Foley And Genis On Parking, Pets And More...

RESPONSE TO PUBLIC CONCERNS
Costa Mesa City Councilwoman Katrina Foley, along with Councilwoman Sandy Genis, held a little public workshop in City Council Chambers at City Hall last night to inform interested members of the public on a few issues about which Foley has been getting inquires.

RESIDENTS AND STAFF INTERACTING
A couple dozen people attended the meeting, along with a few members of the staff, who provided the background and were available to answer questions.

BARK PARK UPDATE
First up was Recreation Manager Justin Martin, who provided us with an update on the recently-renovated Bark Park.  The 10 week makeover/expansion was successful and users seem to appreciate the new turf, shade and furniture, plus other features.

HATCH ON LICENSING AND STATS
CEO Tom Hatch spoke on the pet licensing process, indicating that approximately 36% of Costa Mesa residents are pet owners.  He provided us with some very interesting statistics.

For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016 the city showed the following numbers:

• Total active animal licenses - 5,046
• 397 unaltered dogs (it costs $80.00 per year to license an unaltered dog)
• 4,591 altered dogs (it costs $25.00 per year to license an altered dog) 
• 30 service dogs
• 28 non-domesticated animals which include mainly chickens, a mini pig and an iguana
• 1,265 dogs owned by senior citizens age 62 and up (it costs $40.00 for an unaltered license and $10.00 for an altered pet)
• 4,605 payments processed
• Fees collected - $116,43.20
• Check transactions processed - $83,000.07
• Cash transactions processed - $33,492.50
• Late fees collected - $2,900.00, approximately 2.5% of total fees collected
• It was estimated that there are actually 40,000 pets in the city

He also went over the process of licensing your pet.  Genis chimed in with a comment about needing to have a chip inplanted in your pet to help with retrieval if it gets lost.

BAKKILA ON NEW HUMANE SOCIETY FACILITY
CMPD Lieutenant Vic Bakkila then spoke about the new arrangement with the Humane Society for the operation of a facility on Hamilton in Huntington Beach - just across the Costa Mesa border - which will be shared with Garden Grove.  Genis suggested the facility could use lots of volunteers to help with the site - and to be eyes and ears for The City in case things don't go well.  A half-dozen people asked questions from the audience including the use of artificial turf (Martin said we have a test strip now); the availability of dog waste bags (in theory we provide those bags at all parks); the possibility of becoming part of the new, modern County animal shelter (Foley said someone would get back to that person); how to contribute money to help with the maintenance of the Bark Park(Foley suggested contributing to the Community Foundation with the money earmarked for Bark Park use).

THE PET COMMITTEE
Dan Baker spoke of the Pet Committee, a cross-departmental group of City employees working on four points:
1 - Working with the Humane Society, including on-site visits
2 - Pet Licensing
3 - Making sure the Dog Park remains in excellent condition
4 - Community Engagement and Awareness, including knowledge of our partnering with the Humane Society.  He also mentioned a September 15th Pet Prep Rally, which will include a mobile vet to administer free rabies innoculations and pets available for adoption.  In October there will be something called the Howl-O-Ween.

RESIDENT-ONLY PERMIT PARKING
Next came the discussion of Permit Parking throughout the City.  Transportation Services Manager Raja Sethuraman took the lead on this segment.  Foley, discussing the impact of strangers parking in her Mesa Del Mar neighborhood - mostly college students from Orange Coast College - reminded us that the first week of parking at OCC each semester is FREE.  She also reminded us that after that it's only $30.00 per semester.  Genis spoke about landlords renting out garage space and creating on-street parking problems.

THE FAIR, COMMERCIAL AND NOW APARTMENTS
Raja told us that Permit Parking in residential neighborhoods was first the result of the Orange County Fair.  Then the demand spread to neighborhoods near commercial venues.  Now the impacts are coming from the large number of apartments in the city.  He told us to have an area receive permit parking 51% of the neighbors must sign the petition - a sample can be provided -  and that 70% of the usable parking (on street and in driveways) must be taken up during an inspection.  He said we currently have 2,000 homes with parking permits.  The City is divided into six zones and the permits are color-coded so they cannot be used in other zones.  Each permit is good for 3 years.

