Huy Pham Remembrance At City Hall Monday

 A SMALL, RESPECTFUL CROWD 

Five dozen or so people - employees and residents alike - gathered at the employee entrance on the east side of the Costa Mesa City Hall Monday afternoon for an unscripted memorial remembrance for Huy Pham, the young maintenance worker who leaped to his death at that very spot three years ago.  They gathered around the small memorial collage created at the site to quietly share stories about their departed friend.

SOME DEPARTMENT HEADS
Council members Sandra Genis and Wendy Leece, Police Chief Tom Gazsi, Fire Chief Dan Stefano and Director of Public Services Ernesto Munoz were in attendance.  Former Director of Development and Deputy CEO Peter Naghavi also attended.

OTHER STAFFERS, TOO
I saw employees from Human Resources, Public Services, Finance, Police, Fire and other departments at the gathering.  I saw no representatives from the Executive Offices, although Assistant CEO Rick Francis did walk through the thinning crowd as it began to disburse.

RETIRED EMPLOYEE LEADERS
Several retired employees, including Helen Nenadal and Billy Folsom - both active in the Costa Mesa City Employees Association during their tenure as employees - chose to come honor Pham's memory.

RESIDENTS SPOKE
Activists Cindy Brenneman, Sue Lester, Robin Leffler and Harold Weitzberg were among those who spoke briefly after Chief Gazsi led the assembled group in silent prayer. 

JUST ME...
I saw no members of the media present.

A DATE TO CONTEMPLATE

This was a sad day - marking the third anniversary of an event that certainly will not soon be forgotten.  Pham's death was the exclamation point to a day that saw more than 200 layoff notices delivered to employees and marked the beginning of a long, bitter legal battle that to this day remains unresolved.

Billy Folsom Announces His Retirement

CHEERS BY "THE BOYS"
There will likely be cheers and toasts all around as the male members of the Costa Mesa City Council and their sycophants belly-up to the bar at Skosh Monahan's when they hear the news that Billy Folsom has decided to retire.  Folsom, who has put more than three decades into serving the residents of this city, will retire after more than 31 years on March 4, 2013.

MORE THAN JUST A "JIFFY LUBE" GUY

Although described pejoratively by one councilman not too long ago as a "Jiffy Lube Guy", Folsom, in addition to spending long years keeping the city fleet - including the police cars and fire fighting equipment - on the road to help our public safety folks keep us safe, has performed duties not normally associated with the title "Equipment Mechanic III".  While he was qualified to maintain virtually every piece of rolling stock in the city inventory, his skills and experience created opportunities for him to provide expert testimony at court relative to crime scenes, for example.

AN ADVOCATE FOR EMPLOYEES AND THE CITY
He also has been active in the Costa Mesa City Employees Association (CMCEA), including a tour as that organization's president.  He has been part of the negotiating team that met with city officials on contract issues.  He's been described by folks on both sides of the table as a reasonable negotiator who always represented the employees well but also never lost sight of the bigger picture.  When it was clear that the City needed help from the association he was there to help craft ways for that to happen.

HELEN'S STRONG RIGHT ARM

Helen Nenadal, current president of the CMCEA, said she will be sorry to see him go because he was always at her shoulder helping her through the tough times - especially the past couple years.  She told me he always represented the employees with class and tenacity and they trusted him to present their side of issues with courtesy and clarity.  She emphasized that he always put the employees first.

 
WENDY LEECE'S VIEW
When asked about her reaction to Billy retiring councilwoman Wendy Leece said, "Billy's passion for his job, his city and the people of Costa Mesa inspires all of us to be true to ourselves and to stand on principle no matter the cost.  Thank you Billy for serving the good people of Costa Mesa for more than 30 years and maintaining all our vehicles. As a resident, I hope you will continue to stay involved in city politics."

KATRINA FOLEY'S OPINION

Former council woman Katrina Foley offered her observation of Billy Folsom:
“As a Costa Mesa City Council member I knew that we could always depend on Billy as a top notch mechanic to extend the life of our city vehicles, and ensure that city patrol vehicles and motor bikes were always safe and running well.  He saved us a lot of money over the years in vehicle maintenance and purchase costs. I’m appreciative of his community involvement and I’m sure it’s not the last we will see of Billy. I wish him well in retirement... He earned it.”

