Parks & Rec. Commission Kicks The Can - Twice

 SORRY FOR THE TARDY REPORT...
Although I was out of town and did not attend the Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commission meeting of Thursday, April 27, 2017, when we finally returned home this weekend I carved out some time to watch my recording of the meeting, a meeting that lasted just over 4 hours and played to a large crowd - both of which are very unusual for this group.  It was not surprising, though, because there were a couple items on the agenda that I expected to take some time, and they did.  You can read the full agenda HERE.

KICKING THE CAN...
The most interesting part of this meeting for me was the fact that this group of very smart, very inquisitive commissioners, found it necessary to push both Old Business items off for further consideration.

Let's take it from the top...

PEDERSON'S ADMONITION FELL ON DEAF EARS
At the very beginning of the meeting Chairman Kim Pederson told the audience - a large crowd had assembled in the City Council Chambers for this meeting - that two items that were part of the presentation of the Open Space Master Plan of Parks and Recreation were begin removed from the package.  Those were the mention of a possible public pool at Tanager Park and the reference to a Sports Complex at Fairview Park.  It was apparent from the reaction to this announcement that most of the folks in the room were there to talk about the pool at Tanager Park.  The latter item was a typo - a misunderstanding by someone who typed the report.  There is NO plan for a sports complex at Fairview Park - the item should have read "Fairview Developmental Center".

The commission approved the minutes of both the March 15th Study Session and the March 23rd meeting.

PUBLIC COMMENTS
During Public Comments nine (9) people rose to address the commission.  Among those who spoke were:

• Flo Martin, who presented a Power Point of a tree that fell in Wilson Park last Wednesday while many people were in the park.
• Mark Korando, his wife and Granddaughter addressed the inability of the public to use Lions Park because of so much of it being fenced off, lack of restroom facilities and containing locked gates.
• Jay Humphrey - making his first appearance at a meeting in council chambers since his serious back surgery - addressed the need to protect Fairview Park vernal pools, citing a recent event when some bozo in a pickup truck drove through some of them and had to be towed from the park.
• Ed Guilmette again rose to address the issue of Urban Mushers in Fairview Park and complained that the City was doing nothing about it.
• Kim Hendricks also spoke about Fairview Park, opining that we need to do a better job of protecting it and follow the lead of 70.9% of the voters who voted in the last election to protect it from any kind of development.

COMMISSIONER COMMENTS

• During Commissioner Comments Commissioner Leah Ersoylu had no comments.
• Vice Chair Liz McNabb spoke about the many recent events around the City and about the then-upcoming Action Arts In The Park, scheduled for last Saturday.
• Commissioner Krissie Bogner spoke about a fundraiser for Fresh Beginnings Ministry.
• Commissioner Arlis Reynolds thanked the members of the public for attending and participating.  She spoke about the need for Vernal Pool training and asked about the fallen tree in Wilson Park and wondered how the staff determines if a tree is so distressed that it may fall, citing a Public Safety issue.
• Chairman Pederson thanked Realtor Valerie Torelli for again hosting the Eggstravaganza over Easter weekend.  He also suggested, in response to one speaker comment, that the commissioners consider a tour of all the parks in the City, observing that the Brown Act makes it dicey.

CONSENT CALENDAR
They approved the Consent Calendar - which included two tree/plaque donations - on a 5-0 vote without discussion.

SHIFFER PARK CELL SITE PUSHED OUT
The first Old Business item - upgrades to the Shiffer Park Cell Site - took about a half-hour of discussion, which included one public comment.  During the discussion there were several questions unanswered by the staff and representative of the organization managing the site - including those involving revenue and whether this plan is impacted by Measure Y.  At the end the commission voted, 5-0, to kick this can down the road to their meeting in May so those questions could be answered.

ANGRY CROWD GREETS OPEN SPACE MASTER PLAN
At just after 7:00 p.m. the commission began the discussion of the Open Space Master Plan of Parks and Recreation.  Consultant Zach Mueting of RJM Design Group and City Engineer Bart Mejia made the presentation.  This presentation was familiar to those of us who have followed the progress of this process.  You can read the lengthy staff report - including the 384 page Master Plan - HERE. The discussion of this item lasted nearly 2 hours, including the seventeen (17) speakers who addressed it.  Most of those, despite the fact that the pool at Tanager Park was being deleted from the plan, spoke to that issue.  It was clear that overwhelming community sentiment against a pool at that park - in fact, most speakers wanted NO CHANGES in that park - had been whipped up over the past couple weeks.  As indicated in Luke Money's excellent coverage in the Daily Pilot, HERE, the commissioners voted unanimously to bring this issue back to them for further review at their next meeting.  Public Comments will be received until May 10th and a report issued to the commissioners listing all the suggestions made at the recent Study Session and this meeting plus new public input by May 12th.  The next meeting where this will be discussed is May 25th.  Again, the commissioners kicked this can down the road.

