Another Long Meeting - And It Showed(Amended)*
YOU JUST NEVER KNOW...
Just when we start thinking that most of the council meeting chaos is over, The Mayor throws us a curve ball - as did my day today. I would have posted this hours ago, but an unanticipated, but wonderful. visit from relatives stopped me in my tracks. I was "forced" to spend the day with beautiful 6 and 10-year-olds at the Balboa Fun Zone and the beach. Got my priorities straight...
GARY SHUFFLES THE DECK
Last night all seemed right with the world as the second Costa Mesa City Council meeting of July began on time. However, immediately following the "moment of silent expression", Mayor Gary Monahan shuffled the deck on us. Instead of jus
t letting the agenda flow in the order published, for some inexplicable reason he decided to move New Business Item #3, the SR-55 Study Update, to the head of the pack. So, following presentations to Colin Moran for being selected to the PacSun Surfing Team; Ivan Calderon, founder of Taco Mesa and Taco Rosa for his community involvement and a brief presentation by members of the Huntington Beach helicopter program that currently provides contract aerial law enforcement support following the misguided decision by our city council to disband the A.B.L.E. program, we heard about the plans for the continuation of the study for the improvement of SR-55 (Newport Blvd.) at the terminus of the freeway at 19th Street.
LITTLE TIME LEFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS
By the time that presentation was finished only 20 minutes was left for Public Comments, so Monahan told the crowd that any speakers who had not spoken by the magic 7:00 hour - when Public Hearings are scheduled to commence - would be trailed to the end of the meeting. As it turned, out the final three speakers began at 11:35! More on that later. If you care to do so, you can watch the entire meeting - all 5 hours and 45 minutes of it - on streaming video HERE.
VEHICLE CITATION FEE IMPOSED - FOR SOME
Ignoring the fact that the Consent Calendar had not been address yet, at 7:00 sharp the Public Hearings began and both of them were dispatched with little comment. The council
agreed to have the police department begin charging $10.00 for the certification of vehicle code violations, with the exception that NO Costa Mesa resident will be charged, regardless where the violation occurred. So, if our neighbors in Newport Beach, for example, decide to visit our police department for the certification instead of going to theirs, where it costs them $22.00, we'll make a couple bucks off their dilemma.
SCOFFLAWS TO BE HANDLED
The c
ouncil also approved the resolution certifying special assessments for collecting delinquent fines for municipal code violations. The list totals $32,000. Both those items were completed in less than fifteen minutes.
MASSAGE PARLOR ORDINANCE APPROVED
On to Old Business where the City Clerk had barely finished reading the title of this second reading of the new Massage Parlor ordinance before the council voted to approve it. That whole transaction took less than one minute.
YOUTH SPORTS REQUESTS APPROVED
They then briskly approved the extension of a grace period requested of the Newport Mesa Girls Softball and Group 1 Field User status for Friday Night Lights Flag Football.
INVESTMENT POLICY PASSED
New Business then brought us the Statement of Investment Policy, the discussion of which lasted only about 4 minutes. It was approved. The council blitzed through 6 items in less than 40 minutes.
ORANGE COUNTY FIRE AUTHORITY PROPOSAL VETTED
Then, at 7:40, we ca
me to the discussion and presentations of the proposal by the Orange County Fire Authority, who were represented by a hoard of blue-suited folks - I counted 7. Interim Assistant CEO Terry Matz led the presentations, discussions and deliberations that went until 10:25, with a short break mid-way. I'm not going to attempt to give you a play-by-play account of this issue, but will tell you that the council decided to "receive and file" the report and instructed the staff to continue to work on questions that came up during the discussions last night; to investigate joining with surrounding communities to provide joint fire fighting efforts - Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, for example - and to open conversations with the Costa Mesa Firefighters Association to determine what kind of concessions they are willing to make if the city decides to keep the Fire Department an independent entity.
CMFA OK WITH DEEPEST CUTS
There were some interesting moments in the Fire Department discussion. Perhaps the most interesting was the announcement by Association President Tim Vasin that his group supports going to the OCFA and that they think option 3 - the one which closes a station and reflects the greatest reduction of staff, from 29 current to 23 under that plan - is the best choice.
RIGHEIMER AFTER THE MECHANICS, TOO
That news seemed to energize
some members of the council - particularly Jim Righeimer. During the discussion he seemed displeased that the numbers presented did not include any savings that would potentially be realized by staff reductions in support areas where, for example, mechanics would no longer be required to work on the fire equipment - the OCFA will maintain the fleet. We know from previous discussions before the council that the fire-related fleet makes up a very large part of the workload of our maintenance team.
NO PAY INCREASE FOR YEARS
Another interesting point made by the OCFA number-cruncher was that the OCFA members,
including the Costa Mesa contingent if the contract goes through, will receive no pay increases for the next several years. This is based on negotiations with their bargaining unit recently. According to Vasin, the CMFA is OK with this fact.
THE CLOCK CONTINUES TO TICK
No time line was given for making a decision on this proposal or any of the other actions described above. In the meantime, the clock ticks and we operate without senior leadership in the fire department.
8/16 MEETING CANCELED
At 10:40, following another short break, the council re-convened and took about a minute to decide to cancel the scheduled council meeting of August 16th. A light calendar for that evening was the reason given. Personally, I think everybody just needed a break, so the meeting on August 2nd will be the last one until September 6th, right after the Labor Day holiday weekend.
