Of Fecal Recepticles And A Campaign In Flames
BETTER LATE THAN...
The combination of late night meetings and early morning eye doctor visit (dilated eyes and all) and a dead battery delayed this entry... onward and upward. Since I've dragged my heels today the city feed for this meeting is now available, HERE. As we go through this process I'll give you some time reference points so you can watch a specific event. You're going to want to do that...
"OVERFLOW SEATING"?
I should have known it was going to be a very special City Council meeting when I arrived at City Hall forty minutes before the meeting to find businessman Tim Lewis sitting on one of the toilets he dragged to the City Hall steps. The photos say it all! I thought the toilet paper earmuffs were an especially nice touch.
A BIG CROWD
The auditorium was not full, but it felt like it was. I counted slightly more than 100 people seated during the evening. And, even though Wendy Leece's request to re-visit the whole Fireworks issue - it had been placed last on the agenda - was pulled and will be heard at the next meeting, several people stepped up during Public Comments to address it. One fellow hung around until the bitter end, nearly 12:30 a.m., to plead for pepetuation of the current policy. I'm getting ahead of myself..
OOPS! WHERE'S GARY?
We began the evening with Mayor Jim Righeimer telling us that council member Gary Monahan - who will complete two decades on the council in 2016 and vest life-time health care in the process - would lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Only problem was, he wasn't in the auditorium! He eventually showed up later, so Lurch, er, Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger led us.
SERIOUSLY?!
Then - and my jaw dropped on this one - we had a presentation by Righeimer, who read a proclamation naming the day Maximilian (Max) Mormont Day in Costa Mesa. Who is Max Mormont, you ask? Well, it turns out he's Righeimer's personal trainer at Costa Mesa CrossFit who apparently took second place in an obscure event recently. We're told he missed the gold by one kilogram. Max seemed like a great guy as attested to by the dozen or so friends who showed up in workout togs. Good for him, and all the work it took, but really? First the mayor devalues the City, now this... good grief!
But it would get worse... much worse...
LUCK OF THE DRAW
Eighteen people turned in cards to speak during Public Comments, so City Clerk Brenda Green shuffled the deck and pulled the first ten lucky people. The rest would have to wait unti after midnight - including James Bridges, who depends on public transportation to attend the meetings. Once again, he couldn't wait.
FIRST SIGNS OF MELTDOWN
Folks stepped up and spoke for and against the bastard child of Measure V, Measure O, Fireworks, Parking and more. Teresa Drain, once again, stepped up and demanded a forensic audit on the 60th Anniversary debacle. At the end of her well-reasoned presentation several members of the large crowd clapped. At that point an angry Righeimer made the first of many memorable statements. As he told the crowd not to clap, to which someone said something about "free speech", he spit back, "If you think it's free speech you'll be removed!" And that was just the beginning.
CROONING TO THE MAYOR
One of the more memorable moments came when Terry Koken stepped up in the number 2 slot and crooned another tune to the mayor. His lament, titled "Put Another Charter On The Ballot", had several catchy phrases, but I'll just give you one sample here as an example. His second stanza begins:
We don't 'specially mind the nasty screwin',
But hope that you will understand we're pissed.
Not only'cause we don't like all the stuff that you are doin',
But mostly'cause we're screwed and never kissed....
It was not clear whether the mayor was amused by the ballad or not.
RIGHEIMER AND BUDGET DOUBLE TALK
During Council Member Comments Monahan had nothing - big surprise there - but Righeimer crowed about the "at least $6 million budget surplus" that was announced earlier in the day, and acknowledged that "$19.4 million that we saved came from somewhere." Profound! He told us "We're doing better." What he didn't tell you was that the "somewhere" was right out of the pockets of the employees and from the savings achieved by NOT filling vacancies in critical areas, including the Police Department, which is trying to keep us safe while operating with 25% fewer cops than the current authorized headcount (and 40% less than optimium staffing of a few years ago). Nope, he didn't mention that.
MENSINGER SPEAKING IN TONGUES
Mensinger acknowledged speaker Flo Martin's complaint about parking issues throughout the city, then segued into a political statement about political statements, stating "Up is down and down is up", whatever the heck that means! Then he spoke on Fireworks, complaining about how expensive it is to fund extracurricular activities in schools, citing "$100,000 a year for Estancia Football". He asked the City Attorney to investigate increasing fines for illegal fireworks, but said nothing about curtailing the sale of safe and sane, which has now become a week of terror for many in our community as they are discharged for five straight nights under the current policy. Leece's plan would reduce that to only July 4th, but I expect it to get almost no support, and that we will see dozens of kids in the audience on October 21st to plead for the retention of the current plan.
GENIS - FIREWORKS TRUTH
During her time Sandy Genis gave us background on the Fireworks issue - she was on the council at the time. What has been misrepresented as "voter approval" of fireworks is nothing of the sort. The fact that we currently permit fireworks is the result of a compromise made following an advisory vote by the people on the question of fireworks. It was so close - 151 votes difference - against fireworks that the council at the time decided to permit safe and sane fireworks, but with strong controls. Somehow, that morphed into the current situation.
LEECE - FIREWORKS AND TREES
Wendy Leece also addressed the Fireworks situation, indicating that complaints to her about illegal fireworks have tripled this year. She has formed a Study Group on this issue and invited interested parties to join her by contacting her through City Hall. Among the other things she addressed was the wisdom, or lack thereof, of our current mass tree-planting program during a time of drought.
