The Santa Monica City Council began the meeting of March 14, 2006, by proclaiming March as “Mayors for Meals Month” honoring the national Meals on Wheels program and its March 22 celebration when Mayor Holbrook will join mayors across the country in delivering meals to homebound individuals.

CONSENT CALENDAR Among matters not requiring extensive discussion, the Council approved the following: a $558,000 contract with Crain & Associates for design, bid preparation and construction monitoring for the Exposition Corridor Bike and Pedestrian Path; a $42,000 contract amendment with Castle Breckenridge Management for continued property management services at the city-owned Mountain View Mobile Home Park; a request that Senator Sheila Kuehl carry legislation to allow posting of a memorial sign along the Santa Monica Freeway or Pacific Coast Highway in memory of Santa Monica Police Officer Ricardo Crocker, killed in Iraq in 2005; acceptance of $298,000 in grant funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the reuse of 415 Pacific Coast Highway; and an $88,500 contract (plus reimbursement of staff salaries) with Roth Management for operation of the Pier Carousel. Item 1-H on purchase of mobile computers for police vehicles was continued to March 28, when a full Council is expected to be present (the matter requires 5 votes; 2 Councilmembers were absent and one Council Member had to recuse himself).

STUDY SESSION ON SOLID WASTE The Council received a comprehensive report from consulting firm Gershman, Brickner and Bratton, Inc., on the city’s solid waste rate structure for single-family homes, multi-family residences and options for solid waste operations and rates in future years. On recommendation of the city manager, the Council gave the staff 30 days to analyze the short-term objectives identified by the consultant with the goal of keeping any rate increases in the next two years to the “bare minimum”, while looking at longer term efficiencies, which could include contracting out or franchising commercial waste hauling. The consultant gave the city high marks for its operations and achievement of solid waste diversion targets, while noting shortcomings in infrastructure.

ORDINANCES The Council held second reading an adopted an ordinance authorizing issuance of 20 preferential parking permits for employees of businesses in the vicinity of 10th and Pico.

REDESIGN OF POLICE PATROL VEHICLES Council approved a new design for identifying police vehicles incorporating the city’s Sussman/Prejza-designed graphic identity (logo), blue lettering for “Santa Monica POLICE” and a black and white color scheme for the cars themselves.

COMMUNITY ENERGY INDEPENDENCE INITIATIVE The Council approved in concept a Community Energy Independence Initiative, which includes a commitment to using solar power among other strategies, and authorized staff to begin implementation of a two-year demonstration project with an allocation of $637,000 from previously budgeted funds. Council also directed that staff look into placing a solar wind turbine on the Pier, as part of the demonstration project, perhaps with an outside vendor as a partner, and asked staff to provide a service on the web allowing property owners to calculate the cost/benefit of converting to solar power and other energy efficiencies.

APPOINTMENT An appointment to the Pier Restoration Corporation was continued until the PRC Council liaison can be present.

RESPONSE TO GANG VIOLENCE The Council received an update from the City Manager and the Chief of Police regarding city response to the tragic homicide that took the life of Santa Monica resident and outstanding Santa Monica High School student Eduardo "Eddie" Lopez on February 28 and on regional efforts to prevent gang violence and apprehend gang violence suspects, including inter-agency cooperation.

City Manager Lamont Ewell spoke of a reinvigoration of the efforts of the community partners to address the causes of gang violence, fast-tracking of several already approved efforts including an aggressive approach to graffiti removal, alley lighting and streetscape improvements in the Pico neighborhood, the personal efforts of the Police Chief and his staff to reach out to the Lopez family, the assistance provided by the staff at Virginia Avenue Park, and the provision of buses to transport people to the funeral at St. Monica’s and parking at the Civic Auditorium for a Samohi reception following as gestures of the respect and caring the Lopez family. He mentioned upcoming opportunities for involvement, including the Human Relations Council dialog at Calvary Baptist Church on March 26 and the second annual job fair cosponsored by the Chamber of Commerce on April 26, and the critical regional efforts needed to truly have an impact on violent gang activity. The community was urged to attend the March 18 gang violence forum hosted by Sen. Sheila Kuehl and cosponsored by the city and Santa Monica Malibu USD at John Adams Middle School, from 10 to noon.

Police Chief James Butts spoke of gang violence countywide and the effect it has on Santa Monica, most recently and sadly in the homicide of Eddie Lopez. He described gang life as being for those without hope and the small number of Santa Monica gang members and the behavior they exhibit outside Santa Monica that can invite deadly retaliation from gang members in Mar Vista, Venice and Culver City. He explained the collaborative work of the Santa Monica Police Department, LAPD, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, Inglewood PD, Inglewood USD Police, L.A. County Probation, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and the county Department of Children and Family Services in an interagency gang task force that meets regularly to share intelligence and crime information to combat gang-related crime and violence. Because of this interagency group, said the Chief, many gang crimes that might otherwise go unsolved are solved and perpetrators brought to justice because of joint operations. Still much more needs to be done, he said, and we are still very much committed to coming to the “grand solution” where a 15-year-old boy can be out on the street at 9:30 at night anywhere and not be stalked by gang members.

Councilmembers stressed the need for the every segment of the community to pull together to send the message that gang violence will not be tolerated here and to plant seeds to end the problem and be a model for other communities.

ADJOURNMENT The Council adjourned the meeting in memory of 15-year-old scholar athlete Eduardo “Eddie” Lopez and expressed deepest sympathy to his family and described his mother as a “beacon of love” to the community. [A fund to help the Lopez family with expenses has been established at First Federal Bank, 1630 Montana Ave., Santa Monica.] Council also adjourned in memory of John Zehnder, who passed away March 5. An ordained Presbyterian minister and licensed marriage and family counselor, he was best known here as a music teacher at McCabe’s on Pico.

Council congratulated Santa Monica resident Paul Haggis, writer and director of the Academy Award-winning film “Crash”.

The next regular meeting of the Santa Monica City Council is scheduled for Tuesday, March 28, 2006, beginning at 5:45 p.m. in the wheelchair-accessible Council Chamber at City Hall. Council meetings are aired live on CityTV Channel 16 and on the Netcast on the city's website and, for regularly scheduled meetings from 8 p.m. to midnight on KCRW 89.9 FM.

NOTE: This wrap-up is not an official record of Council action. The official record is posted by the City Clerk on this website at http://www.smgov.net/cityclerk/council/agendas/2006/ as soon as possible after the meeting. (Click on the March 14 agenda link.)

SPECIAL NOTE: Council meetings are now video streamed on the web (http://santamonica.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2) and re-aired on CityTV2 cable channel 20.