City improves safety at Newport Harbor High
City officials have begun implementing safety measures at a crosswalk in front of Newport Harbor High School, where an allegedly intoxicated driver critically injured a student in December.
Public Works Director Steve Badum outlined the changes during Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
He said workers moved the parent drop-off area away from the crosswalk so drivers and pedestrians have more visibility, and that workers plan to install flashing lights next week.
“It will clearly get people’s attention,” he said. “We think this will immediately improve the pedestrian safety in this area.”
The beacons, which will be activated by buttons, are expected to cost $15,000. Signage and striping will cost $5,000.
The area was where a black Chevy Tahoe hit Costa Mesa resident Crystal Morales, a 17-year-old senior, as she was leaving school Dec. 6.
Prosecutors charged the driver, Marnie Lippincott of Costa Mesa, with felony driving under the influence, with an enhancement for causing brain injury and paralysis. Her pretrial hearing is set for March 9.
Meanwhile, Morales told the Daily Pilot that she is undergoing physical rehabilitation at a Costa Mesa facility. She was allowed to remove her neck brace about two weeks ago. Her broken vertebrae have healed, but she is still recovering from other injuries.
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City surplus
In other action, the city expects to finish the fiscal year with a $2.5-million surplus, according to a report released at Tuesday’s meeting.
Finance Director Tracy McCraner said that city departments have trimmed about $1 million from salaries and benefits, and that tax revenues are expected to exceed $1.5 million.
“I just think that ... speaks to the good management of the city,” said Councilman Keith Curry, who said reserves were at an all-time high of $94 million.
Projected hotel bed tax accounts for $1.2 million of the fiscal year 2011-12 estimated surplus. City hotels has surged in the past year, with tax collections expected to be up 7% over the previous fiscal year.
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24 Hour Fitness site
The council also voted unanimously to allow the Irvine Co. to essentially shutter the Newport Center 24 Hour Fitness building, in order to make room for the under-construction Pimco office building.
While the council gave the company permission to either demolish or somehow vacate the space in 2007, on Tuesday it approved a more detailed plan to empty that and other Newport Center buildings. The Irvine Co. agreed to maintain the buildings’ exteriors and landscaping, and to keep the lights on for aesthetic reasons.
Before the meeting, the director of real estate at 24 Hour Fitness wrote a letter of concern to the council, and Mayor Nancy Gardner urged the company to keep the gym open.
“I’m not a member, but I know it is a popular gym, so if we can do something to encourage this, it would be great,” Gardner said.
An Irvine Co. representative told the council that the company has options to keep the gym open. Shawna Schaffner of CAA Planning Consultants said it could choose other buildings to close, or shift development rights from elsewhere in Newport Center.
Schaffner said the company has “several years to work this out.”
However, the Pimco building is set to be finished by the middle of next year. The city’s general plan limits the amount of office space in Newport Center, and to free up enough for the Pimco building, the council agreed to let the company either empty or demolish space.
Twitter: @mreicher