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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSS4 - Back Bay Science CenterSS Item #4 CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor Webb and Members of the City Council FROM: Dave Kiff, Assistant City Manager DATE: October 6, 2006 RE: Study Session Item #4 — Back Bay Science Center and NBNF Attached is the PowerPoint (in draft form) that I will present on Tuesday at Study Session regarding the Back Bay Science Center. 1 have also attached a letter that you previously received from the Newport Bay Naturalists and Friends (NBNF). Dave Kiff City Hall • 3300 Newport Boulevard • Post Office Box 1768 • Newport Beach, California 92659 -1768 Issues facing Upper Newport Bay and the Back Bay Science Center Tuesday, October 10, 2006 Newport Beach City Council Summary of Issues Letter of September 7th from UNB Naturalists DF&G's Reserve Manager Position Programs at the Back Bay Science Center What should be the City's response? 1 NB Naturalists' Letter Future staffing of the BBSC Will the programs be collaborative? Educational programs at the BBSC Will they be more research - oriented (geared towards upper level grades) or will they be more like the Muth Center's programs (K- 6)? n Suggest the convening of a Design Team to determine & implement Teaching Lab's interior design. NBNF says they are having trouble securing donors to equip the Teaching Lab till this is resolved. Is there any interest by City (and DF &G) to co- manage UNB Ecological Reserve given DF &G's limited resource levels? About DF &G and UNBER The Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve (UNBER) is about 750 acres (water and adjacent tidelands in UNB). DF &G holds title to UNBER, including Shellmaker Island DF &G assigns this staff to UNBER: 40% of a Reserve Manager, supervised by the Supervising Biologist based in San Diego. One FT Interpreter /Educator (grant funded). for 2 PT "Scientific Aides" —depending on budget. City and then State Sen -Ross Johnson instrumental in creating $200K/year State General Fund appropriation for UNBER. Meant to assist with major UNBER projects (dredging, restoration, etc), not staffing. K More about DF &G and UNBER Reserve Manager position vacant since July — will be filled in November. Interpreter retired, then came back part time. $200K sometimes not spent. This year, DF &G has requested that $150K of it go towards BBSC's new aquaria system. DF &G likely to have some budget for Scientific Aides, but this remains uncertain and Can vary year -to -year. Programs at the BBSC Various stakeholders have different ideas about what to offer at the BBSC — is it: A. A research /teaching "lab" for upper level (grades 7 -12 and community college) students? B. A place for K -6 students to go, like the current programs at the Muth Center? C. Some combination of the two? D. A place where UCI students, Coastal Commission staff, OC HCA WQ lab techs, DF &G, and volunteers all participate in implementing an agreed -upon curriculum? E. A combination of A, B, and D. 3 What the BBSC Operating Agreement Says BBSC shall have places: • "To conduct education and interpretive programs and exhibits for students in grades K -12; and • "For an estuarine research and resource for students and teachers of local schools and universities." BBSC shall function as: "WQ testing, education, and awareness programs and projects for middle school, high school, and college students, including exhibits and special programs (City and County) "Educational programs, including exhibits, displays, and teaching stations ... to facilitate DFG operation and management of the Reserve ... (DFG)' What should City do, if anything? Convene the Teaching Lab Design Team. Facilitate agreement on curriculum by: • Determining what's already being done in the region; • Reviewing the BBSC Operating Agreement; 11' get everyone in the same room; 2nd get everyone on the same page. • Start working on donor opportunities for the physical equipment of the Teaching Lab. • Continue dialogue with DF &G plus think about: • Would the City consider supporting DF &G financially to get a FT Reserve Manager dedicated solely to UNBER? • What about some constant revenue stream to ensure continuity with scientific aides? 2 September 7, 2006 Don Webb City of Newport Beach P.O. Box 1768 Newport Beach, CA 92658 Dear Mayor Webb and Council members: We want to inform you of a serious problem that requires your immediate attention. At the February 28, 2006 Council meeting City funding was approved and construction of the Back Bay Science Center (BBSC) was authorized. In his presentation to the City Council Dave Kiff asked several questions, including whether or not there are sufficient long -term benefits to the City's involvement in the BBSC to warrant the City funding 46% of the construction costs. The Newport Bay Naturalists and Friends (NBNF) and others made a case that there are. This is based on the stated intention to "join together in one facility a state -of -the art water quality laboratory and a marine ecology laboratory to allow junior- and high- school students to work side -by -side with some of the region's top scientists." (2001 Vision Statement) Since the project was first proposed NBNF has expressed concerns about how the facility will be staffed and its operation funded. Given the chronic lack of DFG funding, the project only makes sense through a truly collaborative effort on behalf of all the partners as stated in the 2002 Memorandum of Understanding between the City, California Department of Fish and Game (DFG), County Health Care Agency (HCA), NBNF, UCI and the California Wildlife Foundation (CWF). We, the NBNF, are now speaking out since the necessary collaboration has not occurred because of the reluctance of local and regional DFG staff to give up control, even though DFG is contributing only 16% of the project funds. Furthermore local and regional DFG staff favor not laboratories in the Education Wing, but multipurpose rooms that can be used to provide K -6 programs that for the most part would duplicate K -6 programs provided by the Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center, Environmental Nature Center, the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum, IRWD's San Joaquin Marsh, the Orange County Department of Education's Inside - the - Outdoors program and/or others in the immediate vicinity of Upper Newport Bay. A