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HomeMy WebLinkAbout00 - Insider's GuideJuly 12, 2016 Insider's Guide From: Kiff, Dave Sent: Thursday, July 07, 2016 6:29 PM Subject: Insider's Guide for Tuesday, July 12, 2016 I'm going to be a bit brief ("thank goodness!" you say) this week, as the Council meeting is brief, too. So here's what's on the schedule for the Newport Beach City Council meeting of Tuesday, July 12, 2016. More detailed Council meeting information is at the end of this e-mail, and here is a link to the full Council agenda. I don't summarize every item on the agenda. We start our Study Session at 4:30 p.m. rather than 4:00 p.m. These items are included: • An update from Visit Newport Beach/Newport Beach and Company with their annual marketing plan. • We'll hear more from our Community Development staff about updated flood maps from FEMA. Yes, a good portion of town has some flood risk. The maps can be seen here. I should spend more time writing about this — but please tune in if you're on the Peninsula, Balboa Island, or any low-lying area and you'll learn a lot more than I could ever write here. • We'll talk with the Council about whether to go to a more limited system of commercial waste franchises. These would be the folks who collect trash (and construction debris) from commercial properties, or from your home if you're doing a remodel. Right now we have about 33 different companies you can choose from, but sometimes that can overwhelm streets and alleys if everyone chooses a different vendor. But it also is more free -market-oriented for pricing purposes. • We'll present a smart phone app that can help you watch your water consumption. At the evening meeting starting at 7:00 p.m.... • We'll ask the Council to consider moving to a "Level Two" drought restriction system (a more permissive level than in recent months). That would mean one extra day of watering, with a goal of a 15% reduction citywide (versus the current 21%, which was also down from the gosh -awful 28%). • Council Member Selich has asked that the Council be allowed to reconsider a previous action relating to a repaving and landscaping contract for Irvine Boulevard (near the S curves). It's about a $1.6M item. • Lastly, there are two adjournments: o One is in memory of former Newport Beach Mayor Milan Dostal. Mr. Dostal was mayor from 1976 to 1978, and passed away just this week. He was always very loyal about attending the annual Mayors Dinner, and it was fun to see him there. o Secondly, we noted our great sadness in learning of the death of former State Senator and Newport resident Marian Bergeson yesterday. I won't go on too much here, as I've done plenty of that already, but I'll just say that not having her with us is really hard to fathom. Her mind stayed great until the end, and she stayed interested and engaged in just about everything going on at the City (and in education, County government, State government, and US politics - whatever). I had the great fortune of being rather randomly assigned to her office via a State Senate fellowship in 1988. As a Northern California guy, I didn't know her from Adam. Yet I soon learned what a thinker she was, about her work ethic, and her political skills. A bit later I learned the non-political side of Marian — her sense of humor, the way she cared about her family, her staff, her friends, her town, and her dogs. And her ever-present kindness. I was one of probably two dozen people who worked for her in her career, and was nowhere close to the most talented or smartest. But she always made each of us feel special. Each of us would say we didn't lose a boss yesterday - we lost a best friend. You know the kind - one of those friends who always is on your side, is always happy to see you, and is always ready to cheer you up, no matter how much time passes between visits. She'd be trying to cheer us all up now. A memorial for Marian is not yet announced. As always, thanks for reading. Feel free to forward this e-mail to family, friends and members of your HOA if you represent one. I always like hearing from you, too, so please don't hesitate to ask a question or offer a comment. Sincerely, Dave Kiff City Manager dkiff@newportbeachca.gov 949-644-3001 City Council Meeting Information: The Newport Beach City Council meets on the 2"d and 4t" Tuesdays of most months (the exceptions are August and December). Typically, there is a Study Session that starts at 4:00 p.m. Study sessions are times for the Council to take a deeper look at a specific issue, or hear a presentation, that might eventually lead to a specific and more formal action. A closed session often follows the Study Session. Closed sessions are typically to address legal, personnel, and other matters where additional confidentiality is important. The Regular (evening) Session typically starts at 7:00 p.m., and often has a specific listing of 20-40 different items ready for formal votes. Items on the "Consent Calendar" are heard all at once, unless a Council member has removed (aka "pulled") an item from the Consent Calendar for specific discussion and separate vote. If an item on the agenda is recommended to be "continued", it means that the item won't be heard nor voted on that evening, but will be pushed forward to another noticed meeting. Public Comment is welcomed at both the Study Session and the Regular Session. The public can comment on any item on the agenda. If you want to comment on a Consent Calendar item that was not pulled from the Consent Calendar by a Council Member, you will want to do so at the time listed on the agenda — right before the Council votes on the entire Consent Calendar (it's Roman Numeral XIII on the posted agenda). If an item is pulled, the Mayor will offer that members of the public can comment as that specific item is heard separately. Additionally, there is a specific section of Public Comment for items not on the agenda, but on a subject of some relationship to the city government. If you cannot attend a meeting and/or want to communicate with the City Council directly, this e-mail gets to all of them: CityCouncil@newportbeachca.gov. Please know that I get a copy of that e-mail, too, because in almost all cases it's something that the City Manager follows -up on. It's my head -start. The Council meets in the Council Chambers at 100 Civic Center Drive, off of Avocado between San Miguel and East Coast Highway. There is plenty of parking in the parking structure behind City Hall. You are always welcome to attend in person, but you can also watch on TV (Channels 3/31) or on your computer. This Insider's Guide is not an attempt to summarize every item on the Agenda —just the ones that seem of specific interest to Dave. I encourage you to read the full agenda if you wish.