By Grace Leung, Newport Beach City Manager
The next City Council meeting is Tuesday, April 11. Items of interest are highlighted below. The entire agenda and reports can be viewed here: https://newportbeachca.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/71671/72.
The regular meeting will begin at 5 p.m. Agenda items include:
- Extending the expiration date of the Ad Hoc Municipal Code and Council Policy Review Committee. The committee was formed in September 2022 to review the Newport Beach Municipal Code and City Council policies. If adopted, this item would extend the expiration date of the ad hoc committee to June 30, 2024.
- A $680,000 contract award to Corona-based International Line Builders, Inc., for traffic signal improvements on Newport Coast Drive from Sage Hill to Ridge Park Road.
- A 5-year lease agreement with Sailing Fascination for a boat slip rental in the City-owned Balboa Yacht Basin for the below-market rate of $1 a year. Sailing Fascination has operated a nonprofit sailing program for disabled individuals from a boat slip in the Balboa Yacht Basin since 1996, and the most recent agreement is set to expire on May 1.
- Authorizing funds from the Ackerman Trust, reserved for high-tech library equipment, to be used for the purchase of a new projector for the Friends Meeting Room at the Central Library.
- Approval of agreements with City employee labor groups, an amendment to the compensation plan for unrepresented employees, and the adoption of new salary schedules designed to improve employee retention and recruitment.
City Council Meeting Information
The Newport Beach City Council meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of most months (the exceptions are August and December).
Typically, there is a Study Session that starts at 4 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 6 p.m., and often has a specific listing of 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.
If you cannot attend a meeting and/or want to communicate with the City Council directly, this e-mail gets to all of them: citycouncil@newportbeachca.gov. The City Manager also gets a copy of the email, because in almost all cases it’s something that the City Manager follows-up on.
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. You are always welcome to attend in person, but you can also watch on TV, Spectrum channel 30 and Cox channel 852 or stream it 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 the City Manager. You are encouraged to read the full agenda if you wish.