NO COMMENT FROM "THE BOYS"

I did not solicit comments from other members of the council for very obvious reasons.  Maybe the best one is this photograph, taken the evening last year when Billy received his 30 year service award.  As he stood with the other recipients for the obligatory group photograph he opened his sweat shirt to reveal his t-shirt with the clear statement of how he felt about how that council was doing business.  Chuckles throughout the auditorium could be heard and, even though the message sent was accurate, it did get him reprimanded.  Such is life in the trenches among Costa Mesa city employees lately.


Q & A WITH FOLSOM
I corresponded with Billy Folsom today after I learned of his pending retirement and asked him a few questions.  Here's how that Q&A went:

Cauldron - How many years with the City?  I think it's 31, right?
Folsom - 31 years as of Dec 14 2012

Cauldron - What was your progression - first job, etc.?
Folsom - I started out as a Mechanic l after a year Mechanic ll after another year Mechanic lll spent 18 months as a Supervisor though they stiffed me on that.

Cauldron - Best part of your experience as an employee?
Folsom - The best part other than having the honor to serve the people of Costa Mesa was the fact that as a shop we were asked to do a whole host of projects that no other vehicle shops would normally do. An example would be fabrication of a number of things like roof ladders, trailers, camera systems for the jail.I built many "bait cars" and "bait bikes" that were remotely controlled some of which are still in use. I also built our armored SWAT vehicle  from a Brinks armored truck. It was always fun working with people from the DEA to help them find dope in drug runner's cars and I assisted in somewhere near 300 accident investigations as a mechanical analyst which included many high profile cases. I had to testify in court against my friend Sid Soffer and had to give many depositions in relation to many fatal traffic accidents. Of course other than the variety of duties which always kept things fresh and challenging were the great people I worked with, to many to mention and I would forget someone if I made a list.

Cauldron - Worst experience (s) as an employee?
Folsom - There have been a few grizzly investigations dealing with human remains especially when children were involved but the worst thing has been the systematic dismantling of a great organization, whether by design or default, in the last two years knowing the whole time it could have been avoided with must less heartache and expense. To see so many really good people leave for greener pastures and the sadness of my fellow workers who felt betrayed and confounded. I absolutely hate leaving my co-workers in such a state of uncertainty but I had already put my retirement off a couple of times and a new business and other family matters require most of my time so it was time to pull the plug.

Cauldron -  How will they replace you, with all the varied things you do?
Folsom - No one is irreplaceable and there are others out there with many of the same skills and even more that could pick them up in short order.

Cauldron - You were President of the CMCEA, right?  When, and for how long?
Folsom - I was President of the CMCEA a few times. I think it totaled 18 years or so.

Cauldron - Your take on Mensinger's COIN plan - to have negotiations out in the open?
Folsom - The biggest problem with the two cents ordinance is that it only goes half way. It should have included all contract negotiations with all vendors with all communications between council people, commission people and contractors open to public scrutiny. Failing that it's just a publicity stunt.

Cauldron - Plans for your retirement?
Folsom - I am starting a new business, Dumb Biker Visions which will be essentially a photography business with the core being stock shots and the fruit promoting local bands and small business. I have one son starting a business also who I hope to help get off the ground then I'm planning another business if all goes well but all this pales to the vast Honey Do list that has amassed over the years. I will still be doing the biker thing and posting on Facebook and it will all tie in to the photography thing and maybe get expanded to a little video log ala Huell Howser.

Cauldron - What will you miss, if anything, when you retire?
Folsom - I will miss interacting with my co-workers and getting projects completed knowing it is keeping the city as a whole running. I hope not to miss the people as I plan to hang with them as much as I can.

