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HomeMy WebLinkAbout00 - Insider's GuideNovember 27, 2018 Insider's Guide From: Biddle, Jennifer Sent: Wednesday, November 21, 2018 4:13 PM Subject: Insider's Guide 11/21/2018 Forwarded on behalf of City Manager Grace Leung... Happy Wednesday everyone, an early edition of the Insider's Guide as we get ready for turkey day, one of my favorite holidays! I wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving and hope you are able to enjoy this time with family and friends. Our next meeting is on Tuesday, November 27, and the following are items that may be of interest. As always, this is not a summary of the entire agenda, which can be viewed here. Study Session begins at 6 p.m. with a couple proclamations and presentation. There will be an update on the Summer Trolley Program, including a brief review of the operations this past summer and potential recommendations for future operations. For the Regular Session at 7 p.m. the following are items of note: • We will begin out of order with a public hearing on the Proposed Assessment District No. 113, which is proposed to be formed for undergrounding utilities on West Balboa Island between North Bayfront, South Bayfront and Agate Avenue. This item is taken out of order so the ballots can be counted and results announced before the end of the meeting. This is the second undergrounding project for which the City will take on the construction management, rather than SCE, to reduce costs. If the district is formed, the design is estimated to be completed in December 2020, the bond sale to finance the project will occur May through July 2021 and construction work will take place August 2021 through September 2022. • Under the Consent Calendar are two items amending Titles 1 and 17 of the Municipal Code, related to the Harbor Department and Speed Limits in the Harbor. Subsequent to the review and approval of these amendments by City Council in October, inconsistencies and clerical errors were found. In order to be clear and transparent with these amendments, City Council directed staff to bring the code changes back for reconsideration. The substantive changes remain the same. • Also under the Consent Calendar is a professional services agreement for Environmental Services Associates to prepare an environment impact report (EIR) for the proposed 275 -room hotel project at the Newport Dunes Resort. As many of you know, there is a long history to this project and the entitlement for the hotel comes from the 1983 settlement agreement. The EIR is one of many steps for this project to move forward, including a Planned Community Development Plan, Conditional Use Permit, Traffic Study and Coastal Development Permit. • Community Program Grants for FY 2018/19 are on the Consent Calendar. The allocation of $40,000 is recommended to be distributed amongst 14 organizations that serve the City's residents and benefit our residents' quality of life. Additionally, a continued allocation of $25,000 to the Balboa Island Historical Society and $10,000 to the Newport Beach Historical Society is recommended. • On Current Business is the Award of Contract for Bayside Drive and Jamboree Road/Marine Avenue Improvements. This project follows extensive community outreach and discussion and review of design alternatives by City Council. This project includes pavement rehabilitation, traffic calming, beautification, pedestrian and bicycle access, and maintains the four -land roadway for the entire length of the Bayside Drive portion of the project. Construction is anticipated to be completed in May 2019. 1 would also note that this is one of six infrastructure rehabilitation/improvement projects with award of contract or notice of completion on this agenda. A very busy and productive Public Works staff! • A Professional Services Agreement with Anchor QEA for Planning/Engineering Design and Support for the Lower Newport Harbor Dredging Program is also on Current Business. City Council and staff have been actively working with the Federal Government to designate the Lower Bay dredging project as a current federally funded project. These efforts have paid off with the Army Corps of Engineers funding the first $150,000 of an approximately $23 million effort, thereby officially designating the project as "active", a significant milestone for procuring future federal funding. To increase our competitiveness for these federal funds, we are proposing to complete all of the necessary pre -project tasks so that the project can be shovel ready by the end of 2019. • Finally, the appointment of a new Planning Commissioner to fill an unscheduled vacancy is on the agenda. 4 applicants will be considered by the City Council. The term for this vacancy expires June 30, 2020. As a reminder, public comment is welcome at the City Council meeting. The public can comment on any item on the agenda. If you cannot attend the meeting and/or want to communicate with the City Council directly on an item, the following e-mail address gets to all of them: City Council. The Week in Review was provided last week. In case you missed it, we do post them on the City's website; the latest edition can be found here. Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated so please don't hesitate to ask a question or offer a comment. 4nn Grace K. Leung City Manager zCity of Newport Beach -: �t)100 Civic Center Drive, Bay 2E Newport Beach, CA 92660 gleung@newportbeachca.gov P: 949-644-3001 F: 949-644-3020