HomeMy WebLinkAbout00 - Insider's GuideFebruary 23, 2016
Insider's Guide
From: Kiff, Dave
Sent: Friday, February 19, 2016 10:16 AM
Subject: Insider's Guide for Tuesday, February 23, 2016
A good Friday to you. It's a relatively short meeting for the City Council on Tuesday, February 23, 2016, and there is no
study session. So if you're planning on attending or watching, tune in at 7:00-ish.
Meeting information and a link to the full Council agenda is at the end of this e-mail.
I'll highlight a few of the items on the agenda:
• There is a relatively complex thing going on with Newport Dunes, but those of you who live nearby (or close enough
to hear some noise) are probably already following this. Anyway, it's important enough to talk more about
here. The Newport Dunes is County -owned land leased to the private vendor at the Dunes, but it's in the City
limits. As such, our codes apply. The Dunes often has special events (meetings, parties, weddings), some of which
require separate special event permits. The special event permit process helps us guide amplification, traffic
control, and more, as well as to let the adjacent residences know what to expect (and whom to call if things go
awry). Well, at the Planning Commission recently, the Dunes received a conditional use permit to sort of provide a
master permit for these special events — sounds bureaucratic, I know, but it makes more sense in the long
run. Council Member Duffield has called up the CUP to the City Council (date TBD, but not this 2-23 meeting) to give
a little more review to it. Anyway, there is a code amendment on the City Council's agenda that would facilitate
issuance of a future CUP like this when it relates to special events — so that's what that's all about. This agenda
item is NOT Duffy's call-up of the CUP —that would come a bit later. Phew. I got both winded and bored just
explaining that.
• We're asking the Council to align two different Council Policies into one - these explain what types of contracts and
agreements department directors and the City Manager have the ability to enter into (smaller ones, generally
<$120,000). The Charter sets forth much of this, but sometimes separate policies are needed to help make sure
we're following the Council's and the Charter's intent.
• The City Council's 2016 Goals and Priorities are back for formal adoption, after the Council's planning session held
about a month ago.
• Newport Heights' long-awaited alley replacement project comes a bit closer, as a contract could be awarded to
start design. Once the alleys are torn up and replaced, we don't dig them up again (for things like utility
undergrounding) for several years at best. Yes, the UUD clock is ticking now.
• The Airport Working Group (AWG) and AirFair have both weighed in to the City and County in support of a firm
looking to secure a 50 -year lease for golf course operations at the Newport Beach Golf Course. The lease would be
with the County, and while we all love golf very much (at least I assume we do (D), we also love 50 -year efforts that
might keep JWA from expanding its footprint.
• The long-awaited construction contract for the bridge between Little Balboa Island and Balboa Island is set for
award. At, gulp, $6.3M not counting contingency and construction management. This was put out to public bid, and
bids came in significantly higher than engineer estimates assumed. This can happen when projects are complex and
the economy is strong. And this is certainly a complex project. Fortunately, the good folks in our Public Works
Department have worked hard over the last years (and last few days) to fill the funding gap with more State/Federal
dollars. The construction side of this project should be nearly 100% funded by Caltrans and the Federal Highway
Admin Highway Bridge program (these are your other tax dollars at work, coming back home to the
Island). Islanders are aware this project is coming, and we hope it will be as peaceful as possible.
• Council will be asked if they want Planning Commission meetings televised.
• Contracts for the Council's three direct reports (me, City Attorney Aaron Harp, and City Clerk Leilani Brown) are up
for their annual consideration, following evaluations of each of us. If you read the contracts (which are on-line), you
can see what we make and how our benefits are structured. It's a little nerve-wracking to have your contract up,
with all of its provisions out there in the blue sky, and have your performance discussed — but it comes with the
territory and we knew that when we entered these careers. As for me, I always say that some days I feel like I get
paid way too much, and some days too little.
Some notes:
Lido House Hotel.... got it's Coastal Development Permit mailed and issued (meaning we have it now in our
hands). Work should start there right after the first of April. Please let us know if you'd like us to tear up anything
else in the Lido Marina Village — Old City Hall— Newport Boulevard neighborhood. We're getting really good at
this. O
Women in Newport Networking (WINN) event is Thursday, February 25th at 5:30 p.m. in the Civic Center
Community Room. More info is here: http://newportbeachca.gov/government/open-transparent/citizen-
participation/winn
As always, thanks for reading. 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
City Council Meeting Information: The Newport Beach City Council meets on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of most months
(the exceptions are August and December). Typically, there is a Study Session that starts at 4:00 p.m. Study sessions
are times for the Council to take a deeper look at a specific issue, or hear a presentation, that might eventually lead to a
specific and more formal action. A closed session often follows the Study Session. Closed sessions are typically to
address legal, personnel, and other matters where additional confidentiality is important. The Regular (evening)
Session typically starts at 7:00 p.m., and often has a specific listing of 20-40 different items ready for formal
votes. Items on the "Consent Calendar" are heard all at once, unless a Council member has removed (aka "pulled") an
item from the Consent Calendar for specific discussion and separate vote. If an item on the agenda is recommended to
be "continued", it means that the item won't be heard nor voted on that evening, but will be pushed forward to another
noticed meeting.
Public Comment is welcomed at both the Study Session and the Regular Session. The public can comment on any item
on the agenda. If you want to comment on a Consent Calendar item that was not pulled from the Consent Calendar by a
Council Member, you will want to do so at the time listed on the agenda — right before the Council votes on the entire
Consent Calendar (it's Roman Numeral XIII on the posted agenda). If an item is pulled, the Mayor will offer that
members of the public can comment as that specific item is heard separately. Additionally, there is a specific section of
Public Comment for items not on the agenda, but on a subject of some relationship to the city government.
The Council meets in the Council Chambers at 100 Civic Center Drive, off of Avocado between San Miguel and East Coast
Highway. There is plenty of parking in the parking structure behind City Hall. You are always welcome to attend in
person, but you can also watch on TV (Channels 3/31) or on your computer.
This Insider's Guide is not an attempt to summarize every item on the Agenda —just the ones that seem of specific
interest to Dave. You are encouraged to read the full agenda if you'd like —to do so, click here:
https://newportbeach.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx