9th and Palm Flooding, Military Spending Cuts at Wednesday Council Meeting

The Imperial Beach City Council will discuss automatic military spending cuts and flooding that occurs behind the empty lot at the corner of 9th Street and Palm Avenue, among other matters, at their meeting Wednesday at 6 p.m.

See the full agenda attached to this story in PDF form.

Five candidates are currently vying for two seats on the council. Click here to read IB Patch coverage of the race.

City Council will receive the results of an inspection of storm water runoff capacity performed earlier this year at the lot at the corner of 9th and Palm.

Until construction begins on the Breakwater project to build a new shopping center on the lot, the city assumes responsibility for maintaining the site.

Neighbors behind the lot have expressed concern about flooding that can occur in the alley when it rains

"Historically, flooding during heavy rain storms has occurred at this alley even when the shopping center was in place, although generally not to the extent observed during last spring's rain storm," a staff report compiled by City Manager Gary Brown said.

During a storm in January, silt and flood water were washed into the alley and onto nearby properties. Shortly after the flooding, the lot was to receive hydroseed, Brown said.

Additional soil in the empty lot should help soak up some rainfall, the report said, but a difference in elevation between the alley and lot is "a compounding factor."

Sudberry Properties has agreed to increase the capacity of storm drains in the area once construction begins on a new shopping center. A Sudberry Properties representative will also speak the meeting.

Councilman Brian Bilbray requested the matter be added to the council agenda in a letter last month.

This is agenda item 6.1.

City Council will vote to pass a resolution to recognizing "the importance of San Diego County's military sector to the well-being of San Diego's regional economy"

The "fiscal cliff" of sequestration will kick in next year if Congress cannot reach a deal to decrease the nation's debt and could impact thousands of San Diego military contractors including some in Imperial Beach.

This is agenda item 2.5.

Following conversations on the matter last month, the city will request an advance of Community Development Block Grant money from the County of San Diego for 2014-16 fiscal years to go toward the purchase of a new fire truck. The city estimates that this may provide roughly $300,000 of $700,000 needed to purchase a new fire truck.

The Imperial Beach Fire Department will hold their annual Open House Saturday.

Items 2.2 and 2.3 are resolutions in support of the Southern California Border Region Recycling Market Development Zone and the South Bay Energy Action Collaborative.

The development zone is a regional effort to increase recycling and reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfills.

The energy action collaborative is a proposed two-year pilot program to encourage residents and businesses to be efficient in their energy consumption.