FACILITATING DEVELOPMENT
CEO Tom Hatch, during his time, spoke of the "smooth transition at the Senior Center" - clearly an issue subject to interpretation, and introduced a new booklet, "Applicants Guide To Entitlement Processing", designed to facililtate development. Swell...
JOYCE AND MEASURE O
Items 3 and 4 were pulled from the Consent Calendar for discussion later - after midnight, as it turned out. Item 3 was the Warrant and Terry Koken hung around to complain about the $170,225 paid to Dan Joyce. Righeimer, in replying to him, said they don't discuss personnel issues. #4 was for a series of projects in the city paid for, in part, by state and federal grants. Flo Martin also stayed around to postulate that if Measure O passes and the anti-Prevailing Wage section is followed, the City would lose millions of dollars in grants. There was no response.
HOOKAH PARLORS
Public Hearing #1, the extension of the moratorium on opening any new Hookah Parlors, got more discussion than I anticipated. Monahan was livid because of one operator, who had a dispute with his landlord and was tossed out, couldn't re-open in the city until the ban was lifted. The staff wants an extension of a year so they can work on an extensive review of this kind of business plus "vaping" venues and smoking in public places in general. Monahan was nearly apoplectic. Following advice by contract City Attorney Tom Duarte, the upshot was that the moratorium would be extended another 12 months, but the staff would take a look in five months to see where they are in their process. The vote was 4-1, with Monahan voting NO.
GROUP HOME ORDINANCE
At 7:20 the most contentious of the issues remaining on the agenda, the Group Home Ordinance, began. Lawyer Elena Gherli launched into what would be a nearly two-hour discussion, including her extensive slide presentation - the same one she presented to the Planning Commission last month. In fact, she neglected to update information on the slides following the Planning Commission meeting. Here are three that summarize the issue.
BAKER'S DOZEN OF SPEAKERS
Thirteen members of the public, including several who either owned or represented owners of sober living homes (SLH), spoke in favor of the ordinance or against it. Residents decried the destruction of their neighborhoods, and told horror stories about how their lives have been affected by this infestation of "sick people", many of whom are from out of state. One resident of Huntington Beach who owned two contiguous sober living homes in Costa Mesa spoke, expressing concern that he - a "good operator" was being penalized for the actions of "bad operators".
WAIT FOR A NEW COUNCIL
Mary Spadoni used her three minutes to, among other things, suggest that - taking a page from Monahan's playbook when he stalled the police labor contract negotiations to "wait for a new council to be seated" - suggested this issue not receive final consideration until after the election. Of course, that made too much sense. She suggested that rushing this process now was a "political Hail Mary", referring, of course, to Righeimer.
R-2 ZONES?
Monahan wondered why facilities in R-2 zones were not being considered. Gherli told him it was more complicated, and that this ordinance for R-1 properties would be easier to enforce.
SCHOOLS AND PAROLEES
Leece wondered why the ordinance didn't include a prohibition of such facilities near schools, like the Orange Ordinance does and expressed concern about parolees. Gherli didn't give a satisfactory reply on the school issue and said the parolees are protected by state law. Contract Staffer Jerry Guarrancino said there may be only one parolee per house.
MAYOR WANT TO SPREAD THE WEALTH
Righeimer expressed gratitude for the turnout, complained that Costa Mesa has 25% of such homes but only 3% of the population in Orange County. When addressing why that might be the case he said, "because Costa Mesa is such a great place to live!" He also acknowledged that we have no idea how many such facilities there are in the city, and that it's a problem of over-concentration - we have to spread them out! That, dear voters, says the mayor is telling you to watch for a sober living home coming to your neighborhood soon!
BOTH SIDES OF HIS MOUTH
When addressing his oft-stated observation that this ordinance - or any ordinance, for that matter - would result in lawsuits, he spoke again of Newport Beach's on-going battle on this issue, which has cost that city nearly $4 million in legal fees so far. Expressing his resolve to spend our money on legal fees he said, "If it cost millions - 2 million, 3 million, 5 million - to keep our neighborhoods safe, then we will do it!" And I thought about how he disemboweled the Costa Mesa Police Department just because of his animosity against employee "unions" and realized that he is nothing more than a hypocritical, self-serving, mealy-mouthed politician. And that wasn't the worst last night...
TWO HOURS AND IT PASSED
At 9:05 last night - after nearly two hours of discussion and comments - the council unanimously passed the first reading of the ordinance - and lawyers all over Orange County are calling their Bentley dealers this morning.
APPEAL OF CAR DEALERSHIP EXPANSION
After a short break we took on Public Hearing #3, the appealed changes to the plans for the Orange Coast Buick-GMC-Cadillac dealership at the corner of Harbor Boulevard and Merrimac - the site of the previous Nabors Cadillac store. This issue has been plagued with bad management since the beginning, when the demolition of the old building resulted in significant damage to resident's property and the death of a pet. The residents have been working with the new ownership and the planning department to resolve serious issues. This was an appeal of an approval given by the Planning Commission last month. And, as it turned out, it was not going to be a pretty scene.
