The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About00 - Insider's GuideReceived After Agenda Printed May 26, 2015 Insider's Guide From: Kiff, Dave Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2015 7 :42 PM Subject: Insider's Guide for the City Council meeting of Tuesday, May 26th, 2015 I cannot believe Ws the end of May already. Can you? And Memorial Day —who saw that coming? I think it's actually just late February 2010. Although if you are a regular Mariner's Mile traveler, it could seem exactly and excruciatingly like late May. By the way, hey, that is a big wide road out there, isn't it? It's amazing to remember what it actually looks like without K -rail and workers and cranes and hissing gas pipes (OK, that was mean). I do need to remind everyone, in my usual fun - diminishing way, that while the end of Phase I is near for this OC Sanitation District project, the road will have construction again in September for OCSD's Phase II (insert sad emoticon here). It's the same project, but Phase II is essentially to switch the wastewater flow from the old pipe to the new pipe, then fill the old pipe up with sand, dirt, or confidential City documents so that the old pipe doesn't collapse years from'now and cause an embarrassing sinkhole. The slight good news is that we believe that Phase II will be much less problematic than Phase I in terms of impacts to drivers. Yes, Phase I continues for a little while longer under Newport Boulevard, where that big of drill got stuck because it ran into old pilings or cement or confidential City documents written on stone tablets in 200 BC or something. Transitioning from sewage, here is the Insider's Guide for the Newport Beach City Council meeting of Tuesday, May 26, 2015. The City Council meeting is held on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of most months. The Study Session starts at 4:00 p.m., and the regular session will start at 7:00 p.m. The Council meets in the Council Chambers at ioo Civic Center Drive. There is plenty of parking -you are always welcome to attend. But you can also watch on TV (Channels 3131) or on your computer. To spare you some detail, I don't summarize every item on the Agenda —but to read the full agenda, click here: http: / /newportbeachca.gov /modules /ShowDocument.aspx ?docu mentid =4414 If you are so inclined, please weigh in on these issues by contacting the entire City Council with one email address — that's CityCouncil@newportbeachca.Rov. They appreciate hearing from you, especially about any agenda item. There are two main items on the 4 :00 p.m. Study Session's agenda: • Further detail about the proposed Fiscal Year 2015 -16 City budget, which we have asked the Council to consider adopting later on Tuesday evening. The budget is balanced, again does not use reserves for operational needs, and proposes two major program changes —the addition of three police officers and a sergeant and the staffing of the new Marina Park facility. This is also the first full year of our "speed -up" of payments to retire our pension liabilities faster. The speed -up costs about $7.5 million more in pension payments this year, but saves $47M (net present value) in interest when compared to the other plan. Employees will contribute another $8.25M indirect paycheck deductions to pay for pension costs. I wanted to make note here of what the new police officers might be working on. It starts with the Peninsula, which takes on a lot more people on weekends (evenings and days) and the summertime. As folks know, it has a number of issues that more officers can help address. These might be traffic and congestion, problems on the Ocean Front Walk, property crime, compassionately dealing with the homeless, drunk in public issues, and more. Their focus won't be on just one activity — it will be on multiple quality of life issues to help the Peninsula stay fun and safe — it will always be a busy place. • Wastewater rates come next. We'll discuss with the City Council a recent study done noting our long -term capital needs to replace pipes and pump stations (and more), and talk about whether the rate needs to be increased and /or restructured to accommodate those needs. Always a fun discussion. Not. Here's what's on the evening session at 7:00 p.m.: • Our favorite recurring subject, the drought (you thought I was going to say jetpacks, didn't you ?), will be back for introduction of an ordinance relating to conservation. • Oh, and jetpacks need to come back, too, again as an ordinance that refines what the Council directed last time — no non - commercial use, one commercial operator selected by an RFP, and that operator must stay near the Turning Basin. • There is a "tentative agreement" with the Lifeguard Managers. These full -time permanent lifeguards make up one of ten labor groups at the City, and they and the City have "tentatively agreed" on terms for a 3.5 year contract that would end 12 -31 -2017. All of our labor contracts are negotiated under State labor law, which is very complex and structured. The Council has asked that we give some additional transparency to the tentative agreements before the final agreements are placed on the agenda. This allows a 2 -week delay for the public and others to see the terms of what's being proposed, then on June 9`n, it's expected that the formal agreement will be considered. If you ever want to look through our labor agreements, they are here on our website: http : / /newportbeachca.gov /index.aspx ?page =296 • We are buying undergrounding credits on the cheap again, this time from a guy on a street corner in a trench coat from Mission Viejo for $0.55 for every dollar of credit. OK, it's actually the City of Mission Viejo. These credits are NOT for local residential undergrounding projects — instead, these funds must go towards undergrounding utilities near major view corridors and arterials, like Hospital Road (I think that's next in line for undergrounding). • Some minor amendments to the Zoning Code have bubbled up from staff to the Planning Commission and now to Council. There is a public hearing on these, which would then come back for another reading on June 9m • The two remaining Business Improvement Districts (BIDS) in town — the Restaurant BID and the CdM BID —are up for their annual renewal and appointment to their boards. • The budget that is reviewed at Study Session is proposed for formal adoption in the evening. Again, if you're curious at all about what the budget looks like, there are three documents on our website here: http://newi)ortbeachca.gov/index.aspx?page=287 • Our Public Works staff has proposed a new design for street signs placed on signals, and we'd like the Council to review and approve it (they'll have some alternatives to choose from, too). Here's what it might look like. Yes, we do plan on renaming all City streets "Jamboree" just to save sign fabrication costs. What could go wrong? • Council Member Duffield asked for a discussion and direction regarding whether the Harbor Commission and the Tidelands Management Committee should be consolidated or aspects of them merged. • Council Member Curry has asked that an item be on the agenda that would amend the City Charter (in November 2016) to say that it would take 5 votes of the Council to place a tax increase on any ballot, versus the four that it would take today. • Council Member Peotter has asked that the City state its support for Proposition 13. • Finally, the evening closes with a discussion about tree maintenance contracts. The City entered into a contract with Great Scott Tree Services in late 2013, and the City's previous vendor (West Coast Arborists) has expressed concerns about that bid award. These are large dollar contracts, so the stakes are high for these companies. Staff likes them both. The City contracted out tree trimming services way back in the 1990s. Please have an enjoyable and memorable Memorial Day holiday, and stay safe out there. City offices are closed (smiling emoticon!). Enjoy those additional lanes of traffic on Mariner's Mile. Maybe drop by those business and remind them what you look like and how much you missed them — I know that they missed you. 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. Sincerely, Dave Kiff City Manager dkiff@newportbeachca.gov 949- 644 -3001