(February 5, 2005) -- LBReport.com posts below an extended transcript (unofficial) of salient portions of the historic February 1, 2005 City Council proceedings regarding expansion of LB Airport's permanent terminal area facilities.
LB Councilmembers indicated they are prepared to support Airport management Alternative #2 -- smaller than management's preferred choice but larger than Airport management proposed in Sept. 2003 -- as the primary Environmental Impact Report (EIR) sizing alternative.
In an detailed presentation of over twenty minutes delivered without the assistance of power points, 8th district Councilwoman Rae Gabelich opened on the item jointly agendized by her along with Councilmembers Patrick O'Donnell and Tonia Reyes Uranga and substantively supported from its outset by Councilman Frank Colonna.
The agendized item sought to move ahead with the EIR process using Alternative 2 -- the sizing officially proposed in the City's official Notice of EIR Preparation in September 2003 -- as the largest desired project for EIR review purposes.
Councilwoman Gabelich's presentation included an unflinching recitation of past city management actions. At the conclusion of Councilwoman Gabelich's presentation, the Council Chamber audience -- filled to overflowing -- gave her an extended standing ovation.
A breakthrough compromise occurred during the Council proceedings when Councilmembers Val Lerch, Laura Richardson and Bonnie Lowenthal indicated they were persuaded by the arguments offered in support of the Gabelich, O'Donnell & Reyes Uranga item and were prepared to support Alternative #2...but were reluctant to do so before February 8 (a date previously indicated by management for a vote). Vice Mayor Jackie Kell said that in her two campaigns for elective office she stressed her support for quality neighborhoods and that principle would guide her Feb. 8 decision...but stopped short of explicitly backing Alternative 2.
Councilman Dan Baker was absent for the meeting. City Manager Jerry Miller was attending a League of CA Cities event for city managers and was represented by Assistant City Mgr. Chris Shippey.
The Council Chamber was filled beyond capacity. An overflow room was opened to accommodate the crowd.
LBReport.com appreciates the work of city staff in providing access to closed captioning text which, after our independent review, some corrections and editing, enabled production of our unofficial transcript below with considerable speed.
We have also included a hyperlinked index making it easier for readers to navigate to points of interest. Clicking on the hyperlinked section should jump to the indicated text in a separate window.
As always, our transcript is unofficial, compiled by us; not all speakers or their comments are included; ellipses indicate deletions.