ON THE AGENDA Here are some items...

ON THE AGENDA

Here are some items to be considered by the Newport Beach City

Council tonight.

DINGHY STORAGE

An idea that’s long been simmering in the city’s Harbor Commission

will have its first audience with the council when it considers in

its study session whether to add dinghy storage racks to several

locations in the city. The idea is to give holders of offshore

mooring permits a place to store their dinghies, which they use to

access their boats offshore. The plan would also lengthen the allowed

time for docking boats and dinghies at some piers.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Tonight’s item is for discussion only; no action will be taken.

But council members might decide to bring the matter back for a

formal vote at a future council meeting.

BUCK GULLY SAFETY

Also in the study session, the council will hear a presentation by

Fire Chief Tim Riley on the state of fire safety in Buck Gully. Riley

will present the department’s view on how homes near Buck Gully and

in Corona del Mar could be better protected in case of a fire. Most

of their proposals involve fire-safe landscaping.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The ideas the chief is proposing would, if implemented, be paid

for in part by residents. And because it’s always difficult to get

unanimous support from residents on something that will cost them

money, the matter could be a little contentious. The council won’t

take any action tonight. It could ask to have the matter come back on

a regular agenda for formal action.

NEW MAYOR

At the last meeting of every year, the City Council decides who

will be mayor for the next year, who will be vice mayor and where

they will all sit on the dais.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Insiders say that Vice Mayor Tod Ridgeway is a likely pick for

mayor, if for no reason other than he now occupies the job that

usually leads to mayor. He was also mayor in 2002. The question of

who will be the vice mayor in 2004 is a little harder to answer. Some

say it’s likely to be either John Heffernan or Gary Adams.

SPHERE ISSUES COMMITTEE

The second part of the city’s two-pronged plan to extend control

over some county facilities is on the agenda. At its last meeting,

the council voted to send a letter to county leaders asking them to

sit down with the city and discuss how the city might play a role in

nearby tidelands, the Coyote Canyon Landfill, John Wayne Airport and

Santa Ana Heights redevelopment. Tonight, they’ll vote on creating a

“Sphere Issues Committee” to further explore what the city could do

to better control these county facilities.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Tonight’s agenda item would only create the committee. Officials

would decide later whether to take action on any of these “sphere

issues.” For that reason, it’s likely tonight’s item will be

approved.

-- Compiled by June Casagrande