ABSTRACT: Random Reportings on the Annual Sunset Cultural Center, Inc. Public Meeting, a Second Permanent Restroom Facility on Scenic Rd., the City Administrator, Salinas City Council and Exclusive Negotiating Rights Agreement with Widewaters & Carmel developer Robert Leidig and City Council Agenda Items are presented.
• Annual Sunset Cultural Center, Inc (SCC) Meeting:
According to Executive Director Peter Lesnik, the date for the Annual SCC Meeting “has not been selected as yet.” All previous SCC Annual Public Meetings were held in April at Carpenter Hall, Sunset Center; April 14 in 2007 and April 1 in 2006.
• Long Overdue Second Permanent Restroom Facility at Carmel Beach on Scenic Road:
At the City Council Budget Meeting on April 17, 2008, City Administrator Rich Guillen committed to adding to the Work Plan a second permanent restroom facility. The City Administrator stated that he had met with Rob Carver a week earlier and Carver “will be submitting the proposal to do some schematic design for us by the end of this month...I think we really need to address that, they are unsightly, they are difficult to maintain, we get a lot of complaints about their appearance and the use of them and so I think it's time that as a City we address that.”
Note: City Administrator Rich Guillen is referring to the port-a-potties on Scenic Rd. & Santa Lucia Av.
• City Administrator Misspoke at City Council Budget Meeting:
City Administrator Rich Guillen misspoke at the Budget Meeting when he stated that the port-a-potties on Scenic Rd. & Santa Lucia Av. were “only permitted for one year back in 2004” by the California Coastal Commission. According to a California Coastal Commission Staff Member, the City’s General Plan/Coastal Land Use Plan Policy P4-41 permits the second restroom facility at Santa Lucia Avenue “until it can be replaced by a permanent site.” Ergo, no permit was issued or required from the California Coastal Commission.
REFERENCE:
General Plan/Coastal Land Use Plan Coastal Access and Recreation Element
Recreation and Support Facilities
G4-3 Provide adequate facilities that will serve the needs of the public, mitigate damage to the environment, and respect the neighborhood. (LUP)
P4-41 Retain the current second restroom facility at Santa Lucia Avenue until it can be replaced by a permanent site. Remove this facility upon construction of one or more additional permanent restrooms south of Eighth Avenue. (LUP)
• Salinas City Council approval for Exclusive Negotiating Rights Agreement with Widewaters & Carmel developer Robert Leidig:
According to reporting in The Salinas Californian, on Tuesday, April 15, 2008, the Salinas City Council unanimously approved an exclusive negotiating agreement with Widewaters - a New York-based real estate group - and Carmel developer Robert Leidig for redevelopment of the city’s downtown, specifically the redevelopment of three blocks on Lincoln Avenue and the 100 block of South Main Street. Plans could include a new police station, city hall and mixed-use residential and retail space. Curtis Leidig, Robert Leidig’s son, of Widewaters stated, "We're looking at a $400 to $500 million project with a ripple effect of several billion dollars for Salinas."
City Council Reports:
Exclusive Negotiation Rights Agreement with Robert Leidig Associates and Widewaters Group
• Carmel, Monterey and Pacific Grove Fire Departments Consolidation & Forest Theatre Design Plan
At the City Council Meeting on April 3 and the City Council Budget Meeting on April 17, Carmelites pleaded with the City Council to place on an upcoming City Council Agenda the Carmel, Monterey and Pacific Grove Fire Departments Consolidation and the Forest Theatre Design Plan. Question: Will Mayor Sue McCloud respect the pleadings of Carmelites by placing both these items on the May 6, 2008 City Council Agenda?
8 comments:
Unfortunately, Rich Guillen misspeaks all the time, when he is over his head and when he should know better, but doesn't.
My visitors complain to us every time they visit about the restrooms at Scenic and Santa Lucia and the lack of another restroom at Carmel Beach. The city wants all the tourists and their dollars, but cannot provide basic services to them. It is about time, although the Scenic Rd. lobby has stopped this from becoming a reality before. I will wait and see if the city follows through.
