Scheafer Appointed President of Sanitary District Board

LONG-TIME VOLUNTEER APPOINTED 
The Costa Mesa Sanitary District announced today that Mike Scheafer was appointed as President of the Board of Directors at their meeting last night.

MANY YEARS ON THE BOARD
Scheafer is a nearly life-long resident of Costa Mesa, successful businessman and community volunteer.  According to the press release, he was first appointed to the CMSD Board in 1993, where he served for two years.  He was elected to the Board again in 2010 and recently re-elected for another 4-year term.

MANY YEARS OF SERVICE ...
In addition to his service on the CMSD Board, Scheafer has been a member of the Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor Lions Club where he chaired the annual Fish Fry many times.  He was on the Board of the Boys and Girls Club of the Harbor Area; Costa Mesa Senior Center; Costa Mesa United; South Coast Children's Society; Newport Elks Lodge and was Chairman of the Costa Mesa 60th Anniversary Committee.

...IN LEADERSHIP ROLES
He is also President of the Independent Special Districts of Orange County Executive Committee and is a member of the Board of the Special District Risk Management Authority.

CITY ASSIGNMENTS, TOO
Scheafer has also served the community as a member of the City Council and the Parks and Recreation Commission.

OTHER APPOINTMENTS ANNOUNCED, TOO
Also announced in the press release - Art Perry was appointed as Vice President; Bob Ooten was appointed as Secretary and Arlene Schafer as Assistant Secretary.

A Civil Finale To The Campaign Forum Circuit

TIME FOR A CHAT...
Last night, at the Halecrest Swim and Tennis Club, the Friends of Costa Mesa Libraries hosted a candidate event that left a good taste in your mouth for a change.  This one was designed to present candidates for seats on three Special District boards and give them an opportunity to tell you about themselves and to address issues they felt were important for the positions they are seeking.  Just under 50 people attended, counting staff members and relatives of the participants.

SPECIAL DISTRICTS
The special districts represented in this event were the Orange County Water District, Mesa Water District and the Costa Mesa Sanitary District.  A total of eight (8) of the nine candidates running for the positions available in these special districts within Costa Mesa were present.  Only candidate Chuck Perry failed to show up.

ORANGE COUNTY WATER DISTRICT
Candidates for the Area 7 seat on the Orange County Water District are incumbent and current board president, Shawn Dewane and termed out Costa Mesa City Council member, Wendy Leece.

MESA WATER
Candidates for the Mesa Water District seat are Ron Amburgey and incumbent Jim Atkinson.

SANITARY DISTRICT
Four candidates for the three seats on the Costa Mesa Sanitary District Board are long time incumbents Arlene Schafer, Bob Ooten and Mike Scheafer plus first time candidate Brian Peotter.  As I said, Perry failed to show up.

OOTEN HANDS OFF TO FISLER
Ooten, in his role as President of the Friends of the Costa Mesa Libraries, gave a brief introduction to some of their members present, defined the organization and it's role with the three libraries in Costa Mesa and presented an award to a long-time employee.  He then turned the meeting over to Mesa Water District Board President Jim Fisler, who acted as moderator.  In this case, his role was just to introduce the candidates, since no questions were posed to them.

DESCRIPTION, HISTORY AND FUNCTION
Fisler gave a description of Special Districts and some history.  We learned that there are 2,160 special districts in California - 27 in Orange County alone.  They cover such things as cemeteries, recreation, police and vector control - and, of course, water and sanitation.  He emphasized the value of a tightly-focused board, usually responsible for one or two elements in a community.  He also mentioned that they are governed by many of the same rules as are city councils - the Brown Act and Fair Political Practices Commission regulation, for example.

SEVEN MINUTES EACH
Then he announced that each candidate would have seven (7) minutes to introduce themselves and talk about their candidacy.  The candidates would appear in the order they appear on the ballot.

MESA WATER
First up were the two candidates for a seat on the Mesa Water District Board.

RON AMBURGEY
Ron stressed that he's a first-time candidate and that he decided to get involved after attending a meeting of the organization last June at which a rate hike was passed.  He spoke against it.  He told us he's involved with Costa Mesa United, and that he will probably be elected President next time around.  He also told us he was on the board of the Youth Employment Service (YES) since 1987 and has been involved with the Lions Club.  He neglected to mention that he was an appointee to both the Charter Committee and the Fairview Park Citizens Advisory Committee.

He told us, that although he has many friends on the Mesa Water board, he's "not feelin' the love" - apparently because of his position on the rate increases passed recently.  He's a believer in term limits and he doesn't want to get into any negative campaigning.  He didn't tell us if he knew anything about water.

