SENIOR CENTER AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECT

EARLY HOUR, SPARSE ATTENDANCE

Tuesday morning (at 9 a.m.!) I joined what turned out to be 26 other residents, mostly geezers like me, at the Costa Mesa Senior Center for the latest presentation by Jamboree Housing on their scheme to build a 68 unit (plus 2 management units) senior affordable project on the parking lot of the Senior Center.  This unusual early hour, mid-week, timing was a result of complaints that previous meetings were scheduled late, making it more difficult for seniors to attend.  I get that…  The number of attendees was surpassed by the number of city officials and consultants, but that’s OK…

CITY OFFICIALS KICKED IT OFF

The meeting was kicked off by Cecelia Gallardo-Daly, Assistant City Manager, who handed the baton to recently re-elected Mayor John Stephens for a brief word.  He stuck around for most of the meeting.  City Council Member Arlis Reynolds, who represents the 5th District, also briefly spoke.  Most of the senior staff from the Economic and Development Services Department attended.  I saw Planning Commission Chairman Adam Ereth in the crowd.

JAMBOREE HOUSING PRESENTS...

The Jamboree Housing presentation was led by Kelsey Brewer, who guided us through a slide show (each image is included below), and a young, energetic fellow named Derick (I didn’t get his last name).  The presentation was crisp and informative, but didn’t really have anything new since the last meeting.

QUESTIONS

Following the presentation a lengthy (but not quite long enough) Question and Answer session was conducted.  Many of the attendees managed to ask pretty darn good questions and most received answers, although a few folks didn’t like them. Attendees had many questions, most of which were carefully crafted well-presented. Among the highlights of the concerns expressed by the attendees, not in any particular order, were:

PARKING - Several speakers expressed concern that the current parking lot would be severely diminished by the housing facility.  We were assured by the consultants that, because the proposed structure would be a “podium” type of construction with the entire first floor used for parking spaces, that the total loss of parking spots would be right at 10 spaces.  We were told that the housing plan would be parked at .5 spaces per unit - roughly 35 spaces - with the remainder being available to all-comers.  93 parking spaces would be allotted to the Senior Center.  In response to a question about multi-story parking (subterranean), Brewer explained that it had been considered, but it would increase the construction costs by several million dollars.

ACCESS TO THE SENIOR CENTER DURING CONSTRUCTION - Several speakers were VERY concerned about being able to retain their current activity schedule at the Senior Center during 22-24 months construction period.  We were assured very few parking spaces would be used following the initial construction of the first floor, after which all construction materials/equipment would be restricted to that footprint.

PARKING DURING CONSTRUCTION - We were told that several solutions would be available while the parking lot was restricted during construction.  They included valet parking and shuttle bus service to and from a remote lot, each of which would be provided at no cost to the users.

WRONG SITE FOR HOUSING - A few speakers expressed strong opinions that the Senior Center parking lot was the wrong place for a housing development.  Representatives explained why this was a good choice.  Other’s suggested that the Fairview Developmental Center was a better choice.  Brewer agreed and practically salivated at the possibilty of building affordable senior housing at that location.  Former Planning Commissioner Diane Russell explained that we’re not going to see much happen at that location for 15 years.  This site gives us an opportunity to build much-needed affordable housing within a couple years.

PROJECT OWNERSHIP - In response to questions about the ownership of this project, Brewer explained that Jamboree Housing would have a 55 year lease to operate the facility.  At the end the property would revert to the City.

SAFETY - Some folks expressed concern about the safety of the area.  Brewer explained that similar projects (of the 100 they’ve done) actually resulted in a lower crime rate.  Specifically, this project would require a key fob for entry and would have extensive, monitored security cameras.  She said that if that proved to be inadequate full-time security guards would be provided.

NEARBY COMMUNITY OUTREACH - Questions were asked about the nearby neighborhoods that would certainly be impacted by the construction and by the loss of parking spaces.  Apparently some neighbors park in the lot after closing time at the Senior Center.  We were assured there had been significant outreach to that part of the community.

WHO QUALIFIES TO LIVE THERE? - Some folks were curious about just who could live in these units.  A comprehensive slide provided data and Brewer expanded on the qualifications.  Basically, folks 55 and older that meet certain income levels can qualify.  The attached chart shows those numbers.

OLGA

Among the attendees was Councilwoman Reynolds mother, Olga, who walked 1.7 miles to the meeting and spoke about the importance of drought-tolerant landscaping and the value of walking.

CARRIE TAI

We were introduced to our brand new Director of Economic and Development Services, CARRIE TAI, who wrapped up the meeting.

