City Council Meeting By The Numbers

SHORT MEETING ANTICIPATED
The Costa Mesa City Council meeting Tuesday night may set a record for brevity - at least for the open session.

POTENTIALLY LONG CLOSED SESSION
With growling stomachs, they begin their meeting following their "dinnerless" dinner session in a closed session at 5:00 p.m. This one, which has four items on the agenda, might take awhile. I wouldn't be surprised to see that session last well past the normal starting time for the open session at 6:00 p.m.

FOUR INTERESTING ISSUES
In the closed session the council will discuss:
1) a special leave of absence for a police officer
2) labor negotiations with four unions
3) conference with real property negotiators regarding the Fairgrounds
4) the lawsuit filed by the ACLU for the day workers.

I'd love to be a mouse in the corner for that meeting!

WAR, RETIREMENT AND APPOINTMENTS
Three items in the open session include the consideration of using part of Fairview Park for a Civil War reenactment in May, an amendment to the contract between CalPERS and the city and appointment of individuals to certain city committees - none of which will take long. I'd be surprised if the meeting lasts until 7:00 p.m.

TWO ITEMS WITHDRAWN
Two items that originally appeared on the agenda were removed. Item 5 under New Business dealt with amending the section of the municipal code that addresses administrative citations.

ANOTHER BONEHEADED BEVER MOVE
Item 4 under New Business was yet another boneheaded scheme proposed by Eric Bever. This time he wanted to pass a resolution in support of denying driving privileges for convicted graffiti offenders. Of course, it's not within the purview of the city to deny driving privileges for anyone - that's the state's jurisdiction. I understand the need to effectively punish graffiti vandals, but how about we stick with things we have the authority to do, for goodness sake!