Energetically and adorably was the way the Girl Scouts started off this week’s city council meeting as they lead the Pledge of Allegiance and gifted thin mint cookies to the councilmembers.
They also received a proclamation from Mayor Bailey honoring March 8 through 14 as “Girl Scout Week.” This 108-year-old organization has a distinguished history and boasts 300 girl and adult members in Coronado. The scrumptious cookie sales will be ending on March 8 so don’t forget to stock up on your favorites.
Mayor Bailey then gave a proclamation announcing March 3, 2020 as “Captain Timothy J. Slentz Day.” Captain Slentz assumed command of Naval Base Coronado in August 2018 and is now retiring from the U.S. Navy. Mayor Bailey thanked him for his service and wished him well as he retires in Coronado.
The gas-powered leaf blower ordinance was the topic of the City Manager’s Report where King discussed publicity plans to get the word out for the January 1, 2021 effective date. There is information on the city’s website, as well as working with manufacturers of gas-powered leaf blowers on displays, promotions at Earth Day at the Library and with Emerald Keepers and the Flower Show, posters at city facilities, video ads on Coronado TV, a variety of advertisements and emails to landscape contractors, as well as specials at the hardware stores for Father’s Day. “We think with all of these things, we will be able to saturate the community with this information adequately,” he said.
The Villa Capri Hotel project is moving forward as the council unanimously approved a mitigated negative declaration and approval of a special use permit, parking plan and coqstal development permit. Senior Planner Jesse Brown pointed out that the original 15-room hotel built in 1956 is not historic and thus able to be demolished and replaced with a new four-story hotel with 40 rooms, which will include a rooftop bar and restaurant and underground parking with a car elevator and an ADA space totaling 22 parking spaces. The two neon signs were historically designated in 1998 and will be incorporated into the project.
Parking was the most discussed topic because the FAR proposed is 2.7 which is allowed due to no harmful effects on the environment quality as shown by the MND and provisions the hotel has put in place to mitigate parking needs. The hotel proposes free complimentary golf cart transportation on the island, free bicycles for guests, computer access for guests in the lobby and bicycle racks, lockers and shower facilities for employees. Councilmember Sandke said that “this has been a model project between the city and the developer.” All the council agreed that the developers have made every effort to best use the space and mitigate any negative effects.
Because the city has received two existing hotel expansion proposals and expects more in the future, Brown was up once again to present a report on what adopting a resolution approving low-cost visitor accommodations would entail. The city’s Local Coastal Program Land Use Plan (LCP) calls for the city to “Maintain the quality and number of existing visitor accommodations at or above their present levels and encourage the provision of new low-cost visitor accommodations and the expansion of existing low-cost visitor accommodations.” Brown pointed out that developers would need to provide low-cost overnight accommodation options, generally 10 percent of the total number of new rooms, or they can opt to pay an in-lieu fee of $30,000 per room. The council unanimously voted to adopt this resolution.
Jim Krueger, Director of Administrative Services, presented the multi-year financial forecast through 2025 emphasizing that this is a conservative forecast and he expects that the numbers could actually be better than projected. He reported that total revenues are projected to increase from $60.6 million in fiscal year 2019-20 to a total of $70.2 million, a 3.2 percent increase, in fiscal year 2024-25. The revenue forecast for fiscal year 2020-21 assumes continuing growth in property taxes with modest increases or no increases in most other categories. Property tax revenue is projected to increase from the current level for fiscal year 2019-20 of $33.01 million to $41.1 million in fiscal year 2024-25, a projected average annual increase of 4.9 percent per year for the five-year period compared to an average of 5.2 percent in the prior two fiscal years. Sales tax revenue is projected to decrease in fiscal year 2019-20 due to the remodeling of the Hotel Del Coronado, which will result in modest increases as phases are completed over the next five years. Transient Occupancy Taxes (TOT) are projected to stabilize with a significant increase when the Hotel Del Coronado master plan is completed.
Other highlights include: operating expenditures for the General Fund are projected to increase by an annual average of 3.1 percent ($57.3 million in fiscal year 2020-21 and $64.5 million in fiscal year 2024-25) over the next five years, and personnel costs are expected to increase by $6.6 million to $38.2 million (an average increase of 4.14 percent) through fiscal year 2024-25.
”One of the main objectives of our five year financial forecast is to plan ahead for financial risks. All California cities face rising pension costs. Our city has taken a prudent approach to budget more than what CalPERS bills for annual pension costs and uses these amounts to make annual deposits into a special trust account. These deposits will offset future cost increases from CalPERS and are projected to total $24 million by the year 2025. Another risk the City faces is how to plan for economic slowdowns or emergencies. We’ve set aside some reserves to deal with these risks including more than $31 million for emergencies, $4 million for future Capital Projects and $500,000 for Mills Act revenue commitments . All of these reserves are available to act as shock absorbers should the City face any extreme economic slowdowns,” said Krueger. Councilmember Donovan commented, “This is an encouraging report and the conservative forecasting is appreciated.”
The last, but one of the most important items, was City Manager King’s presentation of the Major City Goals and workload report. He listed the highest priority goals as:
- Fiscal sustainability and responsibility
- Quality of life
- Protect Coronado brand
- Mobility
- Environmental sustainability
- Economic vitality
⇒ To see the full City Goals list, click here ⇐
These goals come with an impressive list of projects and accomplishments too numerous to list, but he highlighted the new computer aided records management system, the 911 texting system hopefully to be implemented in 2021, IPS Parking Meter System changes, Fire Services working with the Navy Coastal Campus, park upgrades and Caltrans relinquishment under Public Services and Engineering, and many other areas in the Community Development, Library Services and Administrative Services, including labor agreements and the new enterprise accounting system. Councilmember Donovan asked to have the sentiment “maintain residential quality of life and small town atmosphere” incorporated into the plan and Councilmember Benzian encouraged all residents to read this to be more informed. This report was unanimously accepted and showed that the City has a myriad of completed ongoing and future projects designed to enhance the quality of life in Coronado.
Councilmember Donovan asked for the free summer shuttle approval to be removed from the Consent Calendar based on Coronado Cays residents’ comments. City Manager Blair King gave details on the annual program which will cost $158,342 and run again from Memorial Day through Labor Day. He pointed out that Cays ridership doesn’t justify a dedicated shuttle but 1,000 San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) passes will be purchased for distribution to the Coronado Cays residents through the Homeowners Association (HOA). King said that the regular Fourth of July shuttle will also be provided, and additional passes will be purchased if needed. Mayor Bailey asked King to work with the HOA to make it easy for residents to obtain the passes. This program was unanimously approved, with Councilmember Heinze absent from the meeting. King also said festive shirts may be purchased for bus drivers to promote the program and they are looking into expanding it to a year-round program, so stay tuned for future updates.
