News: Council Member Nancy Gardner

city council district 6 v corona del mar & newport coast

Nancy Gardner

council member v newport beach, california

newsletter: may 2010

OC MARATHON PARTICIPANT (SORT OF)
Got to my spot just as the first runner flew by. Clapped and cheered for all the participants as they made their way down Seaview until I hit the wall at about #5000. It’s not just the runners who need to train.

EVENTS
The city has a tradition of supporting events like the marathon with dollars and also with city services, swallowing the costs of extra police along a race course or additional hours of clean up from General Services. The rationale for the support is that these events raise money for worthy causes or provide a positive boost to the city. However, the system has grown up over time without clear standards and without real accounting. Now that is changing. Big events (those that seek $20,000 or more from the city) will be evaluated by the Special Events Committee which will quantify the benefits of the event, evaluate the capacity of the organizers to actually pull it off, and then make a recommendation to the city council as to city support. There will also be policies established for support of smaller events in terms of city funding and/or services.

SUNSET RIDGE PARK
A lawsuit has been filed, challenging the city’s approval of the Environmental Impact Report for the park which will provide soccer and baseball fields, children’s play area, memorial garden and trails when completed. The Banning Ranch Conservancy, which seeks to preserve all of Banning Ranch as open space, feels that the Sunset Ridge Park project is tied to Banning Ranch. Conservancy members have stated that the proposed park road opens the door to development of Banning Ranch. What opens the door is lack of funds to purchase Banning Ranch. So far, no money has been forthcoming. The city’s consultant talked to a number of potential funders with negative results, and the Banning Ranch Conservancy has not secured any funds at this point. It’s money that is the key to preservation of the property, not the presence or absence of a road.

LITERACY
Along with Mayor Curry I went to the literacy luncheon recently. It is surprising but true that even a city with an affluent and educated population like Newport has a significant number of people who are unable to read. The program, offered through our library, provides volunteer tutors who work one on one with participants to give them a skill that most of us take for granted. And speaking of our library, we tied for the number one spot for cities of our size in the annual awards from the California Public Library Association. The library has been top ranked a number of times, no surprise to all of us who use it.

NAUGHTY NEWPORT
I am assembling the manuscript that was completed by my father, Judge Gardner, but not published which carries on the tradition of Bawdy Balboa, telling the kinds of stories that often don’t make it into more traditional history books. I’m including several “naughty” cartoons done by Virgil Partch (VIP), Dick Shaw and Interlandi that feature my father. I’ll have a sample at the Relay for Life (May 15, Newport Harbor High School), and copies will be available for a donation (amount to be determined) to the Relay for Life. Other fundraisers the council is doing in conjunction with the relay: an historical walk around Balboa Island with Councilman Ed Selich and his wife, Lynn, on May 6; historical walks with Councilman Henn around Balboa and Centennial Mayor Webb around Newport; and a round of golf and lunch with Mayor Curry at the Newport Beach Country Club.

MORE NATIVE PLANTS
On May 8, the Orange County Native Plant Society will be doing a garden tour. For more information, visit www.occnps.org.

=> Return to Newsletters

FUTURE TOPIC SUGGESTIONS

This is a two-way process, so please don’t hesitate to contact me with your ideas and opinions.

Council Member Nancy Gardner

QUALITY OF LIFE Advocate FOR NEWPORT BEACH

City of Newport Beach | 3300 Newport Blvd | Newport Beach, CA 92663

Phone: 949.644.3004 | EMAIL: gardnerncy@aol.com