LONG BEACH – The Long Beach City Council at Monday night’s meeting voted to tear out controversial neighborhood speed bumps and announced the city will receive a grant for up to $1 million for civic improvements.

Controversy over speed bumps began last October when several were installed on Fifth St. N. without official approval by the city council. Some Fifth Street residents, who felt the traffic had risen to dangerous levels over the last few years, paid for the bumps. But other residents were never informed they would be installed.

Members of the community voiced opinions in favor of the bumps, saying they have greatly helped control traffic. Others said the bumps were too large and could cause damage to vehicles, possibly causing injury to unsuspecting motorists.

Over the past months, the issue of how the bumps were allowed to be installed has also been a matter of controversy since they were never formally approved by the city council.

“I’m the guy who started this whole thing,” said Fifth Street homeowner Andrew Bielat. “We got our three councilmen who said they would agree with that concept as long as we paid for it. I repeatedly called day after day and asked Nabiel [Shawa] if there was anything else we needed to do, and the answer was always no.”

But the issue was never brought up in a council meeting, and the public was never allowed to comment on the process. The council and city planners never discussed the size and shape of the bumps, and it is now thought they could be a hazard.

“How the speed bumps got there is water under the bridge,” said councilman Gary Luethe. “We should have removed them immediately because the city is liable for them.”

He said if residents on the street can agree on a plan for more suitable speed bumps, the city will pay back the original $1,700 spent on installation.

“We did have the information to have them installed properly,” said councilman Mike Unruh apologizing for the city’s mistake. “For that street they should have been 14 feet wide and no more three inches high … now they are more than six inches high.”

Big grant

Interim city administrator David Glasson announced the city of Long Beach had received a block grant of $1 million from the State of Washington Department of Community Trade and Economic Development.

“Out of all the people that applied for grant money, Long Beach was the only one to receive this much,” said Glasson. “The city has delayed work on the wastewater treatment plant to see if we could get this money and offset the rate hike that would have cost residents more money.”

Gale Baer and Sandy Hargrove gave a presentation on the descendents of Lewis and Clark reunion planned for this summer. The council agreed to donate $500 and the use of the Long Beach Trolley and another vehicle.

Councilmen Gordon Zuern said drains are being built along Washington Street so improvements can be made. It was decided for safety reasons a sidewalk will be installed and parallel parking will help traffic problems near Culbertson Park.