It looks like Bob Leidig is in full lobbying mode to get his projects through Salinas and the County.
The only time Sue respects the people is when we reelect her. Otherwise she doesn't concern herself with us or our concerns.
Where is Peter Lesnik? I thought he said he looked forward to becoming highly visible and integral to the community of Carmel. Why haven't we heard or read anything about his new vision for Sunset Center? Why is he invisible to us? Why didn't the SCC have their annual public meeting in April as in previous years? What's up with the Sunset Center? It seems everything bad
the people who wanted the city to continue to manage Sunset Center said is coming true. What a bad deal having an organization which meets in secret and tells us nothing is for us who own the building.
Just this past weekend, the south stairway access to the beach was still not open for access to Carmel Beach. This is inexcusable. I have seen people step over the chain and walk up the stairs and pick up their pets and put them over the rail and then jump over the rail and walk up the bank to the pathway on Scenic Road. I guess public safety is not a priority at city hall. It may get repaired the day before Memorial Day, however.
Regarding Peter Lesnik . . . from all appearances he has hit the ground running. Do not dismay. He is probably the best thing to have happened to Sunset in years. The delay and interruption in scheduling the SCC annual meeting is probably due to commitments Peter had elsewhere (Jackson Hole, Wyoming) prior to being hired at Sunset Center. And, SCC happens to be working hard toward a significant grant proposal deadline in July. Peter has been heard to voice specific plans about being more visible in the community. Give the guy a little time. He is bringing new and fresh ideas to the table and a refreshing vision of how "arts should be a part of everyday life". He is a refreshing change from Jack Globenfelt (sp?).
Mark your calendar for June 18, 2008 for SCC's annual meeting. Time to be determined. They would very much like a better turnout than what they have had in the past (I have never attended), so their plans include an open house, refreshments, meeting in the theater, etc. After having avoided Sunset Center and SCC for the last four years, I am ready to be open-minded again, now that I have met Peter Lesnik. I hope you are, too.
Have you ever thought about contacting a council member or the city administrator with your observations about the stairway access to the beach? If you squeeked a little, they would probably put some oil to the problem. They just might surprise you and be responsive to your concerns. Worth a try.
Forest Theater Foundation's presentation of the FT pre-design to the City Council is finally scheduled for Tuesday, May 20, at a special meeting for the budget and TAMC matters. Could it have something to do with the comments at the budget workshop in April, i.e., how can you budget for the Forest Theater when no design has been presented to the city? Or could the timing of the presentation be connected to short notice requirements for special meetings so fewer people would be in attendance?
Have YOU ever thought the city should just hire a competent city administrator? A competent city administrator would have put the storm damaged stairway on a work schedule the day it was boarded up as unusable. And the repair work would have been done within a month, thats February not May.
I regard the time spent contacting Rich Guillen about things as a waste of my precious time. How do you respect a city administrator who allows himself to be used by the mayor as a messenger and errand boy? But hey, Rich can collect $100,000 a year for not doing the work of a normal city administrator and boy has Rich gotten used to it.
Hey, I am in total agreement with you 100% that Rich Guillen should have taken care of the beach stairway and that he is totally incompetent. You are spot-on right. I am not your enemy nor in his corner. I just feel that instead of always just complaining about a problem, you do the best you can with what you have to work with and try to turn lemons into lemonade when possible. It worked with finally getting the Forest Theater fence the attention it needed. I also agree with you that we shouldn't have to spend our time bringing such stuff to their attention and also feel I have better things to do with my time as well. Rich Guillen has done nothing to deserve any respect whatsoever. The problem is that he his Sue's boy and will do as he is told. We won't be able to get rid of him for quite some time. And I do believe he makes more than $100,000 a year . . . something more like around $130,000 I think. Excuse me while I go throw up . . . .
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