ALL TREE REMOVAL REQUESTS DENIED
Following a short break the commissioners tackled three separate tree removal issues and voted to deny every one of them.  Interim Manager Tom Coughlin made the presentations. The first two were unanimous, but Bogner voted NO on the third one.  See the staff report, above, for the details.

PARKS PROJECT MANAGER'S REPORT
Mejia presented an update of previously approved projects that are either underway or are being put out to bid.  These included:

• Fairview Park parking lot paving
• Paving in TeWinkle Park
• Playground resurfacing in TeWinkle Park
• Tanager Drive Bike Trail
• Repaving Balaeric Park Play Area
• Conceptual design of a new Skate Park.  Public input will be sought in May.

RECREATION MANAGER'S REPORT
Recreation Manager Justin Martin provided added information about the re-surfacing of Angel's Playground in TeWinkle Park, indicating that it will be completed by May 13th.  He then listed a roster of participation at many recreation programs around the city, each of which has shown an uptick in participants.  He included comments about the progress of the rehabilitation of fields 3 and 4 at the Jack Hammett Sports Complex by the Los Angeles Chargers and mentioned their contribution of $50,000 toward the new mobile recreation van.  He also spoke about his interaction with Urban Mushers and those opposed to that activity in our parks, primarily Fairview Park.  He was encouraged that both sides will be able to make things work.  In response to an inquiry by Reynolds Martin advised the commission of awards bestowed upon Costa Mesa volunteers at a recent meeting.  Sharon Margolis received recognition for her work at the Costa Mesa Senior Center and Andrea Marr, Chair of the Cultural Arts Committee, accepted the award for that group.  Kudos to them both.

WHAT ABOUT BRENTWOOD PARK PROJECT?
Bogner asked for a report on the Brentwood Park project.

Pederson adjourned the meeting at just after 10:15 p.m.... Ugh!

A GOOD GROUP, DOING GOOD WORK
I must say that while watching the recording of the meeting I was VERY impressed by the quality of the questions and responses given by the commissioners.  This is clearly one SMART group, who have done their homework on the important issues facing them and take their responsibilities very seriously.  I suspect we may see large crowds at these meetings in the future as they plow through some of the tough challenges that will be facing them.  They certainly seem up to it, despite the fact that they booted two important items to a future meeting.  It was the right thing to do in both cases.

A Little Surprise At The Planning Commission Meeting

DEVELOPERS WON'T BE HAPPY
The Costa Mesa Planning Commission met Monday night and presented us with a little surprise.  More on that in a minute.

ANDRANIAN IN CHARGE
All the new commissioners were present and Chairman Stephan Andranian is getting the feel of running the meetings.

PUBLIC COMMENTS
During Public Comments only two people spoke - the crowd was sparse, perhaps 20 people at the most during the evening.  There were three of us remaining for the final public hearing.

SMALL LOT ORDINANCE MUST GO
The first speaker, Mary Spadoni, questioned the value of the Small Lot Ordinance - all the public hearings on the agenda fell under that category.  She strongly suggested that the ordinance at least be reviewed.

MANY ISSUES
A second, unidentified speaker agreed.  She then asked that the council no longer approve residential projects that front on alleys.  She also addressed a problem site on Newport Boulevard and gave Andranian a group of papers to review and return to her.  She also mentioned that the 99 Cent Store on Harbor will soon be selling alcohol and that Mayor Katrina Foley has requested a review of the Zoning Administrators decision in that regard.  She also wondered, based on a recent Los Angeles Times article about private jails, whether we are housing prisoners for pay in our outsourced jail.  She also drew the commissions attention to a problem with new construction at 231 Flower Street, in which she felt he wall was too close to the alley.

KERINS
During Commissioner Comments, Isabell Kerins commented on the excellent information she had received at the recent Planning Commission training.

WOODS
Carla Woods observed about educational experiences available at Fairview Park.

DE ARAKAL
Byron de Arakal addressed the Newport Boulevard Specific Plan, citing what he called as great opportunities for bringing it up to 21st Century views of land use.  He also addressed South Harbor Boulevard, indicating that it's a 1950s configuration that needs to be reviewed in light of e-commerce impact on our community.  He also spoke of the groundbreaking for Fire Station #1 last Saturday.

