HomeMy WebLinkAbout19 - NBTV Programming Operations - CorrespondenceRecieved After Agenda Printed
Item No. 19
Brown, Leilani March 25, 2014
From:
Melinda [nbseely @aol.com]
Sent:
Monday, March 24, 2014 5:38 PM
To:
Dept - City Council
Cc:
Brown, Leilani
Subject:
PLEASE ENTER INTO THE PUBLIC RECORD
Attachments:
City Council letter.doc
March 25, 2014
Honorable Council Members
Many citizens of Newport Beach are concerned about the direction in which the Council is
leading with regard to the extensive national marketing of our wonderful city.
Newport Beach & Co - Visit Newport Beach - and its subsidiaries are using taxpayer money in
order to implement marketing which many of us do not want. Much of the this effort is focused
on bringing business/leisure travelers here from other parts of the country.
Most of these travelers will be arriving/leaving via John Wayne Airport - a facility which the
City has vowed to contain for the sake of the residents of the area in order to protect us from
ever increasing traffic, noise and pollution. (City Council Policy A -17 states: "The City Council's
primary objective is to protect Newport Beach residents from the adverse impacts of commercial
aircraft operations at and from John Wayne Airport.')
Until recently, Newport Beach tried to maintain a balance between residents and tourists.
Previously, most of our visitors came from Southern California, drawn for the day to enjoy our
harbor, beaches, and the ocean. Now the marketing efforts seem directed at selling hotel rooms
and conferences. Balancing the needs of a beautiful city for tourists and residents can soon and
result in a city unattractive to both, most certainly to residents!
The Transit Occupancy Tax was instituted in cities to mitigate the deleterious effects that large
numbers of visitors have on infrastructure as well as the accompanying problems of traffic,
overcrowded venues, and pollution. When the Visitors Bureau, the forerunner of Newport Beach
& Co., first requested money to market the City, several on that Council believed that private
business should not be funded by the government.
I note in the City Manager's Insider's Guide to the upcoming Council meeting that an item to be
discussed is turning NBTV operations to this same Newport Beach & Co which will then assume
the functions now performed by staff but, I am assuming, with the additional thought to further
market the City through the use of Channel 3.
The Council should be very careful and concerned about additional money to be spent for an end
that is not justifiable to a large percentage of the citizens of the City.
How much growth is too much? In the opinion of many residents, we are about to "kill the goose
that laid the golden egg" through over development leading to increased traffic, noise and
pollution.
Sincerely,
Melinda Seely