Kiosk In This Issue Fri., June 3 6 PM PG Chamber Installation & Awards The InterContinental Monterey $45 • Fri., June 3 5-8 PM First Friday Shop Walk Downtown Pacific Grove NEW: Golf Tips - 6 DiFranco Dance - 10-11 Art Opening - 13 Free • Fri., June 3 7-9 pm Art Walk New Exhibition Opening Reception with live solo guitar music by Joseph Lucido • Sat., June 4 1:30-5:00 PM A Course in Miracles $10 donation Carmel Mission Inn Times Hwy. 1 & Rio Road, Carmel June 3-9, 2011 Vol. III, Issue 38 Info: 831-595-3970 Pacific Grove Community News email: akaplan @aol.com • Sat., June 4 7:30 - 9:30 PM Clear! Balanced budget The Steve Mortensen Band with special guest with $3.1 million in Taelen Thomas at The Works $10.00 cover reserve presented 667 Lighthouse Ave Pacific Grove • to City Council Tues,, June 7 By Marge Ann Jameson 7:00- 8:30 PM Sustainable PG Pacific Grove Museum (Corner of Central and Forest) An elegant, but bare-bones, budget was Guest Speakers recommended at the June 1 City Council Free meeting by Deputy City Manager Jim Beck- • lenberg. With stated goals of balance between Fri., June 10 community and tourism, long-term financial 5:30 PM stability, protection of the natural and physi- Dinner in the Vineyard cal environment, protection and enhancement and silent & live auction of public health and safety and enhancement Bernardus Lodge of governance and public trust, Becklenberg Fund-raiser for Mont. Co. presented a draft budget of some $31 million students environmental projects for fiscal year 2011-12, which begins in July. $150 He showed the City Council how it can 831-624-1032 • be fully funded and still leave $3.1 million Sat., June 11 in reserve. This can be achieved, he said, 6 PM by making cost reductions of $340,000 and “For Japan” enhancing revenues by $185,000, mostly Concert, refreshments Instructor Ben Ells- See $$$ Page 2 Love offering worth, left, and reporter • Cameron Douglas Sun., June 12 prepare to take off in 3:00 p.m. Monterey Bay Aviation’s Bye bye, Brokaw “Make A Joyful Noise!” The Music Ministry Team at Cessna on “Internation- No one was happy about it, but after a First United Methodist Church of al Learn to Fly Day.” By site review and testimony from a number of Pacific Grove the way, it takes more experts at the site review meeting May 31, the Free concert than a day, really. Pacific Grove City Council voted 5-2 on June 1 to demolish Brokaw Hall, the unremarkable building in the Butterfly Sanctuary which has been under a demolition order for a couple Inside of months now. The neglected, rotting build- ing had won a reprieve and an extension, Cop Log ................................3 but in the end they chose “Option 3″ of five Food ............................ (dark) presented, which also happened to be the last Green Page ........................16 Health & Well-Being .......... 12 expensive. High Hats & Parasols ...........4 “It’s a money pit,” said Council Member Legal Notices ........................5 Dan Miller, who wound up voting with Mayor Opinion ...............................14 CST goes airborne Garcia in the minority. Peeps ...................................7 “Face it, it’s poorly built, even the chim- Rain Gauge (final?) ..............2 (At “International Learn to Fly Day”) neys,” said Council member Robert Huitt. He Shelf Life...............................3 pointed out that if it were to be preserved, as Sports ...................................6 some suggested, to make it ADA compliant Up & Coming ........................8 would require a complete overhaul and rede- By Cameron Douglas sign of the entire sanctuary. Make us your friend on Mayor Garcia took offense at the ADA reference, though Huitt pointed out that the Facebook to receive Life is interesting. Just a couple of weeks ago, I stood on the ground and watched a calendar updates and Sanctuary was already ADA-compliant and small, single engine airplane pass by overhead. I supposed it must be pretty cool to take off adding a renovated Brokaw Hall to the mix, reminders on your in the pilot’s seat of such a plane as it gains altitude, and that I might like to try it someday. Facebook page! if it could even be done, would change the One week later, I found myself in the pilot seat of a Cessna 172, looking down at the ADA design needs of the entire sanctuary. ground—500 feet down. “Option #3” calls for demolition of the Cedar Street Times had been contacted by Nicole Lasorda of Barton Gilanelli & As- building and fireplaces and saving some of sociates in Philadelphia. Her advertising firm was handling PR for “International Learn to the chimney stones to build a commemora- Fly Day,” sponsored by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), for the purpose tive/interpretive exhibit related to Brokaw of—you guessed it—creating