Council prepares to party

Alicia Robinson

Plans for the city’s 100th birthday continue to move forward, but not

at full speed.

A Rose Parade float and various events are planned to honor the

city’s centennial, which is officially Sept. 1, 2006. At the moment,

the price tag is more than $890,000. The city will likely be asked to

pay only about $200,000 of that, but council members Tuesday balked

at committing money beyond the current fiscal year.

“This is a heck of a lot of money for a party, guys,” Councilman

Tod Ridgeway said. “I’m just trying to be fiscally responsible.”

After voting down an motion to tentatively commit $525,700 through

the 2005-06 fiscal year, the council agreed to spend just $175,700 in

this fiscal year and hire Dinwiddie Events of Newport Beach for

centennial-event planning.

While much of the centennial funding is expected to come from

private sources, it will funnel through city accounts. The bulk of

the $893,200 for Newport’s centennial events could still come from

the 2005-06 budget, which the city is working on now.

Councilman John Heffernan echoed Ridgeway’s concerns, noting that

his constituents aren’t interested in spending money on the city’s

centennial. Councilwoman Leslie Daigle and Councilman Dick Nichols

also voted against committing money in 2005-06.

But if the city doesn’t pledge enough money upfront, it’s not

likely to raise the desired amount of funds, Mayor Steve Bromberg

said.

“If we’re going to do this and make representations to future

sponsors and contractors, we have to show them this [commitment] is

here,” Bromberg said. “They’re going to want to see more than a

slight commitment.”

A steering committee and volunteers already have begun working to

put together some memorable events, with suggestions including a

beach party this October, a carnival in the spring and a culminating

event in October 2006.

The council already approved spending about $114,000 to publish a

commemorative book. That cost should be more than repaid by an

estimated $301,000 in revenue from book sales.

While much of the centennial funding is expected to come from

private sources, it will funnel through city accounts. The bulk of

the $893,200 for Newport’s centennial events will be in the 2005-06

budget, which the city is working on now.

By comparison, the city kicked in $70,000 for Corona del Mar’s

centennial in 2004, Corona del Mar centennial executive director

Peggy Fort said. With seven major events and a handful of smaller

ones, the village’s business and community leaders ended up with a

profit of $100,000 that will be devoted to creating a centennial

plaza at East Coast Highway and Marguerite Avenue, Fort said.

Newport centennial officials expect to raise $528,900 in the

upcoming fiscal year, and other funding for events and marketing will

come from additional sponsorships, donations and ticket sales.