CITYSCAPE ROUNDUP: Cliff Drive gets credit meters

************Correction: The name of the Laguna Beach Patriots Day Parade Honored Patriot Robert Meyerhof was misspelled, and the parade date is March 1.

Parking meters that accept credit cards will be installed soon on 50 parking spaces on Cliff Drive from the Laguna Art Museum to Jasmine Street this week.

The meters are being provided at no cost to the city as a demonstration project by the manufacturer, according to City Manager Ken Frank in his Jan. 18 weekly update to city officials.

The same meters were successfully tried out at beach parking lots in Huntington Beach, and that city has since purchased several hundred of the meters, Frank said.

The Cliff Drive location was selected for the demonstration because of the limited space available for multi-space, credit card-capable ticket machines.

The City Council has directed the conversion of all city parking lot ticket machines to accept credit cards.

The two machines at Treasure Island have been converted, and the machines in the four downtown lots will be converted by mid-February. The machines in the Glenneyre parking structure will then be converted by the end of March, according to Frank.

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Seniors offer smoke detector inspections

Laguna Beach Seniors, Inc. is working in conjunction with the Laguna Beach Fire Department and the Rotary Club to inspect smoke detectors and make any necessary adjustments.

The free service will be offered to the first 100 seniors who sign up no later than Feb. 15 by calling (949) 407-2441.

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Parade honorees brunch Feb. 3 at Tivoli Terrace

The annual Patriots Day Parade Honorees Brunch will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 3 at Tivoli Terrace on the Festival of Arts Grounds, 650 Laguna Canyon Road. The cost to attend is $25. For information or reservations, call Sandi at (949) 494-6016.

The 42nd annual parade will be March 3 with the theme “Stars and Stripes Forever.” The parade will begin at 11 a.m. at Laguna Beach High School.

Grand Marshal is Harry Lawrence; Honored Patriot of the Year is Robert Meyerhoff, U.S. Army Medic.

Citizen of the Year is Claes Andersen and Junior Citizens of the Year are Laguna Beach High School seniors Rebekah Farrar and Paul Hester.

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Oscar Uranga joins Athens Group

The Athens Group has appointed Oscar Uranga as assistant project manager. Uranga’s responsibilities will include planning and entitlement support for the Aliso Creek Area Redevelopment Plan.

He will focus on the day-to-day activities needed to bring the plan to fruition.

“Oscar brings a broad base of planning experience, including serving the public and private sectors, to the Athens Group,” said Greg Vail, director of forward planning and sustainable development.

“His skills and talents in project management, mapping and analysis, and coordinating with multiple public agencies and consultants will be a tremendous asset as the Aliso Creek Area Redevelopment Plan proceeds through the public approval process.”

Uranga has more than seven years of experience in the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) field, where he has been responsible for producing and analyzing maps and graphics, database management, and project management of large projects in Orange County, Riverside County and San Diego.

Prior to joining The Athens Group, Uranga served as senior GIS analyst for LSA Associates in Irvine. Previously, he served with FORMA Systems, the Orange County Transportation Authority, PCR Services and the City of Santa Ana’s Public Works Agency.

Uranga received a bachelor’s degree in geography from Cal State Fullerton. He lives in Irvine.

For more information on The Athens Group, visit www.athensdevco.com. For background on the Aliso Creek Area Redevelopment Plan, visit www.alisocreekinnupdate.com.

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Openings on traffic, recreation committees

The City Council is accepting applications for four two-year terms on the Recreation Committee and seven two-year terms on the Parking, Traffic and Circulation Committee. The terms will run from March 1 to Feb. 28, 2010. Both committees meet once a month.

Interviews will be conducted by the City Council at their regular meeting on Feb. 19 at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 505 Forest Ave., Laguna Beach. All applicants will be interviewed.

The Recreation Committee advises the council in recreation and park needs.

The Parking/Traffic/Circulation Committee acts in an advisory capacity on matters pertaining to parking, traffic, circulation, transit, the parking management plan and traffic complaints.

Laguna Beach residents who are interested should obtain an application from the City Clerk’s office and file it by 5 p.m. Feb. 13.

Questions may be directed to the City Clerk’s office at (949) 497-0705.

Applications will not be accepted after the deadline.

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Assistance League seeks quality donations

The Assistance League’s Turnabout Thrift Shop is in need of quality donations of clothing, house wares, collectibles, jewelry, books, toys, etc.

All proceeds from the sale of the items fund the League’s many programs that benefit the community.

The shop is located at 526 Glenneyre St. For more information, call (949) 494-5977.