GOOD PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Eight members of the public, like Beth Refakes, address several elements of this issue.  Some spoke of businesses being run out of garages, foreclosing them being used for parking.  Others spoke of owners of a half-dozen cars using the streets to park them.  Others spoke of the frustration of years of reporting problems but having no resolution to them.  Others addressed obviously commercial trucks/trailers that are being left in residential neighborhoods.  Lt. Bakkila encouraged them to call the parking hotline - 714-754-5290 - to report a problem.  He said they love to haul those trucks away.  He mentioned that the CMPD used to have 8 Community Service Specialists (CSS) assigned to work on parking issues.  The staffing cuts in the CMPD lost all those people.  Presently there are seven (7) part time aides attempting to cover the entire city.  He mentioned he would work on training his sworn officers on recognition of parking decal for individual zones in the city.

STREET SWEEPING
Finally the discussion turned to Street Sweeping - which has been outsourced to a private company -  and the difficulty folks are having in some neighborhoods because cars clog the curbs during sweeper day.  Raja told us that if 50% of a section of street is not swept it could qualify for posting "No Parking On Sweeper Day" signs.  He told the audience to call the Transportation Department line - 714-754-5343.  He did mention that on holiday weeks - like the upcoming Labor Day holiday - NO streets will be swept due to conflicts with trash pickups.

ENDED ON TIME WITH GENERAL SATISFACTION
The meeting ended promptly at 7:30 and the attendees seemed generally satisfied with the information they received.  There will be follow-up with specific neighbors on some of their specific concerns.  It was a good start and a comfortable process with excellent opportunities for residents to interact with staff and council members informally.

Parks & Rec. Commission Votes For New Bark Park Rules

NEW PROGRAM RECEIVES UNANIMOUS APPROVAL
At the meeting of the Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commission Thursday, November 19, 2015, the commissioners voted to approve the staff recommendation about the future of the Costa Mesa Bark Park.  Read the staff report HERE.

EIGHT INTERESTED PARTIES SPOKE
Following a short presentation by Travis Karlen, Recreation Manager, and brief comments by the commissioners, eight (8) people stepped up to the podium to address this issue, most of whom had some concerns.

Costa Mesa resident Janice King, a Bark Park user, was concerned about the proposed rules "dividing" the city and about the technology to be employed.  She also thought a non-residents should have a different fee than residents.

Linda Quan also worried about the fee structure, who will monitor access, the constitutionality of the plan and the discrepancy between the current code which allows a resident to have 5 critters and the plan for the Dog Park which restricts each handler to three dogs.

Claudia, a Santa Ana resident, suggested corporate sponsors to help with the expenses of the park and was concerned about the fees being a burden on seniors.

Helena Roberts, a Newport Beach resident, suggested we follow Santa Ana's lead and go door-to-door to collect license fees.  She was also concerned about a "card system" having a negative impact on businesses.

Shirley McDaniel, a Costa Mesa resident and long-time functionary of the old Bark Park Foundation, said the change was not necessary and expressed that there is no restroom at the Bark Park.

Beth Refakes worried about the cost of the proposed key fob and the installation of the access control point.  She was also concerned about indemnification and diseases from dogs.  She expressed concern about disabling key fobs if persons leave the area or otherwise stop using the park.

Al Melone, who has run for City Council on the Bark Park issue in the past, suggested retaining the limitation on the number of dogs each user could bring and bemoaned the loss of the "old park", which was - in his words - 80-90% green grass and peaceful.  He told us he has used other parks since the city took over operations.

James Simmons, a Costa Mesa resident, uses the Dog Park 5-6 nights a week and opined that every animal using it be spayed or neutered to prevent bad behaviors.

NO ADDITIONAL COST
During the subsequent discussion, thanks to a question by Vice Chair Brett Eckles, we learned that, since EVERY dog using the park will be required to be licensed, there would be NO ADDITIONAL cost for the key fob used for park admittance.  The current license fee is $25.00 for animals spayed or neutered and $80.00 for those not.

RESTROOMS AND MONITORING OF THE PARK
Restrooms are available at the Skate Park and Tennis Center.  Karlen told the commission that Field Ambassadors, Park Rangers and the 20 hour-per-week Maintenance person would monitor park visitors and their behavior.

