INSIDE CITY HALL Here are some decisions...

INSIDE CITY HALL

Here are some decisions coming out of Tuesday’s meeting of the

Newport Beach City Council.

TREE TRIMMING CONTRACT

A plan to renew the contract with the city’s tree-trimming service

turned into a debate over which jobs should go out to bid and which

shouldn’t. City Manager Homer Bludau had recommended renewing the

city’s contract with West Coast Arborists for 10 years. When

Councilman Steve Bromberg and others questioned why the matter hadn’t

gone to bid, Bludau said that not all contracts go out to bid. West

Coast Arborists trimming cost of $39 per tree combined with their

long history of service to the city made it a wise decision to grant

the contract, Bludau said. Mayor Tod Ridgeway agreed. Bromberg and

John Heffernan did not, casting the two dissenting votes on the

contract.

WHAT THEY SAID

“I don’t think we can know what we would get from another service

provider unless we ask,” Bromberg said.

“This is a wonderful contract,” Ridgeway said.

WHAT IT MEANS

The city will renew the West Coast Arborists’ contract for 10

years, though the contract can be terminated by either party with 30

days’ notice. So the city isn’t guaranteed that it will still be

paying only $39 a tree for trimming nine years from now, just as the

contractor is not guaranteed that the city will stay with them for

the full 10 years.

NEWPORT HILLS TRAFFIC

City officials aren’t sure how to make the streets of Newport

Hills and Harbor View safer for pedestrians, but they intend to find

out. The council on Tuesday approved an $88,000 contract with

Kimley-Horn and Associates to conduct studies on improvements that

can be made on a number of streets: Port Weybridge Place, Port

Provence Place, Port Seabourne Way and Newport Hills Drive.

The matter came up at the request of Heffernan and a number of

community members who wanted to find out whether speed bumps on some

streets could improve safety for school children. Heffernan said he

worried that the extensive study by the contractor could use up all

the money for improvements, but staff members assured him that money

for work such as speed bumps wouldn’t be difficult to obtain.

WHAT THEY SAID

“I’m afraid we’re going to burn up all our $88,000, then not even

get a stop sign out of this,” Heffernan said.

WHAT IT MEANS

Kimley-Horn’s work will include analyzing traffic flows and

pedestrian traffic, conducting workshops with community members and

making recommendations to improve safety.

BIG CANYON CREEK RESTORATION

The Big Canyon Creek Restoration project got a boost when the

State Water Resources Board granted the project $200,000. The council

was asked Tuesday to accept the money and adjust the contract with

Community Conservancy International, the nonprofit group performing

the studies.

WHAT IT MEANS

The project, now in planning for its second phase, will include

restoring Newport’s wetlands habitats as well as studies of the

area’s endangered species, effects of runoff, drainage from the

nearby golf course and homes and flood prevention.

-- Compiled by

June Casagrande