HomeMy WebLinkAbout00 - Insider's GuideReceived After Agenda Printed
December 9. 2014
Brown, Leilani Insider's Guide
From: Kiff, Dave
Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2014 4:43 PM
Subject: Insider's Guide to the City Council meeting of December 9, 2014
A happy Thursday evening to you. Is everyone dried out a bit from the nice rain? It seems like we held up pretty well.
Here's what's coming up at the Newport Beach City Council meeting to be held on Tuesday, December 9"
2014. Meetings are held at 100 Civic Center Drive. This meeting starts at 6:15 p.m., and will likely last until about 8 :00
p.m It is a meeting where no official agenda - related business occurs, but a lot still happens. You can see the full agenda
here: http: / /newportbeachca.gov/ modules /ShowDocument,aspx ?documentid =4414
This is the biennial meeting (as opposed to biannual for you good grammarians) whereby several Council members'
terms of office end, and new Council members are sworn in following certification of the November 2014 election
results. The Council members who are leaving office following the completion of their terms are Council Member Mike
Henn (District #1), Mayor Rush Hill (District #3), Council Member Leslie Daigle (District #4), and Council Member Nancy
Gardner (District #6). The new Council members who will begin their four -year terms are Diane Dixon (District #1),
Marshall "Duffy" Duffield (District #3), Kevin Muldoon (District #4), and Scott Peotter (District #6).
Council Members Curry, Petros, and Selich are all in the middle of their four -year terms and will remain in office.
There could be a pop quiz on that, so I hope you took good notes. O
There typically is a goodbye /recognition section of this meeting, and that is planned for 6:15 p.m. Departing Council
members get a chance to offer their comments on leaving office, as well as any guidance they'd offer to the new
Council. At about 7:00 p.m., the City Clerk asks that the "old" City Council certify the election results from November
2014. Following that certification, the four departing members leave the dais.
The City Clerk then starts to manage the meeting until a Mayor is picked. First up would be Orange County Judge James
Rogan, who will administer the Oath of Office to the four new Council members. The new City Council (all seven of them
— Dixon, Petros, Duffield, Muldoon, Selich, Peotter, and Curry) then select a person to serve as Mayor for
2015. Following that, they pick a Mayor pro Tem. Following that, they decide which seat they'd like to sit in for the next
12 months.
The event concludes with comments from the new Mayor, Mayor pro Tem, and any council member (new and ongoing)
who'd like to offer remarks. The last item of business is a chance for Council members to ask that something be placed
on the next meeting's agenda for consideration. Right now, that next meeting is set for Tuesday, January 13, 2015.
This is the first time in a long time (at least in my memory, and I've been here for about 17 years) that we've had four
new Council members at one time. In addition to one day's logistical issues (gosh, where will everyone park on Tuesday)
and more speeches, it brings with it change. New elected officials, regardless of their political perspective, will have
different backgrounds and new interests and issues that are important to them and to their constituents.
On behalf of the City staff, I can say how much we have appreciated working with the departing Council members —
some (such as Council Member Daigle) for nearly 10 years. We also will note our warm welcome to a new group of
bosses. We have always found that Newport Beach's elected officials can have robust differences of opinion, but are
collectively grounded in a great love for the community.
For Your Calendar:
• Please consider joining the Council meeting on Tuesday the 9th. It's fun to see and we'll make sure there is lots of
room for everyone. And free cookies.
• This coming Saturday, December 6th (at 11:30 a.m.) is the grand opening of Sunset Ridge Park! Congratulations to
our Public Works staff for bringing this project in about 2 months ahead of schedule and under the project's
budget. You're welcome to stop by at 11:30 a.m. and beyond to use this wonderful new park. This park at Superior
and West Coast Highway is a LONG time coming (records will show that former Council Member and Mayor Jan
Debay campaigned for this park in 1992. Only 22+ years ago!). I know that many folks' thoughts on opening day will
go to Louise Greeley, who is no longer with us in person. But she did live to see the park squared away in terms of
purchase and entitlement, and we'll feel her presence in the butterfly garden. Louise's one request after all of her
tireless advocacy for this park was that there be a place for and plantings that attract butterflies. If you come by
later in the day in time for sunset, please consider taking a few photos and e- mailing them to us — after all, the park
is there in part to take advantage of great sunset views. And there's no sunset like a December one.
• One park note as I include the above picture of the sports fields at Sunset Ridge. I know that folks will say,
"You're putting in sod! What about the drought ?! ?" Yes, we are in a drought. And the Council has started to
move towards artificial turf for ballfields in some heavily -used parks, but not everywhere. Sports groups still like
and need areas with good of grass, in addition to fields with artificial turf. So what we've done is like cap -and-
trade —we've been planning to remove grass from areas where it has virtually no value except aesthetics — like
in the middle of medians along Irvine, or Jamboree, or other places — but we've tried to keep some where it gets
a lot of good use by kids and adults. It's a good trade, to me at least. You'll note, too, that a majority of Sunset
Ridge Park is California - friendly and native plantings.
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If you want to weigh in to the City Council on any issue, please do so, and please use this e -mail
address: CityCouncil @newportbeachca.gov. All seven of the City Council members will receive your comments that
way.
I hope to see you Saturday. And thanks for reading the Insider's Guide. As always, please pass along any questions or
concerns you have about these issues or any city issue to me by return e-mail or phone call. Also, please forward this
information to others if you represent a community association or HOA - I appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Dave Kiff
City Manager
dkiff @newportbeachca.gov or
949 - 644 -3001