by Kevin Cody
Near the end of a two hour PowerPoint presentation by Hermosa Beach Civic Center consultant Jeffrey Fullerton, Mayor Pro Tem Rob Saemann complained the presentation was too conceptional and lacking in specifics. The presentation in the Hermosa council chambers last Wednesday, January 22 was meant to elicit resident input on proposals for a new Civic Center.
“There isn’t enough detail for any one to say, ‘I love this,’ or ‘I hate that,’” Saemann told Fullerton.
Saemann made the same argument last June, when he told fellow councilmembers they were “putting the horse before the cart” when they voted, over his and Councilmember Dean Francois’ objections, to retain community outreach consultant, the Lee Andrews Group for $179,000, before preparing plans of the proposed Civic Center to show residents.
At the end of last Wednesday’s meeting of approximately 30 “civic nerds,” as former councilmember Jim Rosenberger described the attendees, Fullerton conceded Saemann may have been right.
“Maybe that’s the flaw in the process. There are no pretty pictures. There’s not enough to chew on,” Fullerton said. “We did that on purpose because we didn’t want to come to the public with a preproposed plan. But we can take a pause and come back to the community with some designs,” he said.
Despite the conceptual nature of Fullerton’s presentation, a picture was painted of the current Civic Center as cheaper to replace than repair.
City Hall, the Police Department and the City Yard do not meet current seismic and ADA requirements, Fullerton said. And the plumbing and electrical system are “beyond economic repair,” as Public Works Director Joseph SanClemente said during a Civic Center tour last October.
The Civic Center is also too small to meet staffing and storage needs, Fullerton said. The present Civic Center is 58,000 square feet. A 2026 civic facilities study said the Civic Center needs 76,000 square feet.
Fullerton estimated the costs for remodeling or rebuilding the Civic Center at $80 million to $120 million. Because the city has not drafted plans for a new Civic Center, he explained, his cost estimates were based on the square-foot costs of other, comparable civic centers.
The funding could be “cost neutral,” he said, if the city sells or leases some of the current Civic Center property. A new Civic Center parking lot could also offset costs by charging for parking, and increasing sales tax revenue by stimulating downtown business.
Another funding option, Fullerton said, is a bond. In 2016 residents approved a $59 million school bond to build the new Vista School, and remodel Valley and View schools.
The Civic Center and nearby city-owned property total over 10 acres.
City Hall and the Police Station sit on 2.5 acres. The city-owned self storage site adjacent to the Civic Center is 1.7 acres. The city yard, four blocks south of the Civic Center, is 1.6 acres.
The Community Center, immediately east of the Civic Center, is 4.8 acres.
At a council meeting in December 2023, Fullerton proposed, as an option, building a new Civic Center on the Community Center site, and paying for it by leasing or selling the current Civic Center site for a hotel.
The council majority, at that time, favored the Community Center option, over remodeling the Civic Center. But the current council may take that option off the table. At its most recent council meeting, on Tuesday, January 14, Mayor Dean Francois, Mayor Pro Tem Saemann and newly elected Councilmember Michael Keegan voted to discuss, at their upcoming, Tuesday, January 28 meeting, removing the Community Center as a potential Civic Center site.
Residents who spoke following Fullerton’s presentation last Wednesday were unanimous in their support for improvements to the Civic Center. But their suggestions were more financially conservative than the options Fullerton suggested.
Resident Nancy Schwappah proposed the city satisfy its office needs by renting office space on Pacific Coast Highway. (Fullerton noted that only 1,000 of the City of Los Angeles’ 4,000 employees work at its landmark City Hall.)
Resident Elka Worner recommended addressing the office space shortage by opening City Hall on Fridays, and staggering work shifts.
Other residents suggested adding another story to the current Civic Center buildings.
“No one is saying do nothing,” resident John Burry said, “We’re saying there are multiple ways to address the Civic Center shortcoming without spending $120 million.”
Burry said the city needs to tell residents, “What’s in it for us.”
“The Metlox development in downtown Manhattan Beach kick started the revitalization of their downtown. It gave residents retail, parking and a hotel.”
“An administrative shuffle is not a killer attraction for resident, whom you need to say yes to a new Civic Center,” Burry said. ER