Cauldron - Anything else you wish to say?
Folsom - It's been a good run, I was "incorporated" the same year as Costa Mesa and hope the city celebrates all it's great citizens and heritage so we don't forget why we live here and in that vein I hope to see some of the new organizations like CM4RG stay active and keep Costa Mesa Costa Mesa. Who knows where I'll pop up. 

Billy later added that he neglected to mention that he met the love of his life eleven years ago, stating that he would not be where he is today without her and that he plans to do more surfing and is building a new skateboard for the park... watch out for that flying beard!

HE WILL BE MISSED

Billy Folsom has served the City of Costa Mesa with dedication and distinction for more than half his life and will be missed.  His creativity, flexibility, dedication and institutional knowledge will be very difficult to replace.  We wish him well and suspect we've not seen the last of him.

A Very Busy Week Ahead

BUSY WEEK
The last week of March is going to be a busy one for those of us who pay attention to municipal issues.





MISSED CHARTER DEADLINE HEARING
Monday, March 26 there will be yet another hearing in Superior Court Judge Franz Miller's courtroom to determine which of the lawsuits filed in the "Missed Charter Submission Deadline" case will be allowed to participate in the case. In addition to The City and Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley - who really doesn't care one way or the other, two other parties have filed in this case. Former councilwoman and present school board trustee Katrina Foley and another Costa Mesa resident and attorney, John Stephens filed one and a big time law firm from Los Angeles - one that Jim Righeimer ranted about last Tuesday - has filed a case with someone named Mary Spadoni (?) and 30-year City employee Billy Folsom included in the action.

PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
On the same evening there will be a Planning Commission meeting at 6:00 in Council Chambers. You can read the agenda HERE. Among those issues to be discussed will be a Second Residential Neighborhood Enhancement Program; Lawn Standards Policy; - you can be cited if your lawn doesn't measure up and Funding for Code Enforcement Staffing - so there will be someone on staff to cite you for your shabby lawn.

SECOND HEARING IN TWO DAYS
On Tuesday, March 27, there will be another hearing in Judge Miller's courtroom to hear arguments and decide whether Jim Righeimer's Charter will actually be placed on the June 5th ballot. The City has pulled out all the stops on this one, retaining Jones Day to represent them on this issue, too. It will be interesting to see just who is left standing after the Monday hearing to determine who will be "interventors" in this case.

SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING AT SPECIAL TIME
Later that afternoon there will be a Special City Council meeting at 5:00 in Council Chambers with only one open session item. That is the "Engagement Letter" with Jones Day to codify their participation in the Charter issue. It's about time, since they've apparently been working on it from the beginning. There are also two closed session items. One deals with the Charter issue and the second one deals with negotiations with employee bargaining units.

PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION ON WEDNESDAY
Wednesday, March 28, is the regularly scheduled Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. You can read the agenda HERE. There will be an election of new officers - Chairman and Vice Chairman - and committee appointments. In addition, there will be several tree removal requests, a discussion of Donations of Memorial Trees and Plaques for Public Parks and a Landscape Beautification Award Program.

WAITING...
So, depending on how the hearings go on Monday and Tuesday, it's entirely possible that Jim Righeimer's Charter might not be on the June 5th ballot. And, it's likely that we will already know about that at the Special Council meeting on Tuesday afternoon. It's going to be a very interesting week - again.

Long-Service Awards Tonight

MAY BE A SHORT ONE
One of the highlights of what may be a short and relatively benign Costa Mesa City Council meeting tonight will be the recognition of those employees who have reached major milestones in their respective careers with The City.



LOYAL LONG-SERVICE EMPLOYEES
While all employees who reach 5-year increment milestones will be recognized in a ceremony on February 29th, tonight those folks who have reached 25 and 30 years levels will receive special recognition. Among those being recognized tonight will be Helen Nenadal and Billy Folsom, two dedicated employees who have been the tip of the spear in the battle against the dismantling of our city structure through the bogus outsourcing scheme conjured up by Mayor Gary Monahan and Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer in their private meetings last year.

