Palisades Park Advisory Board Discusses LAPD Facility

The Pacific Palisades Park Advisory Board opened its meeting Wednesday evening at the with an appeal to the community for additional board members.

The volunteer position requires a one-year commitment and the ability to attend four meetings per year to discuss matters concerning .

“We’re looking for anybody who has an interest in our programs here at the park, specifically ballet, roller hockey and special events,” said Recreation Director Erich Haas. “We’re also looking for people whose property abuts up against the park, particularly if they live on Alma Real Drive where the lights on the baseball field could affect them, because it would be nice to have feedback from the neighbors.”

A $6,500 donation from the for an LAPD facility at the park had to be temporarily returned while a building permit is acquired from the city of Los Angeles.

“But the American Legion told us that once we get the building permit and we’re ready to build, they will reissue the check back and pay for the building,” Haas said.

The facility will not be a staffed substation, but a drop-in station so that officers don’t have to leave the Palisades to do things like fill out reports, according to board member Haldis Toppel.

A Proposition K project to improve the upper athletic field, which includes installing an irrigation system, building a barrier wall between the upper field and the parking lot and reseeding the grass should begin in the next two weeks, Haas said.

But funding is needed to repair the air conditioner in the park’s big gymnasium and to repair or replace the curtains on the stage in the small gymnasium.

“We have an air conditioner in the big gym, but currently we cannot run it because after it’s been running for about 20 minutes it starts leaking in the middle of the basketball court. Water on a wooden basketball court is not good,” Haas said. “I put in a job order with the city for them to come unclog the drains, but that only solves the problem for a couple of weeks. We need to repair it.”

The stage in the small gym is used by the 85 to 90 kids participating in the park’s ballet program. A holiday recital is held every December and a spring recital every June in the gym.

“So every recital we have to sew and tape the curtains so it looks nice, but we really need to get those curtains either sewn up and cleaned or we need to get them replaced,” Haas said.

The board recently received a $2,500 donation from in recognition of the grocery store’s grand reopening.

“They want it to go to something meaningful—not curtains—so we need to come up with a wish list of things we want to do here at the park,” said board Vice Chair Mike Skinner.

The next meeting of the advisory board will be Oct. 26.