Rep. Rouda supports Surfside sand replenishment
Editor’s note: If you have a question about a city issue—or a suggestion for filing a Public Records Act request—email Associate Editor Charles M. Kelly at editor2@sunnews.org.
Several park playgrounds are due for upgrades
Seal Beach is looking at upgrading city parks. No specific parks have been selected yet.
Background: The city of Seal Beach has a five-year “capital improvement program” (construction and maintenance program) that includes a city-wide “Annual Playground Replacement Program” to “replace existing, worn playground equipment with new at various City playgrounds,” according to page 27 of the 2019-2020 to 2023-2014 CIP document. (It’s available on the city website.)
“The playgrounds have not been identified but we plan to continue the program until all playgrounds have been rehabbed,” wrote Recreation Manager Tim Kelsey in a recent email to the Sun. Kelsey recently acknowledged this week that some Seal Beach park playgrounds are getting old.
“This year, we’ll be doing the design component,” said Kelsey, referring to the stages of work on the park playground projects, during a Monday interview at City Hall. In related news, the City Council on Monday, authorized the city manager to submit a resolution from Seal Beach to participate in a state program to fund parks and water projects.
Last year, voters approved Proposition 68, a $4 billion bond, according to Kelsey’s staff report to the Oct. 28 council meeting.
Kelsey told the Sun that the city could get a minimum of $200,000 from the Prop 68 Per Capita Program. According to Kelsey, that money would go to expediting the replacement of Seal Beach playground equipment.
Kelsey said it is not a competitive grant. “We should be receiving money on this one,” Kelsey said.
“The Per Capita Program allows multiple applications to be submitted for different projects but only requires one resolution,” Kelsey wrote in the staff report. “At this time, project applications are not required to be submitted to the State,” Kelsey wrote.
The resolution was approved by the City Council Monday, Oct. 28. It was an item on the Consent Calendar.
Sand replenishment
Seal Beach’s Surfside Colony beach is overdue for sand replenishment. In the past, the Federal Government has funded the project. However, the Army Corps of Engineers at this time has not yet funded the project.
Congressman Harley Rouda, of the 48th District, spoke in favor of the Surfside sand replenishment project on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday, Oct. 28. He mistakenly placed Surfside in Sunset Beach. (Actually, it’s part of Seal Beach.)
“Due to flood control protections, and harbor works, made by the Federal government, the 17-mile long shoreline between Anaheim Bay and Newport Bay no longer receives a natural supply of sand,” Rouda said.
“As a result, Congress authorized the Surfside/Sunset Project in 1962 to provide for artificial beach nourishment to stabilize affected shorelines,” he said.
“Stage 13 of this project will combat continued coastline erosion and protect coastal properties,” Rouda said. “Unfortunately, the Federal government has neglected the Surfside/Sunset Project in recent years, which has prevented this project from moving forward. This project has not been funded by the Federal government for 11 years. Let me repeat, 11 years.” He said he would advocate for the Army Corps of Engineers to prioritize the project.
“His remarks are testament to the significant collaboration that has taken place between local elected officials, neighboring coastal communities, and City staff,” said Assistant City Manager Patrick Gallegos. “City staff has been working tirelessly on this effort and will continue to do so until we find a funding solution for sand nourishment.”
Seal Beach has been working with elected officials such as OC Supervisor and Seal Beach resident Michelle Steel, a Republican; Rouda, a Democrat; California Assemblyman Tyler Diep of the 72nd Assembly District, a Republican; and State Senator Tom Umberg, a Democrat. All four support the project.
According to District One Councilman Joe Kalmick, Seal Beach and other cities need to apply political pressure to get the Army Corps of Engineers to fund the project. During the Oct. 28 council meeting, Kalmick said the Army Corps had performed 12 sand replenishments on Surfside’s beach, but not the 13th.
Earlier that day, Kalmick referred the Sun to a Facebook post he wrote on the subject on Oct. 24: This is what he posted:
“Regarding the desperately needed sand replenishment for Surfside, we had a collaborative meeting with the senior field representatives from Michele Steel’s office, and Tyler Diep’s office, and Congressman Harley Rouda’s Chief of Staff from Washington. Also at the meeting were the Deputy Public Works Director of Orange County, and staff from City of Newport Beach Public Works. While approval of funding is still problematic, Congressman Rouda has already written to the Army Corps of Engineers and requested meetings with the Corps. This political pressure is ultimately the path to success. Basically, the Corps of Engineers reneged on their ongoing commitment to provide the major funding to deliver sand to Surfside. And just as important, the Surfside beach is a feeder for both Huntington Beach and Newport Beach. So we have 17 miles of coastline in jeopardy.”
City fines and dog waste
The Sun recently asked City Attorney Craig Steele, “what is the maximum penalty Seal Beach imposes at this time and what is the maximum fine a city could impose on any Municipal Code violation?”
