NEWPORT BEACH CITY COUNCIL WRAP-UP

Here are some of the decisions coming out of the Newport Beach City

Council meeting Tuesday.

WHAT HAPPENED:

A $25,000-a-year pay increase was approved for City Manager Homer

Bludau. Bludau was hired at a reduced salary, officials said.

“We had to see whether he could do the job, and he has,” Councilman

Dennis O’Neil said.

City officials conducted a survey of city manager salaries in 16 other

Orange County cities and determined that a substantial increase was

necessary to bring Bludau’s salary up to competitive rates.

WHAT IT MEANS:

Bludau’s salary will go from $145,000 to $170,000. A $3,600 car

allowance will continue unchanged.

WHAT THEY SAID:

“I think he deserves a raise,” said Santa Ana Heights resident Russell

Niewiarowski.

Vote: 6/0 (Councilman Gary Proctor absent)

WHAT HAPPENED:

Work on San Miguel Drive has been completed but not to everyone’s

satisfaction. As the council considered a routine item to formalize

completion of $550,000 in road work there, one resident said the road

surface isn’t level and that it’s hard to drive on. Public Works Director

Steve Badum said there were some minor grading problems, but that it had

been determined that the problems were too minor to justify starting the

work over. Further, he said, contractor All American Asphalt Inc. does

not accept blame for the imperfections, so it would be difficult to

assign responsibility for repairs.

WHAT IT MEANS:

Councilman John Heffernan, whose district includes the repaved

roadway, encouraged residents to register their feelings about the

roadway through his link on the city’s Web site at

www.city.newport-beach.ca.us/council.html. Ultimately, the council

approved the motion to receive and file the paperwork, but if enough

people say the city got a bad deal, the issue could come back.

WHAT THEY SAID:

“No way should we pay $550,000 for this road in the condition that

it’s in,” resident Dolores Otting said.

Vote: 6/0

WHAT HAPPENED:

Council members agreed that a proposed deal with the Orange County

Transit Authority to provide more senior transportation was a good deal.

The council approved a motion to enter into an agreement with the agency

to accept $10,777 in county funds to pay for an administrative person and

a driver for the senior transportation program. The city also agreed to

buy a new van out of funds already available and earmarked in the budget

for the Community Services Department.

WHAT IT MEANS:

Transportation for seniors in the city will grow along with the city’s

aging population.

Vote: 6/0

SOUNDING OFF

“Can we please keep the ficus trees on Main Street in Balboa?” --

Elaine Lindhof, one of about a half-dozen peninsula residents and

merchants who spoke during the public comment period about plans to

removed ficus trees in the area.

NEXT MEETING

WHEN: 7 p.m. April 9

WHERE: City Council chambers at City Hall, 3300 Newport Blvd.