APPROVED, WITH DIRECTION
At the end, Commissioner Byron De Arakal moved to approve the staff report, including the 3-dog limitation.  His motion also called for the City Attorney to reconcile the incongruities between the new plan and current city code.  The age of dogs requiring licenses and park entrance is different, for example.  Read the staff report for all the details of the current condition of the park, improvements that have been made AND the terms of the changes passed on a 5-0 vote by the commission.  It will now be massaged by the staff to fine-tune it, then be presented to the City Council early next year.

ADULT FUTSAL APPROVED FOR DOWNTOWN ATHLETIC CENTER
Earlier in the meeting the Consent Calendar item regarding the operation of an Adult Sports Futsal program at the Downtown Athletic Center was pulled for discussion.  You can read that staff report HERE.  Basically, Futsal is, according to the staff report, a fast-paced form of soccer which can be played on a hard court surface.  The proposal is like those of other adult sports leagues, which is defined in the staff report.  Long time youth sports leader Mark Arblaster spoke on this issue favorably.  The commission voted to approve this concept, 5-0.

UH, OH - MORE CONTROVERSY INVOLVING SCOTT MAHAFFY
At the very beginning of the meeting, during Public Comments, a man named Bob Servin - self-described 25-year resident with 30 years as a coach and teacher in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District stepped into the well and handed papers to the commissioners, then told them about incidents with the Commissioner of the Friday Night Lights Flag Football program, Scott Mahaffy - behaviors that sounded like bullying to all in the audience and, apparently, to the commissioners, too.  Servin has a son playing in that program and he, Servin, is a coach of his team.

INVESTIGATION TO FOLLOW
Suffice it to say that there was enough concern about the behaviors described that de Arakal, holding up the papers and clearly very agitated, asked staff to immediately investigate the claims made by Servin.

A PATTERN?
Some will recall that Mahaffy is not a stranger to controversy - most recently involving Matt Leinart Flag Football program and the allocation of fields to that program.  It will be interesting to see how this shakes out.

POSITIVE REC. REPORT
Karlen ended the meeting with his report, which included affirmation of the creation of a new R.O.C.K.S. after school program at Rea School.

DONE FOR THE YEAR
The Parks and Recreation Commission will not meet in December due to the Christmas holidays. Their next meeting will be in January, 2016.  Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to them all.

Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting Wrap

NEW MANAGER WELCOMED
The Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commission met Thursday evening for what turned out to be a fairly brief affair.  New Recreation Manager Travis Karlen was welcomed as he manned the barricades for his first meeting.  He handled himself well.

 
MEMORIAL TREE AND PLAQUE
The commission accepted the donation and plaque from Melody Freeman in memory of her friend and co-worker, Kimberly Curtis, who passed away recently.  The tree and plaque will be placed in TeWinkle Park.

CURIOUS TREE REMOVAL REQUEST
The first item on the agenda was a tree removal request from the resident at 2016 Arnold Street.  The commission made short work of this item - the decision was made unanimously in less than five (5) minutes to deny the request that the City remove the tree because it is on private property.  I've subsequently heard from the property owner, who was unable to attend the meeting because it fell on a religious holiday.   She tells me she doesn't want the tree removed at all.  She just wants the City to continue to maintain it as has been the case for decades.  She plans to seek relief from this decision.

DIVIDING CITY INTO PARK DISTRICTS
On the issue of dividing the city into five (5) park districts and assigning a district to each commissioner - the brainstorm of Chairman Byron de Arakal - generated some discussion.  The chairman told us he thinks this is a good idea and wants to have it codified in the Municipal Code.  His plan would call for every park to have new signage placed at two entrances to each park in the city which would include the name of the commissioner responsible for that particular park.

ROTATE EVERY TWO YEARS
In his scheme, residents with issues involving a particular park would be in touch with the commissioner via the contact information on the signs.  The commissioner would discuss the issue with the complainant and the staff and, if necessary, bring it to the commission for discussion.  Additionally, each commissioner would be expected to report to the commission on the status of each of their parks twice a year, and be prepared to make recommendations on capital improvements coincident with the annual budget cycle.  The commission decided to have the staff further flesh out this plan and bring it back to the commission for further discussion/fine-tuning.  It may be voted upon in November.

