Senior Center & Fairgrounds

SENIOR CENTER AGREEMENT AGAIN HASHED OUT
At it's meeting Tuesday night the Costa Mesa City Council, after some contentious debate, approved the new agreement with the Costa Mesa Senior Corporation for the operation of the Costa Mesa Senior Center.

HEADED OFF DISASTER
Reaching an agreement last night was critical because without a signed agreement the line item in the budget cannot be approved. Without funding beginning July 1 the Senior Center would have had to close it's doors due to insurance reasons.

GARLICH SPOKE
Senior Corporation President Bruce Garlich amplified the view of the Board on the issue and it was clear that they had no interest at all in approving language they found unacceptable and intrusive in the operations of the Senior Center.

"FORENSIC AUDIT"
The main bone of contention was around the language proposed for a "forensic" audit. The staff report, prepared by City Manage Allan Roeder, provided a concise yet thorough definition of that term and, during the discussion, it was clear that a forensic audit was not what Mayor Allan Mansoor had in mind at the council meeting on May 4th when he modified the previously approved agreement.

POLARIZED BY MISINFORMATION
Back and forth the discussion went, with Katrina Foley and Gary Monahan clearly siding with the Senior Corporation Board, which rejected outright the proposal for any kind of a forensic audit and proposed, instead, a "financial" audit. Mansoor, Wendy Leece and Eric Bever seemed to be stuck on the forensic audit, following the lead of community activist and Senior Center sour-puss rabble rouser, Ernie Feeney, who presented exhibits out of context in an attempt to demonstrate fiscal mismanagement. Fortunately, her contentions were rebuffed.

CREDIT WHERE IT'S DUE
In the end, Mansoor finally acquiesced and agreed to support Monahan's motion which simply authorized the city to request and pay for a financial audit if they so chose during the course of the contract - 5 years. He may have been thinking how difficult his life could be in the midst of a campaign if he alienated Costa Mesa seniors - a group that consistently votes in high percentages. Whatever motivated him, he made the correct call tonight. The vote was taken and only Bever voted no.

WITCH HUNT NOT OVER
However, it was clear from comments made by Feeney, Bever, Leece and Mansoor, that Wendy's witch hunt at the Senior Center is far from over. For some inexplicable reason Leece seems determined to insert herself into the day-to-day operations of the Senior Center - something not within the purview of the city council as a group and certainly not an individual council member. It certainly appears that she continues to lack the ability to sort out important issues from small ones - particularly those "issues" generated by one or two malcontents at the Senior Center. Bever, being his usual lamebrain self, refused to vote in favor of the agreement because, in his words, it lacked a "conflict resolution" element.

FAIRGROUNDS STILL MOVING AT WARP SPEED
Separately, Roeder gave a brief overview of the current condition of the Fairgrounds negotiations. He emphasized again that the negotiators were working long hours, trying to be able to present the next step to the State next Monday, although his reference to that date seemed a little muddy. One had the impression as he spoke that the State representatives may be having a difficult time keeping up with the City at this time.

NO MENTION OF "RULE OF LAW CITY"
No mention was made of the media firestorm surrounding Mansoor's "Rule of Law City" resolution from the previous council meeting. Latino members of the legislature have apparently vowed to block the sale of the Fairgrounds because of Mansoor's ill-conceived and ill-timed attempt to get free publicity for his campaign. Ever since he proposed his resolution his face and voice have been everywhere, attempting to explain his reasoning. You can read a story in the Orange County Register on this issue HERE.

MANSOOR TRYING TO QUASH FAIRGROUND SALE?
Vern Nelson over at the Orange Juice Blog - the number 1 political blog in Orange County - wrote a scathing piece on this issue today, HERE. As you can see, he teased us with "more to come", regarding carpetbagger Jim Righeimer and his role in the Fairgrounds issue.

DETERMINED TO LEAVE ASHES IN HIS WAKE...
Mansoor seems determined to leave a trail of scorched earth behind him as he moves on to Sacramento. Won't that be a terrific legacy?