Hawthorne Press Tribune The Weekly Newspaper of Hawthorne Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - April 7, 2016 City Council Rejects $10 Million Bid For Civic Center Property During Special Meeting By Rob McCarthy Hawthorne’s City Council struck down an offer from Councilman Haidar Awad’s uncle to purchase a portion of the Civic Center land Tuesday night during a special meeting. Ali Awad had put in a bid to purchase nine parcels of property including the the lot adjacent to the Civic Center which currently houses the Hawthorne Historical Museum and other buildings for a sum total of $10 million. “Due to the inability to successfully negotiate the terms of the purchase and sale agreement, pursuant to the basic terms of the RFP (Request For Proposal), the City Council determines that Mr. Awad’s negotiations were not in good faith and there is no reason to continue this negotiation,” City Attorney Russell Miyahara said. Miyahara added that the City Council had directed him to cease negotiations with Mr. Awad and that based on the fact that there were no other timely responsive bids received by the city, the city has elected to terminate this RFP process. “The Council will not be considering the purchase and sale agreement on tonight’s agenda,” Miyahara said. The Council had taken Mr. Awad’s offer into consideration during a previous meeting in March, but decided to delay their decision in order to allow citizens a chance to voice their thoughts on the offer. Needless to say, citizens took to the mic to voice their disapproval of the proposition. “I can’t let this pass without my feelings for this,” resident Lynn Vaughn said. “A civic center is the heart soul of any city. It houses the fundamental buildings and services that make up a community.” Vaughn continued saying that there might have been a class action case against the Council if they had agreed to sell the land away. “It’s the heart, it’s the soul of the city. I feel betrayed by a handful of people who don’t have vision. As soon as you put the money into the general fund, everybody will want a raise and the money will be gone,” Vaugh continued adding that if the city was in such dire straits , they should declare bankruptcy to buy time to get their finances in order rather than selling off an important piece of land. Even those who saw some benefit in the transaction voiced concern. “Eventually the civic center will need to be upgraded with modern designs and expanded facilities. The civic center must be a place of grand stature,” resident Gordon Michael Mego said. “The people in Hawthorne are concerned that publicly owned land in other parts of the city are not being sold first.” Mego added that in previous years when the city had sought to sell land, there had been multiple bidders, thus raising the competitive stakes. Others voiced concern that the City Council was being short-sighted in entertaining the idea, especially with land and property values rising over the past couple of years. “Are we undervaluing this to fill a need? Have we done everything first to exploit that there are other pieces of land in the city. The city has been plain strapped for many years but our staff has always found a way to somehow to keep the city floating along. Is it worth more than $10 million? I think it is,” Thierry Lubenec, president of the Hawthorne Historical Society said. Lubenec added that in the long run the money might help solve some immediate needs but that with it being a one-time payment, it didn’t seem like a smart move to go through with the deal. “That money may pay off some bills, but it will be tapped in to and probably within the next three to five years,” Lubenec said. “We’ll be pretty much where we are today, but with one big piece of land less that will have been sold to a group that will be able to do what they want with it, but will it benefit the city of Hawthorne?” Meanwhile, residents like Frances Stiglich pointed out that if the city is looking to sell property, they should look into the neighborhoods to see what buildings and properties might not be making the city any money. “We have three buildings that belong to the city,” Stiglich said of structures in her neighborhood including a senior center. “I don’t know if they’re making any money or not. Why not sell them?” Councilman Awad excused himself from the closed session process citing that despite not having a conflict of interest but rather because, “ there is a perception or appearance of a conflict of interest,” adding that, “I never had a financial interest with Ali Awad who is my uncle.” The city also approved a motion to accept bids for Hawthorne Municipal pool repair. The city will take bids until April 26 at which time, they will make a decision on which bidder to proceed with to complete pool repairs. The City Council will meet again next Tuesday, the 12th for their regularly scheduled meeting. • Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................4 Classifieds............................3 Food.......................................4 Hawthorne Happenings....4 Legals............................2, 6-7 Looking Up...........................6 Pets........................................8 Police Reports.....................3 Sports....................................5 Weekend Forecast Friday Rainy 66˚/56˚ Saturday Rainy 65˚/55˚ Sunday Mostly Cloudy 64˚/54˚ Monarchs Slide Into Action Morningside’s Tomas Morena steals second base as Lawndale shortstop Jesus Sanchez awaits the ball in last week’s non-league baseball game. Photo by Joe Snyder “It’s the heart, it’s the soul of the city. I feel betrayed by a handful of people who don’t have vision.”
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