ANDRANIAN
Stephan Andranian indicated he will look at the documents presented to him by the unidentified speaker, up top.  He also agreed with de Arakal that the Newport Boulevard Specific Plan needs freshening.  He acknowledged that Mayor Foley had requested a review of the Dollar Store issue, which will be heard within 45 days.

HARLAN
Jeffrey Harlan reminded the commission of the joint meeting with the City Council and Parks and Recreation Commission regarding the new Library/Community Center project on March 28th at the Costa Mesa Country Club.

CONSENT CALENDAR
The Consent Calendar was passed, 5-0, without comment.

 353 18TH STREET PASSES AFTER REVISION
Public Hearing #1 is the first of three (3) Small Lot Developments on the Eastside of Costa Mesa to be heard that night.  This one is for a 4-unit development at 353 18th Street.  This project had been heard previously by the Planning Commission - the old commission - in November, 2016.  It was rejected and the applicant was advised to return with one that properly parked the project.  The difference is shown on the image provided.  The only issue with this project now is the narrow, 2 foot, space along the driveway - the code calls for 3 feet.  The discussion, including public comments in which resident Richard Huffman called for a review of the Small Lot Ordinance because, more often than not, variances are granted on such projects, took an hour.  Several commissioners observed that the Small Lot Ordinance requires a separate discussion.  The commissioners passed this item, 5-0.

391 LA PERLE PLACE DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE
Public Hearing #2, another Small Lot Development at 391 La Perle Place, replaced an aging single story home with 2 two-story homes on a 7200 square foot lot.  The discussion on this one, which included three neighbors criticizing the project as being out of character with the neighborhood, went on for nearly an hour.  In the end, guided by comments from Commissioner Harlan - who observed that the design didn't respect the neighborhood very well - the commission denied the request without prejudice so the applicant can bring back a more satisfactory project within 6 months.

326 E. 16TH STREET BREEZES THROUGH
Public Hearing #3 was another Small Lot Development at 326 E. 16th Street.  This one breezed right through with high praise by several commissioners on a 5-0 vote.  The commissioners were pleased with the presentation and the use of open space.

PUBLIC SERVICES REPORT
During the Public Services Department report City Engineer Bart Mejia observed that the City Council had recently approved renovation of Bristol Street near the SOBECA area and construction may begin in a couple weeks.  He also said he will provide periodic reports on the progress of the construction of the new Fire Station #1.

DEVELOPMENT SERVICES REPORT
In the Development Services Department report Interim Director/Consultant Jay Trevino again reminded the commissioners they will have back-to-back meetings in two weeks.  Their regular meeting on March 27th will have a discussion on Group Homes and a couple requests for Conditional Use Permits.  The next day, on March 28th, they will attend the joint meeting with the City Council and the Parks and Recreation Commission, where the new Downtown Community Center and the Library will be discussed.  This will take place at the Costa Mesa Country Club.  The meeting ended shortly before 9:00 p.m.

SMALL LOT ORDINANCE IS IN TROUBLE
A word about this meeting.  Based on comments from commissioners and residents, it appears there will soon be a discussion of the controversial Small Lot Ordinance.  That's a good idea.

COMMISSION IS LOOKING GOOD
And, this commission is showing great promise.  Chairman Andranian is getting his arms around the process and conducting a good meeting.  The other commissioners - all rookies in the role - are beginning to get their sea legs and spending sufficient time on the staff reports and at job sites to present good questions - and even some answers.  It's going to be interesting to watch them work. 

Parks & Recreation Commission Meets, Selects Leaders

NEW COMMISSIONERS HIT THE GROUND RUNNING
The brand new Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commission met Thursday night, were sworn-in, selected their leadership and promptly got down to business.

 SWEARING-IN AND PHOTOS
New commissioners Kristina (Krissie) Bogner, Leah Ersoylu, Liz McNabb, Kim Pederson and Arlis Reynolds all showed up, many with an entourage of family and friends in tow, and were promptly sworn-in by City Clerk Brenda Green, then took a few photos with their individual crews.

PEDERSON AND MCNABB TO LEAD
Next up they selected their leadership.  Returning Commissioner Pederson - a 29-year employee of the City of Newport Beach in their parks maintenance organization who has been the Chairman of the commission in the past - was chosen as Chairman on a unanimous vote.  McNabb was chosen as Vice Chair, also on a unanimous vote.

MINUTES - POOF!
They promptly dispatched with the minutes from previous meetings, then turned their attention to members of the public who chose to speak to them on non-agenda items.

PUBLIC COMMENTS
First up was former Planning Commissioner Mark Korando, who spoke with great outrage about his inability to utilize Lions Park with his grandchildren because he found most of it fenced-off - apparently a deterrent to the burgeoning homeless population.  He estimated that 2/3 of the park is unattainable by residents.