CONSENT CALENDAR - FINALLY
Then, the council finally got around to considering the Consent
Calendar, with Eric Bever pulling the minutes of previous meetings as a tool to launch into a discussion of what he felt was the inadequacy of the current minutes. City Clerk Julie Folcik was interrogated about the format and eventually the council decided to go with an even MORE abbreviated version. It seems some were irritated that the current version quotes speakers in detail, but didn't quote the points made by council members. Folcik reminded them that the "Action Minutes" were implemented when the streaming video became available as a verbatim record of each meeting. Previously, the staff had to laboriously transcribe each word by each person verbatim for the minutes - a task that could take weeks to complete.
LEECE WANTS MORE DETAIL ON LEGAL FEES
Wendy Lee
ce pulled Item #4, the Warrant resolution that contained the $117,000 charge from Jones & Mayer, indicating that not enough information was included. Eric Bever proposed that each entry should be divided by account to make it easier to determine how the dollars are allocated.
WEB SITE REDESIGN CONTRACT CHALLENGED
Resident Tom Egan pulled Item #5, the contract with Vision Intern
et Providers, Inc. for the redesign of the city web site, indicating that he thought that because it included a 40% contingency that was apparently not known by the bidders, it should be canceled and re-bid. This got CEO Tom Hatch's dander up. He rejected the contention that the contract was not fair. During the discussion of this item councilman Steve Mensinger got off the best line of the night - one that brought chuckles from the crowd that had dwindled to around 20 people by this time. He said, "As council members we should not be meddling." I'm sorry, but that is so funny that it's almost preposterous, since his entire short tenure on the council has been marked by meddling. The contract was approved as proposed
HEATED EXCHANGES ON LOBDELL'S CONTRACT
Egan also pulled Item #6, the extension of the contract for Interim Communication Director, Bill Lobdell. He apparently felt it was inappropriate to pay him more than 47 public safety staffers. Supporting his view, former Mayor Sandra Genis also stood to complain about the extension of the contract, stating that it was a no-bid contract in the beginning and had been extended twice so far. She felt the contract should have had a Request for Proposals issued and alternate candidates considered. She said Lobdell's assignment was cronyism. This prompted Mensinger to call Genis back to the podium and challenge her - a real "in your face" confrontation that was totally unacceptable by a council member. But then, that's who he is. Further in the discussion Mensinger pointed out that Irvine has a handful of highly paid PR types on staff. Wendy Leece, during her turn to speak, said Irvine doesn't matter on this issue. Mensinger tried to interrupt her - bully that he is - but Monahan shut him down and let Leece continue.
MENSINGER DOESN'T LIKE THE PACE
When Mensinger spoke again he praised Lobdell for being able to t
olerate working in the city where things "move at glacial speed". That was a real clue to how he, Mensinger, feels about government and is obviously one of the reasons he keeps champing at the bit about making it work more like a business. His idea of a business is one where he, as the boss, can simply demand that an action be taken and nobody questions it. He's not looking for a government, he's looking for a dictatorship.
BEVER BAD-MOUTHS ROEDER
Bever took this opportun
ity to bad-mouth former City Manager Allan Roeder, saying that he never delegated anything - a lie. Righeimer chimed in and said he thought we should just make Lobdell an employee and be done with it. The contract passed, 4-1, with Leece dissenting.
MADAME EGAN QUESTIONS GROWTHPORT PARTNERS CONTRACT EXTENSION
Eleanor Egan pulled Item #7, the contract extension for GrowthPort Partners for continuation of their personnel support activities. The extended date on the staff report was incorrect and was corrected to read June 30, 2012. The reasoning was much like the previous issue - a no-bid contract that is being extended without sufficient consideration of other alternatives. Genis stood again to complain about this one, indicating that the "augmentation" went beyond the original intent. Egan complained that the nature of the work involved highly confidential personnel issues by people who were not staff members and were here only for the money. The item passed, 4-1, with Leece again dissenting. *NOTE: The original version of this segment misstated that Tammy Letourneau was affiliated with GrowthPort Partners. She is affiliated with Management Partners, the group that did the Police Department Restructuring Assessment. I apologize for the error and hope Ms. Letourneau will forgive me for the erroneous association. Perfection continues to be a goal not yet met.
LESTER FINALLY SPEAKS
We finally got back to Public Comments around 11:35 p.m.! Sue Lester addressed the lawsuits the city currently has pending, including the one with the employee bargaining unit. Genis told the council the juggling of the agenda like this short-changes the public because many speakers had long since given up and went home. Of course, that may have been Monahan's plan all along, as you'll see in the next paragraph.
MONAHAN VS. KOKEN - THE BATTLE OF WILLS
Finally, crooner Terry Koken stepped up to present his most recent song to the council. Monahan warned him not to do it and the two went back and forth with Monahan threatening to have the police officer present remove him from the council chambers. Finally Koken, who looked like he was seriously considering singing and being removed, just read the lyrics to his song. The video - drag the scroll bar across to "05:18:00" to view it - shows this little drama and you can hear City Attorney Tom Duarte tell Monahan to "just let him speak". It was a tense moment and very disturbing. Monahan was obviously ready to violate Koken's right of free speech simply because he didn't think he would like what he was going to say/sing. This episode should make us all more than a little nervous about our rights to address grievances before our elected leaders.
