WHAT HAPPENED: The City Council approved recommendations...

WHAT HAPPENED:

The City Council approved recommendations of the Citizen’s

Participation Advisory Board for distribution of Community

Development Block grant funding, with an amendment to transfer

$11,000 from the Huntington Beach Community Clinic to Project

Self-Sufficiency.

WHAT IT MEANS:

Every year, the city receives community development block grants

from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The money is intended to serve low- and moderate-income residents

through public improvements, public services, code enforcement,

economic development activities and rehabilitation programs.

Every year, the Citizen’s Participation Advisory Board provides

recommendations on how the funds should be doled out.

The City Council approved the board’s recommendation, with an

amendment to transfer $11,000 allocated to the Community Clinic to

Project Self-Sufficiency, decreasing the clinic’s fund from $23,000

to $12,000 and upping Project Self Sufficiency’s fund to $81,000.

Other programs receiving block grant funds are the Community Job

Center, the Code Enforcement Program, Adult Day Services, Community

Care Health Centers the Oak View Community Center and the Seniors

Outreach Program. Dave Sullivan, Cathy Green and Gil Coerper were

opposed.

WHAT HAPPENED:

The City Council appointed Fredrick Koepp an David Guido to the

city’s environmental board.

WHAT IT MEANS:

Koepp and Guido will fill two open seats on the environmental

board. The appointments were recommended by Mayor Connie Boardman and

Councilwoman Jill Hardy, the City Council liaisons to the board.

Koepp is a 23-year resident and a retired professional forester.

He is also a member of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust. Guido, a sales

engineer, has lived in Huntington Beach for 12 years and is president

of the Huntington Beach Coastal Communities Assn. and Huntington

Beach Tomorrow.

The environmental board is charged with protecting and preserving

the communities environmental resources.

Their terms will expire June 30, 2007.

WHAT HAPPENED:

The City Council directed staff to see if there is a way the city

could continue to collect property taxes on the proposed Poseidon

desalination plant, assuming it is approved, if that company was ever

sold to a public agency.

WHAT IT MEANS:

As proposed, the desalination plant would be a private company in

a redevelopment area. Therefore, the city acting as the Redevelopment

Agency would generate revenue from the project. However, the city

would lose the revenue if the plant were ever sold to a public

agency, such as the Orange County Water District or another city,

since public agencies don’t pay taxes.

At Councilman Dave Sullivan’s request, the City Council directed

staff to study a plan to maintain the equivalent of the tax increment

from the Poseidon project in the event that it’s sold to a public

agency. The council asked staff to come back with a plan by Aug. 31.

The Poseidon plant has yet to be approved. Boardman cast the

dissenting vote.