The city council approved taking control of specific traffic signals near the Naval Amphibious Base (NAB) and replacing them with an adaptive signaling system to alleviate early morning traffic congestion on the Strand. It also authorized the city manager to began negotiating a contract with Siemens Industry. The vote was 4-1, with City Councilman Mike Donovan casting the no vote.
He and City Councilman Bill Sandke wanted to reopen the bidding process in hopes of getting a more sophisticated system. “We may get a better product at a better cost,” Donovan said.
The city engineering staff deemed that unnecessary. “This is one traffic signal that needs coordination. We don’t need a super sophisticated system,” said Cliff Maurer, Director of Public Services and Engineering.
Maurer also objected to the call to reopen the bidding process. “We need to have solution in place by the end of August,” he said. Having to review a new set of proposals would tax his small engineering staff.
The city had selected Siemens over three other firms because it had the capacity to design, install and maintain the signals. The others did not.
Donovan initiated a discussion about the role of the Cultural Arts Commission before joining the rest of the council in accepting its 2016 annual report.
While he lauded the commission’s educational and public arts efforts, he worried that its activities, more often than not, were promoting Coronado as as arts destination. Let’s not put out “another magnet to bring other people to town,” he said.
There was some concern on the council that the arts commission’s plans were too ambitious and that not all of them had community support. The banners on Orange Avenue were singled out.
The Cultural Arts Commission is one of the city’s newest and arguably its most active. It has many high profile accomplishments. This past year alone it oversaw a number of public arts projects that raised residents’ awareness of the arts.
It commissioned and installed “First Ashore” statue which commemorates the Navy’s UDTs and SEALS. It organized a writer’s conference and a “community read.” It opened the C3 Gallery, which features the work of local artists; provided content for Coronado TV; produced and promoted a Tenth Anniversary concert by Musica Vitale and a Concert on the Green at the Municipal Golf Course.
Additionally, the council unanimously voted to:
- Postpone the routine destruction of City Documents. City Councilwoman Carrie Downey requested the delay so that the electronic documents could also be considered.
- Begin emergency repairs on the Glorietta Sewer Main without a competitive bidding process.
- Review the city’s Transitional Housing ordinance at a future meeting. These facilities shelter people undergoing rehabilitation or people escaping an abusive environment.
- Wrap the Portable Restroom Trailers slated for Spreckels Park with images of the Coronado Railroad cars and the Tent City Carousel.
- Send a letter of support for a bill sponsored by State Senator Ben Hueso that would fund a Safety Barrier on the San Diego Coronado Bridge.
- Without any recession, approve four Condominium Conversions in the seven, eight and nine hundred blocks of G, E and F Avenues. All are in the multifamily residential zone.
