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Events & Meetings Coming Up, plus March City Council Meetings Highlights
And one more time - please join us tomorrow for the CRA’s “Future of Architecture in Carmel” on Thursday March 24th at 7PM in Sunset Center’s Carpenter Hall. Please remember to bring your proof of vaccination info. For details click here.
Carmel Cares is hosting a Webinar this Friday March 25th at 2PM. Learn about their volunteer efforts looking back and coming up. Of course, they are always looking for more of your helping hands. To sign up click here.
CRA’s first of many No Host Gatherings – Wednesday April 6th from 4-6PM at Vesuvio’s Lava Lounge. This is a mix and mingle with fellow CRA members. No advance orders or registration required. Individually order & pay for your beverage or menu item of choice.
Your CRA Editorial Staff is looking for members with a pen. Actually, we are searching for members who have passion for our Village with great writing skills to create articles of local interest for publishing on our web site and newsletters. If you have ink in your pen (or at your fingertips), please reply here with a bit on your interest and possibly a sample of your work. Whether officially or unofficially, we always look for your letters to the editor and feedback.
 
And if you missed the March/April issue of the Voice, you can find it here. The Voice is postal mailed to all our members as usual, plus tied to a special focused donation, this issue was mailed to all of ZIP code 93921. Articles in this issue include Carmel Who Are We, Carmel Advocacy, Betty White, It Ain’t Easy Being Boss, Special Topic -The Trees of Carmel, About Town, CRA Stuff with the March 24th Program with Brandon Swanson and more. And be sure to visit www.carmelresidents.org/trees for the full article (we ran out of page space).
We hope you can join us to keep connected to the next important City Hall & City Council meetings here tied to the coming fiscal year budget planning underway plus decision making on including on Parklets, updating the Design Review Guidelines, other key projects and more.
Other coming area events include Big Sur Marathon Sunday April 24th, Carmel Library Foundation’s The Futurist Edition on April 27th, much more from our Monterey Symphony, the Forest Theater and the list goes on. Check their webpages for details.
Carmel's City Council - March's On! (yes, double meaning intentional)
It was indeed a busy March for our Carmel City Council and the City Staff that supports and prepares for these sessions. Thanks all! This following includes links and key findings from these three important 3 Camel City Council meetings plus 1, to catch you up and for your future reference.
 
Regular City Council Meeting – Tuesday March 1st
Agenda packet PDF here and the YouTube Video here
A major topic covered was the remodel plus of the Carmel Police Department. There was strong community and Council support for going beyond the minimalist updates for ADA and delayed maintenance, but to expand the footprint to accommodate new spaces – a facility to be proud of and better support the needs of our outstanding Safety teams and their efforts.
Additionally, the revised WinterAndCompany contract for Commercial & Residential Guidelines & Code Refresh was unanimously approved and received significant Council and Public supportive comments. At the April City Council meeting, each of the Council Members is to nominate a community member to steering committee to actively participate for this coming year. This effort will include significant community, Council and Planning Commission opportunity for comments and suggestions.
Planning Commission Meeting - Wednesday March 9th
Agenda packet PDF here and YouTube Video here
Skip to the 44-minute mark of the YouTube for “the Pit” (5th & Dolores) agenda item.
With presubmitted and live comments by the public and Commissioners the guidance emphasized refining this preliminary design to embrace the Carmel downtown character, minimize the appearance of facades and its critical mass.
Special City Council Strategic Priorities Workshop Meeting – Thursday March 10th
Agenda packet PDF here and YouTube Video here
Thank you to CRA members for joining this important session – it was great to see you there.
This program began with the City’s hiring accomplishments, what is in the works and processes. The concluding ranked list of projects can be found here, a great document to review. And below is the summary image of top tier items. Note: the CIP (Capital Improvement Projects) items were not covered this March 10th session but was separately set for the March 22nd date – see next.
Special City Council CIP (Capital Improvement Project) FY 22/23 Session – Tuesday March 22nd Agenda packet PDF here and YouTube Video here
This 5-year CIP budget summary includes completed items, external finding, carry over (unspent) funds and expected budget estimates in the coming periods. Staffing (FTE & contractors) refinements are likely needed to accomplish what is proposed. The all-in-one spreadsheet can be found here.
Just a few public and Council comments included callouts on several items: assuring use of OPM (other peoples' money – grants, donations etc.) is maximized, needs for a downtown Master Plan, increased project coordination and leveraging volunteer efforts, with catch up and preventative maintenance not only for facilities but also our natural resources (e.g. parks).
The next fiscal year (FY 22/23) budget updates are targeted to be summarized at the the May City Council meeting and an expanded full budget review is planned for a workshop in mid-May, yet to be scheduled.
Cheers! Your comments, questions and suggestions are always welcome.
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