Opinions clashed and tempers flared at the Pacific Beach Town Council’s (PBTC) regularly scheduled meeting, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15, at the Earl and Birdie Taylor Library, 4275 Cass St.
In his first meeting as president, Don Mullen laid out an agenda for the upcoming year, in accordance with PBTC bylaws.
Bylaws also mandate that the group’s finances be disclosed. Mullen said that information would be included in an upcoming newsletter.
“It’s going to be a very intense year,” said council vice president Ruby Houck following the meeting. “We’ve got a major event every month. I think we’re going to get a lot done this year. He’s just a doer.”
Mullen’s defined agenda and gung-ho attitude are a departure from former longtime president Jim Moore’s more laidback approach.
“He has a strong personality,” said Houck of Mullen. “He’s funny.”
Emotions were close to the surface as the council discussed two controversial issues: the Pacific Beach Block Party and closed PBTC board meetings.
A longtime source of debate, the Block Party had grown from a community street fair into an event that attracted approximately 200,000 people from as far away as Los Angeles and Arizona.
Supporters praised the event, now renamed the Pacific Beach Street Fair, as a boon to local business and an unparalleled fund-raiser. Detractors said the event had become an out-of-control “drunk fest” with an unaffordable price tag.
The PBTC board voted to support the concept of an alternate street fair. According to Houck, 54 percent of the council’s members responded unfavorably to the Block Party in a recent survey.
PBTC member Marcie Beckett wanted not just the board, but also the council to be involved in the process of choosing a replacement event. She made a motion that the general membership vote on the Pacific Beach Street Fair at the March meeting and that both Discover Pacific Beach and the Street Fair Steering Committee make presentations at the meeting. The motion passed 25-16.
PBTC members must be present at the March 15 general meeting to vote on the issue.
Another issue that has raised concern and divided opinion among council members is the recent decision to close board meetings to the general public.
At a time when “transparency” is the buzzword in local government in the wake of the pension fund scandal, the decision to close the meetings surprised many in the council and community.
Mel Zeddies said the move contributed greatly to his decision to resign from the board.
“I just do not go along with this whole idea of secrecy,” he said.
The meetings are not truly closed to the public, according to Houck. Anyone who has a specific concern or request for the board is welcome to have it put on the agenda, she said.
The issue behind the closed board meetings isn’t to limit transparency, but to save time, Houck said. Meetings were simply taking too long when the public was welcome to show up spontaneously, she said.
“I’m sorry, but in a representative form of government, time shouldn’t be an issue,” said Zeddies. “Everyone should be able to voice their opinion.”
And everyone seems to have one.
“We’re the most passionate community,” Houck said. “Everybody really cares.”