Like some Asian food, this City Council meeting was sweet and sour. The meeting started with the sweetness of today being proclaimed ‘Linda K. Hascup Day‘ in honor of her retirement as City Clerk. Mayor Tanaka noted Linda’s 14 years of selfless devotion to duty to Coronado, which included riding herd on 230 regular and special Council meetings and more than 900 requests for public records.
The consent calendar approvals included payment of up to $43,000 for the design of the pump station upgrades at Pine Street, placement of a yield sign on Visalia Row at Margarita Avenue, and authorization to advertise the fire station dorm remodel project. There were several items on the consent calendar that received special attention. One item that received only few words of discussion, but may lead to considerable debate in the future, related to a plan to repair the tennis court on 6th Avenue. The tennis court work will not go forward. Mayor Tanaka said that repairing the tennis court impacts other projects in the area; namely, alternatives for parking for the new senior center.
Pulled for further discussion was the installation of “Keep Clear” pavement markings at the intersection of Orange Avenue at Second Street. It had been recommended that crosswalk markings not be painted on Orange Avenue. Councilmember Woiwode cited a letter from Walk San Diego which supports crosswalk markings to increase pedestrian safety. Discussion noted some conflicting research on this subject. The Council chose to forego painting the crosswalk markings at this time and allow staff to recommend to Council by February a general plan for crosswalks around Coronado.
An update was provided on the plan to operate the City’s government cable television channel in a joint venture with the Coronado Unified School District.
One citizen spoke during the oral communications segment about bicyclists acting as if traffic laws do not apply to them, while “they want to be treated as a special needs” group with parking corrals, having the Cays entrance wall cut down, etcetera.
The City Manager displayed the new signs that will be placed in the business district. The current signs read “no bicycling..skateboarding..skating on sidewalks”. What will be prominently displayed on top of the new sign is a portion that reads “no smoking on public property”. Earlier Coronado CAN! published a related article with a picture of the new signs.
A major part of the Council meeting was devoted to appointing new members to various committees and commissions. Appointed to 3 year terms were: Robert Williams to the Civil Service Commission; Beth Bakke to the Bicycle Advisory Committee; Emily Talbert to the Historic Resource Commission; William Sandke to the Planning Commission.
Sweetness is more prominent when contrasted with sourness. Unfortunately, in wrapping up the Council meeting, sourness was a dominant, final flavor. There were contentious discussions about changes to policies related to the Audit Subcommittee of the Council. While Councilmember Denny had several points of disagreement with the changes being proposed, perhaps the most significant point of contention was the proposed removal of the duty of the Subcommittee to approve checks written before they are signed. Councilmember Ovrom said “it isn’t a transparency issue” because the bill payments are written into the agenda for the public to see in advance of the Council meetings. Mayor Tanaka voiced frustration about this matter again being discussed at length by Councilmember Denny despite it being attended to in 2 previous Council meetings. The 4 to 1 will result in changes to the Coronado Municipal Code regarding the duties of and assignments to the Auditing Committee.
You can watch a replay of this drama and other exciting City meetings if you’re interested…
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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.
To read more articles like this one or learn more about this non-profit, non-partisan, all-volunteer organization, visit the Coronado CAN! website.
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Coronado CAN! works to make it easier for registered voters and residents in the 92118 zip code to be well informed about issues that are of interest to them, to speak for themselves both individually and collectively with the strongest possible voice, and to enhance the communication government depends upon to be able to most effectively serve their electorate, the taxpayers, and the community as a whole. Learn more about Coronado CAN!
