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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/22/2007 - Study SessionCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH City Council Minutes Study Session May 22, 2007 — 4:00 pan. I. ROLL CALL. II. Present: Council Member Henn, Council Member Curry, Mayor Pro Tem Selich, Mayor Rosansky, Council Member Daigle, Council Member Gardner Excused: Council Member Webb 1. CLARIFICATION OF ITEMS ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR. In response to Council Member Daigle's question regarding Item #S20 (Construction Contract #3742), City Attorney Clauson reported that the information will be provided at the regular Council meeting. Council Member Webb joined the meeting at 4:01 p.m. Mayor Rosansky said he is concerned about contract insurance coverage amounts and thinks that there should be a revision to require more insurance coverage. City Attorney Clauson stated that the risk manager has authority to ask for more insurance based on the risk, which she has done in the past. She also stated that the base insurance amount in other cities is one million dollars. 2. DEPARTMENT BUDGET OVERVIEW. Public Works Director Badum displayed a PowerPoint presentation on the status of re- budgeted items that included Facilities, Streets and Drainage, Traffic, Parks, Harbors and Beaches, Water Quality & Environmental, Water, Wastewater, Miscellaneous, and the CIP Summary. He also reviewed the existing Public Works organization and the reorganization goals of the department. In response to Mayor Rosansky's question, City Manager Bludau confirmed that there is a draft agreement with the County for the funding of the Santa Ana Heights Equestrian Facility. He also stated that the Balboa Village alley replacement has been budgeted, and it will continue to move forward. There are some alleys that were not done previously because of undergrounding. In response to Council Member Webb's question about the Dover Drive sidewalk project, Public Works Director Badum stated that they are still waiting for a response from the Coastal Commission and are hoping that they will allow the City to move forward. Another project of interest is the Jamboree Road Bridge widening which will be on hold for the renewed Measure M bill in 2009. In response to Council Member Gardner's question about the Street and Bikeway Improvements budget, Principal Civil Engineer Sinacori confirmed that the Street and Bikeway Improvements are not for new bikeways, just for repairs. Volume 58 - Page 150 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes May 22, 2007 Public Works Director Badum stated that there is a new project in Newport Heights, which will be funded from the Neighborhood Traffic Management Improvements budget. The other pedestrian area of concern will be 23`d Street and Newport Boulevard. Mayor Rosansky requested that the additional budget for the Neighborhood Traffic Management Improvements be $150,000 instead of $50,000 for traffic calming for speed bumps and chokers. In response to Council Member Gardner, Public Works Director Badum confirmed that the Beach Sand Study is for local needs in the harbor, and the Coastal Sand Replenishment is a cooperative dredging project with Seal Beach and Surfside. In response to Council Member Selich's question about the Rhine Channel Wharf money that was already in the budget, Public Works Director Badum stated that the $240,000 is new money received from Bayside Development as a contribution. Administrative Manager Pollard confirmed that the $330,000 in the Rhine Channel Wharf Repair budget is the money that is in question. The money was regrouped by combining three funds together. Council Member Daigle asked if Public Works Director Badum could lay out how the City plans to approach the General Plan implementation of the 18 intersections, how it is factored in the development of Irvine, and how it effects the intersections and the monitoring of the intersections. Public Works Director Badum stated they are doing a study on the costs and working on developing a preliminary plan for a traffic impact fee to charge new developers, and the money will be collected and applied to the intersection projects for improvements down the road. The initial plan is to establish a fee and then prioritize where to go from there. Assistant. City Manager Wood stated that some of the City's lawsuits regarding Irvine are settled, and the money will be used to study the impact on the city traffic and recreation. Council Member Webb stated that the General Plan is a 20 -30 year plan, and he wants people to realize that the improvements of the 18 intersections in the General Plan will take time. Council Member Webb stated that the City should not fund the money for Public Works projects upfront and rely on the County of Orange to pay it back.. Projects should not be funded unless 50% of the money is received to avoid utilizing the City's surplus. Principal Civil Engineer Stein stated that they are closing the feasibility study and hope to have the project completed at the end of June for the Big Canyon Restoration. Council Member Daigle asked to have Council and the community approve the road alignments for the project prior to obtaining permits from outside agencies. Public Works Director Badum explained the plans to reorganize the Public Works Department, which will focus on maintaining and improving the