MEL AND PETER
Senior Planner Mel Lee made the staff presentation, then Peter Naghavi - former long-time city employee and senior member of the management team - represented the applicant and made a lengthy presentation, addressing the history and the concerns. Through it all Righeimer seemed antsy - more than usual.
RIGHEIMER STUNS TERESA DRAIN
When it came time for the public to speak, the first person up was resident Teresa Drain, who has been a spokesperson for her neighbors near the dealership on this issue. As she began to read her prepared statement (go to 04:01:57 on the video) - to be sure she could fit it all in during her 3 minutes - Righeimer interrupted her and snapped, "Wadda ya want?" Startled, Drain stared up at him, and he repeated, "Wadda ya want?" At that time Leece told him to just let her speak. He then said, "I don't know why we're here!" Flustered, Drain continued, giving a brief history of the situation and explaining that she and her neighbors were looking for just a little more time to finalize arrangements with the owner. Righeimer gave her more time and asked her what she wanted - money? She said no, but perhaps something like what the Home Depot center provided to contiguous neighbors - air conditioning because they had to keep their windows closed - double paned windows. She wasn't asking for those things, just wanted a little more time working with the owner.
WISE WORDS, PROBABLY UNHEARD
The remaining 8 speakers took their turn, which took us to around 10:20 p.m. Then the Vice President representing the owners, Ron MacEachern, spoke about their plans and mission. As part of his attempt to apologize for the early missteps with the project he said: "One of the habits of highly successful people is to seek first to understand, then to be understood". I heard that and wondered if Righeimer heard and understood what he had just said. Probably not.
RUDE RIGHEIMER INTERRUPTS AND ERUPTS
Then, when Leece asked for the floor, Righeimer cut her off (04:47:10) and said, "Lemme speak first!" He then, unbeliveably, apologized to the owner for having to be there. He said "There's just property owners here and they have issues. Not homeowners, just property owners." This begins his rant which culminates in him making a motion - seconded by Mensinger - to move exactly what the Planning Commission recommended except requiring a 10 foot wall for two properties - and is followed by Leece expressing her disappointment and Genis reading him the riot act for his behavior.
PROPERTY OWNERS SHAKING DOWN DEALER?
Leece derided his "attitude and condescention" toward the residents of College Park. Righeimer interrupts her and, at 04:51:45, referring to the property owners, "What I heard here is property owners trying to shakedown somebody for money - for cash." The audience erupted in anger and, at 04:52:39, you can hear one being told to leave. When she did she hurled over her shoulder at the mayor, "You're an ass!" She was correct.
GENIS PULLS NO PUNCHS, SO TO SPEAK
Then it was Sandy Genis' turn... Oh, boy! After providing some history that comes only from being a long-time resident and former council member, among the thing she said addressed Righeimer's "temper tantrum", and wondered if it was because he was "outside the loop" or because "he didn't come up with the idea" (I'm smiling as I type that) and she said she was "appalled at the infantile reaction to that." Her explanation of the reason for the additional conditions made perfect sense, but it fell on three sets of deaf ears. She observed that nobody knows what the future holds for this dealership, so any conditions should be codified. Nope, Righeimer wasn't hearing anything like that!
LOGIC AND SOUND GOVERNANCE FAILS, AGAIN
Genis made a substitute motion to include the list of conditions added that evening and Leece seconded it. When the vote was taken it was defeated, 2-3. They then voted on Righeimer's motion, which passed, 3-2 and the owner went away smiling and the residents - you know, those "shakedown artists" went away stunned.
MORE LIVE/WORK, MORE TRAFFIC
The final item on the agenda - a screening request for the 32-unit live/work development at 1672 Placentia Avenue that would produce traffic 220% greater than the ultimate build-out prescribed in the General Plan - took less than an hour to discuss, finishing up at midnight. Seven speakers addressed the proliferation of such developments. Chad Brown, the developer, said the city has 440 such units in the city now! Yikes. Residents complained about the density, parking and what appears to be a rush to get these kind of projects done while there is a developer-friendly administration in the city. The irrascible Terry Koken stuck around to address this item and his parting words to Righeimer were, "The density of this project is exceeded only by your own!" Yep
VRSKA ON THE CASE
That took us to the trailed Consent Calendar items mentioned at the top, then the remaining speakers during the trailed Public Comments - all six of them who stayed to the bitter end. Among those was Anna Vrska, who criticized Righeimer for his condescenting attitude and referred to him as a "little tyrant who needs his ego stroked. She also wondered to Monahan - who likely wished he was at his pub, pulling beer taps about that time - and asked, but received no answer, to her questions about his and attorney Duarte's creation of the Medical Marijuana Ordinance. Apparently she is being stone-walled by the City on her request for documents defining the cost in attorney time - Duarte had indicated that it cost $25,000. She also decried what appears to be the misuse of the self-insurance fund - which appears to be another Righeimer piggy bank. Crickets. However, Miss Vrska is, if nothing else, persistent. I suspect we have not heard the last of this.
RIGHEIMER DEMONSTRATED HIS UNFITNESS
We bailed out of the council chambers at 12:30, feeling very drained and frustrated by the performance of your mayor. Fortunately, his tirades last night only further demonstrate his unfitness for the office he holds, and why an open checkbook like Measure O would be catastrophic for the city in his hands. Make it easy - No on O and No R's on the ballot. Simple, no?
