INSIDE CITY HALL Here are some decisions...

INSIDE CITY HALL

Here are some decisions coming out of Tuesday’s City Council

meeting.

CITY ATTORNEY RECRUITING

The council got a brief update on the efforts to replace City

Atty. Bob Burnham, who plans to retire July 1. Staff members reported

that an executive search firm had been hired to identify candidates.

WHAT IT MEANS

It’s not likely that the city will release the names of the

candidates during the interview process. Often, applicants want their

names kept confidential, city officials said. State open-meeting laws

permit city officials to make hiring decisions in closed-door

meetings.

PLACING UTILITIES UNDERGROUND

A plan to remove light poles from Balboa Boulevard, Bay Avenue and

Ocean Front between Adams and A streets failed Tuesday after property

owners in the area voted against forming an assessment district. The

council held a public hearing on the matter while experts tabulated

votes of the residents and business owners in the area. Property

owners would have paid anywhere from $965 to $53,626 over 15 years to

pay back bonds used to finance the $1,305,761 in work. Of the

property owners in the proposed district, 54% voted against the plan.

The council did not get an opportunity to vote on forming the

assessment district because the property owners voted against it.

WHAT IT MEANS

Mayor Tod Ridgeway said he believed that the decision would harm

the plans to continue revitalization of Balboa Village.

WHAT THEY SAID:

“I’m ashamed of the people who voted no,” Mayor Tod Ridgeway said.

“If you didn’t have the foresight to see that this was being done for

your benefit, shame on you.”

CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE

It’s officially a party. The City Council has created a committee

to begin planning festivities for the city’s 100th anniversary, which

will take place in 2006. Councilmen Don Webb, Steve Bromberg and Gary

Adams make up the new committee.

WHAT IT MEANS:

The new committee will be charged with getting citizens involved

in the planning of centennial events. They will also work on

budgeting the cost to the city for the events and other commemorative

items.