*HERE'S MY VERSION OF TERRY KOKEN'S PRESENTATION
This shakey, wobbly video is what happens when an old guy gets his hands on a new camera. The city video is MUCH better, but this shows Koken throughout the event. Watch him contemplate the future as Monahan threatens to have him hauled out of the auditorium.
WEAK LEADERSHIP SHOWS
So, at 12:10 a.m. this morning the council adjourned to Closed Session after another long, long and frustrating meeting. These marathon sessions clearly demonstrate the lack of strong leadership on the dais. Monahan seems to have lost his grip on the process. We are NOT being well-served by this group.
Just when we start thinking that most of the council meeting chaos is over, The Mayor throws us a curve ball - as did my day today. I would have posted this hours ago, but an unanticipated, but wonderful. visit from relatives stopped me in my tracks. I was "forced" to spend the day with beautiful 6 and 10-year-olds at the Balboa Fun Zone and the beach. Got my priorities straight...GARY SHUFFLES THE DECK
Last night all seemed right with the world as the second Costa Mesa City Council meeting of July began on time. However, immediately following the "moment of silent expression", Mayor Gary Monahan shuffled the deck on us. Instead of jus
t letting the agenda flow in the order published, for some inexplicable reason he decided to move New Business Item #3, the SR-55 Study Update, to the head of the pack. So, following presentations to Colin Moran for being selected to the PacSun Surfing Team; Ivan Calderon, founder of Taco Mesa and Taco Rosa for his community involvement and a brief presentation by members of the Huntington Beach helicopter program that currently provides contract aerial law enforcement support following the misguided decision by our city council to disband the A.B.L.E. program, we heard about the plans for the continuation of the study for the improvement of SR-55 (Newport Blvd.) at the terminus of the freeway at 19th Street.LITTLE TIME LEFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS
By the time that presentation was finished only 20 minutes was left for Public Comments, so Monahan told the crowd that any speakers who had not spoken by the magic 7:00 hour - when Public Hearings are scheduled to commence - would be trailed to the end of the meeting. As it turned, out the final three speakers began at 11:35! More on that later. If you care to do so, you can watch the entire meeting - all 5 hours and 45 minutes of it - on streaming video HERE.VEHICLE CITATION FEE IMPOSED - FOR SOME
Ignoring the fact that the Consent Calendar had not been address yet, at 7:00 sharp the Public Hearings began and both of them were dispatched with little comment. The council
agreed to have the police department begin charging $10.00 for the certification of vehicle code violations, with the exception that NO Costa Mesa resident will be charged, regardless where the violation occurred. So, if our neighbors in Newport Beach, for example, decide to visit our police department for the certification instead of going to theirs, where it costs them $22.00, we'll make a couple bucks off their dilemma.SCOFFLAWS TO BE HANDLED
The c
ouncil also approved the resolution certifying special assessments for collecting delinquent fines for municipal code violations. The list totals $32,000. Both those items were completed in less than fifteen minutes.MASSAGE PARLOR ORDINANCE APPROVED
On to Old Business where the City Clerk had barely finished reading the title of this second reading of the new Massage Parlor ordinance before the council voted to approve it. That whole transaction took less than one minute.
YOUTH SPORTS REQUESTS APPROVED
They then briskly approved the extension of a grace period requested of the Newport Mesa Girls Softball and Group 1 Field User status for Friday Night Lights Flag Football.INVESTMENT POLICY PASSED
New Business then brought us the Statement of Investment Policy, the discussion of which lasted only about 4 minutes. It was approved. The council blitzed through 6 items in less than 40 minutes.
ORANGE COUNTY FIRE AUTHORITY PROPOSAL VETTED
Then, at 7:40, we ca
me to the discussion and presentations of the proposal by the Orange County Fire Authority, who were represented by a hoard of blue-suited folks - I counted 7. Interim Assistant CEO Terry Matz led the presentations, discussions and deliberations that went until 10:25, with a short break mid-way. I'm not going to attempt to give you a play-by-play account of this issue, but will tell you that the council decided to "receive and file" the report and instructed the staff to continue to work on questions that came up during the discussions last night; to investigate joining with surrounding communities to provide joint fire fighting efforts - Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, for example - and to open conversations with the Costa Mesa Firefighters Association to determine what kind of concessions they are willing to make if the city decides to keep the Fire Department an independent entity.CMFA OK WITH DEEPEST CUTS
There were some interesting moments in the Fire Department discussion. Perhaps the most interesting was the announcement by Association President Tim Vasin that his group supports going to the OCFA and that they think option 3 - the one which closes a station and reflects the greatest reduction of staff, from 29 current to 23 under that plan - is the best choice.
RIGHEIMER AFTER THE MECHANICS, TOO
That news seemed to energize
some members of the council - particularly Jim Righeimer. During the discussion he seemed displeased that the numbers presented did not include any savings that would potentially be realized by staff reductions in support areas where, for example, mechanics would no longer be required to work on the fire equipment - the OCFA will maintain the fleet. We know from previous discussions before the council that the fire-related fleet makes up a very large part of the workload of our maintenance team.NO PAY INCREASE FOR YEARS
Another interesting point made by the OCFA number-cruncher was that the OCFA members,
including the Costa Mesa contingent if the contract goes through, will receive no pay increases for the next several years. This is based on negotiations with their bargaining unit recently. According to Vasin, the CMFA is OK with this fact.THE CLOCK CONTINUES TO TICK
No time line was given for making a decision on this proposal or any of the other actions described above. In the meantime, the clock ticks and we operate without senior leadership in the fire department.
