Students and community groups used the Jan. 6 meeting to press for long‑term recreational projects and report recent fundraising.

High‑school students Connor Rogan and Tate McNamara, representing the Hermosa Pool Initiative youth council, asked Parks & Rec to place a fuller pool proposal on the February agenda. The students said the South Bay is "pool poor," citing regional supply figures in testimony (they noted one or two publicly accessible pools serving a large population across Hermosa, Manhattan and Redondo) and said recent city planning work and a 1990 master plan had previously identified a municipal pool as a top need. Tara McNamara Stabile (Hermosa Pool Initiative) urged the commission to create a subcommittee to investigate locations, financing and operations and requested a formal agenda slot in February for an expanded presentation.

Jack Levy (Bark for a Park) updated the commission on dog‑park organizing and fundraising, reporting over $60,000 in commitments and continuing petition signatures and outreach; he said his group is preparing for fundraising once a site is selected. Several commissioners asked staff about high‑level cost estimates and noted maintenance and operational costs would be an important factor in any future recommendation.

The commission also considered nonprofit fee waiver requests. Staff recommended and the commission approved a combined fee waiver grant of $3,139 for Our Lady of Guadalupe's Easter Sunrise Mass ($1,740) and SoCal Beach Foundation's tournament series ($1,399). David Brandon (SoCal Beach Foundation) described last year's work and said his group raised about $10,000 the prior year and had contributed equipment (net sliders) and tournament support in the region. The motion to approve the fee waivers carried 5‑0.

Next steps: staff said the pool inquiry will be scheduled for future work after staff completes best‑practice research; the commission encouraged community groups to compile research and location proposals in the interim. Staff will apply the approved fee waivers to the listed events for the 2026 calendar year.