City agenda goes national

Mayor Gil Coerper has gone a little further than usual to advance the city’s legislative agenda — straight to Washington, D.C.

Coerper took a city-funded trip to the nation’s capital to speak to its representatives and push Huntington Beach’s priorities, the mayor said at Monday’s City Council meeting. He met with both California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, as well as Rep. Dana Rohrabacher.

“I explained the objectives we would like to achieve here in Huntington Beach,” Coerper said.

Some of those objectives include $9 million for a widening of the 405 freeway, $2 million to improve the city’s water infrastructure, $1.5 million to help build the senior center in Central Park, and $2.1 million to clean up lead contamination at a police firing range. In all, Coerper was seeking up to $25 million in federal aid.

Legislators were understanding and informative, Coerper said. The mayor considered Rohrabacher well-informed on the local issues. Concerning Sen. Barbara Boxer, he said she was “very interesting, very supportive.”

At the same time, open ears are only the first step, he said.

“The only way I’m going to know anything occurred is when we get money back in Huntington Beach,” Coerper said. “The last few years we received nothing because there was a shortage of money.”

Still, Coerper said he retained some optimism.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to get something back for this city, so I can report back and say the trip was very fruitful,” he said.