8/16 MEETING CANCELED
At 10:40, following another short break, the council re-convened and took about a minute to decide to cancel the scheduled council meeting of August 16th. A light calendar for that evening was the reason given. Personally, I think everybody just needed a break, so the meeting on August 2nd will be the last one until September 6th, right after the Labor Day holiday weekend.CONSENT CALENDAR - FINALLY
Then, the council finally got around to considering the Consent
Calendar, with Eric Bever pulling the minutes of previous meetings as a tool to launch into a discussion of what he felt was the inadequacy of the current minutes. City Clerk Julie Folcik was interrogated about the format and eventually the council decided to go with an even MORE abbreviated version. It seems some were irritated that the current version quotes speakers in detail, but didn't quote the points made by council members. Folcik reminded them that the "Action Minutes" were implemented when the streaming video became available as a verbatim record of each meeting. Previously, the staff had to laboriously transcribe each word by each person verbatim for the minutes - a task that could take weeks to complete.LEECE WANTS MORE DETAIL ON LEGAL FEES
Wendy Lee
ce pulled Item #4, the Warrant resolution that contained the $117,000 charge from Jones & Mayer, indicating that not enough information was included. Eric Bever proposed that each entry should be divided by account to make it easier to determine how the dollars are allocated.WEB SITE REDESIGN CONTRACT CHALLENGED
Resident Tom Egan pulled Item #5, the contract with Vision Intern
et Providers, Inc. for the redesign of the city web site, indicating that he thought that because it included a 40% contingency that was apparently not known by the bidders, it should be canceled and re-bid. This got CEO Tom Hatch's dander up. He rejected the contention that the contract was not fair. During the discussion of this item councilman Steve Mensinger got off the best line of the night - one that brought chuckles from the crowd that had dwindled to around 20 people by this time. He said, "As council members we should not be meddling." I'm sorry, but that is so funny that it's almost preposterous, since his entire short tenure on the council has been marked by meddling. The contract was approved as proposedHEATED EXCHANGES ON LOBDELL'S CONTRACT
Egan also pulled Item #6, the extension of the contract for Interim Communication Director, Bill Lobdell. He apparently felt it was inappropriate to pay him more than 47 public safety staffers. Supporting his view, former Mayor Sandra Genis also stood to complain about the extension of the contract, stating that it was a no-bid contract in the beginning and had been extended twice so far. She felt the contract should have had a Request for Proposals issued and alternate candidates considered. She said Lobdell's assignment was cronyism. This prompted Mensinger to call Genis back to the podium and challenge her - a real "in your face" confrontation that was totally unacceptable by a council member. But then, that's who he is. Further in the discussion Mensinger pointed out that Irvine has a handful of highly paid PR types on staff. Wendy Leece, during her turn to speak, said Irvine doesn't matter on this issue. Mensinger tried to interrupt her - bully that he is - but Monahan shut him down and let Leece continue.MENSINGER DOESN'T LIKE THE PACE
When Mensinger spoke again he praised Lobdell for being able to t
olerate working in the city where things "move at glacial speed". That was a real clue to how he, Mensinger, feels about government and is obviously one of the reasons he keeps champing at the bit about making it work more like a business. His idea of a business is one where he, as the boss, can simply demand that an action be taken and nobody questions it. He's not looking for a government, he's looking for a dictatorship.BEVER BAD-MOUTHS ROEDER
Bever took this opportun
ity to bad-mouth former City Manager Allan Roeder, saying that he never delegated anything - a lie. Righeimer chimed in and said he thought we should just make Lobdell an employee and be done with it. The contract passed, 4-1, with Leece dissenting.MADAME EGAN QUESTIONS GROWTHPORT PARTNERS CONTRACT EXTENSION
Eleanor Egan pulled Item #7, the contract extension for GrowthPort Partners for continuation of their personnel support activities. The extended date on the staff report was incorrect and was corrected to read June 30, 2012. The reasoning was much like the previous issue - a no-bid contract that is being extended without sufficient consideration of other alternatives. Genis stood again to complain about this one, indicating that the "augmentation" went beyond the original intent. Egan complained that the nature of the work involved highly confidential personnel issues by people who were not staff members and were here only for the money. The item passed, 4-1, with Leece again dissenting. *NOTE: The original version of this segment misstated that Tammy Letourneau was affiliated with GrowthPort Partners. She is affiliated with Management Partners, the group that did the Police Department Restructuring Assessment. I apologize for the error and hope Ms. Letourneau will forgive me for the erroneous association. Perfection continues to be a goal not yet met.
LESTER FINALLY SPEAKS
We finally got back to Public Comments around 11:35 p.m.! Sue Lester addressed the lawsuits the city currently has pending, including the one with the employee bargaining unit. Genis told the council the juggling of the agenda like this short-changes the public because many speakers had long since given up and went home. Of course, that may have been Monahan's plan all along, as you'll see in the next paragraph.
