Hollywood Park City Council on Dec. 7 unanimously approved separate lease agreements among the city, Hollywood Park Community Association and the local Hammerheads youth swim team for storage space at Voigt Center, which sits next to the city pool.
The council’s action in December caps more than one year of discussions amongst elected officials and the two civic groups, which until recently had not been asked to pay to lease storage space at the community center.
Neither group has been previously required to have insurance or a lease document for such space, city officials said.
In recent weeks, attorney Steve Treu, a Hollywood Park resident and a former council member, represented the community association on a pro bono basis and worked with City Attorney Ryan Henry toward a deal.
Following the vote, Mayor Oscar Villarreal said the city acted in good faith to work with both groups to achieve a deal to help protect all involved parties from liability. The city had previously received criticism from some residents about its handling of the lease issue.
“During the negotiations, the HPCA and the [Hammerheads] expressed interest in staying within the storage area so that this agreement would happen for us tonight,” Villarreal said.
“I’m delighted to see that we’ve acted in good faith to resolve the issue tonight, and I express a big ‘thank you’ to all those involved for working together.”
Shari Tiner of the Hammerheads said she was fine with terms in the lease, but the community association’s board of directors is expected to meet Dec. 14 to review its pact with the city, Treu said. He added he felt most HPCA board members favored the lease terms.
According to the agreement, if HPCA were not to approve the lease, the nonprofit would have 30 days to vacate its existing storage space at the Voigt Center, beginning Dec. 14.
According to city officials, each lease takes effect Jan. 1. Traditional community events organized by each group will be used as a method of payment in lieu of a monetary rent.
City officials said the Hammerheads are using the value of their public swimming safety program as an alternate form of rental payment. The HPCA may use the Fourth of July parade and picnic, end-of-school-year party or Easter egg hunt as its form of payment.
Additionally, each organization is required to be insured for their respective storage areas.
Treu said a $500,000 insurance requirement automatically makes the HPCA a charitable entity under state code. This, Treu added, renders liability a moot issue.
“That’s kind of like icing on the cake,” Treu said.
