EDITORIAL:Council has many issues to address

The winners are in for your City Council: incumbents Gil Coerper, Cathy Green and Jill Hardy all won reelection in last week’s vote, and they will be joined by downtown restaurant owner Joe “Jersey Joe” Carchio, who captured the fourth seat in his first try for the council. These four, along with council members Keith Bohr, Debbie Cook and Don Hansen, now have before them a host of pressing issues to address.

Chief among the issues is smartly and efficiently putting into motion the construction of a new senior center in Central Park, which voters approved as Measure T last week. That campaign proved the nastiest and most divisive, and it is incumbent on the council to heal the wounds that election caused. Council members also need to tread carefully and ensure that a “sports complex”-like financial debacle does not lie in the city’s future.

There are plenty of other issues we believe the council should address — and address immediately. The city has waited too long to determine whether to close down Main Street to vehicular traffic. Studies are happening, but each day that passes is either another missed opportunity for downtown businesses or another day of uncertainty. Plans for a desalination plant at the AES power plant remain unresolved, as does the future of the power plant itself and how or whether it fits into the changing landscape of “Surf City USA.” There is talk of the need for a new police station, and the Police Department itself is understaffed and, like other public agencies, facing long-term problems with retirement and other turnover.

In general, the council also will have to wrestle with ongoing infrastructure, traffic and development concerns. Huntington Beach’s face and image continues to change with the additions of new, upscale development, especially along the beach. This council now is in charge of determining just what those changes will be. We congratulate last week’s winners and trust their good judgment with the city’s future.