Tensions reached a boiling point at Monday night’s four-and-a-half-hour special Manhattan Beach City Council and Centennial Committee meeting as the council, Centennial Committee and the community argued about the direction of the remaining centennial events. At one point, Mayor Nick Tell – on his final night presiding as mayor – likened the discussion to high school students planning the prom.
Some residents called the proposed centennial gala an elitist affair, while the Centennial Committee fought to preserve the event they’d sold to nearly 20 sponsors, including the Manhattan Beach Country Club, Chevron, Anheuser Busch and Skechers, who had collectively donated $164,000.
After hours of a tear-inducing, at times confrontational, and later constructive debate, the council decided to abandon the idea of the centennial gala that had divided not only the community but also the council itself, for a more family-oriented event with games and live music. The scope will depend on what remains in the centennial budget after the centennial parade and picnic.
Tell kicked off the meeting on a light note. The Aquarius shared his horoscope, which he’d read at the Coffee Bean earlier that day: “Just because you and someone don’t agree, doesn’t mean you can’t find a compromise.”
The compromise suggested in a city staff report proposed a cocktail party for sponsors in the upper south parking lot, followed by a concert open to the public, and later a ticketed dinner on the sand to satisfy sponsors.
Tell clung to the idea of a ticketed event on the sand to salvage the committee’s two years of planning and fundraising. “There was a lot of personal integrity behind what was committed to these sponsors,” Tell said.
Community members were displeased. “I don’t see how this, shutting down and putting people (to sit) on a sidewalk, outside, to listen to a band while the rest of everyone stands up in high heels drinking wine, is very inclusive,” said former resident Chris Miller.
In terms of exclusivity, residents were especially critical of the Taste of Manhattan Beach, which hosted 500 people – 350 tickets were available to the public – and cost the committee $133,000. Tell would have liked to host hundreds more, but the committee was constricted by logistics – how much food and staff restaurants were willing to provide.
An hour and a half in, the meeting turned hostile. Tell called a five-minute break after committee members and Councilmember Amy Howorth argued about the seating arrangement – committee members were seated behind her, so Howorth couldn’t look directly at them.
“There’s a reason why those chairs swivel,” one committee member said, after Howorth had asked them to change their seats.
Howorth said she could hear members snickering behind her, prompting her to momentarily abandon her seat at the dais and plant herself in the audience.
“I’ve never seen such a display in my life in city chambers,” said 50-plus-year resident and Centennial Committee member Jan Dennis, of the evening’s animosity. “It makes me really sad to think we’re fighting over a cocktail party. We haven’t done anything that is a historical remembrance.”
The original idea to have a gala on the beach was to host as many people as possible, said Annie Walker, who serves on the committee. While other venues were expensive and could only host a limited number of people, the beach seemed vast. And that’s where much of the interest among sponsors stemmed from. “The majority of sponsors we’ve met with, the beach ball has been the driving force for them to write the checks,” Walker said. “That’s the one that speaks to them as being unique, different, celebratory and fun.”
Three hours into the meeting, Walker suggested ditching the gala. “Maybe it’s time for a new direction,” she said. “We can’t continue to sell something that maybe doesn’t exist.”
When it was clear that the council and committee sought new ideas, the crowd looked for a compromise that would satisfy everyone – a historic film festival, bonfire and music festival were among the suggestions.
The council unanimously voted to move forward with the centennial parade and historic picnic, committing to $3,000 for sign boards, barricades and private security for street closures, and $2,075 for a city float.
The council decided to consolidate the remaining two events – the downtown festival/open house and the centennial ball – and design a new event with music on the pier and games, and without VIP treatment. What money remains in the centennial committee’s account after the parade and picnic will fund the event. Tell estimated this will be about $25,000 to $30,000. It’s unknown, at this point, when the event will occur.
Howorth will replace Councilmember Richard Montgomery’s position on the Centennial Committee and help plan the event moving forward.