Kim Hendricks briefly addressed Sober Living Homes impact on the parks, recommended the commissioners read the Fairview Park Master Plan and told the commission to do their homework because she expects excellence from them.

Flo Martin stepped up to complain about the lack of picnic infrastructure at Wilson Park.  She presented the following slides that showed how much it cost to build, then dismantle that infrastructure - done to discourage homeless folks.  She asked the commissioners to investigate replacing that infrastructure so the residents can use the park again.

Ed Gilmette (sp) and Mary Kenyon complained about the "Urban Mushers" who train their dog teams in Fairview Park with, according to them, careless abandon.  Kenyon expressed fear of the dog - some of the breeds are apparently recognized as some of the most dangerous dog breeds.  They asked for the City to investigate the use of the park by the Mushers.

Bill McCarty observed that the roster of commissioners had Pederson on top.  He also championed Commissioner Arlis Reynolds as the representative for Fairview Park.  He then showed a short slide show and asked that previously destroyed Vernal Pool #4 be renovated.

A gentleman self-identified as an artist who left Costa Mesa for Santa Ana twenty-five years ago to help establish that city as an Art Haven - and praised himself for that action.  He said he now wants to return to Costa Mesa to perform the same service.  He also championed Reynolds for Fairview Park, mentioning that he had established a good relationship with her - he went to Harvard and she to MIT.  He said he was "enamored with Reynolds hard work."

COMMISSIONER COMMENTS
Then came Commissioner Comments, and Chairman Pederson encouraged each to give the audience - a group of around 30 people, including Mayor Katrina Foley, Councilman John Stephens and Planning Commission Chairman Stephan Andranian (Councilman Allan Mansoor made a brief visit to the auditorium with his young daughter before the meeting began) - a quick summary of their backgrounds and interests.

Reynolds told us she grew up on the Westside, went to school in Boston/Cambridge (MIT).  She said she's happy she returned to Costa Mesa, which she said is "really great".  She also mentioned an upcoming event - the Great American Write-off, in March.

Bogner thanked the council for her selection, said she's only been in the city 2 years and, I think, said she lived on the Westside.  Funny, she lives near Wilson Park, which is NOT on the Westside.  She sympathized with Martin's plight about Wilson Park, observing that she had offered housing to some of the homeless but they refused.  She's been working closely with consultant Muriel Ullman on homeless issues.  She asked the staff to look into the "Musher" issue.  She also asked for a briefing on "lighting" of certain parks - referring specifically to lights at Kaiser School.

Vice Chair Mc Nabb said she's a 22 year Mesa Verde resident.  She complimented the staff for their professionalism.  She observed that the voters have expressed their views about Fairview Park via Measure AA.  Among the ideas she said she would like to pursue are using social media to promote park use; a "Park of the Month" program and a 360 degree video view of each park on the web site.  She also encouraged us to consider using Milkweed in re-landscaping projects to encourage proliferation of Monarch Butterfles.

Ersoylu also thanked the council for her selection and mentioned she had worked extensively with Santa Ana on park equity.  She observed briefly about park districts, the Master Plan and that she expects to learn a lot.  She also expressed concern about the Urban Mushers.

Chairman Pederson mentioned his long tenure at Newport Beach, complimented his fellow commissioners and observed that everyone arrived ready to go to work.  He mentioned the need to agendize the issue of a liaison with the school district.  He also observed that Fairview Park is not a "native park", but, rather, a "natural park".  He suggested that they would be seeing the Parks Master Plan soon. He also expressed concern about the Urban Mushers at Fairview Park.

CONSENT CALENDAR - POOF!
The Consent Calendar was quickly dispatched on a 5-0 vote without discussion.

ASSIGNING DISTRICTS
Then came the issue of Commissioner Districts.  This is the configuration the staff created, according to Recreation Manager Justin Martin, based on input from the commissioners, their interviews during the selection process and other variables.

BALEARIC?
Reynolds wondered why Balearic Park was not included and was advised that it belongs to the Newport Mesa Unified School District.

BOGNER CONVINCED
Bogner said she was convinced of the wisdom of NOT having a commissioner responsible for a nearby park to avoid conflict of interest - earlier she implied that she'd like to have Wilson Park as one of hers because she lived very close to it.

THE PUBLIC
Five members of the public spoke to this issue.

Julie Fowler said the discussion had convinced her of the wisdom of having commissioners NOT represent a nearby park.

Bill McCarty said he didn't agree with that rationale, again supporting Reynolds for Fairview Park.

Steven Chen observed that the Westside needed better representation.

