INSIDE CITY HALL STUDY SESSION Four items...

INSIDE CITY HALL

STUDY SESSION

Four items competing for time on the City Council study session

proved to be more than they could squeeze in. Waste recycling and

modification permits and a policy on naming city parks got short

shrift as the clock ticked faster than officials and residents could

talk.

Councilman Gary Adams protested the packed agenda, and City

Manager Homer Bludau responded by saying that he’d do a better job of

scheduling study sessions in the future.

WHAT HAPPENED

By the end of the session, the council had nonetheless moved

forward several important items. A Police Department request to spend

about $130,000 on a new alarm response system will be put on a future

council agenda for consideration, as will an ordinance to forbid

naming city parks after people, options to improve the city’s waste

recycling and changes to how the city approves modification permits.

JAMBOREE ROAD IMPROVEMENTS

In its their regular meeting, the council approved a $664,013

contract with All American Asphalt to make improvements to Jamboree

Road between Bison Avenue and University Drive. Workers will remove

and replace the top 2 inches of the roadway and rebuild 6,000 feet of

median curbs.

WHAT HAPPENED

Resident Dolores Otting pointed out that the city has had problems

with the contractor. The company did work on San Miguel Road that

city officials said was below the quality they had expected.

Councilman Tod Ridgeway said that the Public Works Department would

work to get the city its money’s worth on the Jamboree Road contract.

WHAT THEY SAID

“We’ll watch over this very carefully,” Councilman Tod Ridgeway

said.

FOURTH OF JULY

Unexpected opposition to the city’s Fourth of July crowd- and

alcohol-control measures arose as two West Newport residents accused

the council of being overly harsh and restrictive in its Fourth of

July policies. Resident Brian Clarkson went so far as to equate the

City Council’s repressiveness to that of Saddam Hussein -- a

reference that didn’t sit well with Adams.

WHAT THEY SAID

“For you to equate us with Saddam Hussein ... is one of the most

irresponsible and immature things I’ve ever heard,” Councilman Gary

Adams said.

WHAT HAPPENED

The council approved the plan, which they do every year, to

establish a West Newport “safety enhancement zones” that allows for

increased fines for certain crimes and other moves to empower law

enforcement.

-- June Casagrande