In an email reply, Steele wrote: “As to the penalties for violations, the maximum penalty by law for a municipal code violation is a misdemeanor penalty of up to 6 months in jail or a fine of up to $1,000 per violation. Courts seldom impose maximum penalties however, even if the prosecutor requests it, for minor violations like dog waste issues. Those cases are especially rare because the law enforcement or code enforcement officer must personally witness the violation.”
State law: license plate covers are legal if LPR tech can read the plates
A reader recently asked the Sun to confirm whether Seal Beach had banned plastic covers for license plates.
But that’s not correct, according to Seal Beach Police Sgt. Michael Henderson, the department’s public information officer. According to Henderson, California law allows a clear plastic cover on a license plate if the License Plate Reading technology can read the car’s license plate.
California Vehicle Code 5201(a)(B)(c)(2) essentially says the same thing. The exact words: “The installation of a license plate security cover is not a violation of this subdivision if the device does not obstruct or impair the recognition of the license plate information, including, but not limited to, the issuing state, license plate number, and registration tabs, and the cover is limited to the area directly over the top of the registration tabs. No portion of a license plate security cover shall rest over the license plate number.”
According to Henderson, some covers that appear to be clear cannot be read by the LPR technology.
Council OKs street sweeping contract
The City Council this week authorized the city manager to approve a three-year street sweeping contract with CleanStreet, Inc., for $523,248. The council gave City Manager Jill Ingram the option to extend the contract to two more one-year terms.
The new contract represents a 38% increase in the street sweeping contract, a fact pointed out by Seal Beach resident and budget watcher Robert Goldberg in an email to the council and staff and confirmed by an email from Assistant City Manager Patrick Gallegos to District Four Councilwoman Schelly Sustarsic.
At the same time, as part of the same item on the Consent Calendar, the City Council amended the budget to allocate $25,000 more for street sweeping.
“The $25,000 budget amendment is for the current fiscal year because there was not sufficient funding, based upon the new pricing, to pay for the obligation this year,” wrote Finance Director/Treasurer Victoria Beatley in an Oct. 29 email to the Sun.
District Four Councilwoman Sustarsic had some questions about several items on the Oct. 28 agenda, including the street sweeping contract. An Oct. 28 email from Assistant City Manager Patrick Gallegos provided staff answers. The City Clerk’s Office made Sustarsic’s questions and Gallegos’s answers available to the public at the council meeting.
Sustarsic: “Is the increased cost of this contract really a 38% increase from the previous contract?”
Gallegos: “Yes.”
Sustarsic: Is a budget amendment necessary or could the increased amount be offset by the Waste Management Act Fund?”
Gallegos: “The City’s current street sweeper is able to divert a portion of the waste they collect away from the landfill (also known as green waste” and thus 25% of the existing contract amount is charged to Fund 005.”
That fund number, according to Gallegos’s email, is the Waste Management Act Fund that was established as part of the city’s franchise agreement with Republic Services.
“City staff will discuss the actual diversion rate with the proposed contractor and if it is discovered that there is an opportunity we will adjust the allocation of costs,” Gallegos wrote.
Sustarsic: “In Exhibit A, Section, E. Scope of Work (p. 173) under 2.b. Residential Hours and Days: It states that street sweeping occurs the day after trash pickup. In CPE [College Park East] this is only true for a small section of the tract; most of CPE has trash pickup on either Wednesday or Thursday, a day or two after streets are swept on Tuesday.”
Gallegos: “Staff will work with CleanStreet to determine how best to synchronize the street sweeping schedule in CPE with trash pickup days.”
Seal Beach resident and local budget watcher Robert Goldberg did not speak at this week’s council meeting, but he did email questions to staff and CC’d those questions to the Sun.
Goldberg said in his email that the staff report was deficient for not disclosing the 38% increase in the cost of the street sweeping contract. He argued that there appeared to be adequate budget money if the city considered using money from the Waste Management Fund.
Public Records Act requests
The Sun has filed the following California Public Record Act Requests:
• Monthly crime statistics for October 2019.
• Information about property reported stolen in October 2019.
Note that the Sun requests crime data as soon as the data for the previous month is released.
Records released
• Crime statistics for the month of September.
• Information about property reported stolen in September.
• The Sun recently requested a copy of the request for proposals for the Main Street Revitalization project and responses to the RFP.
The city released a PDF file of the RFP and the names of the companies that replied to the RFP. Their actual responses were not included.
The City Council recently approved a contract for with Rabben/Herman design office to design the Main Street Improvements Program. Part of that contract will include public outreach to ask the community what they want for Main Street. (For information about the contract, visit the Sun website to read “Council OKs design contract for Main Street update plan,” posted online Oct. 28, 2019.)
• A copy of the special event permit application for the so-called Turkey Trot race/event on Main Street. Special event permit applications are processed by the recreation manager and do not normally come before the City Council.
