Residents complain about meeting times

Eron Ben-Yehuda

Huntington Beach is known as a politically active city, but residents and

workers complain that they can’t fully participate because some public

meetings are held at the worst times.

“Most people say, ‘Oh, I can’t go. The heck with it,”’ resident Dave

Carleen said.

A committee aimed at solving Downtown’s many controversies begins at 8

a.m., while the Public Works Commission, which tackles thorny issues such

as parking and traffic, meets at 5 p.m.

“A 5 p.m. meeting is not a public meeting,” Carleen said.

A typical day at the office doesn’t end until at least 5 p.m., he said.

Because he was working, he missed a meeting in which the commission

considered prohibiting parking on his street, he said.

“I think 7 p.m. is the earliest they can expect a majority of people [to

come],” he said.

Deputy City Administrator Rich Barnard recognizes the importance of the

dozens of citizen committees, commissions and boards the city sponsors.

They offer council members key insights into what the public is thinking

about issues of the day, he said. “The more you encourage public

participation, the better off everybody is.”

But while most critical public meetings, such as City Council, are held

after 5 p.m., there simply isn’t enough room at City Hall to hold all of

them at the same time, Barnard said. In addition, there are many other

ways to get a point across, such as making phone calls, writing letters

and sending e-mail, he said.

“Just to say I can’t physically be there and, therefore, the system’s

broken, is a pretty weak argument,” he said.

Moe Kanoudi, who owns Main St. Eyewear, prefers to show up at Downtown

committee meetings. But he had to rush out of 8:30 a.m. meetings to open

his store and, after hearing complaints from him and other business

owners, the city will begin holding the meetings at 8 a.m. starting in

November.

The still doesn’t solve the problem, Downtown resident Terry Carmadella,

46, said, “‘Cause everybody works, and the drunks are sleeping in.”