HomeMy WebLinkAbout16-05-09 Draft MinutesTidelands Management Committee
Committee Action Minutes – DRAFT UNTIL APPROVED
Meeting May 9, 2016 – 4:00 p.m., Civic Center Community Room
1. The meeting was called to order at 4:00 p.m. by Mayor Selich.
2. Roll Call: Council Members: Ed Selich, Tony Petros, and Duffy Duffield
Citizen Advisory Panel (CAP) Members:
Linda Beimfohr, Paul Blank, John Corrough, Jamshed Dastur, John
Keating, Dan Mariscal and Don Lawrenz
3. Public Comments on Non-Agenda Items: None
4. Minutes for February 18, 2015, April 15, 2015 and January 20, 2016: Motion made by Chair
Selich and seconded by Council Member (Petros) to approve the February 18, 2015, April
15, 2015 and January 20, 2016 meeting minutes. Council Member Duffield reviewed the
minutes and voted for record keeping purposes only.
5. On-Going Business
A. Harbor Capital Finance Plan
Copies of the Harbor Commission Finance Plan were distributed. Mr. Chris Miller presented
a presentation on the Finance Plan and provided a history of the plan. The Tidelands
Capital Plan is a five year rolling plan that provides details on capital or maintenance
category projects that are reviewed on a yearly basis. These projects have a yearly budget
of $1.5 Million and discussions are held annually to determine how best to allocate the funds
in a rolling five-year period.
It was explained that the Harbor Commission was directed by City Council to draft a finance
plan. Harbor Commission drafted a finance plan that described projects with completion
dates of one year to 50 plus years; thus listing larger scale projects in order to start the
planning process.
Mr. Miller explained that the plan currently being reviewed incorporated all previous projects,
along with the Harbor Commission projects, into one master plan due to the five-year
snapshot of capital projects. The ongoing thought process is to use one plan going forward
that is more detailed and long term driven than the current plan perhaps similar to the City’s
Facilities Finance Plan. With the consent of the Council Members, the current plan will turn
into a finance / planning document that can later be reviewed by City Council.
Discussion ensued regarding the various projects listed on the plan and detailed information
was provided on items that were added to the spreadsheet. New items are listed in light
blue.
Council Member and staff discussed the differences between the new spreadsheet and the
old plan such as items showing different amounts and how are funds allocated for an item.
Once a consensus is reached on how many line items should be included in the new
spreadsheet, the Finance department will provide their best estimates on each project.
Chair Selich opened public comments.
Mr. Jim Mosher commented on the sea level rise cost project by stating that it would be a
good idea to note what the assumption of sea level rise will be in 50-80 years and note on
the plan what the assumptions are. Mr. Mosher requested information as to where big ticket
items not related to Harbor Commission will be listed if the current spreadsheet is to replace
the former Tideland Capital Plan. Staff suggested to add the ocean projects, as a subset,
to this plan so we have one document.
Chair Selich closed public comments.
B. Recap of Harbor Commission Agenda Action Items During the Previous Quarter
Mr. Miller provided a brief overview of the Harbor Commission’s agenda. On January 16th,
Lieutenant Alsobrook, Harbor Master, reported that the Gemini has been broken into several
pieces has been removed from the harbor. Mr. Miller also reported that an operational
review of the pump-outs in the harbor, Central Avenue, was conducted and a discussion on
security plans for charter vessels was held. The Tideland Capital Plan was reviewed and
an ad-hoc committee was formed. The Harbor Commission issued a letter of support to the
Coastal Commission regarding the Central Avenue public pier. The Harbor Commission
requested for City Council to review and approve the West Anchorage trial run. Planning
manager Patrick Alford reviewed the Ardell property and provided a planning perspective of
the Mariner’s Mile area.
Discussion ensued regarding the Harbor Commission’s agenda action items and a question
was asked as to the proposed anchorage in the turning basin. Staff replied that it’s based on
the size of the circle and the size of the boats. A reasonable number might be
approximately 10 boats. A question was asked if an application was submitted regarding the
Central Avenue Pier or was just a letter of support sent to the regulatory agencies? Staff
explained that the letter of support was created as a result of the Coastal Commission
considering Newport Harbor Yacht Club’s clubhouse rebuild, in their March meeting. A
component of the rebuild was to contribute $350,000 towards building a Central Avenue
public pier as a public access component. The Central Avenue Pier project is moving
forward.
6. Current Business
A. Balboa Island Bulkhead Cap Extension
Staff provided a brief overview of the Balboa Island project. Balboa Island seawall consists
of 2 projects; one on the west end and the raising of the Cap along the North and South
walls. The design phase of the project is soon to be completed and environmental
documents filed. Staff filed for permitting with the Coastal Commission. Staff explained
that the west end seawall rehab replacement was more difficult than anticipated due to the
complication of contracting with a consultant that would agree to perform the testing, due to
the risk involved. A consultant was hired and testing is to be completed by end of month or
early June.
Discussion ensued regarding the proposed steps leading from the pier to the dock and
beach. Council members question if extra funds should go into building the steps, as shown
on the drawing. Staff will investigate if ramps or steps are needed, if there is an ADA
requirement, and report back at the next meeting.
B. Santa Cruz Dredging Solutions
Mr. Miller stated that at the last Tidelands Commission Meeting, staff presented options that
the City Council might consider Newport Beach possibly owning their own dredging scow.
Mr. Miller explained that he and Council Member Duffield visited Santa Cruz to obtain
information regarding their dredging process. Santa Cruz owns their own dredging
equipment and operates it themselves, which results in them paying approximately $6.00
per cubic yard as opposed to their previous cost of approximately $100 per cubic yard.
Discussion ensued between staff and council members regarding the current dredging
process, which is conducted by an outside consultant, versus purchasing dredging
equipment that can be managed by a city employee, and the savings that will occur with the
City owning their own dredging equipment.
C. Oil Fields in Newport Beach
Staff provided a history of the oil wells, showed a map of where the fields are located, and
pointed out which are owned by the City. The fields were originally owned by Armstrong
Petroleum Company. In the early 1980’s, and due to a dispute a portion of the fields, 16 oil
wells, were awarded to the City. One of the stipulations of the settlement was that the
revenues from the wells must remain in the Tideland funds and use for Tideland expenses
only. An updated spreadsheet was distributed showing the oil well production and revenue.
There was discussion regarding the price of barrels, the drilling process and the restrictions
that are in place regarding drilling within Newport Beach; a stipulation constructed in the
1950’s by then Council Members prohibiting oil drilling in the City of Newport Beach. Due to
this stipulation, staff pursued other avenues of obtaining investments from the fields, and
most recently pursued a partnership process but the deal was not finalized. Staff explained
that the city has three options; pursue the partnership idea, the City needs to invest money
into the operation, or do nothing at this time. Staff concluded by saying that the potential for
revenue is there, but they need direction from Council on how to proceed.
7. Date and Time for Next Meeting: Wednesday, July 20, 2016. Meeting adjourned at
approximately 5:33 p.m.