KUDOS
Thanks to Helen and Billy - and all the rest of the loyal, hard-working city employees who have kept their collective noses to the grindstone during the past twelve months - for their unwavering service to the residents of this city in very, very troubling times. They deserve our gratitude for soldiering-on even though many were asked to create documents (RFPs) that may be used to cost them their jobs. Kudos to them all as they consistently go above and beyond the call of duty while being demonized, vilified and chided by some of the elected leaders of our city.

CROSS-DRESSING FRENZY AGAIN
The meeting, which begins at 6:00, will be preceded by a Closed Session at 5:00 in which The City and the recently created Housing Authority will go through a cross-dressing exercise of some sort to discuss trying to salvage the Redevelopment Agency dollars. Then they will also convene in open session and go through a similar exercise to pass a resolution dealing with the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule (TOPS) of the former Redevelopment Agency, which was dissolved as of February 1st. We're trying to keep as much of the money owed by the RDA as possible.

EARLY OR LATE, WE'LL BE THERE
As always, at the end of the meeting council members will have their opportunity to make comments and recommendations. It is at this part of the meeting - when most observers have departed - that interesting things historically happen. So, regardless whether the meeting ends at a 8:00 or 1:00 a.m., we'll be there to observe and report.

Halecrest Appreciation Picnic A Success!

A GREAT TIME!
I managed to spend a couple hours today at the Halecrest Community Appreciation Picnic. Although I had to leave before things wrapped up, while I was there it seemed to be a rousing success. Reports from friends who were there through the end indicate that a good time was had by all.



SEVERAL HUNDRED PEOPLE ATTEND
Although I don't know exactly how many people attended, one report tells me that more than 400 food plates were used. Lots of hot dogs were served, as well as many other yummy dishes in this pot luck event.

THANKS, MIKE
Former Parks and Recreation Chairman Mike Brumbaugh, the organizer and host for this event, did a fine job of making sure folks were having a good time. The photo shown above captured most, but not all, of the participants at the event just before 1:00 p.m. Everyone was having a great time. Thanks to Brumbaugh and his cadre of organizers for putting this very positive, uplifting event together.

NO POLITICS - YEAH, RIGHT!
While Brumbaugh asked that politics be left at the gate along with any dogs you might have dragged along, that would have been virtually impossible. When I was there a few current elected leaders were in attendance. Katrina Foley and Wendy Leece chatted up a storm. Former Mayor Sandy Genis arrived just as I left. At least two candidates for Police Chief, Les Gogerty and Tim Starn, were there, too.

NAGHAVI SPREAD THE JOY
Director of Public Works, Peter Naghavi - practically the last remaining department head left on the staff - joined the crowd and, shown here with Costa Mesa Police Association President Jason Chamness, was seen making the rounds, greeting the attendees and giving pep talks.

COVEY OF COPS
As I departed a covey of Costa Mesa motorcycle officers arrived following their support of the Barrett-Jackson Cruise that morning. The Costa Mesa Fire Department was also well-represented.

HATCH SHOWED UP, TOO
After I left City CEO Tom Hatch arrived with his family and, I'm told, did his best to chat with most of the folks at the picnic. It's good to know that he managed to carve out some very important time on this glorious day to visit with residents and employees in a casual, comfortable setting.

JIMMY FITZY ON A MISSION
I didn't see, nor did I have any reports, of any of the male members of the City Council making an appearance. I did hear, however, that their pet spy, Jim (Mr. Green) Fitzpatrick was seen skulking around, going from tree to tree, gathering information. You'll recall that he was seen doing the same thing at the first Feet To The Fire Forum last fall - hiding behind a tree, trying to hear what some members of the CMPD were saying. (You tell me - were these two guys separated at birth?)

THANKS, HALECREST
This turned out to be an excellent event, blessed with perfect weather, good food, camaraderie and fun. Thanks to our good neighbors of the Halecrest Community for conceiving and hosting their neighbors and city employees. They, once again, demonstrated that they actually understand what the word "community" means.

Mickadeit's View Of Billy Folsom

FRANK GOT IT RIGHT...
By now many of you who are regular readers of Frank Mickadeit's column in the Orange County Register have seen his most recent essay on Costa Mesa fleet mechanic Billy Folsom. If you've not read it you can do so HERE. I occasionally take issue with Mickadeit's presentation on some of his subjects, but this time he got it right.