MONAHAN VS. KOKEN - THE BATTLE OF WILLS
Finally, crooner Terry Koken stepped up to present his most recent song to the council. Monahan warned him not to do it and the two went back and forth with Monahan threatening to have the police officer present remove him from the council chambers. Finally Koken, who looked like he was seriously considering singing and being removed, just read the lyrics to his song. The video - drag the scroll bar across to "05:18:00" to view it - shows this little drama and you can hear City Attorney Tom Duarte tell Monahan to "just let him speak". It was a tense moment and very disturbing. Monahan was obviously ready to violate Koken's right of free speech simply because he didn't think he would like what he was going to say/sing. This episode should make us all more than a little nervous about our rights to address grievances before our elected leaders.*HERE'S MY VERSION OF TERRY KOKEN'S PRESENTATION
This shakey, wobbly video is what happens when an old guy gets his hands on a new camera. The city video is MUCH better, but this shows Koken throughout the event. Watch him contemplate the future as Monahan threatens to have him hauled out of the auditorium.
WEAK LEADERSHIP SHOWS
So, at 12:10 a.m. this morning the council adjourned to Closed Session after another long, long and frustrating meeting. These marathon sessions clearly demonstrate the lack of strong leadership on the dais. Monahan seems to have lost his grip on the process. We are NOT being well-served by this group.
Labels: CMFA, Eric Bever, Gary Monahan, Jim Righeimer, OCFA, Steve Mensinger, Tom Duarte, Wendy Leece
posted by The Pot Stirrer at 7/20/2011 08:42:00 PM
33 Comments:
Terry Koken and Mayor Kilt:
A despicable display by the cretin who partied on the day Huy Pham died. How dare Gary Monahan, who has virtually abdicated the mayorship to the RiggMarshal, try to keep a citizen from speaking?
Has Costa Mesa suddenly become North Korea?
Since when is criticism of public officials "Out of Order?"
Thank you Terry.
Geoff,
By the time TK was up, I was home watching on Channel 24. You probably had a better perspective in person. I reviewed the video, and at 5:20, it looks like Riggy, not Duarte, was the one telling Monahan, "let him speak." Ironic if true.
Regardless, that was obviously the correct advice.
When a citizen runs into a city vehicle the mechanics have to get three bids on the damage even though it might cost a couple of hundred dollars to fix the damage but this council can hand out hundres of thousands of dollars with NO bid. I don't get it and neither should anybody else. Why don't they have to follow the rules?
Joe,
I actually tried to video Terry - got started just after he began. Kept the camera on him the whole time, which was very interesting. If I can figure out how to get it onto YouTube I'll provide a link or embed it... I'm a low tech guy in a high tech world, so it may never happen. The whole thing with Monahan was pretty disgusting.
I think if you listen again you'll recognize Duarte's voice.
Leece and the Bully:
Menssy interrupts Wendy Leece once again, she calls "Point of Order," then tells him: "*I* have the floor...*I* was elected.."
Am I the only one tired of this "run the city like a business" routine? Businesses are designed to make a profit, cities are designed to provide services.
Why doesn't Mensinger try starting his own business one more time and leave the city alone?
Then he can be the Big Boss and order minions around all day, every day.
Last night was another of those frustrating City Council meetings that exemplified the reasons things are in such turmoil in Costa Mesa. Once again, it's not so much what they do (although that's still a concern) as how they do it.
It started with a backhand to the public in trailing some of the Public Comments to the end of the meeting so Public Hearings could begin at 7:00. Of course, the only reason Public Comments weren't finished by then is that one of the Public Hearings was taken out of order before 7:00. Another 10 minutes is all it would have taken to finish Public Comments in the normal order.
Then there was the total contempt and disregard for Wendy Leece. This was demonstrated by several interruptions while she was speaking (something that doesn't happen when one of the guys is speaking). And, as soon as she stopped talking, there wasn't even a beat to consider her comments before a motion was made or other discussion commenced. It was as if she hadn't been there at all, except for the time lapse while the guys waited impatiently for her to finish.
Finally, the mayor chose to initiate a (one-way) shouting match at Terry Koken over his choice to sing, rather than speak, his comments. Even when Terry agreed to simply read his lines, the mayor tried to stop him. The only discernible difference between his delivery and others' was that the lines rhymed. While it would be inappropriate to turn the Council meeting into a local version of "American Idol," we weren't quite there yet, and the response seemed to be out of proportion to the issue.
Overall, the impression given was that four members of the Council aren't interested in what anyone else has to say (if it doesn't agree with their views); they just want to get on with doing what they want to do. It's that impression of "damn the torpedos, full-speed ahead" that has shaped the mood of the debates and the image of the Council over the last few months.
Who Gets Taken Care of First?
I got something I consider very significant out of the OCFA discussion, and wonder if anyone else caught it:
The subject was responders from one city coming to another, and the speaker (Fire Chief?) said words to the effect of, "We prefer our own people as responders because we're the ones who know where our people and resources are at all times.. other cities respond as they can in order of priority."
I immediately thought of our former helicopter program and new reliance on Huntington Beach. I.e. Can we ever get close to the same coverage we had before?