current quality of project delivery and services, building on existing strengths and talents, retaining and recruiting quality employees, building in flexibility within the organization, taking advantage of outside resources and doing it quickly. The reorganization will combine the City Engineer and Development Services Transportation Manager to a Deputy Public Works Director (City Engineer) and will allow promotions in- house. Volume 58 - Page 151 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes May 22, 2007 In response to Council Member Curry's question regarding what the Public Works Director's role will be in the department after the reorganization, Public Works Director Badum stated that his time will be used for the elevation of the encroachment policy, improving the plan check process, and will allow more time for key facilities projects, capital project processing, and municipal code revisions. He also stated that the Facilities Program Manager position will be a firm that would take an active role in program management, which will allow more flexibility, experience, and provide more resources than a single person. Council Member Curry stated that he is concerned about the City spending money on facilities that will be replaced in several years. City Manager Bludau presented the budget report for.the City Council and City Manager's office. He went over the proposed City Council budget materials for 2007- 2008 regarding special department expenses, professional and technical services, and publications and dues and discussed why money is put in the budget for sponsorship of some City events. He spoke about the City Manager's department budget and explained the key divisions for the department and their major accomplishments and challenges. In response to Council Member Henn's question concerning code enforcement issues, Assistant City Manager Wood stated that she has in the past and will continue to meet with staff to discuss if more staff is needed and the flexibility to put extra staff where needed to enforce codes. She spoke about the challenges and taking a more aggressive stance legally for code enforcement. Harbor Resources Supervisor Miller confirmed for Council Member Webb that the Grand Jury report was released last week regarding mooring permits for residents. He stated that meetings will be conducted with a subcommittee group of the Harbor Commission to organize a response within the required ninety (90) days. Prior to sending the report to the Grand Jury, he will present it to Council and the Harbor Commission for approval. City Manager Bludau finished his budget report by speaking about the changes in Harbor Resources and Public Information Office and the reasons for the changes. Council Member Henn asked that a report be presented to Council in regard to the Professional and Technical Services budget that will include the required budget amounts versus the discretionary budget amounts. Administrative Services Director Danner said that the amounts can be itemized for each department. Library Services Director Katsouleas gave the budget report for the library which included the core services, statistics, total funding by division, and expenditure areas. She spoke about the Corona del Mar branch attendance level going down and how they would like to move the Corona del Mar branch to the new OASIS Senior Center. There was a study that was done regarding Sunday hours of operation, which determined that opening Mariners Library on Sundays rather than keeping the Central Library open more hours on Sundays would be more cost efficient. The budget for facilities at the library will focus on repairs for the Balboa Library and a larger pump will be installed at the Central library to help with drainage. She also stated that there are challenges at the libraries, such as keeping up the facilities and recruitment, because the City of Newport Beach is geographically and financially Volume 58 - Page 152 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes May 22, 2007 undesirable. The Library. accomplishments include creating innovative library spaces and providing innovative library services through technology. Council Member Henn asked that the remaining department budget presentations be trimmed down a little for future meetings. Council Member Gardner and Mayor Rosansky asked for a longer study session meeting to ensure enough time for budget presentations. III. PUBLIC COMMENTS W.R. Dilding from Central Newport Beach Community Association spoke about the flashing crosswalks that are in the budget for Newport and 23rd Street. He is glad that the project is back in the budget and he is concerned that the money budgeted is less than the previous contract for Corona del Mar. He offered to help update the Public Works section of the Municipal Code, Patrick Munoz assured Council that the trash trucks from Ware Disposal do not have safety issues, the mechanics are regularly trained and independent contractors are hired to conduct inspections on weekends. He stated that they never have injuries or accidents and insurance premiums were lowered because of their good safety practices. IV. ADJOURNMENT - 6:17 p.m. The agenda for the Adjourned Regular Meeting was posted on May 16, 2007, at 2:00 p.m. on the City Hall Bulletin Board located outside of the City of Newport Beach Administration Building. ecor ' g Secretary Mayor City Clerk Volume 58 - Page 153