Hermosa Beach Mayor Peter Tucker delivered his State of the City address last week to an audience of residents, city employees and business people at the Beach House hotel, where he touted recent city accomplishments and set goals for the year to come.
Tucker arrived directly from the final Measure O vote tally at City Hall and said he was proud of the community’s high level of involvement in the March 3 special election. The election turned out 54 percent of registered voters, compared with lower than nine percent turnout on the same day in municipal elections in Los Angeles.
With the city now on the hook for a $17.5 million settlement payment to E & B following the failure of Measure 0, Tucker said the city council needs to provide direction on how the city can finance the payment. He noted the city has already set $6 million aside to pay E & B.
Looking ahead, the city could have a financial windfall in the making with the Clash Hotel set to break ground at Hermosa Avenue and 15th Street this year. Two other hotel and mixed-use proposals are currently on the table. The city collects a 10 percent transient occupancy tax. With those three projects, Hermosa is on “the precipice of tremendous opportunity,” according to a slide in Tucker’s presentation.
But Tucker said the two other developments would not break ground for at least a couple years, and that the developments would not alter Hermosa’s character.
“People come to Hermosa Beach to see how the residents live,” Tucker said.
He said the city will again be on the world stage this summer with the annual July 4 festivities in downtown. Tucker hopes the party will be tamer than in years past thanks in part to horse-mounted police officers. The city will also host about 100 athletes for the 2015 Special Olympics later that month.
City improvements this year will include a sewer replacement program, the addition of new
parking meters and renovations to South Park. The city is also moving forward with a beautification plan for Pacific Coast Highway in partnership with CalTrans.
Hermosa is also transitioning to priority-based budgeting, which Tucker said would better align the wants and needs of the community with available money.
He also nodded to new city employees hired in recent months, including Public Works Director Andrew Brozyna, Economic Development Officer Shelli Margolin-Mayer and Police Department Captain Milton McKinnon.
“To be a first class city we need people with first class abilities,” Tucker said.
He closed by invoking the three tenets of a successful city: residents, employees and community.
“Where there is no vision the people will perish,” he said. “Hermosa has a vision and the people will flourish.”
