City officials gave a reception for retiring council members Gordon Shanks of District Three and Micheal Levitt of District Five on Monday afternoon, Nov. 11.
Shanks and Levitt have termed out of office and could not run for re-election this year. Shanks has been succeeded by Mike Varipapa, a civil engineer. Levitt has been succeeded by Sandra Massa-Lavitt of the Planning Commission.
At the Monday night City Council meeting, District Four Councilman Gary Miller said Shanks would be missed.
Miller thanked Levitt for his work fighting the proposed installation of toll roads on the I-405. Miller’s College Park East district borders the freeway.
Miller also thanked City Clerk Linda Devine, who is retiring at the end of the year.
He said all the transparency in Seal Beach was due to her efforts to put city staff reports and council meeting videos online.
Diane Carey, of the Westminster City Council and representative of the I-405 corridor cities, presented Levitt with a certificate of appreciation for his work against the toll road proposal.
Levitt, who represents Leisure World, said many of Leisure World’s residents couldn’t afford toll roads. He also said there was something inherently wrong with toll roads.
Mayor Ellery Deaton, who represents District One, also thanked Shanks, Levitt and Devine for their service to Seal Beach.
City thanks Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach
The council also gave a presentation to District Two Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach for his service. Moorlach also termed out of office this year. He will be succeeded by Seal Beach Surfside Colony resident Michelle Steel.
Deaton thanked Moorlach for the free sand that the country recently provided to replenish the city’s beach following a recent storm.
Deaton called Moorlach a champion for Seal Beach for his opposition to toll roads.
Moorlach called Deaton a “warrior” for her opposition to the 405 toll road proposals. Moorlach also praised Councilman Levitt’s work on the Orange County Vector Control Board and Miller for his work on the Orange County Transportation Authority Board.
More coyote protests
Anna Christianson said that as a member of the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority, the City of Seal Beach had a legal duty to protect wetlands wildlife, which includes coyotes.
The Los Cerritos Wetlands straddle the Seal Beach/Long Beach city border as well as the Los Angeles and Orange County border.
She said the city’s decision to hire Critter Busters to trap coyotes appeared to be a violation of that obligation to enforce the policies of the LCWA. She said the city had exposed itself to legal action.
The LCWA board recently issued a letter that said the coyote trapping was taking place outside the wetlands.
Deaton said there was no trapping in the wetlands or in Gum Grove Park. Shouts from the audience indicated some activists might not have believed her.
Matt Duncan objected to the trapping service’s legal use of lethal gas to euthanize coyotes.
He also asked the council for comment on snare traps he stated had been found in Gum Grove Park.
Assistant City Manager Patrick Gallegos, who has been in charge of the coyote program, told the Sun Monday, Nov. 10, that the city was not releasing a schedule for trapping activity because the city has dealt with tampering issues since the program started.
Earlier this month, Gallegos said Warden Larry Stephens of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife came to the city and asked questions about the methods of trapping and euthanizing coyotes.
“The Warden was satisfied with the answers submitted by the city,” Gallegos said.
