MaryJane Is Back - Medical Marijuana on Council Agenda

LAST MEETING FOR THIS COUNCIL
While we're waiting for the next report of the election results, here's a little distraction for you.  The Costa Mesa City Council will hold the last meeting before the new council is seated this coming Tuesday, November 18, 2014 beginning at 6:00 p.m. in City Council Chambers at City Hall.  You can read the full agenda HERE.  The open meeting will be preceded by a closed session which commences at 5:00 and will be conducted in Conference Room 5A, in the Executive Suite bunker.

CONSENT CALENDAR
The Consent Calendar, which has eleven (11) items listed this time, is always an adventure.  If anyone wants a separate discussion of an item it will be trailed to the VERY end of the meeting... a daunting proposition for most visitors.

THE WARRANT
Item #3 is Warrant 2525, HERE, and contains some very interesting items.  More legal costs.  More consulting costs.  More claims paid. Among those you might find of interest are the following:
#0184929 - Civil Source - $43,960.00 for various consulting support activities.
#0184030 - Fatpot Technologies, LLC - $24,995.00 for New Interface Impmtn. ???
#0184031 - G4S Secure Solutions, Inc - $63,983.39 for Jail Facilities Services for September.
#0184033 - Jones & Mayer - $142,085.11 for long list of legal services.
#0184034 - Jones Day - $31,952.90 for CMCEA June and July.
#0184041 - Robert Taft Sr - $35,810.00 for Settlement 4 Traffic Accident.
#0184089 - FTOG Inc - $2,137.50 for Interim Buyer, 10/13 - 10/24/14
#0184099 - Government Staffing Services, Inc - $14,736.26 for various temp. positions in October.
#0184115 - Keyser Marston Associates, Inc - $7,582.30 for Consulting (Civic Center Bario and Homeless) September.
#0184119 - Liebert Cassidy Whitmore - $2,431.50 for various legal, incl. 60th Anniv.
#0184144 - Randstad Technologies LP - $5,720.00 for Temp IT Support Staff, 9/1-10/5.
#0184169 - Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth - $9,618.30 for various legal.
#0183875 - Civil Source (Again) - $98,310.00 for CIP Proj. Staff Support, July and August.
#0183977 - Orange County Conservation Corps - $6,096.50 for Labor for Planting Shrubs.
#0184001 - Home Depot - $4,565.31 for Materials for Snoopy House.
#0183727 - Michael Griffin - $40,000.00 for Settlement - 6/8/12 Injury Claim.
#0183769 - Costa Mesa High School Foundation - $5,000.00 for CMHS Fndtn Gala Sponsorship.
#0183786 - FTOG, Inc (Again) - $2,092.50 for Interim Buyer 9/29/10/10.
#0183793 - Government Staffing Services, Inc (Again) - $10.736.86 for Various temp. support.
#0183824 - Orange County Treasurer Tax Collector - $13,318.69 for Printing Charges.
#0183867 - Westminster Press Inc - $12,827.69 for City Wide Charter Mailing and Printing Rec. Guide.
#0184236 - Fatpot Technologies LLC (Again) - $14,995.89 for FATPOT Maint.
And much, much more...

STEVE'S MEDIANS

Item #4, HERE, is a request for professional engineering services for the design of medians and entry monument sign for $68,350.00 for Mesa Verde Drive and California Street.  You'll recall that Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger snatched more than $600,000 from the library fund at the last minute during the budget approval process to yank out recently-planted medians to have them replaced with drought-tolerant plantings.  This is for the design of that scheme.

CONSULTANT FOR WESTSIDE LIVE/WORK STUDY
Item #7, HERE, is $86,165.00 for environmental consulting dealing with the proposed 177-unit live/work development at 671 W. 17th Street.

INVESTMENT POLICY
Item #8, HERE, is the adoption of the 2014-2015 Statement of Investment Policy and involves several attachments outlining a VERY significant change in this policy.  It's worth a read...

ADD HOTEL TO BIA
Item 11, HERE, is the addition of the BLVD Hotel to the Business Improvement Area (BIA), which authorizes the collection of additional Transient Occupancy Taxes for contribution to the Costa Mesa Conference and Visitor Bureau.  This makes eleven (11) hotels throughout the city participating in this program.

TRAFFIC IMPACT FEES

Public Hearing #1, HERE, is the Annual Review of the Citywide Traffic Impact Fee Program.  The staff and Ad Hoc Committee recommend continuing the program as-is.  The staff report explains the program and the attachments make for some interesting background, including the current fiscal status of the fund.

MORE DEVELOPMENT
Public Hearing #2, HERE, is the planning application for a 393-unit midrise residential development on Anton Boulevard.  The Planning Commission recommended approval of this project, which is significantly scaled back from what was originally proposed and approved.

SENIOR COMMISSION

Old Business #1, HERE, is the second reading of the ordinance establishing the Senior Commission to advise the city council on Costa Mesa senior matters and the operation of the Senior Center.  As I've said before, this should be a committee, not a paid commission.  And, if it's going to be a commission, the meetings should be held somewhere they can be recorded for current and/or later viewing.  If it's important enough to be a commission, it's important enough to provide viewing opportunities to all residents.  Alternative #2 in the staff report suggests it could be a committee and all items would be referred back through the Parks and Recreation Commission.  That seems to be the better choice.  (Click on that image and note the names on the plaque.  Interesting...)

SPECIAL OLYMPICS HOST TOWN
New Business #1, HERE, is the Host Town Participation for the 2015 Special Olympics World Games, scheduled for the Los Angeles area July 25-August 2, 2015.  The program seeks local communities to provide accommodations, training facilities and cultural/sports activities for the 7,000 international athletes and their coaches from July 21-July 24, 2015.  The staff report provides the details.

MARY JANE IS BACK - IN FORCE!

And, finally, New Business #2, HERE, the Medical Marijuana Initiatives issue will be the final item on the agenda except for continued comments and Consent Calendar items.  It is, without a doubt, the MOST IMPORTANT issue in the agenda and will likely not begin to be considered until late in the evening.

CLIFF NOTES...
The shortest version of this issue is as follows:
There are two competing marijuana initiatives that have had sufficient signatures to qualify for a vote of the people.  The staff report defines the difference - one allows up to eight (8) Medical Marijuana businesses in Costa Mesa and the other permits up to four (4) licensed Medical Marijuana businesses.

POSSIBLE ACTIONS
The city council is being asked to accept the Certificate of Sufficiency issued by the Orange County Registrar of Voters for each and then approve, for each initiative, one of the four options listed on page 1 of the staff report.  Those are:

• Adopt an ordinance for either.
• Order a special election for either.
• Order a regular election to be consolidated with the next regular election in November, 2016.
• Order a report pursuant to the Election Code.  
• And, the council may consider taking action on Gary Monahan's previous proposal from last August.

ELECTION OPTIONS

The special elections would be held during the first quarter of 2015.  However, because State Law requires increases in taxation to be considered in a General Election - and both items contain a tax element - it is possible that neither can be considered for two years.  This will be part of the discussion.

COMPLEX AND COSTLY
This is a complex issue.  When you read the staff report you will see the timing considerations for elections alone can give you a migraine.  The costs of the various scenarios alone range from $15,000 to over $280,000.  You will find HERE a list of 27 attachments pertaining to the various scenarios that might be possible.  They include various ordinances, comparisons of the ordinances and Monahan's plan, too.  It's going to be a long, long, long night.  It will be a caffeine, not cannabis, kind of evening.