compromise has been reached with one laboratory and one multipurpose room, but this has already entailed laboratory configuration constraints that are less than optimal. Because the likelihood of other similar issues arising as construction continues we respectfully ask you to direct City staff to convene a Design Team involving the major partners to help direct Tenant Improvements (TIs) in the Education Wing of the BBSC. The current project does not fund the outfitting of the Education Wing because funding was not available when the contract was awarded. (This helped us avoid jeopardizing the federal grant money DFG is contributing). This Design Team should be tasked to see that the building is designed properly, and to resolve partnership issues to allow NBNF and others to feel confident enough to help raise money to outfit the building. The partnership issues to which we refer are serious. At the root of the problem is the inability of local and regional DFG staff to work cooperatively with its partners at UNB. NBNF felt concerned enough about this problem to try to resolve this at the end of 2004 through the Resources Agency (DFG's parent agency). We suspended our efforts in 2005 when City staff proposed a plan that would entail the City taking over day -to -day operations of the UNB Ecological Reserve and the BBSC. It is now almost one year since representatives met with the Director of DFG to discuss this plan. The Director apparently agreed with the plan and left it for regional staff to work out the details. Almost a year later it appears that local and regional DFG staff have stymied all efforts to achieve a more cooperative approach to the management of UNB and the BBSC. Urgent action is needed to break this logjam. NBNF urges the City Council to initiate the Design Team as well as a joint visit by the City and NBNF to the Director of DFG before September 30, 2006 to request the following: 1. DFG follows through on the commitment to building a Science Center focused on research -based education for high - school and above in cooperation with the Orange County Health Care Agency and UCI. 2. DFG makes the resolution of UNB team issues an immediate and urgent priority, and works with the City to appoint a highly qualified staff person (i.e. a Reserve Manager) working full -time at UNB and responsible for all resource management, research and education policy matters, who can work cooperatively with the Design Team, the City and the other members of the UNB Management Coalition. We believe that these actions are vital to a successful opening of the facility next spring. Sincerely, Regina Fodor President Board of Directors Newport Bay Naturalists and Friends Cc: Larry Eng, California Department of Fish and Game Doug Moore, Orange County Health Care Agency Richard Demerjian, University of California, Irvine Attachment Issues facing Upper Newport Bay and the Back Bay Science Center Tuesday, October 10, 2006 Newport Beach City Council Summary of Issues Letter of September 7t" from U N B Naturalists & Friends DF &G's Reserve Manager Position Programs at the Back Bay Science Center What should be the City's response? NB Naturalists' Letter Future staffing of the BBSC . Will the programs be collaborative? Educational programs at the BBSC Will they be more research - oriented (geared towards upper level grades) or will they be more like the Muth Center's programs (K- 6)? Suggest the convening of a Design Team to determine & implement Teaching Lab's interior design. NBNF says they are having trouble securing donors to equip the Teaching Lab till this is resolved. Is there any interest by City (and DF &G) to co- manage UNB Ecological Reserve given DF &G's limited resource levels? About DF &G and UNBER The Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve (UNBER) is about 750 acres (water and adjacent tidelands in UNB). DF &G holds title to UNBER, including Shellmaker Island. DF &G assigns this staff to UNBER: . 40% of a Reserve Manager, supervised by the Supervising Biologist based in San Diego. One FT Interpreter /Educator (grant funded). 1 or 2 PT "Scientific Aides" — depending on budget. City and then State Sen -Ross Johnson instrumental in creating $200K /year State General Fund appropriation for UNBER. Meant to assist with major UNBER projects (dredging, restoration, etc), not staffing. More about DF &G and UNBER Reserve Manager position vacant since July — will be filled in November - December. Interpreter retired, then came back part time. $200K sometimes not spent. This year, DF &G has requested that $150K of it go towards BBSC's new aquaria system. DF &G likely to have some budget for Scientific Aides, but this remains uncertain and can vary year-to-year. Programs at the BBSC Various stakeholders have different ideas about what to offer at the BBSC — is it: A. A research /teaching `lab" for upper level (grades 7 -12 and community college) students? B. A place for K -6 students to go, like the current programs at the Muth Center? C. Some combination of the two? D. A place where UCI students, Coastal Commission staff, OC HCA WO lab techs, DF &G, and volunteers all participate in implementing an agreed -upon curriculum? E. A combination of A, B, and D. What the BBSC Operating Agreement Says BBSC shall have places: • "To conduct education and interpretive programs and exhibits for students in grades K -12; and • "For an estuarine research and resource for students and teachers of local schools and universities." BBSC shall function as: • "WQ testing, education, and awareness programs and projects for middle school, high school, and college students, including exhibits and special programs (City and County) • "Educational programs, including exhibits, displays, and teaching stations ... to facilitate DFG operation and managemen 4whe Reserve ... (DFG)" What should City do, if anything? Convene the Teaching Lab Design Team. Facilitate agreement on curriculum by: • Determining what's already being done in the region; • Reviewing the BBSC Operating Agreement; 1 st get everyone in the same room; 2nd get everyone on the same page. Start working with NBNF on donor opportunities for the physical equipment of the Teaching Lab. Continue dialogue with DF &G plus think about: • Would the City consider supporting DF &G financially to get a FT Reserve Manager dedicated solely to UNBER? • What about some constant revenue stream to ensure continuity with scientific aides?