HomeMy WebLinkAboutSS3 - Marine Studies Center at Shellmaker IslandStudy Session
SS3
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH
Office of the CITY MANAGER
TO Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Dave Kiff, Assistant City Manager
Bob Burnham, City Attorney
RE Marine Studies Center at Shellmaker Island
DATE : October 9, 2001
INTRODUCTION
The Newport Beach City Council has been at the forefront of the ongoing effort to
improve water quality in Upper Newport Bay and Newport Harbor. The Marine
Studies Center - a proposed water quality testing, research and educational facility on
Shellmaker Island - is one of the key features of the Council's multi- faceted approach
to improving water quality. The City Council approved the Marine Studies Center
concept last year as part of the adoption of the list of projects to be funded with the
proceeds of the settlement of the American Trader litigation. The City Council has
confirmed its intent to proceed with the planning and design of the Marine Studies
Center during the April 24th meeting and in a June 22, 2001 letter from Mayor Adams to
Senator Johnson requesting State funding for the project.
The proposed Marine Studies Center is a cooperative project involving the City of
Newport Beach (City), Department of Fish and Game (DFG), the California Coastal
Commission, the County of Orange (County), Orange Coast College (OCC), the
Newport Bay Naturalists and Friends (Naturalists), and the University of California at
Irvine (UCI). This memo briefly describes the functions and physical components of
the Marine Studies Center, the commitments that other agencies have made and the
steps that should be taken to proceed with planning and implementation of the first
phase of the project.
DISCUSSION
A. Marine Studies Center Functions
The proposed Marine Studies Center is intended to offer the following.
• The County of Orange Health Care Agency's water quality testing laboratory
(County);
Mayor and Members of the City Council
October 9, 2001
Page 2
• Water quality research programs for high school and college students (UCI, Orange
Coast College);
• Water quality awareness with an emphasis on educating children through exhibits
and special programs (DFG, City, OCC, Coastal Commission);
• Facilities geared towards Upper Newport Bay environmental management and
enhancement (DFG and the NB Naturalists and Friends);
• Habitat restoration area that will serve as a "restoration research lab" for students
and biologists (DFG, UCI, OCC).
The County's water quality lab is a critical component of the MSC. The lab will house
ALL of the County's water quality testing programs - these are programs that today
exist in Santa Ana even though at least 35 of the testing sites are in Newport Bay.
Expanding and moving the lab to Shellmaker will allow the County's lab director, Dr.
Doug Moore, to fully utilize the new microbiology positions that the Board of
Supervisors have assigned to his staff in the Board's recognition of the importance of
developing better water quality science. Dr. Moore is ready to bring his lab over to
Shellmaker today.
Orange County CoastKeeper has also expressed a desire to provide volunteer and
docent support for the educational programs. The participants in the Marine Studies
Center have discussed development of a website and outreach program to educate
Orange County residents on how they can help improve water quality.
B. Marine Studies Center Facilities
Ron Yeo, a Corona Del Mar architect, has prepared a conceptual plan for the proposed
Marine Studies Center. The conceptual plan for the Marine Studies Center would be
adjacent to, and constructed at the same time as, a new crew facility that would be fully
funded by UCI. The Marine Studies Center concept plan contemplates a single -story
structure of approximately 22,000 square feet with surface parking and a restoration site
on the south side of Shellmaker Island. The structure would house the water quality
lab, DFG offices, and exhibits - such as a tide pool - that are designed to help children
and young adults understand the impact of pollutants on the sensitive creatures in the
marine environment.
C. Funding Commitments
The estimated cost of the Marine Studies center is $4.5 million. To date, the
participants have tentatively committed the following.
• County of Orange— $1.23 million (construction and equipment);
• UCI — $500,000 (over and above funds necessary to construct crew facility);
• City — $500,000 (planning, design and construction),'
• DFG — $250,000 (planning, design, and construction
Mayor and Members of the City Council
October 9, 2001
Page 3
• Coastal Commission — $131,000 (curriculum development).
In addition to these commitments, we believe that the California Resources Agency
will soon be successful in its attempt to secure another $1.1 million in funding from
federal CARA (Conservation and Reinvestment Act) funds. CARA funds come from
oil platform lease revenue paid to the federal government Additional funding maybe
available from other public agencies involved in water quality programs and
community groups.
D. Phasin
The participants in the Marine Studies Center believe that the project should be
developed in two phases. Phase I involves:
• The approval of a cooperative agreement between the participants that would
generally identify the initial and ultimate responsibility of each entity in the
planning, design, construction and operation of the Marine Studies Center;
• The planning and design of the facility;
• Presentations to the community (including Dover Shores);
• The preparation of an environmental document;
• Funding Commitments;
• The installation of a temporary water quality lab; and
• Construction of the UCI Crew facility.
Phase II would be the authorization and construction of the larger MSC alongside the
newly —built UCI Crew facility.
Staff is proposing that the Council, at the meeting this evening authorize:
• Payment, from the American Trader oil spill account, of the costs of leasing and
installing a temporary facility (a triple -wide mobile unit) to house the County
Health Care Agency's water quality lab;
• The City Manager to execute a short term lease or right of entry with DFG for the
temporary water quality lab;
• Staff to prepare a cooperative agreement for the MSG's construction and operation
with other Marine Studies Center participants; and
• The City Manager to execute contracts with Ron Yeo (Architect) for planning and
design services, Rick Ware (Biologist) for habitat restoration, and a geotechnical
firm for a soil analysis of the site - all paid from the American Trader oil spill
account.
Dave ff � obert Burnham
Assistant City Manager City Attorney
10/6/01
Dear Newport Beach City Council Members
I have been involved with the planning of the Marine Science Center since it was
first discussed and I really like the plans that have been created. I believe
that the Marine Science Center is essential as a supplement to the Peter and
Mary Muth Interpretive Center. The Interpretive center is a great place to
interest and enlighten people about the many wonders of Upper Newport Bay. The
Marine Science Center will allow us to actually carry out research on water
quality, tides, currents, weather, fishes, invertebrates, birds, plants, and
ecology with the assistance of students. Students will learn how a beach seine
is carried out and what is done with the fish once they ire captured. These
data will be entered into a data base that will allow us to keep and on -going
monitoring of the condition of the marine life in Upper Newport Bay. The
center will serve as an initial training center for thousands of young, aspiring
marine scientists. It will allow those of us with professional degrees to
continue research projects that we have already begun and supplement with
additional data and observations. The Marine Science Center, in my opinion, is
essential to the continued protection and preservation of our estuary resource.
Dennis Kelly, Professor
Marine Science Department
Orange Coast College
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