City of Seaside Government News Digest

In a report titled “City of Seaside: The Real Cost of Fireworks,” grand jurors found city officials were aware of illegal fireworks use causing problems and efforts to reduce illegal fireworks use “appear to have minimal effect.”

"We all deserve to live in comfort and without fear," said Valerie Castile.

Damon said the purchase and sale agreement is finished and approved, but the city has not yet closed escrow.

The Seaside Police Department will be the first law enforcement agency in Northern and Central California to launch the “Lights On!” program, which provides officers with vouchers to issue to motorists for light-related violations instead of tickets.

Last year, the Seaside City Council considered banning the sale of State Fire Marshal-approved, Safe and Sane Fireworks, or to place a measure before the voters on the ballot that would cost the city about $150,000.

The Grand Hyatt of Seaside at Monterey Bay project will be a seven-level building with 330 guest rooms, conference center with meeting rooms, restaurant, and lobby bar.

The Grand Hyatt project will be a seven-level, 337,668-square-foot single hotel building with 330 guest rooms. Amenities include a conference center, restaurant, lobby bar, service kitchen, administrative offices, and a spa.

Seaside is seeking a qualified consultant to develop a plan for city parks. “A lot has changed since 2005, when the city last did a Parks and Recreation Master Plan,” said Seaside Recreation Director Dan Meewis. Creating the plan would involve city staff, advisory bodies, and members of the community.

Recycled water will soon be irrigating the Bayonet and Black Horse golf courses, both owned by the city of Seaside. The change will result in less water being pumped out of the over-taxed Seaside Groundwater Basin.

The Seaside City Council will meet Aug. 25 to cancel its November municipal election, saving the city about $150,000 in the process. The decision stems from the fact that three city races are going uncontested and there are no city measures up for a vote.

The Seaside City Council has approved the first phase of the Broadway Avenue Corridor Complete Street Improvement Project, which will transform a four-lane roadway to two lanes with curb extensions, bike lanes, roundabouts and features to improve pedestrian safety.

The Seaside City Council is set to appoint Jaime Fontes, current city manager for East Palo Alto, as its next city manager. If the City Council approves his employment contract on June 16, Fontes can start July 1.

KDG Capital is bringing a Grand Hyatt hotel to the Seaside Resort Project at Bayonet and Black Horse Golf Course, submitting a design review application and prompting the city of Seaside to hire EMC Planning Group to perform a California Environmental Quality Act compliance review.

The city of Seaside, now in its second round of interviews for a city manager, is approaching a deadline for new applicants next week. The city hopes to have a new administrator hired by the end of May.

The Seaside City Council unanimously approved a COVID-19 vaccine mandate and also voted 4-1 to create the Seaside Housing Collaborative, a nonprofit under the umbrella of the city that will focus on providing affordable housing to the community.

Plans are in motion for the Campus Town project, which would transform 122 acres of blighted land on the northern edge of Seaside into housing, retail and a hotel.

Faced with overgrown vegetation and issues from persistent homeless encampments in Laguna Grande Park, the partners in the joint powers agency that manages the park—Monterey, Seaside, and the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District—are stepping up to pay for a trail maintenance strategy and environmental review.

On Aug. 19, outgoing Seaside City Manager Craig Malin took a dozen city employees and consultants to an overlook on the former Fort Ord. “I just wanted us to see the space,” Malin says. “It’s such a remarkable place.”

After three years as Seaside's police chief, Abdul Pridgen is leaving to take over the police department in San Leandro. His last day will be Aug. 31.

In a June 25 letter to Seaside Mayor Ian Oglesby and the City Council, Craig Malin, who was hired as city manager in 2015, announced that his final day will be Aug. 31.

A year ago, Seaside City Manager Craig Malin says he wasn’t sure the city would have enough money to pay its electrical bills come 2021. Now, he says, “It went from the worst budget to the best budget I’ve ever presented to a council in my career.”

The developer of Campus Town is required to build 320 affordable units—and Greater Victory Temple Church of God in Christ wants some of those to be on its own property. The church would then manage the apartments and collect rent.