LONG TIME EMPLOYEE AND SPOKESMAN
Folsom, a city employee for three decades, has long been a strong voice for his peers and since the chaos of the outsourcing and budget-related issues have become white-hot in our city beginning earlier this year he has become one of the most visible, and vocal, spokespersons for the employee's side of the issues. He also has a clear grasp of the larger issues at play, so takes those into account as he presents his views. In every case of his public pronouncements, whether speaking to the City Council or to members of the media, his comments are calm, reasoned and articulate.

ROCK-SOLID ON ST. PATRICK'S DAY
On St. Patrick's Day this year, that dark day when 213 employee's received their 6-month outsourcing layoff notices and Huy Pham leaped to his death from the roof of City Hall, Folsom was one of those employees who received his notice. Following the Pham tragedy he was omnipresent at City Hall, calming and consoling fellow employees and speaking with members of the media. At a time when he could have used his access to this bully pulpit to fan the flames of discontent he chose, instead, to speak calmly and clearly as he presented the employee view of this tragedy.

WATCH HIM SPEAK
Most recently he was the first speaker to the City Council in "public comments" at the meeting of May 17, 2011. You can see his three minute presentation by clicking HERE. I was at that meeting and was very impressed with Folsom's presentation, but was very disappointed by the apparent lack of attention given to him by members of the City Council.

THANKS, FRANK - AND TO BILLY, TOO
Thanks to Frank Mickadeit for his accurate presentation of Billy Folsom in his column. I'm confident Folsom will continue to be a voice of reason during these very difficult times.

Fireworks At Both Ends Of Council Meeting

SLEEP-DEPRIVED AND SHOWING IT
OK, I'm finally back... last night's council meeting was a long, long, long one - finally finishing up just after midnight. Ugh. For the most part it played to a packed house - standing room only in the beginning for the first few hours as many kids, large and small, patiently waited to address the Fireworks and ROCKS issues. You can view all 6+ hours of the streaming video HERE - bring a pillow.

BEVER AGAIN ABSENT
By the way, Eric Bever (Who?) was a no-show at this council meeting - again. Nobody missed him.

PASTOR MIKE PLEADS FOR DIVINE HELP
You knew it was going to be an interesting meeting when Pastor Mike Decker - pastor at Palm Harvest Church and the chaplain for the Costa Mesa Police Department - led the audience in his "moment of solemn expression". His prayer was long, passionate and pointed. I glanced up at the dais as he spoke, saw the "In God We Trust" sign behind the City Council and found myself thinking that I sure hoped Decker was well-connected "up there" - this city really needs the help.

GODDARD RECEIVES MAYOR'S AWARD
A high point for me was the awarding of the Mayor's Award for this month to community volunteer extraordinaire, Mary Ellen Goddard, for her more than three decades of service to the community. Her recognition was certainly appropriate and well-deserved.


HATCH INTRODUCED THE BUDGET
City Chief Executive Officer Tom Hatch introduced the preliminary 2011-2011 Municipal Budget. Copies of the document were handed out to the council and some staff members. It is now posted on the City web site, along with a Budget Summary and Hatch's cover letter. No discussion took place on the budget - it was not on the agenda - but the heavy lifting begins next Tuesday at the council study session. I will say that it's a bigger budget than last year, with more dollars allocated to Capitol projects. I'll dig into it later and report back.

MONAHAN AND MENSINGER IGNORE THE RULES
Then we got down to business, but not before non-elected councilman Steve Mensinger leaned over to Mayor Gary Monahan and requested that the Fireworks issue be moved forward on the agenda. Normal practice would be for Monahan to ask the council to vote on that agenda shift, but he didn't. He and Mensinger just moved it. Why bother with the formalities of established protocol, right? I was not surprised - this is how they work - the rules are for others.