Dear Pot Stirrer, the comment you attribute to me was actually Wendy Leece's. What I spoke about was the secrecy that appeared to be applied to the consultant's analysis of the City's personnel needs and the feasibility of outsourcing various functions. The information that goes into the Council's decisions regarding outsourcing should not be kept from the public!
Geoff,
Well, the difficult poetry-writing session and all the rehearsals I did, did not exactly go for nought -- at least Da Mare seems to know who I am, and has in effect admitted that the light-hearted comments I have made in verse and voice have gotten under his skin just a bit. It looked to me on the video as though Duarte advised Da Mare to let me speak, although at the time I read my comments, I was perhaps feeling a bit of adrenaline and so did not notice then. It's no trivial thing, being shouted down by a bartender; one worries a bit that he may grab his bungstarter and leap over that counter with a fierce look and intent to do bodily harm.
He tried assiduously to invoke cloture on me; that he didn't succeed, or was prevented from so doing by counsel, was probably in his best interest. Wow. Too bad he didn't order the fine officer standing behind me to drag me out... I'd have gone willingly, but limp (in keeping with the spirit of the '60's), and perhaps have become another Coyotl Tezcatlipoca, with all the attendant agony for the city and the council.
Mr. Monahan, however, has missed a wonderful opportunity to join in on the chorus, and also denied the few citizens of our community who remained in council chambers until the bitter end the opportunity to raise their voices in song along with him. Such a pity.
"Through all the tumult and the strife,
"I hear that music ringing;
"It sounds an echo in my soul,
"How can I keep from singing?"
I'd expand on that "damn the torpedos" quote. The impression from this council includes damn the facts, damn common sense, damn due diligence, damn real financial responsibility, damn the public, the employees, and the one inconvenient councilmember, full speed ahead. Heil Righeimer!
They admonish the public to "be respectful, or else". Are they leading by example? The unintentional irony at that meeting was hilarious!
What I spoke about was the secrecy that appeared to be applied to the consultant's analysis of the City's personnel needs and the feasibility of outsourcing various functions. The information that goes into the Council's decisions regarding outsourcing should not be kept from the public! #ELEANOR EGAN
Again, I wish I were a fly on the wall on the 5th floor to witness the back-door deals that go on there daily. I can only pray the Attorney General's office is watching with keen eyes at the despicable behavior by Monahan. No bid contracts for Lobdell? This cretin is a thug and a bully like Mensinger.
Great meeting, Leece was in over her head from the get go when talking about anything financial, just can't "get her arms around it" as she often states. The homeless guy IS better as a poet than a singer and the Mayor may have helped him find a better schtick. Genis finally got a HIT ! after going 0 for a zillion, the council agreed with her on one thing finally. But then she immediately got caught with a corked bat her next time up, complaing (of course she was complaining, probably don't need to write that) Lobdell spinned the judge's decision on City website post. Righeimer then showed it was Genis doing the spin on the post and he had the proof in a printout of it. Nice try Sandy. It is strange that no council discussion had been included in the minutes but all the comments from public speakers were. Bever made an excellent point. Leece demanding to call Hatch the CM over and over was hilarious. Get over not being Mayor. Foley used to cross examine public speakers all the time, remember? So Mensinger was continuing a tradition, albeit a bad one. Thanks to the firefighters giving up raises, paying into their pensions fully, and accepting job cuts to go with the Fire Authority. Seems strange also. Even Foley has been pushing it, even stranger. As for the website, the fees are very reasonable and the functions that will be implemented in it are very much needed. Current one is very behind the times. Those that oppose it have absolutely no vision. Great work going on in infrastructure and road improvements already. We are on our way to becoming a first class city, perhaps that noticeable change in feeling as you enter Costa Mesa from Newport Beach will diminish. I have more but am a woman of few words but let's peg all employees pay to the level of the lowest paid cop, sounds fair.
Monahan was probably bullied as a little kid, just as he is now a little man.
So far "unanimous" is outnumbered 11-1
Only if you're keeping score...
I am going to take a quick bet that we won't see the RFPs until they actually vote on them, then they will rush them through on the 4 to 1 vote. That's what wasting time cancelling an August meeting is all about. Fits in with the damn the torpedos statement made, as well as the secrecy. Are we ever going to have an RFP status meeting with numbers and cost ? My guess is the money saved isn't much, and if it is, the service quality will take a hit. So we will be paying more for less either way. But these guy's buddies will make out like bandits.
Sadly, this city council majority continues to make our city the subject of both scorn and ridicule all over our nation via You Tube and other media. How long must this endure. These guys are breeding Democrats faster than Octo Mom pops out kids. I am a proud Reagan Republican and I think he would lose his dinner watching these clowns in action if he were around today (I wish he was).
Anyone who actually supports what this council majority is doing to us is either oblivious to the damage they are causing or so jealous of the benefits our public servants make, they don't care as long as they take away what they themselves can't get and even the playing field.Isn't that a form of socialism??
There are bad things going on at every city city council meeting by these guys and it sickens me. No RFP for Lobell's position? Actually trying to deny someone their right to speak at a meeting in a public forum? (see "Brown Act", Civil Code 47-48 to name but a couple of laws. More on request).Wow, what a law suit that could bring. I'm glad counsel had the wisdom to let him speak. How about cancelling the ABLE Program? HUGE mistake as time will no doubt prove to be the case.
