Joe Edmiston, executive director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, announced last Friday that he will ask his board for approval to offer open bidding on a five-year lease of the former Palisades-Malibu YMCA pool in Temescal Gateway Park. Prior to his announcement, Edmiston had agreed to delay his plans to fill the vacated pool with dirt, pending the Conservancy’s board meeting in Temescal on December 2 at 7:30 p.m. Community members had protested his in-fill threat, arguing that it would prevent rehabilitating the pool, and Edmiston responded with his new lease proposal (as detailed in a full-page ad on page 6 of this issue). Edmiston is suggesting a five-year lease for $1 a year, which is what the YMCA paid for decades. However, he is also asking the new lessee to pay for part of the Conservancy’s ongoing at-risk youth programming in Temescal. Specifically, Edmiston would require the lessee to make a monthly contribution equal to the actual cost of a two-day, one-night camping trip for 40 at-risk youth. The lessee would pay $156.50 per camper, for a total of $6,260 monthly. ‘The lessee or proposed lessee may substitute an alternative overnight camping experience for the same or greater number of participants by offering an equivalent or substantially similar outdoor experience to be conducted at their expense,’ Edmiston added.
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