With all members in attendance, the City Council wrapped up a short agenda in about a half hour this week. The consent calendar was unanimously approved with highlights including awarding a nearly $200,000 contract to Grace Builders Inc. for the perimeter wall repair in the Coronado Cays, and entering into a three-year agreement for State Lobbyist Services with Emanuels Jones and Associates.
Several residents spoke up during Oral Communication, one of which was Paul Salerni who proposed additional restrooms for Spreckels Park during the summer Concerts in the Park, citing lines of up to 36 people on those Sunday evenings. He said that estimated capital costs to install two additional restrooms would be $190,000, with an additional $12,000 in yearly operation and maintenance costs. City Manager Blair King addressed this by saying that city staff recently met with the Coronado Promenade Concerts (CPC) board and both parties feel that the restroom temporarily located on the 7th Street during the summer months side is underutilized. To better communicate this to concert goers, the CPC will include a restroom map in their program and make announcements at the beginning of each event.
Next, the City Council unanimously approved a request from the Coronado Real Estate Association (CREA), of which Councilmember Benzian is a member, but he did not need to abstain from voting. CREA asked the city to waive the Glorietta Bay Park permit fee, maximum capacity rules, allow them to pay the non-profit fees associated with the rental of the club room, and to lift the alcohol ban for their annual Paddle Board Race. The 2020 event is not a city-sponsored event, but rather a local non-profit event, with proceeds donated by CREA in memory of Lorton Mitchell to the Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma Research Foundation and Stan Searfus to Coronado Surfing Association. The Mayor thanked CREA for this great annual event.
Lastly, the Mayor gave a brief update in council reports on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) $300 million bill recently signed by President Trump. All of this money will be overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and will be used exclusively to solve the sewage issues in the Tijuana River Valley (TRV). The mayor said this is validation that the council took the right stance on this issue and this significant funding will go a long way to mitigate the problems and help keep our local beaches clean.