FOLSOM SETS MC CARTHY STRAIGHT
During Public Comments long time city mechanic Billy Folsom led off and hit it out of the park. He's been peeved at the cavalier attitude of Planning Commission Chairman and President of the Costa Mesa Taxpayer's Association, Colin McCarthy, who has been heard to disrespectfully shrug off the efforts of our maintenance staff, asking why Jiffy Lube can't change the oil on our fleet. Folsom told us all just what his job involves - the very least of which is changing oil. I cannot do justice to his presentation so I suggest you take three minutes to watch Folsom on the streaming video.

MORE MONAHAN RULE BENDING
The public comments segment was particularly interesting last night. One reason was that Monahan, again, ignored the rules and permitted speakers on the Fireworks issue speak during public comments instead of requiring them to wait until that agenda item was called. The first time it happened Wendy Leece tried to point it out - Monahan just waved her off and the flood gates were opened. I guess the rules are whatever he decides they are... more on that in a minute.

ABOUT LE TOURNEAU'S CONTRACT...
The issue of the extension of the contract with Management Partners for Tammy LeTourneau's tour as Interim Administrative Services Director was plucked from the Consent Calendar for separate discussion. Speakers wondered why this was necessary and, in particular, if we're paying someone $145,000 for the rest of this calendar year, why are we also paying her a car allowance amounting to $500 per month? It was a great question that was NOT answered. At least nobody brought up the fact that LeTourneau had been fired from her job in Brea.

ADDERTON WANTS TO SAVE ABLE
One of the really interesting events during public comments was the presentation by Peter Adderton, the businessman mentioned in an earlier post, who has a plan to salvage the ABLE helicopter program. He didn't give details of his plan, but indicated that he'd been working with the City of Newport Beach and asked the council to extend the ABLE program for two months so he could put his plan together. Only Wendy Leece picked up on that - see below.

FIREWORKS "ONLY" THREE DAYS...
The fireworks issue was discussed for a long time, with many more speakers addressing the issue. In the end, it was decided to continue to permit the sale of fireworks for 5 days, but the council changed the dates on which they may be legally discharged to July 2nd - July 4th - Saturday, Sunday and Monday. They dropped Friday as a legal date of discharge. Thanks for small favors - the weekend is still going to be a war zone.

BLOCK PARTIES ONLY ON THE 4TH
A speaker asked about block parties, pointing out that the application process is underway now and wondering if neighborhoods will be permitted to hold block parties - and close their streets to do so - over the entire weekend. The council dodged this issue and, as it stands right now, block parties will be permitted ONLY on Monday, July 4th. So, if Aunt Mable and the cousins are driving down from Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday and want to participate in your neighborhood block party they're going to have to hang around until Monday. Lucky you.

ROCKS PROGRAM ROCKS ON
The council decided to continue to fund the ROCKS after school program following a good presentation by the staff and hearing from many members of the public - mostly mothers and kids that would be negatively affected by the cancellation. The motion made by Righeimer was curious - he moved a 25% subsidy, but conditioned it on the program being budgeted for 40%... too strange.

OWNER'S SCREW-UP OK'D
The council approved the request by a resident on Gleneagles Terrace to forgive his construction mistakes on an expansion of his home. It took a long time to hear this issue - I'd previously watched the owner's pitch before a much less sympathetic Planning Commission.

I-405 IMPROVEMENT PROJECT HEARD
The council heard a long, long presentation by staff and a project manager from the Orange County Transportation Authority on the proposed I-405 Improvement project, which begins in Costa Mesa and stretches to the Los Angeles County Line. No decision was made.

BIA RE-AUTHORIZED
The clock ticked off at 11:20 before the representatives of the Business Improvement Area (BIA) had a chance to make their pitch for re-authorization, but the council approved it and the issue will be heard again on June 7th.

BEER GARDEN AT CONCERTS IN THE PARK APPROVED
At just before midnight the staff and members of the Costa Mesa Community Foundation made their pitch for the sale of wine and beer - a Beer Garden - at the "Concerts in the Park" this year. After surprisingly little discussion the council approved it 4-0, so those who wish to drink legally at the concerts this year will have a little penned-off area in which to do so. Expect some of our homeless to take advantage of this opportunity.