JIM ATKINSON
Jim is the incumbent and has been on the Mesa Water Board for 16 years and knows his stuff.  He used his time to give the audience a primer on Mesa, the need for long-term planning and how he was a "ratepayer advocate" who voted NO on the rate increase.  He stressed that the biggest cost in delivering water was the cost of electricity used to move it from one place to another.  He talked about the 350 miles of pipe, the replacement of which would cost about $1.5 million per mile.  He spoke of the 9 wells the District maintains.  He spoke of the excellent bond rating - AAA, and quoted from a Fitch report that described Mesa Water's performance that justified that high rating.

ORANGE COUNTY WATER DISTRICT
Next came the candidates for the Orange County Water District.

WENDY LEECE
Wendy is a termed-out Costa Mesa City Councilwoman, who has also served on the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Trustees.  She told us she's not a "career politician", then listed all the political positions she's held.  I smiled.  She told us she has no conflict, unlike her opponent who serves on TWO water boards now.  She stressed that she's a hard worker who does her homework and that she works for the residents and ratepayers.  She also spoke briefly of the Poseidon desalination project that would apparently run a pipeline across Costa Mesa and cause significant disruption to the lives along it's path.

SHAWN DEWANE

Shawn is currently the President of the Orange County Water District Board and also a member of the Mesa Water District Board.  He's a 27 year Costa Mesa resident with a decade serving on the water boards, which he says provides "pure, plentiful and affordable" water.  He is a self-described financial expert.  He mentioned that twice, in case you missed it the first time.    He spoke with authority about his contributions to the water entities in our region, with his ego fully on display.  He also mentioned his participation in the creation of the trade organization, CalDesal, which he described as a one-stop-shop for folks interested in desalination projects, and explained it was formed because of the fourteen years and thousands of forms and papers required to get the Poseidon Project to where it is today.  He explained his many trips to Sacramento and Washington, D.C. to work on water issues.  He took much of the credit for the excellent condition Mesa Water finds itself in today and beamed with pride when he spoke about the "largest water recycling facility in the world."

COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT
Next came the candidates for the three seats available for the Costa Mesa Sanitary District.  Candidate Chuck Perry was a no-show for this event.

ARLENE SCHAFER

Arlene raised a family in Costa Mesa.  She has served on the Planning Commission and the City Council, where she was Vice Mayor and Mayor.  She's a long-time member of the Sanitary District Board and is seeking re-election next month.  She spoke of her role as a Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) member, and that she had been President of the California Special Districts Association.  She spoke briefly of the upcoming Organics Recycling Program.  She also spoke of how well the board members get along.

MIKE SCHEAFER

Mike is a long-term board member, former Parks and Recreation Commissioner and City Councilman (he didn't mention either of those), long-time member of the Lions Club, President of the Costa Mesa Senior Corporation Board and Chairman of the recent 60th Anniversary Celebration (he didn't mention those, either).  He did speak briefly about some of the things he's accomplished while on the board, like using Ipads instead of killing forests to produce staff reports for meetings.  He spent a big chunk of his time discussing the upcoming conversion to the Organics Recycling program and the value of doing this inevitable conversion early rather than later.  He spoke of the fiscal solvency of the Sanitary District.

BRIAN PEOTTER

Brian, a self-described "Rocket Scientist", seemed like a nice enough young fella who just hasn't been alive long enough to understand the job on the Sanitary District Board.  In fact, he told us his goal is to eliminate it entirely by folding the Sanitary District into the Water District or The City.  He made some not very veiled criticisms of the current board and further demonstrated his lack of knowledge of the inner workings of that organization.  It's unclear if he had ever attended a board meeting or not.  I'm told not.  He ripped a page from the Jim Fitzpatrick song book and spoke of not putting the trash hauling contract out for competitive bidding since the "Eisenhower era".  He was hyper-critical of the Organics program, but didn't say anything that demonstrated that he knew much about it.

BOB OOTEN

Bob is an double-degreed engineer with more than two decades experience with the Orange County Sanitary District.  He spoke in detail of the infrastructure of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District and the pro-active steps taken to prepare for disasters and to keep the effluent flowing.  He described himself as a fiscal conservative and also of the need to implement the Organics Recycling program to save money.

NO QUESTIONS - JUST CIVILITY
The program didn't provide an opportunity for any of the four-dozen audience members to ask questions, but the buzz around the room at the conclusion of the formal segment of the program seemed very positive.  Folks seemed to have learned a lot from this process and were busily chatting away with the candidates.