I could continue but I have to sort my sock drawer....I hope the next important issue in Cosat Mesa is the formation of a recall committee, on which I would gladly participate as would my neighbors and friends with whom these matters are discussed frequently.
As a practicing attorney with offices in Costa Mesa, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York and also as a long-time CM resident I can tell you that people are paying attention to the ego based, resume building actions of these guys.
Remember the big scare on immigration? All the Minutemen attending meetings in town? Mansoor gets moved up to the State Assembly and suddenly no more on the subject. I guess all the illegals moved away when he did..
Now we have CalPERS saying they just had their best year in a decade on their investments. Just might put the damper on the Pension Reform scare these guys are pushing as their mantra.I guess if they get the community to focus on state employees, we won't be watching the pensions and bonuses paid to corporate executives on your dime through high credit card interest rates, penalties and other fees too closely. That is story in itself for a later time.
All speech falls under the First Amendment whether someone harmonizes it or not. Gary should know better than to deny our rights. Gary might not like the truth or other people's opinions but that's how America rolls.
unanimous, it sounds like you walk out of your door everyday ashamed to live in Costa Mesa. I feel sorry for you. Maybe you were forced to buy a home here? I don't know. I actually chose to live in Costa Mesa because it's the greatest city in Orange County.
I’m curious about unanimous and which one of the Fantastic4 he lives with. How does any intelligent (even those of average intelligentsia, “C” student, Messiahinger) person get this perspective of how this meeting progressed? Oh, I know… a person who meets at Das Pub with the other lemmings, groupies and misguided losers; looking for a pat on the head, tossed a few beer nuts and told what a good puppet they’ve been.
Geoff, you didn’t mention when Leece challenged Heir Rheeemer about having staff re-visit CMFD’s request for a sit down. CMFD suggested another sit down to make the “for mentioned” concessions with the willingness to consider more. Heir Rheeemer mumbled something that sounded like he would consider it and Leece jumped on it; asking him if “he was directing staff to do so?” Das MPT looked down and said something like “…what ever”… and again Leece asked “are you directing staff to do this?” After a couple of hits, Das MPT said, “Yes”. Now,if he follows through with this, will be the true test of the man’s word, his honor and what little integrity he has left. You gotta give Leece KUDO’s; she held her ground and didn’t let this one slide. I also loved the “I was elected” jab; wonder which blog she’s been reading.
YOU GO GIRL!
The Monahan Mystery:
Why does someone who claims to be descended from an oppressed ethnic group now engage in political oppression?
Maybe because he might stand to gain somehow if those bad bad motels on Newport Boulevard are stolen.. er torn down..
I wish the mayor would have ordered Koken removed since I have a feeling the cop would not have willfully violated his Koken's Constitutional rights and would have instead allowed him to continue. I am sure pandaemonium would have broken out and it would have been great. I don't think we can say a person singing is a violation when it has been done by others before, is not threatening, and we basically allow people to speak at public comment about how the aliens have abducted them and are continuing to do so with no help from the police or FBI.
"Uanimous", hope you are still checking this thread becuse I have some info you could use. Re the Judge's ruling on employee lay-offs: Just because Righeimer says he read it, doesn't mean he did. If he did read it it doesn't mean he undersood it. If he did understand it doesn't mean he isn't spinning it for his own purposes. You of all people should understand that. Cute name though.
Did you read the Proposed Preliminary Injunctions and Court Minute Order? I did, and they say exactly what Sandy Genis said they did. The Defendant's (City) proposed injunction denied. The Plaintiff's (OCEA) proposal supported. Furthermore, the City asked for over $1million in a bond to protect their interests, OCEA offered to provide $25,000. The judge ruled OCEA need only provide a minimal bond of $50,000. No mention of the things Rigitheimer said were in the ruling. Some of what he said may be allowed under the ruling, but it's still debatable at this point, and the words he said were in the ruling certainly aren't. It's good to get the facts so you know when they are feeding you BS and calling it ice cream.
I recognize the "Sandy was wrong", and the "Wendy doesnt get it" comments for the hackneyed talking points they are. Get some new material, uanimous. Wendy was accurate and concise, and she dared to not let rude bullies stop her. Her questions make some people uncomfortable. Others of us see that she is the only voice of reason on the coucil.
Sandy Genis is a well respected Municiapl and Environmental consultant known for her dead-on accuracy throughout the State, maybe nationally. There's currently a need by some to undermine her advice here in Costa Mesa, but you won't find anything that she's said is factually assailable.
Geoff, thanks for keeping us up-to date, and for this forum to exercize our FREE SPEECH!
Lincolnlaw,
I like your comments. Very insightful and refreshing.
I used to be a Republican, but then came Nixon’s “Saturday Night Massacre” when his AG Elliot Richardson and Deputy AG William Ruckelshaus resigned rather than fire independent special prosecutor Archibald Cox.
The final straw was Pat Buchanan’s hateful 1992 convention speech asserting, in essence, that not all Americans are worthy. It pushed me into the cohort mentioned in the Wikipedia description of that convention: “Arguably, the [Buchanan] speech ended up alienating more moderate Republican voters and many speculate caused them to move over to the Bill Clinton camp …”
The beat goes on. Now we have the new/old Republican Party line that public employees are the “other,” and are to be punished for feeding at the public trough. The Rigged councilmen have supported that line every inch of the way.