WORTHWHILE MEETING

I thought this meeting was valuable, even though it was not heavily-attended.  It’s my understanding there will be more community outreach.  The project still must be presented to the Planning Commission and the City Council for approval.  That should be happening in 2025 with construction to commence the following year.  For more information we were encouraged to visit the Jamboree Housing website at https://www.jamboreehousing.com/.

REMEMBERING THE PAST AND CONTEMPLATING THE FUTURE

CONTEMPLATING THE PAST - AND THE FUTURE

As I sat on my front porch on another perfect Southern California afternoon contemplating life and awaiting hoards of trick or treaters on this glorious Halloween day, I was having very mixed feelings.  

A SOLID FOUNDATION FOR A GREAT LIFE

I’ve had a wonderful life!  I grew up in a loving family with hardworking, honest,  parents who guided my sisters and me in preparation for life ahead.  I have many valued friends from those early years and still have contact with some of them.  They helped form the foundation of my life.

EXPERIENCE AND PROUD SERVICE

I’ve had a variety of work experiences, sprinkled in among my college days.  I worked as a shipping and receiving clerk, box boy and lifeguard.  I baked baseball bases, put sticks in popsicles, was a carpet layer’s helper,  pumped gas at a marina and learned something about life and myself in every assignment. I was a very good competitive water skier and a darn good teacher of that sport.  I taught hundreds of people to ski. Although I had no competitive swimming experience in my youth and had only seen one water polo game, I competed in both sports in college.  I proudly served my country during the Vietnam War era.  I flew helicopters for awhile - but didn’t see combat.  I’m grateful for that.  I learned a lot about myself as a leader during that time.

MY BEST CHOICE

I met my Sweet Susie, the love of my life, more than 58 years ago and have been married to her for 57 of those years - and counting.  That union made me part of HER wonderful family.  Her parents had a very different background than mine - they were World War II immigrants - but they had the same family values and it shows in their offspring.

A LITTLE LUCK AND A LOT OF HARD WORK

I’ve had a wonderful career - a couple of them, actually.  When I mustered out of the Army I lucked out and found a job with a terrific company that provided fantastic opportunities for advancement.  During my seven years with them I worked in six different cities in progressively more responsible jobs.  My Susie and I followed a gypsy life - we drove across the country for a promotion a week after we were married - and were living the American Dream, in which our hard work paid off.

THE FAST TRACK TO THE FROZEN EAST

When it became clear that the only place we could end up with that company was on the East Coast - two winters were enough - I left them and we moved home - south from the Bay Area back to Southern California where, once again, I was very fortunate to land a job with another wonderful company.  During my six years with that company I held several positions that provided me with exposure to sophisticated, cutting edge technology and gave me more depth in my career as a Human Resources professional. 

OOPS!

When the lack of a college degree became an artificial roadblock for further advancement I changed jobs - this time for a very short 6 weeks - to a position with a company that was NOT the kind of place I wished to work.  I began seeking another job on my second day.

RUNNIN’ AND GUNNIN’

Then I became the Employment Manager of a high-tech company that was, at that time, the fastest growing company in Southern California. That was lots of fun - fast paced in a very creative environment where the staff I managed developed new techniques so essential to quickly and efficiently filling those positions.  And, oh, yes - it was also financially rewarding.

A VALUED CONSULTANT

After a couple years I chose to strike out on my own and created a consulting practice, specializing in Executive Search and Team Building.  Among my client companies, in addition to a couple previous employers,  were small start-up organizations that needed help building a management team and guiding their organizations through their early days.  I never advertised for work - word of mouth as a result of my efforts was all it took.  I loved that job!  I was pretty good at it and made enough money to retire after 20 years.  

LIFE-MATE, SOUL-MATE AND PARTNER ALONG THE WAY

Through this all my dear wife stayed at my side, pulling more than her weight with every oar stroke as we navigated our life together and supporting me every step of the way.  She is the best thing that has happened to me in my life.

WRITING OPINIONS

After retiring I began paying attention to the world around me - particularly local issues.  I wrote the occasional letter to the editor to local newspapers, offering an opinion or observation on local happenings - usually political issues.  Over the years the Daily Pilot (our local “newspaper of record”) offered me the chance to write a regular column for them - 12 times.  Each time I politely declined - I didn’t want to write “on assignment”.  They continued to publish my contributions - sometimes  as many as 3 of my letters a week.  Similarly, the Orange County Register and the Los Angeles Times published my contributions and also offered me regular space on their pages.

