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Council agrees to work with Roundhouse Aquarium on funding options, asks for financials and midyear budget review
Summary
The nonprofit that runs the Roundhouse Aquarium requested $110,000 per year for three years to cover maintenance and life‑support reserves. Council urged fiscal accountability, asked OTS to provide financial statements and reserve plans, and directed staff to return with midyear budget recommendations; no immediate long‑term commitment was approved.
Oceanographic Teaching Stations (OTS), operator of the Roundhouse Aquarium at the end of the Manhattan Beach Pier, asked the council for ongoing city support to address rising maintenance and equipment‑replacement costs.
Environmental programs administrator Britney Coker Mullen summarized OTS’s request: $110,000 annually for three years, broken into $30,000 for interior maintenance, $40,000 for annual tank and life‑support maintenance, and $40,000 to contribute one‑third of a reserve for equipment replacement. Staff noted the city’s FY25–26 budget does not contain funding for the request and recommended considering the request at midyear or in the FY26–27 budget process. Staff also advised retaining state pier funds for potential pier structural needs until a pending pier condition assessment is complete.
OTS board members said the aquarium operates free admission by design and relies heavily on restricted grants and fundraising; they outlined recent annual revenue and expense figures and said equipment depreciation and exposure to saltwater drive unpredictable maintenance costs. The OTS treasurer said the organization’s annual operating budget is roughly $1 million, with payroll a large share of that total; the group said it covers roughly two‑thirds of depreciation and asked the city to consider contributing toward life‑support system depreciation and maintenance.
Councilmembers expressed strong support for the aquarium as a civic asset but stressed fiscal responsibility. Members asked OTS for audited financial statements, clearer breakdowns of the shortfall, and what the organization would do after any three‑year contribution. Council directed staff to work with OTS to obtain financial details and bring a recommendation as part of the midyear budget review rather than obligate general‑fund dollars immediately; the council also signaled interest in identifying alternative sources (pier‑designated funds, CIP, parking revenue) and encouraged OTS to expand fundraising mechanisms. The motion to instruct staff to work with OTS and return at midyear passed 5‑0.
