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City Hall Snapshot
January 9, 2017
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A rundown of what's happening in and around Costa Mesa as city leaders work to solve issues and create a welcoming and thriving environment for residents and business owners alike.
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Snoopy House racks up lots of family fun during its 50th Anniversary run
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The city's annual Snoopy House celebration is over and only the last bits remain at City Hall.
As
always, it’s fun to reflect on how much the event touches the
community. This year a safe bet would be to say that 30,000 to 50,000
Costa Mesa and Orange County residents visited City Hall and the
display.
One of the main features this year was the City, in concert with Travel Costa Mesa, provided 50 tons of snow for children and families to play in.
The
City also provided for free to the public, over 2,000 holiday antlers,
over 3,000 cups of hot cider and over 2,000 free pictures with Santa
Claus. And that doesn’t even include the amount of free train rides,
smiles and lifelong memories the City provided to all. Special thanks to
the Jordan family, the Public Services Department and City Manager
office staffers, Kelly Shelton, Dan Baker and Jennifer Christ and all
the volunteers for an amazing event!
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Work schedules are a changing at City Hall
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Beginning this week, City Hall employees will start working a 9/80 work week.
While
City Hall hours will remain 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday for
now, employees beginning their work day before 8 a.m. or working after 5
p.m. will answer their phones and provide service to the public even
though the official hours are not changing.
Also,
staff members will work staggered schedules to ensure that City Hall
continues to provide quality service five days a week.
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Volunteers and training still needed to help with countywide Homeless Point in Time Count on Jan. 28
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Every two years, 211 OC takes a count of the county's
homeless population during a 24-hour period. This effort, known as the
Homeless Point-in-Time Count, is congressionally mandated for all
communities that receive U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) funding for homeless programs. HUD’s requirements
include a count of both sheltered and unsheltered people. The count will
take place Saturday Jan. 28, 2017. Below is information about volunteer
training:
DATE: Jan. 21, 2017 ( Saturday)
TIME: 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Newport Beach, Our Lady Queen of Angels
2046 Mar Vista Drive
NB, CA 92660
ROOM: Parish Center, Conference Room. The Parish
Center is across from the church.
CONTACT: Jeanne Baran, Cell # 949-241-6978
Email: jtbaran999@gmail.com
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City is reviewing effects of new Measure X ordinance
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Currently, city staffers are developing processes for
several key areas having to do with fees, taxation, Livescans, Business
Permit process, CUP process, and the application process related to the
city's recently passed Measure X, regarding medical marijuana
distribution businesses.
Appropriate
staff have been assigned to lead each major area. We have made
significant progress in each area and we expect to be able to go live in
mid February and begin accepting applications. The City Council will
need to pass a fee resolution and adopt a new CUP rate for this specific
activity at an upcoming council meeting. We are also in the process of
scheduling a meeting with experts on taxation.
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Costa Mesa police presence on New Year's Eve helps keep the peace on an otherwise busy night
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CMPD implemented mandatory field staffing on New Year’s Eve to
address the pending workload that often arises out of the traditional
NYE celebration, such as loud or unruly party complaints, incidents
involving intoxication persons, and an expected rise in drinking and
driving throughout the city. Officers remained extremely busy
throughout the night. However, that presence contributed to a noticeable
lack of serious issues or crimes during peak celebration hours. A
great win for the community!
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Explorers hand out awards at year-end banquet
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Just before the holidays, Costa Mesa Police Explorer
Post 198 hosted its year-end banquet. The Explorer Post is comprised of
high school kids and college-aged young adults, 14-20 years old, who
must be enrolled in school and maintain at least a 3.0 GPA.
Every
year, one Explorer is awarded a $1,000 academic scholarship. This
year’s recipient was former Explorer Lt. Catherine Pimentel, who now
holds the part-time position of Police Aide.
Also
recognized for their years of service with the Explorer Post was former
Explorer Lt. Kimberly Velazquez and former Lt. Celia Quijiuix, who both
now work as part-time Police Aides with the Department. The Explorer
Post advisory staff is comprised of full and part-time CMPD members who
all donate countless hours to help manage the Explorer Post.
