HomeMy WebLinkAbout00 - Insider's GuideReceived After Agenda Printed
June 23, 2015
Insider's Guide
From: Kiff, Dave
Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2015 7:02 PM
Subject: Insider's Guide for the City Council meeting of Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Happy almost summer. But it's always summer in Newport Beach and here at the Insider's Guide (the Guide is tanned
and beach -ready — but admittedly a bit fishy smelling thanks to our pelagic red crab visitors).
On a serious note, next week (Tuesday the 23`a) begins the NB Junior Lifeguard program. You will see hundreds of
thousands (OK, not quite that many) of young people on bikes headed down Dover, the Peninsula, Bayside, parts of
PCH, and Balboa Island all heading to and from the Balboa Pier area for two shifts. Our fine lifeguard staff will make
sure they stay safe while they're at the beach, but please watch for them and take care that they make it safely to and
from JGs.
So here is the Insider's Guide for the Newport Beach City Council meeting of Tuesday, June 23, 2015.
The City Council meeting is held on the 2 "a and 4`" Tuesdays of most months. The Study Session starts at 4:30 p.ini (a
little later than usual) and the Regular Session will start at 7:00 p.m. The Council meets in the Council Chambers at 100
Civic Center Drive. There is plenty of parking, and you are welcome to attend. But you can also watch on TV (Channels
3/31) or on your computer.
I don't summarize every item on the Agenda — but to read the full agenda, click here:
http: / /newportbeachca.gov /mod u les /ShowDocu ment.aspx ?documentid =4414
If you are so inclined, please weigh in on these issues by contacting the entire City Council with one email address —
that's CitvCouncil @newportbeachca.eov. They appreciate hearing from you, especially about any agenda item.
There are two somewhat brief items on the 4:30 p.m. Study Session's agenda:
• First is a presentation involving recognizing the hospitality training and education of Hornblower Cruises and Avila's
El Ranchito for effective "responsible beverage service training program." I don't think this means that they serve
responsible beverages like kale smoothies and kombucha (as a brief aside, when I walked into the NB Council
Chambers while the Coastal Commission was meeting there last week, there was a waft of kombucha odor across
the back rows of seats. Only at a Coastal Commission meeting would this occur @). But it does mean that
Hornblower and El Ranchito are being recognized for working to reduce the risks associated with the sale and
service of another fermented drink.
• We'll update the community on all of the fun and family - friendly activities planned for July 4 (there is a dunk tank
with many folks' names on it in West Newportl) and the rules and regulations that apply if folks get too
rambunctious. As we all know, this July 4 falls on a Saturday, so we're hoping for great fun and good celebratory
behavior that falls just short of adversely impacting health, safety, or others' celebrations (i.e. LUGO is still out there
and in effect — and working well).
Here's what's on the evening session at 7:00 p.m.:
• We still can't seem to muster four affirmative votes in one place at one time for the jet pack ordinance, so that has
to come back for another attempt. This is the bad penny of agenda items (am I dating myself using that
expression ?).
• There is an item that would increase (generally from $0.10 /hour to $0.25 /hour) parking rates across town, in part to
implement the now - adopted FY 15 -16 City budget. For residents, the blue pole and master parking permit rates do
not change.
• The good folks at the Elks Lodge have donated funds to fully pay for the hiring of two new staff members in the
Police Department! They are of the K -9 kind, and enable full staffing of the K -9 force with the recent retirement of
one dog and the pending retirement of another. The funds cover the cost of the dogs as well as training and
equipment.
• We were going to ask the Council to vote on appointments to Boards and Commissions, but then we were reminded
that Councilman Duffy will not be with us for the meeting, and it makes sense to have all seven Council members
present for these appointments. So this will be continued (if Council agrees) to July 14".
• Two sculpture items are on the agenda, too. One is Phase II of the Civic Center Sculpture Garden. The pieces are
intended to be rotational, where 20 pieces stay for 2 years, but 10 are rotated out one year and the other 10 the
next. The second 10 pieces proposed for acceptance and installation (by the way, these are on loan and are
returned to the owner after the two years are up) are in the staff report and would be installed in various sites
around the Civic Center park and near the Central Library. Another item is approval and acceptance of the statue
honoring fallen lifeguard Ben Carlson. This would be entirely privately funded and would be installed near the
Newport Pier and the Ben Carlson Lifeguard Headquarters. It was nearly a year ago that Ben made his last rescue —
July 6, 2014 was the day at about 5:00 p.m. I know that we will all think of Ben, his family, and all of our hard-
working lifeguards as that anniversary moment occurs.
• Finally, the California Coastal Commission — at the aforementioned kombucha- scented meeting — passed on a 9 -1
vote the City's plan to realign and properly space the 60 fire rings within our responsibility area, as well as four
more existing ones that reside at the Newport Dunes. We will ask the Council to ratify the Commission- approved
plan, as well as to make some small amendments to the NBMC that reflect the plan's changes. We can't quite
implement the plan until we have the Commission's permit in our calloused hands (calloused after moving all those
fire rings around multiple times, back and forth, here and there, up and down, around and around). If you want to
see the plan (and you probably don't, because you're as tired of this issue as I am, it's on our website
here: http: // www . newportbeachca.gov /index.aspx ?page= 2479). Shout outs to Mayor pro Tern Diane Dixon,
Council member Scott Peotter, Friends of the Fire Rings, Coastal staff members, folks from AQMD, city staff
members, and residents such as Denys Oberman who helped work on this important compromise solution.
• For you Newport Crest folks, Council Member Petros has asked his colleagues consider abandoning an easement
the City holds on Ticonderoga Street. This meeting would not be the final action on the item, but allows the Council
to talk about whether they want to pursue it further.
Some notes for your consideration:
• Congratulations to all who helped the community attain a 22% reduction in potable water use (calculated in
residential gallons per day) in the month of May! There was some great progress there leading to our hoped -for
25% reduction obligation starting in June (goal = a 25% cut in use when comparing June 2015 to June 2013). For
those of you who didn't help, and you know who you are with those long leisurely showers we're all so jealous of
that we take secret trips out of town to have them (I may be sharing too much again...) please consider ramping up
your conservation efforts just a bit for June and onward 'til the next rains come. O
• We are crabby of late —the tuna crab
kind. http: // www .newportbeachca.gov /index.aspx ?page =99 &recordid =4258. I keep throwing the live ones back in
the water. I'm not sure that helps much, but it makes me feel better. Anyway, our thanks to our good Municipal
Operations staff who have been cleaning up the beaches by hand (because of Grunion Run time), day after day. We
(and they) wish this would stop.
Thanks for reading. Please 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. Council's next
meeting after this one is Tuesday, July 14t ", so you won't hear from me for three weeks. Have a fun and safe July 4'h and
I hope we all enjoy the start to another great summer.
Sincerely,
Dave Kiff
City Manager