The major decision at the November 5th meeting of the City Council was to proceed with the replacement of municipal Dock C. The Council approved replacing the existing wooden dock with a larger, concrete dock at an initial cost of approximately $2.6 million. Other business included accepting the staff report on alternative management models for the new senior center and creation of a Council subcommittee consisting of Councilmen Mike Woiwode and Richard Bailey to develop further a course of action for improvements to the bridge toll plaza.
Prior to the Council meeting city staff and the marina operator conducted a tour of the marina docks. The City Council and members of the public inspected Dock A, which is a concrete dock that was installed in 2007. They then toured Dock C, which is an older wooden dock, that was constructed in the early 1980’s.
In the meeting the Council was presented with nine alternative strategies for addressing Dock C. The least expensive option would involve simply maintaining the existing dock, which would extend its life for approximately 13 years, and then replacing it in 2027. The most expensive option would replace the dock in the near term with a concrete dock with an increased capacity of seven boat slips. The existing dock has 34 boat slips.
Mayor Casey Tanaka noted that the city replaced Docks A and B with concrete docks, and he supported replacing Dock C with a new concrete dock. He noted that the maintenance of the wooden dock would be too great a burden on the marina manager. Councilman Ovrom indicated his support for a new concrete dock based on its life cycle cost. Councilman Woiwode also indicated his support for moving ahead with replacing the existing dock with a new concrete dock.
Councilman Richard Bailey did not favor the immediate replacement of the dock, but rather to maintain it through the end of its useful life of approximately 13 years. The initial cost of this option was estimated to be between $200,000 and $300,000. Councilwoman Barbara Denny also did not support immediately replacing the existing dock, but rather retrofitting it to bring it into compliance with the requirements of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and California Department of Boating and Waterways (DBAW) standards. This option would eliminate four of the existing boat slips and would be somewhat more expensive than simply maintaining the existing dock.
A factor in the deliberations was the estimated Net Present Value (NPV) of each of the alternatives. These estimates took into consideration the initial and on-going costs of the option and the income from the rental of the boat slips for 40 years, which is when it is estimated that the city’s lease with the Port Authority will expire. The present lease will expire in 2036 and a successor lease is assumed to end in 2052.
The vote was three to two to move ahead with option 2A with Bailey and Denny voting no. This option will replace the existing dock with a new concrete dock. The number of boat slips will not be increased, but the rentable linear feet of dock will increase from 1,303 to 1,360 and the overall length of the dock will increase by 62 feet. The new dock will have a smaller total surface area than the existing dock, allow existing tenants to continue to be accommodated, require only limited dredging with limited impact on the eel grass, not change the number of small boats that will be accommodated, and bring the dock into compliance with both ADA and DBAW standards. The estimated NPV of this option is $3,402,953 compared to $2,756,620 for the maintenance option.
The presentation to the Council also included proposals for construction of a public dock. Three options were presented. The least costly would be a dock in proximity to the existing public boat launch. In the end the Council declined to take action on the proposal to construct a public dock pending further review and public input.
The next step regarding implementation of the approved alternative for replacement of Dock C is for the city staff to work with the Port Authority, which will be the lead agency for California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) processing and obtaining the required permits. The Port Master Plan will need to be amended and numerous permits will be required. This process is expected to take up to three years. The presentation that was made to the Council on Dock C and the proposed public dock appears at the end of this article.
The Council accepted the staff report that describes five alternatives for how the new senior center could be managed: city owned/non-profit organization operated; city owned/contractor- concessionaire operated; city owned and operated, which is the most common model; city/non-profit partnership with a city manager and non-profit running the programs; and some combination of the foregoing alternatives. The recommended model, which was taken under advisement by the Council, is a city/non-profit partnership. This option was supported by several members of the public, who spoke on the subject.
Noted in the discussion was the potential for a significant increase in the cost of operation of the senior center to the city, which could be as much as $200,000 per year. Councilman Ovrom noted that the objective of the Recreation Department is to cover between 40 and 50 percent of its costs through the fees it charges and other revenue. He suggested that this should be the same objective for the senior center. Mayor Tanaka noted that senior citizens are on fixed incomes and therefore may be less able to pay for recreational activities.
The ability to raise revenue by renting the new center for private use was discussed. There was general agreement that it would be appropriate, if it did not detract from programs for the senior citizens. Councilman Woiwode also raised the issue of both residents and non-residents paying the same amount to belong to the senior association. Since the operating costs of the center has the potential for being substantially underwritten by the city, he stated that this topic should be revisited in the future.
In the discussion it was proposed that the vacant Coromart building on Orange Avenue could be considered as either an interim home for the senior center during construction of the new center or as an alternative location for the center. The idea did not get any traction and was not pursued.
