Councilman Joe Kalmick updates public about pier deck
Marine Safety Chief Joe Bailey reminded the public about the dangers of rip currents and drowning at the Tuesday, May 28, City Council meeting. District One Councilman Joe Kalmick updated the public on the final touches that will be added to the pier before the formal grand opening set to take place in June.
June 2 to 8 is Rip Current Awareness Week. Bailey spoke during a presentation to the council on the day after Memorial Day. The meeting was brief, lasting roughly 40 minutes.
“Our estimate is that rip currents are the cause of about 80% of our rescues in Seal Beach,” said Chief Bailey.
In the spirt of Rip Current Awareness—and Drowning Prevention Awareness, which is from May to October, Bailey advised the public to “be safe, be seen,” to swim near a lifeguard, to check with a life guard before entering the water and never swim alone.
According to Bailey, 4,000 child drowning deaths occur in the U.S. every year. He said drowning was the number one cause of death of children aged 1 to 4 years old. The drownings usually take place in the presence of parents.
He said most child drownings take place while the child is out of sight for about five minutes. “If a child is missing, the first place to look is in the water,” Bailey said.
In addition to reminders about swimming safety and rip currents, Bailey reminded the public to avoid stingray injuries by doing the “stingray shuffle.”
Stingray injuries are commonplace in Seal Beach.
Pier decking update
Councilman Kalmick congratulated staff on the recent reopening of the city pier. According to Kalmick, members of the public who are concerned about the condition of some of the older planking on the pier (the planking that stops right before the newly rebuilt section at the end), should know that the shipment of new planks from Brazil was unavoidably delayed. According to Kalmick, when the new planks arrive, the older planking will be replaced during the time when the pier is closed. He believed that would be at night.
Other news
During the public comment segment of the meeting, resident Elizabeth Kane said she was anxiously awaiting the Police Services Study. (The council approved the study last year.) Kane, who was Kalmick’s campaign manager last year, expressed concern that the public had not seen the study when the community was about to talk about the city budget.
Kane also asked about the status of the search for a permanent police chief.
Returning to the subject of the budget, Kane asked the council not to commit to cost of living increases or raises for staff until the city has “a better grasp” of the budget.
Johnathan Waller, who was a candidate for the District One council seat last year, expressed concerns about the city’s pension liability. According Waller, the viability of the pension system was not looking good. “More than anything, I want fiscal responsibility,” Waller said.
That night, the council also:
• Authorized the city manager to execute a contract with Steven Andrews Engineering to work on the Bolsa Chica Water Supply Well project. The contract will be for a maximum of $42,840, according to the staff report by Seal Beach Public Works Director Steven Myrter.
The “professional service agreement” was on the Consent Calendar. Items on the Consent Calendar are voted on collectively, without discussion, unless specific items are removed to be considered separately. City staff brought up the need for the well to be refurbished and presented the cope of work during the June 2018 Capital Improvement Project budget presentation. (The 2019 Capital Improvement Project workshop will be held at 5 p.m., Wednesday, June 5, in the City Council Chambers.)
Staff asked Steven Andrews Engineering to submit an engineering services proposal for the water well project, according to Myrter’s report. “SAE has over 45 years of experience with design and operations of domestic water supply wells throughout Orange County including various local water districts and agencies,” Myrter wrote.
Owner Steven Andrews will be the principal engineer, according to Myrter’s report.
The initial phase of the project will be to prepare preliminary designs for elements of the project, according to Myrter.
“This preliminary analysis will enable the staff to create a more precise project work scope and thus a more precise estimate of project cost prior to initiating the final detail/engineering phase,” Myrter wrote
A total of $100,00 was budgeted for this project, according to Myrter’s report.
• Received and filed a report on the status of the Housing Element Annual Progress Report for 2018. Every city has a General Plan. The state requires every General Plan to have a Housing Element. The state now requires
• Approved the city’s Hazard Mitigation Plan, a local plan to address a variety of hazards including climate change, earthquakes and tsunamis.