The combination of late night meetings and early morning eye doctor visit (dilated eyes and all) and a dead battery delayed this entry... onward and upward. Since I've dragged my heels today the city feed for this meeting is now available, HERE. As we go through this process I'll give you some time reference points so you can watch a specific event. You're going to want to do that..."OVERFLOW SEATING"?
I should have known it was going to be a very special City Council meeting when I arrived at City Hall forty minutes before the meeting to find businessman Tim Lewis sitting on one of the toilets he dragged to the City Hall steps. The photos say it all! I thought the toilet paper earmuffs were an especially nice touch.
The auditorium was not full, but it felt like it was. I counted slightly more than 100 people seated during the evening. And, even though Wendy Leece's request to re-visit the whole Fireworks issue - it had been placed last on the agenda - was pulled and will be heard at the next meeting, several people stepped up during Public Comments to address it. One fellow hung around until the bitter end, nearly 12:30 a.m., to plead for pepetuation of the current policy. I'm getting ahead of myself..
We began the evening with Mayor Jim Righeimer telling us that council member Gary Monahan - who will complete two decades on the council in 2016 and vest life-time health care in the process - would lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Only problem was, he wasn't in the auditorium! He eventually showed up later, so Lurch, er, Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger led us.
SERIOUSLY?!
Then - and my jaw dropped on this one - we had a presentation by Righeimer, who read a proclamation naming the day Maximilian (Max) Mormont Day in Costa Mesa. Who is Max Mormont, you ask? Well, it turns out he's Righeimer's personal trainer at Costa Mesa CrossFit who apparently took second place in an obscure event recently. We're told he missed the gold by one kilogram. Max seemed like a great guy as attested to by the dozen or so friends who showed up in workout togs. Good for him, and all the work it took, but really? First the mayor devalues the City, now this... good grief!
LUCK OF THE DRAW
Eighteen people turned in cards to speak during Public Comments, so City Clerk Brenda Green shuffled the deck and pulled the first ten lucky people. The rest would have to wait unti after midnight - including James Bridges, who depends on public transportation to attend the meetings. Once again, he couldn't wait.FIRST SIGNS OF MELTDOWN
Folks stepped up and spoke for and against the bastard child of Measure V, Measure O, Fireworks, Parking and more. Teresa Drain, once again, stepped up and demanded a forensic audit on the 60th Anniversary debacle. At the end of her well-reasoned presentation several members of the large crowd clapped. At that point an angry Righeimer made the first of many memorable statements. As he told the crowd not to clap, to which someone said something about "free speech", he spit back, "If you think it's free speech you'll be removed!" And that was just the beginning.CROONING TO THE MAYOR
One of the more memorable moments came when Terry Koken stepped up in the number 2 slot and crooned another tune to the mayor. His lament, titled "Put Another Charter On The Ballot", had several catchy phrases, but I'll just give you one sample here as an example. His second stanza begins:We don't 'specially mind the nasty screwin',
But hope that you will understand we're pissed.
Not only'cause we don't like all the stuff that you are doin',
But mostly'cause we're screwed and never kissed....
It was not clear whether the mayor was amused by the ballad or not.
RIGHEIMER AND BUDGET DOUBLE TALK
During Council Member Comments Monahan had nothing - big surprise there - but Righeimer crowed about the "at least $6 million budget surplus" that was announced earlier in the day, and acknowledged that "$19.4 million that we saved came from somewhere." Profound! He told us "We're doing better." What he didn't tell you was that the "somewhere" was right out of the pockets of the employees and from the savings achieved by NOT filling vacancies in critical areas, including the Police Department, which is trying to keep us safe while operating with 25% fewer cops than the current authorized headcount (and 40% less than optimium staffing of a few years ago). Nope, he didn't mention that.MENSINGER SPEAKING IN TONGUES
Mensinger acknowledged speaker Flo Martin's complaint about parking issues throughout the city, then segued into a political statement about political statements, stating "Up is down and down is up", whatever the heck that means! Then he spoke on Fireworks, complaining about how expensive it is to fund extracurricular activities in schools, citing "$100,000 a year for Estancia Football". He asked the City Attorney to investigate increasing fines for illegal fireworks, but said nothing about curtailing the sale of safe and sane, which has now become a week of terror for many in our community as they are discharged for five straight nights under the current policy. Leece's plan would reduce that to only July 4th, but I expect it to get almost no support, and that we will see dozens of kids in the audience on October 21st to plead for the retention of the current plan.GENIS - FIREWORKS TRUTH
During her time Sandy Genis gave us background on the Fireworks issue - she was on the council at the time. What has been misrepresented as "voter approval" of fireworks is nothing of the sort. The fact that we currently permit fireworks is the result of a compromise made following an advisory vote by the people on the question of fireworks. It was so close - 151 votes difference - against fireworks that the council at the time decided to permit safe and sane fireworks, but with strong controls. Somehow, that morphed into the current situation.LEECE - FIREWORKS AND TREES
Wendy Leece also addressed the Fireworks situation, indicating that complaints to her about illegal fireworks have tripled this year. She has formed a Study Group on this issue and invited interested parties to join her by contacting her through City Hall. Among the other things she addressed was the wisdom, or lack thereof, of our current mass tree-planting program during a time of drought.FACILITATING DEVELOPMENT
CEO Tom Hatch, during his time, spoke of the "smooth transition at the Senior Center" - clearly an issue subject to interpretation, and introduced a new booklet, "Applicants Guide To Entitlement Processing", designed to facililtate development. Swell...JOYCE AND MEASURE O