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Tiller truck and captain training is underway
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Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue closed out 2016 with focused training
on our Tiller Truck at our recently refurbished Station 4 training
center.
The Tiller Truck is a crucial front
line tool for the department and as it has multiple functions such as
being used as an anchor for high angle rescues, for vehicle extrication
and trench rescues.
The year-end training is
designed for those members of the department who don't use the Tiller
Truck on a regular basis but who need to stay familiar with its
capabilities and limitations.
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First of the year fires keep department busy
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Costa Mesa Fire responded to a residential fire on Sunday, Jan. 1,
2017 where all occupants were able to get out of the house safely. One
firefighter was treated for smoke inhalation and transported to the
hospital for evaluation. He was later released and is back to work.
Unfortunately,
the house suffered major damage due to the fire. One day later, we
responded to a small fire in the cooler at the new Water Grill
restaurant. Fortunately, the fire was quickly extinguished and the
Health Department arrived to determine a course of action to minimize
down time for the business.
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Raja Sethuraman named Public Services Director
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After a short stint as the interim Public Services Director, Raja
Sethuraman has been promoted as the department's new director,
overseeing Administration, Engineering, Maintenance and Transportation
Services divisions of the Public Services Department.
Sethuraman
brings over 26 years of private and public sector experience to the
City, with the past 16 years with the City of Costa Mesa in the
Transportation Services Division. He served as Transportation Manager
for over eight years prior to his role as Interim Public Services
Director.
Sethuraman managed several complex
projects, including the Harbor Boulevard I-405 Widening, the Fairview
Road – I-405 Interchange improvements, the Susan Street offramp
construction, Newport Boulevard Improvements and improvements along
Harbor Boulevard and Adams Avenue.
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Costa Mesa soon to get its first four-diamond hotel
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The first four-diamond hotel in Costa Mesa was
approved in November. The exceptionally designed tower in North Costa
Mesa will add a 150-room expansion to the Avenue of the Arts Hotel
(former Wyndham Hotel) located at 3350 Avenue of the Arts. In addition
to the luxury guest rooms, the expansion will include state of the art
amenities and banquet facilities. With proximity to the Segerstrom
Center for the Arts and South Coast Plaza, the Avenue of the Arts Hotel
will be another ideal destination spot for Costa Mesa visitors.
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We still want to hear from you about Costa Mesa
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There is still time to take the Happiness
Survey being conducted by Development Services. This survey takes about
4-5 minutes to complete. Responses are anonymous!
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Parks & Community Services
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Winter Break Camp finishes with a flourish
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For the first time in nearly a decade the Winter
Break Youth Camp was filled to capacity. Staff utilized social media,
cross-City Advertising and a new marketing strategy that utilized
important community partners to reach a larger audience to fill the 100
spaces available across two weeks of organized trips, teamwork and
activity.
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City fields get a well-deserved rest after busy season
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Both the TeWinkle Athletic Complex and
Jack Hammett Sports Complex are currently undergoing their winter rest
and renovation after an extremely busy and successful Fall 2016 season.
Both facilities host play for thousands of youth, adult and senior
participants on an regular weekly basis for sports that include soccer,
softball, football, baseball and lacrosse. Parks maintenance staff work
diligently to assure that all areas of high use concern are addressed
to allow for the safe, ongoing use of City facilities by nearly 20
sports organizations.
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Downtown Aquatic Center pool reopens
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After nearly 100 days of closure, the outdoor
pool at the Downtown Aquatic Center reopened to the public. A full deck
replacement was a welcomed noticeable upgrade and behind the scenes
upgrades include a new filtration system and heating system. Long-time
patrons of the facility were appreciative of the upgrades and staff
welcomed them back with decorations and healthy snacks.
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Internal staff promotions complete new Parks and Community Services Department reorganization
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Congratulations to the following staff that earned internal promotions that complete a reorganization of the Department:
Ashley
Ocasio- Promoted to Recreation Supervisor (City Hall). William Lund -
promoted to Assistant Recreation Supervisor (Balearic Community Center).
Christian Hernandez promoted to Assistant Recreation Supervisor (City
Hall). Marianna Pena promoted to Recreation Coordinator (FT-Senior
Center).
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