COUNCIL "WHINE-FEST"
Are you tired of reading this? Well, now you know how I felt as the clock struck 12 and the "council member comments" segment had yet to be heard. However, it was worth waiting for - at least for the three of us non-staff members left in the auditorium at that hour. I can't remember when there has been such a "whine fest" in the chambers before!

MENSINGER DEMANDS DECORUM
Steve Mensinger kicked off the moaning by complaining to Monahan about the "number of people that are clapping and jeering and yelling and making comments and innuendos". He went on to say he gets emails from people who complain that they can't hear what's going on because "so and so was sitting behind me making comments". He asked Monahan to review the decorum of council meetings. I had to chuckle when he said that, especially considering how he and Monahan violated the procedures in the beginning and also considering how he frequently berates fellow council member Wendy Leece on the dais. Yes, Steve, some review of the decorum is CERTAINLY necessary.

RIGHEIMER PREDICTS RECALL
Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer started by saying he was going to keep his comments short, then didn't. He started with this comment: "Just for a heads-up for everybody in the community. If you haven't figured it out already, the labor unions have decided to do a recall of at least two or four of us. Um, that's, polling's been done in this city, it's been three polls now. The State Democrat convention, um, the three words they use constantly, constantly, constantly were Wisconsin, Costa Mesa and Tea Party. They're going to do everything they can to stop it. Ah, we had Nick Berardino here, who also represents our people, telling people that Costa Mesa is Ground Zero for this across the country. They had Mr. Pulaski - whose the, what is he, the treasurer, secretary, secretary- treasurer of the California Confederation of Labor saying that this is Ground Zero for it. If you haven't figured it out, all the craziness that's going on here with the ads and all these things that are being bought are because a recall is going to happen in this city. It's probably going be seven figures. It will be in the millions of dollars spent to remove this city council and, ah, I'll talk about it at some other time, I think it's a little late to talk about it. That's why it's getting crazy. That why every time you turn on your computer you see ads. They're not reporting because they've not started that process yet. They're looking to make sure the recall does not hit if Jerry Brown is going for a tax increase. They don't want to do a recall at the same time as a tax increase because they would obviously lose."

AND MUCH MORE
He went on to complain about people addressing the political ambitions and accusations of the council trying to make a profit on outsourcing. He talked about the Working Groups, too. Go to the streaming video, scroll down to the link with his name under "Council Member Reports, Comments and Suggestions" and click on it to hear his entire rant.

WENDY - WORK WITH ADDERTON TO SAVE ABLE
Wendy Leece asked Hatch to move forward with Peter Adderton to try to save ABLE.

SHE WANTS SUMMARY ON FAIRGROUNDS
She asked for a summary on the Fairgrounds because she "can't get all my information from blogs and out of the newspaper". She complained about having been removed as liaison and said she's "out of the loop".






SHE WANTS DOCUMENTS FROM BUDGET WORKING GROUP
During a comment about the Budget Working Group, she asked, as a formal public records request, for "all documents, minutes, notes from those twelve meetings of the Budget Working Group. I believe the public is owed an explanation and the reason and justification for the massive outsourcing which are still unclear as they were in March. And, there were a lot of exaggerations and the numbers as far as five million, fifteen million and yet there was no justification or detail as far as public discussion or discussion in public of where that that money was, in other words, what the shortfall was. And to make the decision based on a two-member working group to outsource, have the massive outsourcing I think was reckless and I think that, down the road, that we'll have unintended consequences. So, whatever public records are available I would like to formally request those."

MONAHAN BACKHANDS LEECE
Monahan curtly tossed Leece's complaint about not knowing about the Fairgrounds information and having been restricted from attending the meetings because they would have been a Brown Act violation, "as I'm sure you bring up all the time." He also justified the Working Groups as a concept, pointing out that they are widely used by other elected bodies. Watch the video...

BUDGET DISCUSSIONS NEXT WEEK
The next council meeting will be Tuesday, May 24th at 4:30 for a Study Session, which will likely be devoted entirely to the budget.