Beth Refakes observed that the Eastside had no representation, but agreed that diversity was a good idea.

Mark Korando observed that perhaps Fairview Park should have two representatives.

FAIRVIEW PARK A CONCERN - VOTE TAKEN
Much of the discussion revolved around Fairview Park - Reynolds clearly wanted it to be part of her group parks, citing better service to the community.  Other members seemed willing to be flexible to change, but when it came to a vote - and after Pederson reminded them they could revisit this issue in the future -  they chose to leave it just as the staff presented it on a 4-1 vote, with Reynolds voting NO.

PARKS REPORT
Next came the Parks Project reports by Bart Mejia, City Engineer, and Tom Coughlin, Interim Maintenance Manager, on the status of Parks projects around the city.  Mejia began by speaking about the status of street median projects and the Fairview Park report on the impact of Measure AA, currently underway.  A report on park lighting issues will be issued in April or May coincident with the Capital Improvement Budget.  He spoke about the Open Space Master Plan, indicating the outline is complete.  ADA compliance issues with TeWinkle Park are going out to bid.  The modifications at Jack Hammett Sports Complex - replacing Fields 1 and 2 with artificial turf, creating more parking and more restroom capability - is moving forward.  He spoke about improving the appearance of the Newport Boulevard frontage areas.  He also told the commissioners that the proposed expansion of the Skate Park will be in the hands of the consultant and community outreach will soon begin.

AND MORE
Coughlin spoke about replacing picnic structures at Paularino and Pinkley parks with new metal structures.  He said the old wood structures are severly damaged by termites and rot.  He spoke about the recent renovation of the Downtown Pool and the plans to replace the shade structure at the Senior Center.  He will update the commission later on the status of our urban forest.  During the last storm we apparently lost 55 trees with one home being damaged.  In response to Commissioner Reynolds question, he responded that he cannot predict the completion of clean-up from storm damage because it's a fluid situation - with more rain coming and trees placed in jeopardy by the last storm are still upright.

RECREATION MANAGER'S REPORT
Recreation Manager Justin Martin then gave his report on the current status of recreation programs in the city.  In general, most programs have seen significant increases in participation.  Among the notable comments he made was that the ROCKS after school program is in 11 campuses and has 1,100 participant.  The Presidents Day Camp - when schools are closed - also had good participation.  He mentioned that the Neighborhood Community Center had closed and was in the process of having all furniture removed in anticipation of demolition - the first step in the Lions Park project.  He told the commissioners that the current single story, 20,000 square foot structure will be removed and replaced by a two-story, 20,000 square foot building, which will result in the creation of an acre of available park space on the site.  The demolition, construction of the new library building, renovation of the old library building and the installation of whatever will go into that new acre should be completed by 2020.  In the meantime, all tenants of the NCC were assisted in finding new sites for their activities, including in neighboring cities, until the new facilities are ready to accommodate them again.

JOINT MEETING AND RECREATION CONFERENCE
As the meeting wound down Chairman Pederson mentioned that there will be a joint meeting with the City Council and Planning Commission on March 28th.  Commissioner Ersoylu asked about the upcoming California Parks and Recreation Conference in Sacramento in March.  Martin indicated he and some other staffers will attend.  It will be held in Long Beach next year and Martin suggested some of the commissioners attend that one.

The meeting ended at 8:25.

EAGER... PROCEDURES NEED TIGHTENING
A few thoughts about this new commission.  First, all of them came ready to work.  They all had specific things on their minds that they want to discuss in the future.  Vice Chair McNabb, in particular, rattled off a long list of issues she wished to explore with the group.  With the exception of Pederson, they all were trying to gain their sea legs - figuring out which button to push when voting, the proper decorum on the dais - all the "new guy" stuff that one faces in that role.  I did notice that Pederson probably needs to refresh them on the proper procedure for asking questions.  The proper form is for them to request the opportunity to speak from the chairman before just rattling on.  Without some tightening-up of that element future meetings could devolve into chat sessions.  Staff also needs to be reminded that their responses are to be directed to the chairman, then to the individual commissioners.  It's not a big deal, but it's easy for things to become chaotic without following the rules.

A SMART, DEDICATED GROUP
I was VERY impressed with this new group.  Their varied backgrounds and interests should make for some very thorough discussions on the important issues ahead of them.  Each appeared to hold Fairview Park in a very special place, so discussions about the future of that particular park, particularly in light of Measure AA, will be interesting.  It's interesting to note that this group seems not to have such a strong "youth sports" orientation as previous Parks and Recreation Commissions have had.  That's not a bad thing.  I'm going to enjoy watching them work.  Congratulations to them all.