The April 18th City Council meeting included four different City proclamations, a public hearing reauthorizing the levying of assessments on four hotels, the Coronado Mobility Commission’s Annual Report and Work Plan, and council reports on Interagency Committee and board assignments. Mayor Richard Bailey participated remotely from Boston with Councilmember Casey Tanaka serving as Mayor Pro Tem.
Mayor Pro Tem Tanaka announced the week of April 23 – April 29, 2023 as National Library Week in the City of Coronado. Julie Webb, Chair of the Library Board of Trustees, represented the Coronado Public Library for this proclamation.
Webb shared, “Our library is such a gem and the community that supports it is what makes the library possible to reach the heights and the audience that it has reached. So it’s really due to librarians and our supporting people in the city, city council, teamwork, and Friends of the Library that we’ve been able to get here.”
Senior Patrol members Doug and Margaret Wallace were present as Mayor Pro Tem Tanaka next issued April 16 – April 23, 2023 as National Volunteer Week. Reserve police officers, senior volunteers, and chaplains provide numerous services to the City of Coronado answering calls for service, performing routine patrol shifts, assisting during special events, conducting vehicle patrols, and responding to emergency callouts. Senior volunteers have contributed 3,485 hours of service, and chaplains dedicate their time and service by making themselves available 24 hours a day to provide support to members of the police services department. Overall, dedicated volunteers selflessly serve the community of Coronado, and this proclamation is just a small act of recognition that they receive from the City.
The communications center is the backbone of any public safety organization’s ability to provide emergency services to their community, and the public safety communications center plays a vital role during critical incidents. In 2022, Coronado’s dispatcher personnel answered 8,767 911 phone calls and handled 48,116 incidents. Dispatcher Rebecca Jones was present when Mayor Pro Tem Tanaka announced April 16 – April 23, 2023, as National Public Safety Telecommunications Week.
Jones shared, “On behalf of all my colleagues I would like to say thank you to the city council for all your support and recognition during this week. We have the pleasure of serving our citizens of Coronado, which makes it such a great place to work.”
The last proclamation was for Coronado Mental Wellness Month which will be the month of May 2023. Georgia Ferrell and fellow members of Safe Harbor Coronado were present to accept the proclamation. Safe Harbor provides mental health support to members of the community, especially students and families.
The next item on the agenda was the Public Hearing for the Assessee Protest Hearing and Adoption of “A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Coronado, California, Reauthorizing the Levying of Assessments During Fiscal Year 2023-24 on four hotel businesses (Hotel Del Coronado, Glorietta Bay Inn, Coronado Island Marriott Resort & Spa, and Loews Coronado Bay Resort) Within Coronado Tourism Improvement District I and II,” (i.e. a one percent assessment is paid by overnight guests at the four Coronado resorts to fund Discover Coronado). Assistant City Manager Tony Winney provided a brief report on this issue, and the City Council unanimously approved the annual report submitted by the CTID advisory board.
Councilmember Carrie Downey shared, “I have been impressed at everything that Discover Coronado did to get the businesses and the hotels through our recent pandemic, and I am happy to move approval of renewing the CTID.”
The next item on the agenda was a request to accept the Coronado Mobility Commission’s Annual Report for the Fiscal Year 2022 and its proposed Work Plan for 2023. Chairman Dr. Howard Somers presented the case to the City Council.
“The members of the commission really appreciate the ability to actually feel like we are being heard, and that’s a change over the last few years,” Chairman Somers shared. “First, you should know that there has been tremendous turnover on the commission not only amongst staff, but amongst members of the commission. Since the beginning of 2022 we have had a turnover of four members.”
Chairman Somers addressed the continuing concern for e-bikes as well as traffic calming and active transportation issues, which brought up some comments from council members.
Councilmember Mike Donovan noted, “I think this may be a good example on where there’s a miscommunication on what we’re talking about here. The way we structured this is to provide, first of all, what I refer to as a toolbox of potential traffic calming options like roundabouts and landscaping. The second part of a traffic calming plan would be to identify and try to prioritize where we ought to be focusing our attention to be most efficient in our use of assets and resources.”
Councilmember Donovan promptly offered his support and help in completing a more thorough examination and analysis of traffic calming options.
“I’d be happy to volunteer to get together with you and whoever you assign to do this from the commission. I’d be happy to go speak at the commission to provide public input. I think we’ve got 80 or 90 percent of what we need and we just need to pull it together,” Donovan shared.
Chairman Somers then provided information on the mobility commission’s new online self-reporting program on the city’s website. He also shared information about possible bike parking options outside of businesses in order to ebb the flow of traffic and congestion, especially during holidays and major city events.
The last item on the agenda was Council Reports on Inter-Agency Committee and Board Assignments. Councilmember John Duncan reported that on April 13, he, along with Mayor Bailey and the Director of Public Services Leon Firsht, met with the California Department of Transportation Director Gustavo Dallarda to discuss the status of the council’s previous issues. The agenda included items such as traffic and safety issues, the gateway toll plaza, traffic signal coordination, the Shores median, the Avenida De Las Arenas pedestrian crossing, and the suicide prevention barrier on the San Diego – Coronado Bridge.
Councilmember Duncan communicated, “The great news to me from the meeting is that Caltrans expressed openness to almost every single thing that we raised and expressed the desire to work on them. Obviously these issues will be coming back to council through our staff and in appropriate fashion, but I just thought that it was appropriate for everyone on council and for the public to know that there was a renewed push and coordination.”
The next City Council meeting will be held on May 2.
