Commentary: A mid-year review of progress in Newport Beach

It’s August, the summer is in full swing, and I’m already more than halfway through my one-year term as mayor. Time flies when you’re having fun!

There has been a lot of hard work put in by my fellow council members, city staff, and many members of the Newport Beach community these past months. It’s a good time to make a mid-term report to our residents on what we have done so far this year and what’s on the table for the second half.

When I began my term in December, I outlined five priorities I wanted to see the council and the city address this year: maintaining fiscal discipline, revitalizing key areas of our city, protecting our water and harbor resources, protecting our citizens and building a stronger community through public-private partnerships.

Let’s take these one at a time.

Maintaining fiscal discipline

We have passed, with a unanimous vote, a 2016-17 city budget that holds the line on operating spending, provides for additional payments to address our enormous unfunded pension liability, and reduces the number of city employees while maintaining the excellence of city services that residents enjoy.

We have commissioned a third-party audit of the Civic Center project, to learn lessons and ensure that future city capital projects are managed properly.

We restored the city’s sewer maintenance fund to solvency.

I am committed to addressing the city’s relentlessly growing unfunded pension liability — the fiscal elephant in the room. When residents ask me what keeps me up at night, I tell them that the city’s $300 million and rising unfunded pension liability gives me nightmares. It is not going away.

If that’s what keeps me up at night, what is it that gets me up in the morning? A lot of good things.

Revitalizing our city

We are making excellent progress on new and upgraded public facilities (Marina Park is our jewel on the Bay) and encouraging private investment in the Peninsula/West Newport and Mariners’ Mile, the remaining two areas targeted for economic development.

The Lido House hotel project broke ground in June and the remaking of Lido Village is nearly finished.

The Newport Vue mixed-use townhome project is nearing completion.

The realignment, repaving and landscaping of Newport Boulevard at the Peninsula entrance up to 32nd Street is complete. (Thank you, patient residents!)

Going forward, the sale of the Ardell site and its pending redevelopment have spurred community discussion of the future opportunities and challenges along Mariners’ Mile, and the city has retained a planning firm to help develop a Revitalization Master Plan for this corridor.

Protecting our water and harbor

We are moving to address the city’s aging seawalls and to begin to fund their repair, maintenance or replacement.

Harbor water quality was a major concern spurring our effort to fully fund the sewer maintenance fund.

We included in the 2016-17 budget funding for long-awaited dredging of Semeniuk Slough and the Grand Canal.

Going forward, we are reviewing all the disparate sources of city income from the harbor and all the harbor-related expenditures by various city departments to develop a comprehensive and unified management and maintenance plan.

Protecting our citizens

We have budgeted for an improved communications system for police, lifeguards and fire units along the city’s beaches.

We have approved a plan to replace the aging Corona del Mar fire station.

We are continuing the effort to redesign our emergency medical response system to more efficiently base and deploy paramedic and other emergency vehicles to minimize response times while realizing cost savings.

We have begun a new, focused effort to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians near heavily impacted schools in the city.

We are looking to increase safety on the Peninsula oceanfront boardwalk.

Community building through public-private partnerships

We have worked closely and cooperatively with the Balboa Village area to achieve redevelopment and revitalization there.

Private interests are in the final stages of negotiation with the city regarding redevelopment of the the Balboa Theater and a California casual restaurant at the end of Newport Pier.

The community is coming together to support arts and culture including community sponsorship for the Pacific Symphony concert on the green Aug. 14.

The key to success is the involvement of our citizens through city boards and commissions, attendance at study sessions and public hearings and other avenues of communication, such as the monthly public forums I have been hosting.

We want to hear from you. I have found these public discussions and “community brainstorming” to be invaluable in helping us find approaches and solutions that benefit the entire city.

I look forward to continuing to work with our residents who are passionate, as I am, about ensuring our continued quality of life in our community.

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DIANE DIXON is the mayor of Newport Beach.