Features
Public
Service Center Update
| And the Survey Says |
Sports Center Update
Project Updates - Cannery Row/Lower Presidio |
Join a Board
Budget Challenges Mean Changes in City Work
Program
City income continues to fall short of our projections due to the
persisting weak economy, lagging local tourism industry and ongoing
cutbacks by the State of California in funds earmarked for cities.
Also, we expect City expenses to go up. In order to maintain a balanced
budget, we must adjust our spending plans and work program. It is
difficult to predict how big our budget gap will be – much depends on the
amount the State takes away and how soon the economy rebounds.
However, right now we are projecting a $2.6-million gap between income and
expenses for fiscal year 2003-04 and a $5-million gap for 2004-05 in the
City’s main account that pays for programs and services – the General
Fund.
To deal with this challenge, the City must re-evaluate how we spend money
and, possibly, reconsider revenue sources. We will review
programs/services that could be cut with the least impact on the
community. And we will continue to look for new and better ways to do
business and provide services.
In addition, the City Council might re-examine how much we can still
subsidize specialized fee-based services and programs, including permits
and recreation activities. We also continue to work on ways to boost
revenues and increase the tax base without increasing tax rates. These
include 1) completion of the Monterey Peninsula Hotel project on Cannery
Row and 2) more investment in marketing efforts to attract visitors to
Monterey.
We encourage you to be involved in the City’s budget planning process.
Stay tuned to local media for times to participate in meetings and work
sessions. See article below for some important dates and deadlines
and for more info on the budget process. Send comments anytime to the
City’s Suggestion Hotline, contact us at
www.monterey.org/contus.html
Balancing Budget Takes Ongoing
Coordinated Planning
As the City and community continue to deal with economic uncertainty, we
will be identifying necessary changes in services to ensure a balanced
budget.
Community suggestions are vital to establishing the City’s financial plan,
and even more important during these challenging times.
Let us know which City services and programs are vital to your quality of
life and what programs could be reduced/eliminated to help off-set the
$5-million gap in income and expenses projected in fiscal year 2004-05.
For more details, see the cover article.
“During this process we will identify specific strategies to balance the
City budget, review our priorities and work program to make sure they are
in-line with predicted revenues and expenses,” says City Manager Fred
Meurer. “And connecting with our citizens is an important step in shaping
City programs, projects and activities over the next several years.”
Although it is far too early to know what the eventual recommendations
might be, we will continue to keep the community up-to-date and involved
in the process.
How can you participate?
1) Participate in the public meetings
and/or hearings during the budget development process, see budget meeting
calendar below. Visit
www.monterey.org/budget/budgetdates.html for more info.
2) Call 646-3799, fax 646-3793 or email (suggest@ci.monterey.ca.us)
your suggestions and ideas.
3) Stay tuned to local media for opportunities to participate in
meetings and work sessions for
fiscal year 2004-05.
For more details, call 646.3940, or visit
www.monterey.org/budget
Plans for
Public Service Center Continue to be Reviewed
Background
Over the past couple of years, the City has been evaluating plans to
build a one-stop Public Service Center to consolidate related community
services. Many City offices are located in cramped, dilapidated bungalows
and are scattered throughout the area. The upgraded Civic Center would
provide better service to our customers. The City Council approved a
conceptual design for a two-story building proposed for the corner of
Madison and Van Buren streets. During the past few months, we began to
evaluate the environmental impacts and reassess the project based on the
current economic climate.
Last summer, the City Council
approved moving forward with the environmental review process for the Public
Service Center project. This process helps measure the impacts of the
different designs on the surrounding neighborhood.
Very recently, concerns about the City’s budget have caused us to reconsider
how and when we should move ahead with solutions to our office space needs.
As a result, we are reviewing our options in even greater detail.
We are working with the architectural team and the City Council
Sub-committee to prepare updated recommendations for consideration by the
entire City Council. In the meantime, we are moving forward with a modular
building to house the Police Department Investigations Division. Proposed
designs for this building should be available soon.
Plans to address the temporary space needs for the Fire Department’s
administration as well as the Finance and Personnel departments are still
being reviewed. For updates and more info, visit
www.monterey.org/civiccenter
or call 646.3770.
And the
Survey Says
Results from the Community Survey distributed in the City Focus last
winter are in. Nearly 550 responses were collected! Thank you for taking
the time to let us know what you think. In the survey, you rated City
appearance and government; community services, including programs for
different age groups; neighborhood conditions and safety issues.
Overall, respondents continue to be very satisfied with City services and
programs. However, we did see some decreases in satisfaction over the last
two years with street cleanliness in neighborhoods, street conditions
throughout the City and with code/zoning regulation enforcement issues. We
believe there is a direct link between community perception and
satisfaction and cutbacks in services and reduced budgets. We anticipate
that future surveys will show similar impacts.
On a positive note, results show a significant increase in satisfaction
with programs for teens as the City has made a concerted effort to focus
on the needs of youth and teens during the past two years. For detailed
survey results, visit www.monterey.org
Here are some more survey tidbits:
In general, safety concerns at night about various parts of the City
continue to remain low, as compared with past surveys. Downtown Monterey
safety issues continued to show significant decreases while concerns
regarding the Coastal/Rec Trail from Wharf II to the Monterey Bay Aquarium
and Lighthouse Avenue business district showed modest increases.