Items 3 and 4 were pulled from the Consent Calendar for discussion later - after midnight, as it turned out. Item 3 was the Warrant and Terry Koken hung around to complain about the $170,225 paid to Dan Joyce. Righeimer, in replying to him, said they don't discuss personnel issues. #4 was for a series of projects in the city paid for, in part, by state and federal grants. Flo Martin also stayed around to postulate that if Measure O passes and the anti-Prevailing Wage section is followed, the City would lose millions of dollars in grants. There was no response.HOOKAH PARLORS
Public Hearing #1, the extension of the moratorium on opening any new Hookah Parlors, got more discussion than I anticipated. Monahan was livid because of one operator, who had a dispute with his landlord and was tossed out, couldn't re-open in the city until the ban was lifted. The staff wants an extension of a year so they can work on an extensive review of this kind of business plus "vaping" venues and smoking in public places in general. Monahan was nearly apoplectic. Following advice by contract City Attorney Tom Duarte, the upshot was that the moratorium would be extended another 12 months, but the staff would take a look in five months to see where they are in their process. The vote was 4-1, with Monahan voting NO.GROUP HOME ORDINANCE
At 7:20 the most contentious of the issues remaining on the agenda, the Group Home Ordinance, began. Lawyer Elena Gherli launched into what would be a nearly two-hour discussion, including her extensive slide presentation - the same one she presented to the Planning Commission last month. In fact, she neglected to update information on the slides following the Planning Commission meeting. Here are three that summarize the issue.
BAKER'S DOZEN OF SPEAKERS
Thirteen members of the public, including several who either owned or represented owners of sober living homes (SLH), spoke in favor of the ordinance or against it. Residents decried the destruction of their neighborhoods, and told horror stories about how their lives have been affected by this infestation of "sick people", many of whom are from out of state. One resident of Huntington Beach who owned two contiguous sober living homes in Costa Mesa spoke, expressing concern that he - a "good operator" was being penalized for the actions of "bad operators".WAIT FOR A NEW COUNCIL
Mary Spadoni used her three minutes to, among other things, suggest that - taking a page from Monahan's playbook when he stalled the police labor contract negotiations to "wait for a new council to be seated" - suggested this issue not receive final consideration until after the election. Of course, that made too much sense. She suggested that rushing this process now was a "political Hail Mary", referring, of course, to Righeimer.R-2 ZONES?
Monahan wondered why facilities in R-2 zones were not being considered. Gherli told him it was more complicated, and that this ordinance for R-1 properties would be easier to enforce.
SCHOOLS AND PAROLEES
Leece wondered why the ordinance didn't include a prohibition of such facilities near schools, like the Orange Ordinance does and expressed concern about parolees. Gherli didn't give a satisfactory reply on the school issue and said the parolees are protected by state law. Contract Staffer Jerry Guarrancino said there may be only one parolee per house.MAYOR WANT TO SPREAD THE WEALTH
BOTH SIDES OF HIS MOUTH
When addressing his oft-stated observation that this ordinance - or any ordinance, for that matter - would result in lawsuits, he spoke again of Newport Beach's on-going battle on this issue, which has cost that city nearly $4 million in legal fees so far. Expressing his resolve to spend our money on legal fees he said, "If it cost millions - 2 million, 3 million, 5 million - to keep our neighborhoods safe, then we will do it!" And I thought about how he disemboweled the Costa Mesa Police Department just because of his animosity against employee "unions" and realized that he is nothing more than a hypocritical, self-serving, mealy-mouthed politician. And that wasn't the worst last night...
TWO HOURS AND IT PASSED
At 9:05 last night - after nearly two hours of discussion and comments - the council unanimously passed the first reading of the ordinance - and lawyers all over Orange County are calling their Bentley dealers this morning.
APPEAL OF CAR DEALERSHIP EXPANSION
MEL AND PETER
Senior Planner Mel Lee made the staff presentation, then Peter Naghavi - former long-time city employee and senior member of the management team - represented the applicant and made a lengthy presentation, addressing the history and the concerns. Through it all Righeimer seemed antsy - more than usual.
RIGHEIMER STUNS TERESA DRAIN
When it came time for the public to speak, the first person up was resident Teresa Drain, who has been a spokesperson for her neighbors near the dealership on this issue. As she began to read her prepared statement (go to 04:01:57 on the video) - to be sure she could fit it all in during her 3 minutes - Righeimer interrupted her and snapped, "Wadda ya want?" Startled, Drain stared up at him, and he repeated, "Wadda ya want?" At that time Leece told him to just let her speak. He then said, "I don't know why we're here!" Flustered, Drain continued, giving a brief history of the situation and explaining that she and her neighbors were looking for just a little more time to finalize arrangements with the owner. Righeimer gave her more time and asked her what she wanted - money? She said no, but perhaps something like what the Home Depot center provided to contiguous neighbors - air conditioning because they had to keep their windows closed - double paned windows. She wasn't asking for those things, just wanted a little more time working with the owner.WISE WORDS, PROBABLY UNHEARD
The remaining 8 speakers took their turn, which took us to around 10:20 p.m. Then the Vice President representing the owners, Ron MacEachern, spoke about their plans and mission. As part of his attempt to apologize for the early missteps with the project he said: "One of the habits of highly successful people is to seek first to understand, then to be understood". I heard that and wondered if Righeimer heard and understood what he had just said. Probably not.RUDE RIGHEIMER INTERRUPTS AND ERUPTS
Then, when Leece asked for the floor, Righeimer cut her off (04:47:10) and said, "Lemme speak first!" He then, unbeliveably, apologized to the owner for having to be there. He said "There's just property owners here and they have issues. Not homeowners, just property owners." This begins his rant which culminates in him making a motion - seconded by Mensinger - to move exactly what the Planning Commission recommended except requiring a 10 foot wall for two properties - and is followed by Leece expressing her disappointment and Genis reading him the riot act for his behavior.PROPERTY OWNERS SHAKING DOWN DEALER?