MAYBE, BUT IS IT REALLY NECESSARY?
Here are my thoughts on this.... We've been getting along just fine without this change.  Is it really necessary?  I don't disagree that it's a good idea to assign each commissioner a specific group of parks for which they would be the primary contact.  Some conversation was made about rotating the assigned groups among the commissioners every two years.  That seems like a good idea.  I think putting the names of individual commissioners on the park signs is a bad idea and will cause too much maintenance as commissioners rotate from group to group.  I think the sign should simply refer questions to the Parks and Recreation Department, who could forward them on to the proper commissioner, if necessary.

DONATING TO THE BARK PARK

Next up was the donation of the cost of installing a second exit at the Costa Mesa Bark Park.  The Bark Park Foundation no longer manages the facility, but it has some cash left and Shirley McDaniels, representing the Bark Park Foundation, wanted to contribute the costs of installing the additional entrance.  The commission discussed this for a few minutes, then agreed unanimously to accept the donation and instructed staff to assist with the installation of the new entrance.

NEW EASTSIDE MONUMENT SIGNS
Then came the discussion of the new 19th Street Monument Signs that would be installed in concert with the 19th Street Improvement project.  That project, which would be funded by nearly $900,000 in grant dollars, will strangle traffic along the stretch of 19th Street from the city border at Irvine Avenue all the way to Fullerton Avenue, near the terminus of the 55 Freeway.  Monument signs would be placed at either end of the project.  The image you see here is the final selection.  The commission voted to move this project forward with the selected signs.  A couple residents, including 19th Street resident, realtor and President of the Eastside Costa Mesa Neighbors Group, Jeff McConville, spoke in favor of this plan.

BRISTOL STREET PROJECT

The final item on the agenda was Transportation Services Manager Raja Sethuraman's report on the nearly half-million dollar Bristol Street Media Project.  Grant dollars will be used for this project, too.  The goal is to make that roadway safer and beautify it at the same time.  The plan was approved on a 5-0 vote.

SUCCESSFUL SUMMER ACTIVITIES
New Recreation Manager Karlen gave his report on the status of summer activities in the city.  I won't give you all the statistics, but will observe that most youth-oriented programs - Teen Camp, R.O.C.K.S, ECP (early childhood program), Summer Day Camp were almost all over-subscribed with some waiting lists.  Regarding the Neighborhood Community Center, Karlen reported that in July and August more than 17,000 people were served by that facility and it generated more than $27,000 in revenue.  This, you will recall, is the facility that your mayor described as underutilized as a reason for planning to convert it into a library.  Somebody needs to take a much, much closer look at that situation because I've heard no plan that replaces that space for the residents.

SENIOR CENTER SPRUCE UP
Karlen also reported on the Senior Center and the hostile takeover (my words) of that facility this month.  Plans are afoot to spruce up the place, with new carpet and some new furniture.  He told us more than 900 people have signed up to become members since June. (Note some of the names on this plaque from the Senior Center Building)

LIGHTING KAISER SCHOOL FIELDS?
During commissioner reports mention was made about a "lighting demonstration" that apparently occurred last night somewhere in the city.  Apparently there will be a meeting next Tuesday, September 30, beginning at 6:00 p.m. in council  chambers to discuss lighting the fields at Kaiser School on the Eastside of town.  I expect the contiguous neighbors will receive notices of this one - and we plan to be there to hear the message.

PUBLIC ART?
Commissioner Bob Graham apparently visited the Newport Beach City Hall recently and viewed a large display of public art at the site. He suggested we consider doing something similar throughout the city.  He specifically mentioned Fairview Park.

OUSTING VAPING AND GEEZER ACTIVITIES
Chairman de Arakal also mentioned he wants to begin considering banning "vaping" - the use of electronic cigarettes - in all parks throughout the city.  He also wants to consider using the Senior Center Parking Lot for some kind of outdoor recreation facility for the Seniors.  He mentioned lawn bowling.

Oops! Where Did That Come From?