THE BLOG

Then, nearly 20 years ago, I decided I needed more space to express my views.  By that time I was attending almost every important city meeting and event, so I started my blog, A Bubbling Cauldron.  After 18 months and nearly 180 posts I changed hosts so I could include photos and comments.  Since then, after posting nearly 3,500 entries, I’ve throttled back on that effort in recent years, but the blog still receives upwards of 10,000 pageviews each month!  As of this date the blog has recorded 3.8 million pageviews on the current host site.  I had no way to measure traffic on the other site.  Over those years the blog was chosen as the best blog in Orange County - twice - and I was selected by the editors of the Daily Pilot as one of their "DP 103" people who positively influenced their communities - 9 years in a row.  I certainly appreciated that recognition and I’m grateful for the continuing interest in what I’ve written over all these years.

MY POINT - SOCIETAL DECAY

All this background is slowly dragging me to my point - the societal decay I see these days!  It deeply saddens me to watch as the level of political discourse has degenerated to something akin to a bar fight!  I guess I can attribute much of this to the evolution of Donald J. Trump as a political force in our country.  He has lowered the bar for statesmanship, conducting himself as a pre-pubescent teenager might in junior high school.  His example has encouraged many elected leaders to follow his lead, which hamstrings progress.  His mere presence has coarsened our society to the point where fans at college football games feel it’s appropriate to lob water bottles on the field when they disagree with decisions made by officials.  This decay was most recently exhibited by two “fans” at the New York Yankees/Los Angeles Dodgers World Series game at Yankee Stadium when they yanked a ball from the glove of Dodger Mookie Betts in an attempt, apparently, to help the batter achieve a home run.  One of those idiots - both of whom were ejected from the game -  proclaimed when asked during a post-game drinking binge at his favorite bar,  why he did it, he proudly said that he was just “providing some D” for the team.  

IGNORING THE RULES

In our broader society we see more evidence of the decay.  We see more and more people completely ignoring the rules of the road.  Speed limits are apparently viewed as mere suggestions and stop signs are consistently ignored, for example.  They just blow right on through them - a trait many of the children driving E-bikes now emulate.  

COARSENING OF DISCOURSE

No longer is it sufficient to simply disagree with someone and move on.  Today, thanks in great part to Trump,  his acolytes and the anonymity provided by social media sites, it is becoming more a standard practice to attempt to demean and belittle those with whom we disagree.  Civility is disappearing.  Courtesy is a dying art.

FEARING THE FUTURE

I join many Americans in fearing for the future of our country, regardless who wins the election next week.  While I agree with some of the policies he advocates, Donald Trump has clearly shown that he possesses neither the intellect nor character to be entrusted with the job of the most powerful man in the world.  Kamala Harris is completely unqualified for this job, so we voters are left with the choice of, according to outstanding Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan, between ”empty and awful”.

WHAT’S NEXT?

So, what do we do?  Well, I did not cast a vote for President of the United States when I completed my ballot two weeks ago.  I did focus on the down-ballot measures and candidates and, although I no longer attend meetings, I do pay attention to local issues and do still comment occasionally when the spirit moves me.  I can do very little on national issues, but I know I can provide input to my neighbors on local issues and, sometimes, influence the outcome of important decisions made by our local elected leaders.  Although I no longer have the energy I did two decades ago, I will continue to be a voice in my community and let others judge the value of that voice.

RE-DISCOVERING CIVILITY

In the meantime, I think it’s very important for our society to re-discover civility.  We need to take a collective remedial course in civil conversation - something we could observe in the mainstream media in years gone bye.   Not so much today.  The examples set by Walter Cronkite and Huntley and Brinkley are long gone.  Our children - your children - need better boundaries and need to learn and to understand and follow the rules.  We ALL need to include a lot more “Please” and “Thank You” in our daily lives.  We need to do a lot more “listening”, not just hearing, the other side of arguments.  We need to be willing to make intelligent, well-reasoned choices and compromise for the better good when necessary. 

THE GREATEST GENERATION

My parents generation, the so-called “Greatest Generation”, had gone through years of sacrifice to make happy lives and keep our country safe, first during the Great Depression when they were teenagers and then through World War II when they sometimes worked two jobs for the duration of the war.  They learned to ‘make do” and to ‘do without”.  They developed frugality into an art form.  In those years our society pulled together for the common good.  Today we are so factionalized that we seem to be pulling against each other, shouting each other down instead of having a meaningful dialogue to resolve issues.  When our leaders behave like children, using denigration and name-calling as a staple of their dialogue, it diminishes us as a people.  We simply MUST change.  We MUST re-learn to work together to resolve the problems facing our society today.  As long as our elected leadership practices and encourages divisiveness our form of government is in peril.  We MUST demand better.