Leece derided his "attitude and condescention" toward the residents of College Park. Righeimer interrupts her and, at 04:51:45, referring to the property owners, "What I heard here is property owners trying to shakedown somebody for money - for cash." The audience erupted in anger and, at 04:52:39, you can hear one being told to leave. When she did she hurled over her shoulder at the mayor, "You're an ass!" She was correct.GENIS PULLS NO PUNCHS, SO TO SPEAK
Then it was Sandy Genis' turn... Oh, boy! After providing some history that comes only from being a long-time resident and former council member, among the thing she said addressed Righeimer's "temper tantrum", and wondered if it was because he was "outside the loop" or because "he didn't come up with the idea" (I'm smiling as I type that) and she said she was "appalled at the infantile reaction to that." Her explanation of the reason for the additional conditions made perfect sense, but it fell on three sets of deaf ears. She observed that nobody knows what the future holds for this dealership, so any conditions should be codified. Nope, Righeimer wasn't hearing anything like that!LOGIC AND SOUND GOVERNANCE FAILS, AGAIN
Genis made a substitute motion to include the list of conditions added that evening and Leece seconded it. When the vote was taken it was defeated, 2-3. They then voted on Righeimer's motion, which passed, 3-2 and the owner went away smiling and the residents - you know, those "shakedown artists" went away stunned.MORE LIVE/WORK, MORE TRAFFIC
The final item on the agenda - a screening request for the 32-unit live/work development at 1672 Placentia Avenue that would produce traffic 220% greater than the ultimate build-out prescribed in the General Plan - took less than an hour to discuss, finishing up at midnight. Seven speakers addressed the proliferation of such developments. Chad Brown, the developer, said the city has 440 such units in the city now! Yikes. Residents complained about the density, parking and what appears to be a rush to get these kind of projects done while there is a developer-friendly administration in the city. The irrascible Terry Koken stuck around to address this item and his parting words to Righeimer were, "The density of this project is exceeded only by your own!" YepVRSKA ON THE CASE
That took us to the trailed Consent Calendar items mentioned at the top, then the remaining speakers during the trailed Public Comments - all six of them who stayed to the bitter end. Among those was Anna Vrska, who criticized Righeimer for his condescenting attitude and referred to him as a "little tyrant who needs his ego stroked. She also wondered to Monahan - who likely wished he was at his pub, pulling beer taps about that time - and asked, but received no answer, to her questions about his and attorney Duarte's creation of the Medical Marijuana Ordinance. Apparently she is being stone-walled by the City on her request for documents defining the cost in attorney time - Duarte had indicated that it cost $25,000. She also decried what appears to be the misuse of the self-insurance fund - which appears to be another Righeimer piggy bank. Crickets. However, Miss Vrska is, if nothing else, persistent. I suspect we have not heard the last of this.RIGHEIMER DEMONSTRATED HIS UNFITNESS
NO ON "O" - NO R'S, YOU KNOW...
Labels: development, Gary Monahan, Hookah Parlors, Jim Righeimer, Sandra Genis, Sober Living Homes, Steve Mensinger, Tom Hatch, Wendy Leece
posted by The Pot Stirrer at 10/08/2014 04:52:00 PM
26 Comments:
Geoff-
Typo in the quote: should be YOUR own, addressed to Jimmy.
Chris McEvoy called it a "meltdown"; Sandy called it a "temper tantrum"; but judging from his behavior in the end of the meeting, I would term it a "psychotic break", in all probability brought on by the psychiatric effects of Kha Bao's nystagmus test, as elaborated in his lawsuit against the cops. When I went to comment on the live-work units, I had to nudge him to acknowledge that I had the floor, and so did some others. This is pretty abnormal for Hizzonner. We may be witnessing the end of his effectiveness as a member of the governing body here. I just hope he can get through the Oct 21 meeting and then give a concession speech on the 4th of November.
We should, of course, not rejoice in the dissipation of this fine man's ability, but rather pity him and those whose lives and livelihoods depend upon him. However, as I am committed to the termination of his incumbency, I see last night's irrational episode as a positive sign in the furtherance of this end.
I told him he should stop suing our police.
Any techies out there able to put together some clips of our esteemed mayor being rude, blowing his stack, etc. It would make a great campaign video.
In the last election, Gary's past record as a council member could have been used against him, but his opponents were too nice and he got in by a slim margin. It's time to take the gloves off.
