La Jollan hopes to replace Scripps Park restroom, needs help

By Ashley Mackin

Judy Adams Halter, inspired by the efforts of La Jolla Shores resident Mary Coakley-Munk and her improvements to the Kellogg Park north comfort station, announced to the La Jolla Parks and Beaches (LJP&B) advisory board at its Jan. 27 meeting, that she wants to replace the dilapidated restroom at Scripps Park in like manner.

Halter told board members that she recently hosted out-of-town guests for her daughter’s wedding. “I don’t know about you, but whenever I have guests in I am quickly reminded of how grateful I am to live in this beautiful area,” she said. “After the wedding, I went to the Cove for a swim. I went into the restroom and thought ‘for heaven’s sake, I need to do something!’ ”

With experience in fundraising and event planning, the nine-year La Jolla resident asked the board to support her efforts and solicit volunteers to help. “We have a jewel and I just want to take care of it ... but what I need most is a team and a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to funnel donations through,” she said.

Being a 501(c)(3), LJP&B agreed to be that organization, especially considering Halter sought the help of respected architects Don Goertz (of the Kellogg Park comfort station) and Ione Stiegler. Halter said she’s already gathered ideas, such as having a fundraising concert and renaming the restroom a ”pavilion,” to give it some panache.

Several Parks and Beaches members volunteered to help, including board member Phyllis Minick, who spearheaded the Children’s Pool Walk beautification project, and Coakley-Munk, who worked to get the north comfort station at Kellogg Park replaced. Halter was also invited to participate in a meeting with the city’s Interim Director of Parks and Rec, Andrew Fields, and LJP&B Chair Dan Allen, later this month.

At the next LJP&B meeting, Halter will update the board on her progress and formalize her committee. Those interested in the project can contact her at HalterJah@aol.com

In other LJP&B news:

■ Thank you Jafar Farnham:

With more than $250,000 in the bank for the Children’s Pool Walk beautification project — which would improve the sidewalk area surrounding Children’s Pool beach — Minick said she wants to acknowledge major donors. She recognized Dr. Jafar Farnham of the Farnham Family Funds, which gave the first $35,000, and presented him with a plaque and her now signature blue balloons and then made a sparkling cider toast in his honor.

Extending her sincere thanks to Farnham for giving and thereby encouraging others to give, Minick explained that she has a meeting with the Interim Director of Parks and Rec and District 1 City Councilmember Sherri Lightner. “The objective of both of those meetings is to find out what our options are for signage to thank donors, the permits and approvals needed, and the requirements to receive and use city funding.”

■ Coastal Management Plan:

Lightner’s representative Greg Parkington told the group that “in response to some of the issues, such as the smell at the Cove, there were some short-term suggestions made by the community (the gate). Our office proposed a longer-term solution, in addition to that, including a citywide Coastal Management Plan.”

While the plan is in its development stages, it was suggested at the La Jolla Community Planning Association meeting that LJP&B help with that plan once implemented. “This plan will hopefully stop piecemeal solutions for problems on the coast,” added LJP&B member Ken Hunrichs.

■ Volunteers sought for landscape survey:

Updates to the decade-old Cultural Landscape Survey (an inventory intended to contribute to the La Jolla Community Plan under “community character” as a list of sites that need protecting) are underway, but volunteers are still needed to check the sites in the 2003 document or suggest new sites to include.

“There are three parts to this — visual access, pedestrian access and landscaping, meaning the trees, and those are being catalogued. What we really need is someone who’s interested in our historic fabric, like the cobbled wall by Whale Watch Point,” Ahern said. “Those little things around the community you could look at and say ‘that’s special, that’s old, we need to inventory that.’ We need someone with a passion for that.”

However, LJP&B member Rebecca Morales said she was hoping for some direction from the Historical Society as to what should be considered “historical” before moving forward, both for themselves and for anyone who volunteers. “If they can give us that infor- mation, we can go out and inventory based on what they say. If they can not give us that information, then they’re asking us to use judgment that we’re not prepared to use.”

— To join the projects, visit

lajollaparksandbeaches.org

or attend the next LJP&B meeting, 4 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24 at La Jolla Rec Center, 615 Prospect St.