more aircraft owners and pilots. “I can arrange for you (or a Hall. The building was, at the beginning of reporter you assign) to take an introductory flight at a local flight school,” Lasorda wrote. the 20th century, a military academy for boys Send your calendar items to: [email protected] See FLYBOY Page 5 See BROKAW Page 2 Page 2 • CEDAR STREET Times • June 3, 2011 p$$$ From Page 1 City votes to outsource through recovery of administrative costs in the Planning Department and other City departments. business license collection F.Y.I. He anticipates no new taxes, but there For Your Information. City’s Municipal Code and correspond will be no raises for employees, either. The By Marge Ann Jameson with business owners professionally police Memorandum of Understanding is and seamlessly, so that taxpayers barely funded. CalPERS rates are forecast at 5.8 notice a change from the existing model, Kim’s Hair At the February 2, 2011 City at Pro Beauty percent ($130,000 total) for sworn police according to Becklenberg. “Any changes Council meeting, Deputy City Manager in Crossroads Carmel and 0.8 percent ($32,000) for all other noticed by businesses will likely be Jim Becklenberg brought a request to employees. positive,” said Becklenberg, in that the New Client Special the council to hire an outside consultant Unlike neighboring cities, there company offers online registration and Cut & Color $75 who would, on a sort of commission ba- will likely not be an improvement to the tax payment options. sis, go after delinquent business licenses Natural Nail Manicures $25 economy in Pacific Grove, according to MuniServices’ database tools will 831.620.1422 and businesses that currently operate Becklenberg, who says he anticipates no also generate reports for the City that in the city limits without obtaining a more than a 1 percent increase in major will provide useful information on the Sales and license. revenues in the city. Major revenues for evolving composition of the City’s busi- Property Management Licenses are required to do busi- Pacific Grove are property taxes, transient ness base. still only 5% ness here and fees are based on gross occupancy taxes and sales taxes. Real es- MuniServices will set up the City’s receipts. tate sales continue to be flat and there are system immediately, with the goal of The Finance Department’s work many vacancies downtown where a lot of managing the upcoming license renewal plan includes an audit of the City’s busi- sales taxes could be generated. Transient process, which begins July 1, 2011. 623 Lighthouse Ave., in PG ness base to identify and collect delin- occupancy taxes could be enhanced by In August, after the first stage of 831-655-4708 quent business taxes, said Becklenberg. changes in Measure C restrictions, but business license renewals is complete, [email protected] He said that staff constraints keep them increases will not likely happen this year. the firm would begin discovery services,. from doing more than sending reminder He included increases to the library This would involve comparing the City’s letters to known delinquents. funding which will allow it to remain open license database with other records such FATHERS DAY GIFTS The City of Seaside, for example, 10 more hours per week. as state income tax filings and retail at uses professionals who work on a The City Council had set a goal for in- business suppliers’ lists to identify busi- WOODIES commission equal to a percentage of of Carmel creased maintenance of city infrastructure nesses that should be licensed but are tax revenue realized through the audit. GIFT WRAPPED & SHIPPED – streets, sidewalks and sewers – and the not. The City’s current budget included up woodiesofcarmel.com budget includes programs for each. Street MuniServices charges $18 per li- to $20,000 for this purpose. The audit maintenance is budgeted at $400,000; cense per year for administration service. A Gift Shop for Men! company will likely work through the storm water inlet and pipe construct at Based on the City’s existing tax base 114 The Crossroads Chamber of Commerce and Business $200,000 and sidewalk construction at of 1,600 licenses, annual contract costs Improvement District as well as other 626-9064 $50,000 while an additional $100,000 is would be $28,800. MuniServices would entities to ensure optimum awareness of set aside for the library. also keep 45% of the revenue generated the program. While Mayor Carmelita Garcia wants through its discovery and audit efforts Becklenberg and Assistant Finance to see an across-the-board cut of 25 per- for the year in which the business is Officer Catherine Krysyna said they cent, many of the budget items are con- initially licensed and any prior years’ hope the revenue generated would reach tracts which cannot be cut.