What can you say about behavior befitting a spoiled child but it should be noted he was on his best behavior before the crowd thinned out. What does it take to see the damage being done to our city? This ordinance, is poorly crafted, half assed zoning considerations. The heart of the sober living problem is dead center in Eastside, of which over 60% is not covered by ordinance because R1 is the only focus...look at a zoning map, it will shock you how r2 md is solid from Mesa to 17th; Newport to Orange and huge fingers throughout the other larts of Eastside. ths Orange ordinance, city wide; NB ordinance city wide. This ordinance. according to Righeimer, will get us sued, will stop any other ordinace from. being enacted, we bring on attorney fees for plaintuffs and defendants, and punitive damages if they are successful. NB's ordinance is a strong irdinance that got derailed by public/council comments. Tgey are eight years ahead of us, if Supreme Court of US hears it major victory; if they rule for NB it will be the law of the land, even CM...Waitied for years and now rush a really terrible ordinance through in an attempt to bolster his re -election, beyond disgusting.
Unfortunately, I don't think a lot of voters have any idea of how he behaves while representing.
Mazel Tov, Geoff! Just checked out the new OC Weekly on-line and they had their "Best of" issue again....which seems like the third one this year. Anyhow, you will never guess who got "Best Blog"?!? Our very own potstirrer!!!
You stlll got it, Geoff!!
I just watched the city council meeting on the website. Righeimer is a complete fool. There is no other word for him.
I had to laugh though, at Steve's insistence that everyone park in their garage so that there is enough parking. That guy has huge cars, and I don't believe he ever parks in the garage or even in his driveway. His cars (multiple) are always out on the street.
Greg read the definition of "hypocrit" and it sure did fit that bafoon. He is an embarrassment. His temper tantrums simply prove it.
Robin handed him his ass, Sandy handed him his ass, Wendy handed him his ass, but I was particularly proud of Anna Vrska, who handed him his ass on a platter. Showed what a complete liar Rig is with regard to the figures he keeps throwing around, and have no bearing on anything whatsoever. I am concerned, however, about the insurance fund and the other one she mentioned that are at an all time low. Where is that money? She's correct. Rig is not doing the job he is telling us he's doing. And apparently the city is withholding documents with regard to money and the attorneys.
With regard to the information gained tonight I am convinced more than ever that we need the expertise of Foley and Humphrey on the council to get to the bottom of the money taken out of the funds and why. This is not a small thing. We have large problems in this city, not the least of which is missing money.
I encourage everyone to watch that city council meeting video.
Honeyman,
Thanks for the heads-up! I had no idea. Once again, I am humbled by this recognition. Gracias, all, for your loyal readership.
Congrats GW! The honor is super well deserved!
I loved bully Mensy prodding his pal to make Genis use the title "Mayor" instead of just "Mr. Righeimer." Shows what a small man the bully really is.
Call me over-optimistic, but the Rigmarshal's behavior is not that of a confident front runner. OCGOP polls must show him losing badly, causing him to freak out. 2010 was a fluke. To know the real Riggy is to know incompetence and amateurism. He's a whiny Baby Huey nobody likes. He's toxic for Costa Mesa and not qualified to be on Council.
Humphrey and Foley will help repair the damage.
"With the nefarious round table of causal possibilities for outer MATRICULATION of the county blogs, one sees lions and other giant cats snipping the whiskers of many who are more favored in the HYPED UP forensics of popularity..."
-Probable forthcoming post by Popp on how it's just not fair that Geoff's blog got the OC Weekly nod
Some background on the car dealership situation and the reference to the Home Depot center... At the time the center was being remodeled, there was uproar similar to what is happening down the street at the dealership. I was writing for OC Metro magazine and interviewed Scott Bell, the president of ICI Development, which was remodeling the center.
The buffer that surrounds the center, and the upgrades to surrounding homes were all the result of Bell meeting directly with homeowners to try to resolve the challenge without attorneys or city involvement.
Well THAT was weird. I guess he mistook me for a crony, and thought my silence could be bought.
Steve Smith- thank you for the background. Further proof that Costa Mesa USED to have leadership that cared for the residents. The developers' outreach now stops at the his re-election fund.
We can return Costa Mesa to her citizens, and start repairing the damage.
Vote for Jay Humphrey and Katrina Foley.
Vote No on O.
P.S. mr. Righeimer corralled the Fifth Floor to College Park for a "Town Hall" about the OCC expansion -over which he has NO jurisdiction- and decried the horrors of a parking structure across a street about 120' away.
This structure is 53' from my neighbors back yards.
I thought you did a fantastic job Teresa of presenting your points and that you handled the Mayor's attack with grace and tact. Hopefully, the days of the "Righeimer dictatorship" will be over soon!!
Congratulations, Geoff!
You certainly deserve the award for best blog!
I watched from home, flabbergasted as the little dictator lived up to his reputation and violated our First Amendment rights with his " expecting free speech, you will be removed" comment- Unfrigging believable! Fortunately, we have it all on tape.
It only got worse.
Thank you to all who were there that night representing us, the residents of Costa Mesa.
Thank you to all who spoke up and spoke out against the abuses and complete disregard this dictator has for us and the future of our city.
This is man in unhinged, unfit for office and should be removed.
Jay Humphrey and Katrina Foley for CM CC.
No on O.