ANOTHER "DON'T BLINK" MEETING
The Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commission meeting Thursday evening was short and not-too-sweet.



CHAIRMAN'S AWARD TO MACY'S
It started promptly at 6:00 p.m. when Chairman Byron de Arakal called it to order and moved smoothly to his presentation of the Chairman's Award to Macy's South Coast Plaza store - accepted by their representative Dawn Miller - for their community spirit.  The store, through a fundraiser event, gathered $1165.66 recently, which was donated for the purpose of planting ten (10) tulip trees.  Thanks to the good folks at Macy's.

FEE INCREASES IGNORED
There was no discussion of the Consent Calendar item - the fee increases for certain new classes - so it was approved on a 5-0 vote.  Funny, I thought there might be at least one person to show up and at least ask about that item.  Nope.  None of the half-dozen folks in the audience - the high water mark was 8 people at one point - stepped up.

APPLICANT A NO-SHOW.  REQUEST DENIED
Item 10a, the tree removal request by the residents at 914 Oak Street was denied after a short presentation by staff.  The applicant didn't bother to show up, so the denial passed, 5-0.  de Arakal reminded the audience and the folks at home that the commission will seldom approve a request when the applicant doesn't even bother to show up.

AGENDA SNAFU
Then things got a little hinky.  The next item on my agenda - the same one that everyone else had and is posted on the city web site - showed item 10b as the Little Library Outpost issue.  However, de Arakal called the Park Signage issue instead.  Seems there was some sloppy staff work at play here, which caused some confusion, to say the least.  That issue, HERE, suggested that in the future each commissioner would be "responsible" for a certain number of our 29 parks, and that signage shown as part of the staff report would be installed showing either his name or a reference to the Parks Commission and an email address.  Here's one sample.

NEW ITEM, NOT NOTICE, NOT ON AGENDA
However, at this point de Arakal introduced something that was NOT on the agenda - the concept of modifying Title 12 of the Municipal Code to facilitate breaking the city into five (5) parks districts, with each commissioner responsible for a district.  There was some discussion by the commissioners and de Arakal described his vision of this plan - that the commissioners would be the first contact point on issues involving "their" parks; that they would be heavily involved in the budget for each and that they would make reports to the commission twice a year on the status of "their" parks.  Eventually the commission voted unanimously to direct staff to return in the September meeting with ideas of how this might be facilitated, including a possible draft ordinance.

A BROWN ACT VIOLATION?
As I sat there listening to this discussion of a very important possible change to the way the commission operates I found myself wondering if it violated the Brown Act, since this issue was NOT on the agenda and, in my view, couldn't logically just be an expansion of the item that WAS on the agenda - Park Signage.

BARK PARK
Next up was Item 10c, HERE, the discussion of the new arrangement of the Bark Park Maintenance and Operations - the re-defining of the roles of the City and the Costa Mesa Bark Park Foundation.  Basically, the City is taking over all aspects of the Bark Park and the Foundation will still do fundraising activities.  The objective is to restore the park grounds to better condition and improve the operations.

MELONE - RUDE, CRUDE AND EMBARRASSING
During the Public Comments segment on this issue City Council Candidate Al Melone completely lost his composure.  He pounded on the speaker's podium and yelled at staffer Bruce Hartley, accusing him of not doing his job and used foul and abusive language while doing it.  At one point de Arakal had to remind him that he would not tolerate that kind of behavior, to which Melone said he was done and stormed out of the auditorium.  Clearly, this man does not possess the emotional maturity nor the civility one expects from a member of the city council.  He should recognize that he's temperamentally unsuited for that kind of an assignment and immediately withdraw his candidacy.  In addition to him sucking up valuable votes in November, the campaign trail will only further expose his shortcomings and further embarrass him.