Alternative floor plans for the new senior center will be presented to the Council at its next meeting. Council Member Bailey recommended that the staff should present the plans to civic groups and post the plans in the library in order to gather additional public input. Mayor Tanaka stated that he believes that the public has had ample opportunity to comment on the plans for the new center. It was unclear whether the plans will be shared with the public.
City staff presented its plans for improvements to the bridge toll plaza. In their presentation it was noted that only six residents attended the public workshop at which the proposed design was presented. The presentation that was made at the workshop is provided at the end of this article.
The position of the Coronado Transportation Commission (CTC) on the proposed improvements was also presented. The CTC recommended that no further action should be taken to implement the proposed improvements. The budget of $840,000 is too small to provide an appropriate entrance to the city. Further, the proposed design has been unreasonably constrained by the requirements imposed on it by Caltrans, which include restrictions on potential traffic calming measures and insistence on retaining its maintenance yard in the middle of the plaza.
Further, the CTC recommended that the Council should establish a committee to assist the city staff in additional outreach to the citizens of Coronado, develop a vision for improvement of the toll plaza as the primary entrance to the city, and determine a recommended path forward for the implementation of these improvements. The CTC also recommended that the committee should be composed of a representative from the Transportation Commission, Design Review Commission, Planning Commission, Historic Preservation Commission, Cultural Arts Commission, Bicycle Advisory Committee, and the Street Tree Committee.
In its recommendation the CTC noted that these commissions and committees are valuable resources to the city. A committee composed of representatives from these commissions and committees would be instrumental in encouraging public participation in defining the vision for the entrance to the city and the process for making the improvements to the toll plaza a reality. Further, the commission recommended that the committee should include Ms. Liza Butler based on her experience with development of The Silver Strand Landscape Enhancement Plan and the city’s Director of Public Services should participate on the committee.
Mayor Tanaka indicated that he was prepared to move ahead with the proposed improvements and did not feel that Caltrans can be convinced to be more cooperative and therefore the design may represent the best that can be hoped for. Councilmen Ovrom and Woiwode indicated that they are not prepared to give up on Caltrans. Councilmen Bailey and Woiwode said that it is necessary to coordinate planned improvements to the toll plaza with any improvements to 3rd and 4th Streets that are identified in the recently authorized study of the traffic issues on 3rd and 4th and potential solutions to these issues. Councilwoman Denny objected to the use of toll settlement funding to pay for improvements to the toll plaza. The discussion culminated in the creation of a subcommittee of the Council consisting of Councilmen Woiwode and Bailey. The subcommittee will follow up on the recommendations of the CTC to determine a path forward for improvements to the toll plaza.
During oral communications members of the public spoke out against world hunger; expressed concern about the outbreak of ring worm at the Coronado Animal Shelter, the need to find temporary homes before November 18th for the animals that will dislocated while the shelter is disinfected, and the apparent understaffing of the shelter; provided an update on the activities of the city’s visitor center; thanked the mayor, police chief, and others for their participation in the Coronado SAFE fashion show; expressed concern about fires on the beach and the need to better maintain the beach; and stated that there are less expensive ways to increase the safety at the entrance to the Cays than the solutions that are being considered, that the next public meeting on the Cays entrance should be held in the village, and that safety at all the bike path roadway intersections on the Strand needs to be addressed.
In other business the Council agreed that the City Clerk should post a list of upcoming vacancies on local boards, commissions, and committees at City Hall and the library; accepted a report on staggering the terms of commission and committee members of the Bicycle Advisory Committee, Cultural Arts Commission, and the Transportation Commission; authorized the city staff to advertise for the replacement of the carpet and partition fabric in the Nautilus Room and to carpet the corridor in the Community Center; accepted the street, curb, and gutter FY 11/12 project; approved free parking in all city commercial zones from December 9th through December 27th; agreed to allow wine and beer to be served in the Winn Room during the annual holiday party for library volunteers and one other event in the Winn Room per year; agreed to designate additional red curb on the southeast side of 3rd Street between D and E Avenues; authorized the City Manager to execute a golf services professional services agreement with Ronald Yarbrough DBA Ron Yarbrough Pro Shop, Inc.; accepted the Next Generation 800MHz Regional Communications System (RCS) and authorized the City Manager to represent the city in the implementation of the Next Generation RCS System; received a report and directed city staff to develop a comprehensive rate structure to meet the obligations of the Golf Enterprise Fund; approved the process, schedule, and position specifications for recruitment and selection of an appointee to the San Diego Port Commission; and agreed to consider a request from Councilwoman Denny to improve the beach fire policy in order to keep the Coronado beach clean.
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The Residential Reporter is the official publication of the Coronado Community Association of Neighbors (Coronado CAN!). This article is reprinted by permission as part of a collaboration between Coronado CAN! and eCoronado.com to enable residents to stay more informed about civic issues, with the ultimate goal of better protecting and preserving Coronado’s small town character and charm.
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