conditions in Huntington Beach, and data from four case studies of other coastal cities where regulations are in place to permit short term rentals in varying configurations. Council asked for additional information that will come back in the form of a future study session. There seemed to emerge a consensus that hosted rentals are less worrisome than whole house and unhosted rentals.
2) Council voted to approve appointment of Elaine Parker to the Library Board of Trustees as recommended by Council Liaisons Kim Carr and Jill Hardy.
3) In May 2019, the HBFOF was created as an independent non-profit corporation to educate and promote public safety related to fire prevention and emergency preparedness through community outreach programs. The purpose of this foundation is to conduct charitable opportunities to raise funds through individuals and organizations that agree with the HBFOF mission and to then distribute those funds to the personnel and groups within the Huntington Beach Fire Department that are actively providing the programs and services that support the mission. Approve and authorize the Interim City Manager to execute the five-year "Memorandum of Understanding" between the City of Huntington Beach and the Huntington Beach Fire Outreach Foundation.
4) The City has been working with Accela Inc., IK Consulting, and Go-Live Technology for the implementation of the citywide Enterprise Land Management (ELM) system since December of 2016. The City utilizes consulting professional services contracts for system development, project management, and staff augmentation to implement this citywide system. The project is 95% complete and the project team is in the final stages of development and system testing for the implementation. In order to complete the implementation, the City Council voted to approve a professional services contract with IK Consulting in the amount of $180,000, and Amendment No. 2 to the professional services agreement with Go-Live Technology to authorize an increase of $135,000.
5) City Council denied a request to approve the addition of a new job classification of Assistant Director of Library Services. The proposal called for this new position to replace a current Principal Librarian position which would have had the effect of increasing the pay range from the old position to the new by 22.6%.
6) In a Public Hearing continued from August 19, 2019 to consider the Appeal of Planning Commission Denial of Ellis Avenue Condos, Council voted 7-0 to uphold the denial.
7) A Public Meeting was held to allow discussion regarding the adoption of Resolution No. 2019-54 Declaring the City's intention to levy an annual assessment for Fiscal Year 2019-2020 within the Huntington Beach Downtown Business Improvement District. The modifications would increase the assessment for businesses within Zone 1 by 17% under the categories of Retail Business, Restaurants, Hotels, Services/Office, and Cart/Kiosk. Council confirmed its prior action to adopt the resolution.
8) Council unanimously approved the tentative agreement for Memorandum of Understanding with the Police Management Association. The new contract provides an increase in city contribution to health care premiums and a $1,200 one-time allocation of funds to be used for law enforcement related equipment. The agreement covers the the period January 1, 2018, through June 30, 2020.
9) In an item brought by Councilmember Posey, Council directed staff to return with clarification of the City's policy regarding asset forfeiture.
10) In another item brought by Councilmember Posey, Council voted 5-2 to direct staff to return with a report on what steps the City must take in order to qualify for SB2 funds which have been withheld due to issues related to our housing element.
11) The meeting was closed in honor of former Mayor Norma Gibbs who passed recently. Norma was the 1st female ever elected to the Huntington Beach City Council and was our First Lady mayor as well. She worked hard on behalf of her community and we are the better for it. Prayers go out to her family.
Huntington Beach City Clerk Robin Estanislau Said: National Voter Registration Day takes place on Tuesday, September 24, 2019! Unsure of your voter registration status? Visit the Orange County Registrar of Voters website at www.ocvote.com to ensure that your right to vote in upcoming elections will not be hindered by outdated information!
Huntington Beach City Historian Jerry Person Said: Remembering When: American Legion Post #133 to celebrate 100 years of service to the community this month. It was in 1918 that the end of the "war to end all wars" for the doughboys with the hopes of coming home from camps in the United States and Europe, but many of those boys wouldn't be coming home right away. A year or more before their families and sweethearts would be able see their faces. During that war many soldiers became friends while in camps, but friendships die when there out of the military and so to help keep those friendships alive that were developed during the war, a new service organization developed - the American Legion and this week we'll look at how Huntington Beach's American Ligion Post #133 developed to help keep some of those friendships alive. It was back in 1919 that five posts of the Orange County Service Men's Organization decided to affilate themselves with the newly organized American Legion. One of these would become the Huntington Beach chapter.
On December 18, 1919 the Huntington Beach chapter was officially chartered and named the Joseph Rodman Post #133 with Lewis W. Blodget as its first commander. Twenty members met for the first few months in the basement of the old Andrew Carnegie library that was located at the corner of Eighth Street and Walnut Avenue. The members would later meet in the Odd Fellows Hall on Main Street and when th old civic center at Fifth and Orange was built in the early 1920s the legion would hold their meetings in the hall of the fire station. When the fire station filled up with new fire equipment, the legion found it neccessary to relocate to a building at 124 Third Street. When the old Huntington Beach High School was being demolished in the mid 1920s to make way for new high school buildings, the legion made a bid for one of the the wooden buildings that had been used as the school's music room. Having secured the building, the legion had it moved to the corner of Alabama and Hartford where it still remains today. In 1930 the legion entered into a agreement with the city to rent the second floor of Memorial Hall in the civic center on Fifth Street for $5,000. In 1931, Post Commander Vern Keller was selected to head the post and by 1934 only three of the orginal members remained- Donald Larter, L.E. Mitchell and R.L. Reeves. The membership rose from the original 20 members to 156. In 1935, Roy F. Patrick became commander of the post. By 1965 the post was meeting in a building at 527- 12th Street and when the city demolished that building the city promised the legion a new meeting place. Today the post meets on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at the Rodgers Center at 17th Street and Orange. The post hosts the annual Veterans Day, Memorial Day and September 11th. events at Pier Plaza and Post 133 is always found marching or riding in our Huntington Beach Fourth of July parade. On Saturday, September 21, 2019, Post #133 will celebrate a century of service to the veterans and residents of Huntington Beach at the Rodgers Center from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Wouldn't it be grand if there could be a parade from the civic center down Main Street to Orange Avenue and to the Rodgers Center, with our veterans, old and young, marching proudly as thousands of patriotic Americans lined the sidewalks, waving to these gallant veterans as they pass by.
If you have any questions you can e-mail Jerry at: hbnews@hbquik.com . You can also look at his website at: Huntington Beach News.