Long Beach City Councilmembers Robert Garcia, Patrick O’Donnell, and Gerrie Schipske
3:00pm | Long Beach Government Affairs Manager Tom Modica has issued a statement that the Army Corps will release their long-awaited report on Monday, not today as previously expected. The report will indicate whether or not there is Federal interest in pursuing reconfiguration of the Long Beach Breakwater. If so, and the City Council approves the plan to move forward, the Corps will begin a feasibility study that will cost the City of Long Beach $4 million and could last up to four years to complete.
Modica said that as of now, the City Council still expects to discuss the item during Tuesday’s meeting.
Need more breakwater? The Long Beach Art Theatre is hosting a breakwater film contest tomorrow and a long-awaited documentary called Mother Wants Her Beauty Back will be making its premiere there at 12:00pm. Visit arttheatrelongbeach.com for more info, and click below to see the trailer.
Mother Wants Her Beauty Back Preview Two from Grant Eads on Vimeo.
9:45am | Though the presentation is still five days away, it’s almost a foregone conclusion that the Army Corps of Engineers will reveal their support for an extensive study of reconfiguring the Long Beach Breakwater during next Tuesday’s Long Beach City Council meeting, and some are beginning to take sides.
The feasibility study will be a thorough, detailed examination of the options and potential benefits that reconfiguration will provide to the ocean and shoreline of Long Beach, taking up to four years and costing the City of Long Beach about $4 million. The two camps that have begun to form consist of Bring waves back to Long Beach and We don’t have $4 million.
Councilmembers Robert Garcia and Patrick O’Donnell sent out a joint press release yesterday, calling for support of the feasibility study and encouraging supporters to spread the word by attending the Council meeeting. “This will be a historic vote, and decide the future of our local beaches,” reads the statement.
It also touts the benefits of cleaning up local water quality and restoring waves to Long Beach, two ideas that another Councilmember – the 5th District’s Gerrie Schipske – says will not be included in the feasibility study.
Schipske posted on her personal blog late last night that not only does the city not have the money, but “The Army Corps of Engineers is not willing to include in its study the very thing the City was interested in finding out about: ‘economic analysis and wave monitoring and water quality.'”
Well, no, the Army Corps will not include wave monitoring and water quality in the study that will likely be released today. That report will probably only express whether or not the Federal Government has an interest in moving forward.
But those aspects will be central to the larger feasibility study – the one that Long Beach will be asked to pay for – should the City agree to move forward with it.
Regardless, Schipske reminds readers that the City cannot afford $4 million for the study, let alone the tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars that would be required when a construction plan is presented. She suggests putting the issue to the voters in a ballot measure this November that would ask whether Tidelands funds should be used to fund the study.
“I am no longer convinced that spending money on a study (that now does not include water quality, economic analysis and wave monitoring) is prudent,” she writes.
We are awaiting comment from Councilmember Schipske.
Meanwhile, the Long Beach chapter of the Surfrider Foundation is encouraging their large group of supporters to attend the City Council meeting and spread the word about reconfiguration.
The Army Corps report is expected to be released sometime today. We will have the report and analysis available as soon as it has been released.
Where do you stand on the issue?
Follow the lbpost.com on our Facebook, YouTube and Twitter pages.
Click here to read our policy on covering the Long Beach City Council.