Of course, Teresa, he really doesn't give a rat's rump about the OCC development. It was just another campaign stop for him. Fortunately for those of us who attended that meeting in the driveway had a chance to see a REAL leader speak - Mary Hornbuckle. First we heard Righeimer, with his self-serving blather and pontificating. Then he invited Mary to speak and it was like a breath of fresh air. She was, and is, an elected leader who actually understands what it takes to lead a community. Many of her attributes are shared by Jay Humphrey and Katrina Foley. There is still hope...
One has to wonder, Pot Stirrer, if the number of people and neighborhoods Der Mayor has riled up (let's see, College Park, Westside/Fairview adjacent, Eastside, etc.) has tilted the axis toward the No on O, Foley/Humphrey side? Sure seems like a lot of people have had it.
A smart man told me a few months back he didn't think both could top Righeimer. I was on my way to a poker game, and didn't think I had a chance of winning. I won big that night.
I wonder if he still thinks that?
I hope all voters will turn out in this election even though it isn't a presidential election. We need you all more than ever. Now is our chance to get rid of that fool.
Vote for Foley and Humphrey and No on "O"
Then maybe we can find out what happened to the $8 million missing from the self insured fund.
It was worth every minute to watch the WHOLE 6+hour meeting and finally get to Rick's and Greg's requests for a moratorium on "tenement projects" that will eventually become slums.
(Got a lot of clutter-work done, too!)
Congratulations, BC!
Smokey
Aside from all the other crap spewing from the boys on the council my guess as to why we now have "Max Mormont Day" is that Riggy didn't pay his bill an hopes not to be sued again. The rest ya'll have covered.
Hi, Teresa: Some clarification as I do not know enough about the dealership situation to make an informed opinion.
At the time, I positioned Bell and his communication as a smart business strategy. First, he saved an insane amount of money in legal fees and in time. Second, the HD center project is known as "infill," which is going back and remodeling (improving) older centers to help attract more business. Infill was a relatively new phenomenon here in Orange County at the time and became popular because the county was running out of developable areas in the more urban sections.
Frankly, I believe the success of the HD center is due strictly to a dollars and cents decision by a very astute businessman. The subject of the then city council or any city requirements or involvement never came up in our meetings. It was all managed by one very smart entrepreneur.
Teresa is the epitome of grace under pressure. If there is anyone that deserves to be one of Daily Pilot's 103 most influential people, it is she. Though I do have a suggestion that along with the 60th anniversary forensic audit, there should be one done of Righeimer's...excuse me Mayor Righeimer's brain.
Not visible on tape but what we in the audience saw: the Applicant's representative, VP MacEachern, leaning forward and even reaching out toward the dais as Righeimer ranted. He had already said he was amenable to the additional conditions! Righeimer glanced at him and quickly turned away.
The conditions Sandy Genis proposed were the SAME ONES that had been discussed and agreed to by the applicant during the Planning Commission hearing! They weren't incorporated into the adopted motion then, and even tho the applicant was still willing, the Councilmen clearly weren't interested in what he had to say!
Talk to your friends and acquaintances. Let them know what happened. Also let them know Righeimer is lying to the voters about the fiscal deficit and surplus with made up numbers in his campaign pieces!!! Verification at La Femme Wonkita Blog with audited City financial documents. We need to win two seats. Jay Humphrey and Katrina Foley are the only ones in any position to do it. Vote for them both and we will have a good chance of sanity returning to our local Government!
@Brad: you are 1000% correct about Teresa! She is a very intelligent, well spoken, tenacious, courageous individual (not to mention she handles herself with class and manners when under duress). As far as the RIGmeister's title of "mayor", it's just an honorary title. We, the residents of CM, didn't elect him to be "mayor", just a council member. He and his CCM alone voted to bestow that title on him. No one else!
WOW and thank you for the encouraging words! I am humbled...
Geoff, your blog is well deserving of the recognition. You capture the REAL Costa Mesa. Your updates keep us all connected, especially with the election season lies and distractions. Kudos and thank you.
@ Brad, xoxoxo we miss you in the 'hood! Love you! Mean it! (sending multiple air kisses)!!!
@Teresa,
Back at ya! Miss you too and wish I could be standing shoulder to shoulder fighting the good fight with you. Though considering what our old backyard must look like at the moment, maybe not. :-)
Thank you for printing the truth Geoff. You are deserving of all the kudos for your writing. It's sad that this council majority had degraded their version of the truth to the point that the citizens of Costa Mesa can only get the truthful accounts here.
I also agree that Mrs. Drain is a class act and very brave to continually address the council on behalf of her neighbors and our community. Mrs. Drain is smart, passionate, committed and only interested in the truth and the best for our community. DP 103 top 10! As far as the tirade, mini meltdown, untimely outburst or whatever you want to label it, MR. Righeimer was way out of line. It was a done deal. All he had to do was shut up and vote but NO. He chose to insult the college park homeowners (of which I am one x 2!) by calling them shakedown artists. Really MR. Righeimer. That was you showing your true colors. As an elected official ( and please let the record reflect that no one in our household voted for you nor will EVER, however you are bound by your fiduciary responsibility to represent the entire City NOT just those that voted for you). I hope that my fellow registered voters in Costa Mesa will make the right decision and vote for HUMPHREY and FOLEY and NO on O.
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