WHAT HAPPENED: The council agreed to remove...

WHAT HAPPENED:

The council agreed to remove a parcel of city-owned land from a

list of possible surplus property sales.

WHAT IT MEANS:

On Aug. 28, the City Council approved a list of city parcels to be

sold as excess land. A parcel of undeveloped land next to Irby Park,

at Marilyn Drive and Dale Vista Lane, was included on that list.

Mayor Connie Boardman recommended Tuesday that the council remove

the Irby Park parcel to be used as an urban runoff treatment site.

Boardman urged the City Council to preserve the property. Grant

funding should go toward using the land to treat run off from the

Wintersburg Flood Control Channel, she said.

The City Council approved the item with a unanimous vote, but

Councilwoman Pam Julien Houchen cautioned council members not to keep

removing parcels from the sale list.

WHAT WAS SAID:

“I think we need to sell our surplus properties if we can,” Julien

Houchen said.

WHAT HAPPENED:

The City Council approved an annual report for the city’s

hotel/motel business improvement district.

WHAT IT MEANS:

The council approved its first annual review of the hotel/motel

business improvement district on Tuesday night. The district was

formed last year at the request of the Huntington Beach Conference

and Visitors Bureau. The purpose of the district was to fund

activities that promote Huntington Beach as an overnight destination.

The district expects that it will receive $320,000 from a 1% tax

on overnight rooms stays in all of Huntington’s hotels and motels.

Revenues from the tax will fund advertising, Web site development,

visitor research, brochures, trade shows, a photo library and other

publicity.

WHAT HAPPENED:

The City Council approved a bid for the Murdy Park Reconfiguration

Project.

WHAT IT MEANS:

The City Council approved a plan to reconfigure Murdy Community

Park and Park View School into a youth sports complex on Oct. 16,

2002.

On Tuesday, the City Council accepted a $785,000 bid from Los

Angeles Engineering Inc., a local construction company.

The upgraded park will include six basketball courts, additional

parking and a 250-square-foot restroom facility. Renovation will

involve relocating existing basketball courts, adding a 96-space

parking lot and building three unisex restrooms.

More than $500,000 in grant money from the Safe Neighborhood

Parks, Clean Water, Clean Air and Coastal Protection bond act of 2000

has been approved for the project.