Every week or so I try to imagine being a Republican again and try to imagine how I would feel about what the councilmen are doing in the name of “good Republican principles” … after all, this upheaval is endorsed enthusiastically by Scott Baugh and John Moorlach.
It’s an unpleasant, nauseating feeling. Not up there with having a Dementor sucking the soul out of me, but I feel the chill.
every time I hear the public employee tag line I like to go onto USAJOBS and look at the minimum requirements for jobs typically paying 60k. Those requirements usually go something like this- Master's degree or higher plus at least 3 years experience in the field in question... I find people who worked that hard to get an education are typically lazy bottom feeders who don't deserve a pension. The horror.
The Irish were instrumental in the establishment of labor unions in the United States due to the deplorable way they were treated in this country. I guess Monahan forgets this part of his heritage. Kind of a slap in the face of his Irish ancestors.
Tom: Thank you for the comments. As we know, there are good and bad aspects of either party. The worst of current Republican thinking is being demonstrated here in Costa Mesa now. Their, misguided attempt to counter what the President is doing from the White House and put our party back in power. Instead,their actions are having the opposite affect. they are making our party look foolish to many members of our own party. I know for a fact that some local Republicans are changing registration. A fact which is easy to confirm.
Moorlach, Baugh and their cronies on the council are so far out of touch with reality in main stream O.C., it is almost hard to comprehend. Clearly, Riggy wants Dana's seat in Congress and, like Mansoor before him, is USING Costa Mesa as his launch pad. Having failed in other cities he has found an ample number of unemployed blue collar workers angry that they don't have a steady income like others that made wiser long term career choices who actually believe these guys will make things better for them by removing benefits from others. I find that sad. The wake Riggy will leave when he is finally gone, will leave even his fellow council members wondering what happened to their once vibrant community. Of course, those of us that stand by, watch and do nothing are partly to blame. We are allowing it to happen.
LincolnLaw, Your comments are spot on. And to let you know, it's not just Costa Mesans that are watching what is happening in your city. I have been following his antics for years, when his PAC took over our school district. And I can tell you for a fact that he is the #1 reason why I changed my voting status from being a proud Republican to an Independent. I did not want to be categorized in the same political party as him. My advice to you and your fellow citizens is to stand strong. Use our system to make changes. We did. They don't want you to believe this, but there is a huge group of Republicans that are fed up and want to restore the greatness back to our party. I would love nothing more than to change my voter status back to Republican. I hope and pray every day for some good politicians to come along and restore my faith again. Blessings to you and your city.
Hey- Just curious:
When I was hired with the city I had to go through a police check. Fingerprints ect.- what about Lobdell? His seedy past with Barry Minkow and IBusiness Reporting has me wondering if he would "even"pass our minimal standards via a fingerprint check. Shouldn't all consultants be required to have the same background checks as us? Just wondering...
Recently while attending a Calif. League of Cities meeting for one of our clients, I was in a discussion about pension reform and other issues currently at the top of the topic list in our state. It didn't take long for the subject to turn to our city and the approach the council majority is taking in dealing with issues. Righeimer was mentioned by name (in fact, several names, not printable here) by the group of about a 1/2 dozen people at our table. It seems he is already known in political circles as a carpet bagger trying to build credibility in the party to get himself elected to Congress. These people don't think he has a prayer of doing so as he is dividing OC Republicans rather than building consensus on issues. One woman was appaled at him bullying our diminutive Mayor, whom she has known and admired in past years as a caring, progressive and smart elected official. She believes he has sold his soul and wonders why he is acting so out of character. I listened and didn't tell her about his behavior since Riggy got elected. The old adage, if you can't say something nice....
Only she knows, I actually live in Costa Mesa, but all of them know my firm has offices here. I suggested they tune into this blog and get educated.
They were also a bit miffed about CM leaving the League. Did I mention that all but one of this group are Republicans?
Speaking of controversial consultants, how about Tammy Letourneau? She is with Growthport Partners, whose no bid contract also was extended Tuesday night. She is a complete outsider to Costa Mesa now acting as interim head of Human Resources, doing parts of Steve Mandoki's old job. Steve was one of our valuable Department Heads who left in the wake of this Council’s reckless actions. Tammy is another outside consultant who was not subject to any kind of background check. In 2008, after serving as City Manager of Yorba Linda for 42 months she left amid controversy, but not before stopping to collect her $209,592 severance pay! There were accusations of her inappropriate involvement in an effort to block a citizens referendum drive, she requested to be “released without cause” from her job, and the YL City Council quickly granted her request 5-0.
Out of Order,
I misled you... Tammy is part of the Management Partners organization, not GrowthPort. I was promptly slapped upside the head by a friend, so corrected my record.
Hey, foul. I just got time to read this stuff and saw where Bever bad mouthed Roeder. Roeder was an outstanding City Manager. I have high hopes that he will decide to run for City Council to replace one of the four who will soon face recall.
Hatch seems to be waking up and amy grow into a good manager after the had influences leave office. It will take him years to match Allan's legacy of good deeds in Costa Mesa.
Thanks Pot-stirrer. I stand corrected. Substitute Management Partners for Growthport in my post. Management Partners is another consulting firm-how many is that so far? They also provide interim management personnel.
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