Seal Beach Pier’s fate unclear
Today I woke up to your Oct. 8 issue with the headline article “What’s going to happen to our town’s pier.” I was shocked to find out that after more than two years of looking at a wire fence and a dilapidated building, our city government has NO PLANS for our pier. I may have my history wrong; it has been so long. But this is what I recall.
The Ruby’s Diner owner and the city reached an impasse on a new lease for the facility. So Ruby’s vacated. I recall the Ruby’s spokesperson stating that the company would have liked to renew but could not accept the terms the city offered. So we were left with an empty locked up building.
The citizens of Seal Beach were never told what the negotiation problems were. We do not know what either party wanted. We do know who lost out on the negotiations—the citizens of Seal Beach. No matter what was being sought or offered, having a zero income producing vacant dilapidated building for over two years is far worse economically for the city than whatever terms Ruby’s sought. And the economics are the small part. We are left unable to walk around the pier and forced to look at a DEPRESSING wire fence and empty building … that used to be a restaurant where we could purchase a meal or refreshing beverage.
Then we heard in early 2014 that the owners of The Original Fish Company wished to open a restaurant at the location. The rumor was that the company was going to build the restaurant at its own expense. The response from the citizens of Seal Beach was overwhelmingly in favor. All of us foolish citizens were really excited. The decision by our City Council was to negotiate with the restaurant owners.
For a while we regularly heard that the city was negotiating. But it was all confidential. We citizens could not know what the negotiations were. We were never told what the offers and demands were. We never were informed whether or not a deal had been reached either in principle or actually inked. We were told nothing. But obviously based on your article today, no deal was struck.
Next came the hurricane in late 2014. We were told that the City Council had commissioned an engineering firm to do an analysis of the damage to the pier and what it would take to repair it. Once again radio silence. If we have been told what the damage is and how much it would cost to repair it, I must have missed it. What is very apparent from your article is that the City has done nothing with the report. There are no plans to repair the pier. There is apparently no decision not to repair it. There is just typical city inaction.
Finally, in the beginning of the year this newspaper asked the City Council members what their priorities were for 2015. Your friend, Ellery Deaton, told the newspaper her number one priority was the pier. Well, the year is almost gone. We have gassed a few coyotes. The City council hopped right on that bandwagon! But other than a few dead coyotes, no action. And what do we hear now?
Ms. Deaton wants to hold a workshop “to find out what needs to be done, what the costs are and to find out if the community wants a restaurant or other structure at the end of the pier.” Seriously?!? If it were not such a familiar refrain, it would sound like some kind of sick joke.
If this is not a perfect example of failed government, I do not know what is. There have been surveys, letter writing campaigns, people speaking at city council meetings. The sentiment has always been to reopen the pier with a restaurant. And now we are going to have a workshop?
The workshop will turn into a study. The studies will turn into bid solicitations. The solicitations will turn into negotiations. They will probably fail. And then maybe in another three or four years … we can have another workshop!
… while our pier continues to sit with a wire fence and a dilapidated building.
Pathetic. Truly pathetic.
James R. Wakefield
Seal Beach
How to stop annoying telemarketer calls
In late September 2015, I wrote an email message to the editor of Leisure World newspaper “Watch Your Step” section regarding SCAMS. He wrote back to me: “I am delighted to get this note, thank you very much. I will work on this early Wednesday for use in the Oct. 8 paper.” So here is what I wrote:
To let everyone know that there is a resource regarding telemarketing besides the “Do Not Call” Registry. Recently, I received a call from “out of the area,” so I called U.S. Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP. There I learned from a woman that works for the FTC that on their website www.ftc.gov they have a “Do Not Call” registry. Just go to the above website and click on National “Do Not Call” and answer some of the questions.
What I learned is this even stops any telemarketing calls from outside of the U.S.A. Since registering on the National “Do Not Call” list, I have not received another call regarding the telemarketing SCAM.
Now I am writing to the “sunshine” paper The Sun regarding this information. Because nothing was put into the Leisure World newspaper “Watch Your Step” section even though the editor stated he was “delighted.”
Carol Franz
Leisure World
Problem solving made simple
Because of the diversity of issues, both social and communication, I find it challenging as chair of the board of directors in Leisure World. Being a new shareholder as well as on the board it takes a mountain of patience on how to deal and solve unexpected problems.
When a shareholder in my wheel (four units of a mutual) did her laundry in another wheel, it created a huge problem for both wheels. When reported to the executive director we had a meeting. He tried his best to solve the issue, but it was fruitless. Meanwhile as director of that wheel, I have to solve the problem.
I thought of using the reverse psychology approach. I made her in-charge of the laundry room. I was successful in solving the problem. Our laundry room is very clean and orderly.
Now when I reported to the GRF president and executive director, due to the poor editing in the GRF news, I was just ignored. Is this the way to solve a problem?
Lisa A. Dickson
Leisure World