LITTLE LIBRARY OUTPOSTS
Finally the commission got around to item 10b - the one that should have been earlier in the agenda -  the proposal by the Costa Mesa Library Foundation to establish three "Little Library Outposts" in parks around the City.  Foundation President Barbara Steck made the pitch for this concept, which generated a significant amount of conversation.  The concept was generally supported, but the upshot was that the commission voted, 4-1, to have the staff bring the concept back after further fleshing it out with the Foundation.  Commissioner Bob Graham voted NO.  There was some concern expressed by more than one commissioner about monitoring the "little libraries", and about the kind of books that might be placed in them.  I thought about that, too, as the discussion ensued, and worried about the kind of books - one commissioner used the word "propaganda" - that might be placed in them.  We live in strange times, where it's certainly possible for sexually explicit books, for example, to be placed in the libraries.  Even worse, somebody might throw in copies of the racist rants of The Mouth From Mesa North.  Heck, someone might even share the works of Rush Limbaugh, for goodness sake! ;-)

KABOOM! PROJECT HAS ONE
The issue was serious enough for the item to be further studied.  Steck suggested that, perhaps, they could begin with only one location.  Recreation Supervisor Lisa McPherson reminded the commission that the recently-installed Kaboom! facility at Shalimar Park already has such a lending/sharing library kiosk.  Commissioner Dean Abernathy suggested that, as part of the further evaluations, that facility should be monitored to try to measure the success.

COMMISSIONER COMMENTS

At the end of the meeting, during Commissioner Comments, Abernathy reminded us of the final Concerts In The Park event next Tuesday evening.  Graham gave a short Power Point presentation about possible Bike Trails in Fairview Park.  He will also give the same presentation at the Fairview Park Citizens Advisory Committee meeting on August 6th.  Don Harper complimented Hartley on his work on the Bark Park.  Vice Chair Kim Pederson, relating to the tree removal issue, suggested folks contact the Costa Mesa Sanitary District about their Sewer Lateral Assistance Program (SLAP), and thanked the folks at Macy's.  DeArakal reiterated his view that we need more lighted fields in the winter months - stating that we lost 60% of our fields when the time changes.  He stressed interest in a possible lease/purchase agreement with the School District for the Balaeric Center, spoke of the recent General Plan workshop on Parks, Open Space and Conservation and the fact that a consultant is being retained to facilitate the update of the Master Plan of Open Spaces.  And, he will be absent from the August 28th meeting.

Little Libraries, Bark Park and More

INTERESTING STUFF ON THURSDAY
The Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commission meets on Thursday, July 24, 2014 beginning at 6:00 p.m. in City Council Chambers to discuss a few interesting items.  You can read the complete agenda HERE.

NEW CLASSES AND FEES
On the Consent Calendar Item 7A is a list of fee proposals for Contract Youth and Adult Classes, including some fee increases.  You can read it HERE.  There are five (5) new youth instructional classes, three (3) new senior instructional classes and four (4) fee increases for current instructional classes.

TREE REMOVAL REQUEST
There are no Public Hearings nor Old Business items, but there are a few New Business items on the agenda.  Item 10a is a tree removal request at 914 Oak Street, HERE.  The staff recommends denial of the request.



GIVE A BOOK, TAKE A BOOK
Item 10b, HERE, is a fascinating proposal for "Little Library Outposts" in three parks throughout the city.  This is a kind of free lending library, where books can be left and taken from bird house-like structures in the parks.  Read the staff report and you'll smile, guaranteed.

BARK PARK OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE
Item 10c, HERE, involves the maintenance and operation of the Bark Park, adjacent to the Tennis Center and Volcom Skate Park.  The staff report indicates that the City has terminated the agreement with the Costa Mesa Bark Park Foundation and will henceforth take over the responsibility for the operations and maintenance of the Bark Park, which has fallen on bad times.  The City hopes to maintain a good relationship with The Foundation for future fund raising and other special events.

PARK SIGNAGE
Item 10d, HERE, discusses the plan to place signage at each park - 45 signs in all - as shown in this example.  The sign would include the name of the Parks and Recreation Commissioner assigned to the park and inquiries would be directed to that commissioner as appropriate.

FAIRVIEW PARK CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
The commission meets next on Thursday, August 28th.  However, the Fairview Park Citizens Advisory Committee meets on Wednesday, August 6, 2014 at 6:00 in the Neighborhood Community Center to discuss what changes, if any, it will recommend to the commission for the Southeast Quadrant of the park - where the trains and parking lot are located.  Anyone interested in the future of Fairview Park should plan to attend the meeting and express your views to the committee.