CHRIS THINKS HE'S RIGHT - BUT HE'S VERY WRONG!

RIGHT AND WRONG - My friend, former city council candidate and community activist Chris McEvoy, has become a frequent council critic at meetings and an occasional blogger at his Costa Mesa Lampoon site.  Click HERE to link to his most recent entry, which is the subject of this post.  By the way, I'm very grateful to him for his kind words about my blog.  I spent a lot of hours over a couple decades trying to provide accurate information to my readers.  It's always nice to know when someone thinks I succeeded.

THE "RIGHT' - In his latest angry post he complains that California has gone "too blue" - that the Democrats control everything and that's not good.  Generally, I agree with him.  He quantifies his feelings pretty clearly and I cannot refute the numbers he, a former math teacher, presents.  He blames an uninformed electorate for blindly choosing to elect Democrats rather than consider more conservative candidates.  He is correct that California, under the heavy hand of the Democrat Party, continues headed in the wrong direction, which is causing many folks to bail out and head for more conservative pastures, leaving the rest of us to deal with much higher costs, both financially and socially.  

HOWEVER - THE "WRONG" - In my view he gets it very wrong when, while citing what he feels is bad about Costa Mesa's government - the city council is too heavily weighted toward the liberal side of things - he suggests that the local voters should arbitrarily abandon their collective wisdom and blindly vote for candidates simply because they are conservative.  This is a HUGE mistake, in my view.

"BALANCE" IS GOOD, BUT - McEvoy suggest we need more "balance" on the city council - that there should be 3 conservatives and 3 liberals plus the 7th person to be chosen by those six.  Of course, under our current municipal code that's not possible.  More on that later.  

STEPHENS OR PETERS? - When my friend suggests that the voters toss aside our current mayor, John Stephens and mayor pro team, Jeffrey Harlan, simply because they are liberal and replace them with two individuals that, although "conservative", leave MUCH to be desired as candidates for office in my city, he goes too far.  James Peters, who McEvoy suggests should replace our directly-elected mayor, brings virtually nothing to the party except a strong allegiance to former president Donald Trump.  That's not enough for me, a lifelong Republican, to choose him over Stephens - a man who has served our city proudly and with distinction for many years.  Of course, I don't always agree with Stephens, but he always hears my viewpoint and I ALWAYS know he has only the best interests of our city at heart.  

HARLAN OR PETTIS? - Similarly, McEvoy suggests Harlan - a very bright public servant who brings a thoughtful, articulate, civilized demeanor along with his intelligence and very relevant professional experience to the role of a councilman - be replaced by Jeff Pettis, a person Harlan crushed in the last election.  And for good reason.  Pettis persists in demonstrating on his YouTube channel, that he is an ignorant, partisan hack who really has no clue about municipal governance.  Heck, through the last election cycle he didn't even know where the Costa Mesa Senior Center was located!  

ERETH OR BULEY? - McEvoy suggests that partisan lawyer Mike Buley - a man with no public service experience and has likely never even attended a city council meeting - is a better choice for the District 1 seat than current Planning Commission Chairman Adam Ereth.  That is ridiculous!  Not only does Dr. Ereth bring strong academic credentials to the council, he has demonstrated his competence and leadership as chairman of the Planning Commission and comes from a family with a demonstrated public service mindset.  I'd vote for him if I could.

HIS MEMORY IS SHORT - McEvoy's memory is very short.  He forgets the "bad old days" -  just how our council became so heavily-tilted to the liberal side of things.  He forgets that the previous iteration of the council was very strongly tilted to the conservative side, when Jim Righeimer and Steve Mensinger and their sycophants controlled the show.  He forgets the partisan, misguided, heavy-handed governance under those guys! He forgets their bogus (and illegal) attempt to lay off nearly half (over 200) "miscellaneous" employees - an act that resulted in one of those employees, Huy Pham,  jumping to his death from the roof of City Hall!  He forgets the disdain Righeimer and Mensinger had for municipal employees that caused a third of our police officers to bail out - seeking jobs elsewhere or taking early retirement.  He forgets that they refused to let then-chief Tom Gazsi recruit much-needed replacements for more than 8 months - an act that very likely contributed to Gazsi finding a new job at the Port of Los Angeles.  When the current crop of "conservative" candidates yap about public safety they conveniently forget the jeopardy the Righeimer/Mensinger regime created.  

