Pier South Update, Return of Clean and Green on City Council Agenda

Pacifica Companies Director of Planning Allison Rolfe will give an update on the Pier South hotel project at the Imperial Beach City Council meeting Wednesday at 6 p.m.

This is agenda item 6.1.

Rolfe told IB Patch April 5 that the hotel will not open until July or later this summer instead of May.

In other hotel-related news, the Cohn Restaurant Group signed an agreement with Pacifica to operate a restaurant on the hotel's ground floor. The Baja Med restaurant will also serve guests using conference rooms, on the rooftop patio and room service.

For various reasons, at the start of the meeting proclamations will be given to Pan Am Tae Kwon Do Academy for Pan Am Tae Kwon Do Academy Day, Public Works Director Hank Levien in recognition of Public Works Week and Goldin Doles for SANDAG for Bike to Work Month.

City Council will be asked to approve the creation of a temporary staff position to administer 10 Clean and Green program grants.

The Clean and Green program gives eligible homeowners up to $30,000 to improve their homes. The California Department of Finance approved use of the housing bond funds.

The Imperial Beach Redevelopment Agency administered the program in the past until redevelopment agencies statewide were dissolved.

To administer 10 grants, $80,000 has been set aside to fund the temporary position. 

No new applications for the program will be accepted, said Assistant City Manager Greg Wade.

"The only situation in which any additional applications would be accepted would be if enough of the 74 current applicants are determined to be ineligible to receive funding. However, that would be extremely unlikely," he said.

This is agenda item 6.2.

To continue study of improving lighting on Seacoast Drive and other aesthetics, city staff is asking for an additional $21,400.

The study continues after hard fought debates over the course of the past year over the matter. In March 2012 City Council voted 3-2 to reject the idea of pedestrian-scale lights on Seacoast Drive but a year later City Council voted 3-2 in favor of improving lighting on the street and exploring other changes to the street's look.

Some argued that investment needs to be made on other streets away from the waterfront who don't have any lights while others argued that the success of the waterfront assures tax revenue that can help improve the city's bottom line in the future.

This is agenda item 6.3.

For about $98,000, PAL Engineering submitted the lowest bid to construct a crosswalk to cross the street near the corner of 5th Street and Imperial Beach Boulevard. 

With $8,000 in administrative costs, the crosswalk project will cost a total $105,800 and will be paid for with Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds.

This is agenda item 6.4.

On the consent calendar, the City Council will be asked to ratify the warrant register for expenses from March 29 to April 8 including $123,000 in payroll, for a total near $376,000.

This is agenda 2.2.

The city will continue a public hearing to increase the sewer capacity fee.

Currently the fee is capped at $1,230 per equivalent dwelling unit (EDU). City staff recommend the fee be increased to $2,667 per EDU but council may increase the fee to $4,776 per EDU.

A study on the fee was presented to City Council at a meeting in February. See the full study by Atkins North America attached here in PDF form.

This is agenda item 3.1.

The Imperial Beach City Council will also meet in closed session Wednesday to discuss possible legal action against the city.