Tempers were raised almost to boiling point at Tuesday’s Redondo Beach city council meeting as members discussed the possibility of forming a subcommittee regarding the future of the AES power plant.
Councilman Matt Kilroy, who originally suggested the need for a subcommittee, said it would help the council determine its options regarding the power plant.
“I felt given the complexity of the issue, being able to have two council members and staff sit down and look at where we were at and to be able to come back and give the council options would save us a lot of time, as opposed to literally trying to discuss it up here every Tuesday night,” Kilroy said. “It just seemed like there was too much information to digest.”
Eric Pendergraft, president of AES Southland, told the council he was open to the possibility of a subcommittee. He also stressed that AES has not submitted any applications to build a new plant. As of now, he said, AES has only filed a preliminary conceptual plan they were required to submit to the water board to comply with a new requirement to reconfigure of the plant’s cooling process that requires drastically less ocean water.
“We have not initiated a single activity with the California Energy Commission,” Pendergraft said. “If you want to have this dialogue or establish a subcommittee now, it’s getting in on the beginning, when we are evaluating our plans. And that’s what we want to do, work with you.”
Mayor Mike Gin said that the committee could work to understand what AES’s future plans mean for the city.
“I want to make it clear,” said Mayor Mike Gin, “there has been a lot of passion with regards to the power plant… My purpose is that this be an informational committee. It is not designed to be pro-AES or anti-AES. It is designed to look at what our options are. There’s an opportunity that is being created because there is a situation where a business has an opportunity to modernize their plant…perhaps with a smaller footprint, maybe with some opportunities to free up some of their land for beneficial uses in the community.”
The meeting grew tense as the issue of one councilman’s stance regarding the AES was raised – Councilman Bill Brand, who has helped lead a movement that seeks to rezone the power plant area to no longer allow power generation.
“There has been a plant on that site since 1897,” said Councilman Pat Aust. “There isn’t a person on the face of this Earth who has seen that as an empty lot. For someone to have the position that we zone them out of business before they even have a chance to begin to speak on what they are trying to do is not the proper position to be taking.”
Brand defended his position and said the formation of a subcommittee was “a good first step.”
“Obviously this is a once in a generation opportunity to really upgrade our waterfront in one of several ways, depending on what happens,” Brand said. “It is a very complex issue that affects all ofRedondo Beachand Hermosa andTorranceas well. I would like to see the power plant retired but I’m also practical. I’ve been to other communities where power plants have been retired and met with people involved…What’s important in this is that we gather as much information as possible. It is ultimately a state process. There is no one entity, even AES, that is going to decide whether they build a new plant here or not.”
Two councilmen questioned the need for the committee and the appropriateness of Brand serving on such a committee if it did exist.
“I’m questioning why we have to have it,” said Councilman Steve Aspel. “We all have done a lot of homework on this thing, we’ve been working on it for years and years and years.”
“With all due respect,” Diels told Brand, “You say one thing here, that you’ll be unbiased, and I see your emails and what you say and there is no ambiguity. It’s, ‘I want the power plant gone.’ Anything you come up will have that kind of a fence, and in fairness to the citizens and AES and any business owner… you can’t campaign to get rid of something then claim to be unbiased. I think you’re conflicted out because of the statements you’ve made… I’m not going to parade around and tell people ‘Let’s tear down this plant…’ It would be really cool if we could afford it. I think we need to keep an open mind. It could be gone, or it could stay. Unless I’m convinced otherwise I’m not even in favor of having a committee.”
The table turned, and instead of discussing what was on the list of objectives for the committee, they discussed the real need for a committee.
“I ran on a platform of finding a way to phase out the power plant,” said Brand. “Their contract expires in 2018… Our own staff said the power plant is the major blighting influence in our harbor. Everybody knows it. You come from out of town, people see that, and it’s so out of place. This is a citywide issue, it’s not just a few people who want a view of the ocean.”
Members cooled down and discussed the next step of the process.
“I actually own land adjacent to the power plant and it does affect my property values, I guess,” Diels said. “But I didn’t move there because the plant was there, I moved there becauseRedondo Beachis an incredible place to live. I’m not one to complain about my life inRedondo Beach. I happen to love it, love this city, certainly can be made better and so we’re all working to that end.”
Ultimately, the decision on whether to form a subcommittee was postponed until Nov. 15.