"QUICK-PITCHING THE BALLOT MEASURE" - McEvoy forgets how, when forced by a lawyer to create a methodology to elect council members by district to provide more representation for the Latinos in our community - many of whom are McEvoy's neighbors - Righeimer and Mensinger quick-pitched the process and forced onto the ballot a "six council members elected by district and a directly-elected mayor" scheme - which not a single person who attended any of the meetings expressed a preference for - instead of the preferred "5 council members elected by district who would choose the mayor from among themselves".  He forgets how that scheme backfired and resulted in 3 members of the Latino community being elected to the council - Manuel Chavez, Arlis Reynolds and Andrea Marr - and Katrina Foley (whom they had summarily ousted from the mayor's seat a few months earlier) was overwhelmingly chosen by the voters as our first directly-elected mayor over appointed incumbent Sandra Genis.  Former conservative mayor Allan Mansoor was crushed by Reynolds in the District 5 race, but remained on as an "at-large" councilman until the next election. That election slammed the door on the Republican influence on city politics - a very good thing, in my view.

DON'T FOLLOW - THINK! - As you mark your sample ballots, or as you prepare to mail your completed ballot in, think about the decisions you will be making.  Our city is being effectively governed by a liberal majority and to attempt to force three incompetent Republicans onto the dais to provide "balance" accomplishes nothing except to perpetuate the decline of my Republican Party in Orange County.  Find better candidates - those who can actually bring an intellectual, persuasive discussion to the process, unlike the current lamebrain, lazy, incompetent Don Harper, who has chosen to bail out after nearly 4 years of sleepwalking through his job, not contributing to the sound governance of our city.  We don't need another version of him.  Every ballot counts, so make your informed choices, keeping in mind the future of our city is in your hands.

THINGS I'VE LEARNED ALONG THE WAY

IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER...

I've had a wonderful life.  Here’s a random list of a few things I’ve learned along the way over more than eight decades. It is by no means complete and I present them in no particular order. 

1 - Parental love doesn’t have to be articulated, but it should always be demonstrated. 

2 - There is never enough time. 

3 - With rare exceptions Higher Education is overrated. 

4 - Having the right tool is important. Knowing how to use it is essential. 

5 - Doing your very best is good enough.

6 - Being close to family is more important than big business success.

7 - Learning to read at a young age is a cornerstone to success. 

8 - Being in the right place at the right time is important. 

9 - Using good judgment is more important than having faith. 

10 - Enduring friendships are like having a pocket full of diamonds. 

11 - Find the right companion. 

12 - Work hard. 

13 - Always listen well. 

14 - Do not be afraid to take the next step. 

15 - The occasional step back can provide better footing for the climb ahead. 

16 - Don’t let your technological shortcomings stifle your intellectual achievement. 

17 - Succeed at something so you know you can succeed at many things. 

18 - Just because you haven’t done it in the past doesn’t mean you won’t do it in the future. 

19 - Wear your individuality proudly. 

20 - Always be willing to listen to the other side. 

21 - Cultivate mentors - learn from them. 

22 - Wear humility well. 

23 - Always share the credit. 

24 - Always say “Thank You” for a job well done. 

25 - Never fear the truth - it should be applied like a carefully-iced cake. 

26 - Always vet your “facts”. 

27 - Being available can be more important than being the most qualified. 

28 - Trust your gut. 

29 - A good reputation is like having a blank check for your life. 

30 - A little lust is ok, but true love really matters. 

31 - Yes, you can love more than one person simultaneously. 

32 - Liking a person is every bit as important as loving them. 

33 - Contrary to popular belief, STOP signs and speed limits are not just suggestions. 

34 - Excellent managers and terrible managers are easy to spot. It’s the ones who have not figured it out yet that require your patience. 

35 - True friendship is a rare commodity. 

36 - Don’t raise your kids to be like “the President”, raise them to emulate the most honest person they know - a teacher, coach, pastor, parent, aunt, uncle…. or the gardener. 

37 - Teach your kids to be kind - show them by example. 

38 - Military, or another form of public service, should be mandatory for every high school graduate or drop out. 

39 - Social security benefits should not be taxed. 

40 - Be sure those you love know it. Tell them before it’s too late. 

42 - Pay attention to what politicians do, not what they say.

43 - Winning a political point is not worth losing a friend over it.

44 - Yes, character does count.

45 - You can make a difference - look for a way.

46 - A thoughtless word can inflict a lifetime of pain.

47 - A kind word can create a lifetime of success.