Regarding City priorities, community members were asked to choose the
three to four issues facing the area that should be a focus for the City
during the next few years. The top two items chosen were 1) encourage
development of plan to increase water supply (64%) and improve traffic
management program (61%). Next in line were build multi- and single-family
affordable housing and create more open space (e.g. Window on the Bay).
Thanks for your input! Continue to send in your ideas and suggestions,
contact us anytime. Visit
www.monterey.org/contus.html for numbers and addresses. Look for our
next Community Survey or send in info anytime.
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Sports
Center Promotes Healthy Community
See the state-of-the-art upgrades at the
Monterey Sports Center and
experience
the difference.
The 15,200 square feet of additional space is now open to the public,
including an upgraded Cardio Fitness Center, a Weight Training Center, an
Assessment Center, a Sports Café and Pro Shop, the Kids Zone babysitting
service and a multi-purpose room (Studio I).
The Cardio Fitness Center is equipped with 55 fitness machines including
True and Life Fitness Treadmills, Precor and Star Trac cross-trainers,
Stairmaster Stepmills and Star Trac recumbent bikes and cycles.
To make your workout more enjoyable, the center also includes Cardio
Theater with six televisions and four music stations. The Weight Training
Center features Hoist strength training equipment. All of the machines are
ergonomically designed with special features that accommodate most users
and make the machines move more smoothly.
Need a safe place for your children to stay while working out at the
Sports Center? The Kids Zone babysitting service is available for children
6 months to 8 years old. Kids can color, do art projects, watch movies or
just play.
With the new addition, the Sports Center has two multi-purpose rooms for
group exercise, martial arts, yoga, pilates and other programs. Both rooms
are equipped with suspended floors to support group exercise programs.
Thanks for your patience during this process. We are excited to have
celebrated the grand opening this March.
Project
Updates
The completion of some projects along Cannery Row would
significantly increase the amount of revenues collected by the City,
adding to our overall fiscal picture.
Two projects have been approved by both the City and California Coastal
Commission. However, neither project is moving forward because the
developers have not secured the necessary financing. The applicants say
the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and the continued lag in tourism have made
it difficult to get investors.
The Monterey Peninsula Hotel project is a 208-unit luxury hotel on the bay
and inland sides of Cannery Row between Prescott and David avenues. The
site is currently screened by the Cannery Row Mural. It also includes a
parking garage along the 700 block of Wave Street.
The IMAX project is a 500-seat large format theater that includes retail
stores. It is proposed for the opposite end of the Row – on the bay side
between the Monterey Plaza Hotel and Monterey Bay Inn.
When completed and operational, these projects, particularly the luxury
hotel, would benefit City revenues. For more info, call the Planning
Division at 646.3885 or email
fell@ci.monterey.ca.us
Visit the Lower Presidio
Historic Park in Monterey, 26 acres of some of the most historic sites
in all of California.
The Lower Presidio, leased and maintained by the City, includes the
location of Achasta, a Rumsen Ohlone village, which dated back more than
2000 years. We recently approved the Master Plan for the park, describing
how to best interpret and preserve the area.
The Lower Presidio is open to the public – just enter off Pvt. Bolio Road
or Artillery Street and turn onto Corporal Ewing Road at the military
checkpoint. The Presidio of Monterey Museum on Corporal Ewing welcomes
visitors Thursday to Monday.
When you’re there, see these other sites:
-
1602 Vizcaíno landing site and
1770 location where Gaspar De Portolá and Father Serra founded Monterey,
located at the park entrance at Pacific and Artillery streets.
-
The Spanish fortification,
located just above Lighthouse Avenue, where in 1818 the Spanish Garrison
El Castillo fought the only sea-land battle in California history.
Today the middle and upper
portions of the Presidio are home to the Defense Language Institute
Foreign Language Center, which is closed to the public. But the Historic
Park is open!
For more info and museum hours, call 646.3456 or visit
www.monterey.org/museum/pom
See related article on the History Buffs only
page.
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Join a Board, Commission - Art is Their Forte
Encouraging public art, holding
exhibitions, preserving historic resources and supporting cultural arts
are tasks assigned to the Colton Hall Museum and Cultural Arts Commission.
What do they do?
Commission members advise and give recommendations about Colton Hall
Museum, and they support many cultural arts programs and events, such as
selecting art for the Alvarado Gallery, deciding on musicians for the
Chamber Music in Colton Hall series and recommending public art projects.
Some of the more visible projects they have brought to the community
include The Great Blue Heron at Lake El Estero, the grizzly bears
in front of Colton Hall (photo above), Elkin’s Park rotating sculpture
garden next to the Monterey Museum of Art, Sanctuary Sculpture at
San Carlos Beach and the Cannery Row Mural.
Commission members are appointed by the City Council to serve two-year
terms. They meet monthly on the fourth Monday at 4 p.m. in the Council
Chamber.
To learn more about the
Colton Hall Museum and Cultural Arts Commission, call 646.3991 or send an
email to
conway@ci.monterey.ca.us
More info regarding city Boards and Commissions can be found at
www.monterey.org/boards The
City Clerk accepts applications on an ongoing basis, and we are currently
recruiting for Architectural Review Committee members to fill terms that
expire in June.
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