COSTA MESA BRIEF
Costa Mesa Brief was on hand to film the festivities.  I'm sure it will be up on their YouTube website soon.  I didn't see them circulating like vultures this time, looking for "gotcha" moments, although the owner of the site engaged me in "spirited" conversation.  It seems he doesn't like the way I do my thing, doesn't like what I write and is offended when I refer to him - even though every time I mention his work the hit counter on his site starts spinning.  I encouraged him to NOT read what I write, but smiled that it bugged him so much.

THAT'S IT!
So, folks, that's it!  No more candidate forums.  From now until the election you will be deluged with stuff jammed into your mailboxes, exposed to the blight of campaign signs everywhere and have candidates and their minions knocking on your doors.  It will soon be over, though.  Early November 5th we'll have a good idea of what this city will look like politically for the next few years.  Take a deep breath - we can to this!

Meet Special Districts Candidates

MEET AND GREET

The Friends of the Costa Mesa Libraries will host a Meet And Greet event Thursday, October 16, 2014 at which the voters will have a chance to spend some time with candidates for several special districts that serve Costa Mesa.

HALECREST, 7-9 P.M.
The event, to be held at the Halecrest Swim and Tennis Club, 3107 Killybrooke Lane, will run from 7 - 9 p.m. and will be moderated by MESA Water District President Jim Fisler.

MOST CANDIDATES WILL PARTICIPATE

As of this writing the following candidates have confirmed their attendance at this event:
Orange County Water District - Wendy Leece and Shawn Dewane
MESA Water District - Ron Amburgey and Jim Atkinson
Costa Mesa Sanitary District - Arlene Schafer, Mike Scheafer, Bob Ooten and Brian Peotter.  (Chuck Perry has declined to participate)

A MORE CASUAL FORMAT

It's my understanding that the format will be more casual than other forums.  It will begin with fifteen minutes during which the candidates will mingle with the crowd.  The formal part of the meeting will then begin with an introduction by the hosts and Fisler will discuss Special Districts.  Then each candidate will have seven (7) minutes to introduce themselves and discuss anything they feel is relevant to their candidacy.  The hosts have suggested the following topics for each group:

For Mesa Water District Candidates - Drought, Water Bond and Water Supply

For Orange County Water District Candidates - Drought, Desalinization and Basin Water Replenishment

For Costa Mesa Sanitary District Candidates - Residential Trash Rates, Consolidation and the Organics Program.

NO QUESTIONS FROM AUDIENCE

There will be NO questions asked of ANY candidate from either the moderator or the audience.

MORE MINGLING
Following that portion of the meeting the candidates will adjourn to their tables and/or just mingle and answer any questions individual members of the audience might have.

OLD BARRY TO RECORD IT
I'm told Barry Friedland and his Costa Mesa Brief crew will be on hand to provide a video record of this event.

Progress And Angry Frustration Mark Charter Meeting

THE "DOCTORS" AT THE HELM
Nearly two dozen visitors observed as the Costa Mesa Charter Committee, facilitated by Dr. Kirk Bauermeister and Dr. Mike Decker, met again Wednesday night to continue the long, slow march toward having a document ready to present to the City Council by the end of February.  And the stress of their task is beginning to show.

The items discussed last night were:

• Outsourcing
• Sale of City-Owned real estate
• Unfunded Pension Liability
• COIN

JEFF ARTHUR ON PENSION LIABILITY
The agenda was juggled a little to accommodate a presentation on our current Pension situation by Jeff Arthur, Chairman of the Pension Oversight Committee.  Arthur presented a group of slides explaining pension jargon and some significant numbers.  As of 6/30/12, our unfunded pension liability is at $228,000,000.  He showed charts, none of which are suitable for duplication here, showing the growth of the obligation, and also mentioned some possibilities the Charter Committee may wish to consider for inclusion:

• Prohibit retroactive benefit increases
• Council supermajority for increases
• Vote of the people for increases

He also suggested that the City review PERS status annually and have PERS provide 30 year projections.

NOTHING TO BE DONE...
The committee discussed Arthur's numbers at length and speculated about things that might be done in a Charter and acknowledged that there is NOTHING they can do about the current unfunded liability.  They came up with a statement requiring voter approval for any increase in pension/other retirement and post retirement health benefits.  It's unclear just how that might be implemented, so it will be discussed further at the next meeting - on February 12th in Conference Room 1A at City Hall at 6:00 p.m.

OUTSOURCING
They moved on to Outsourcing.  Bob Ooten, current member of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District Board of Directors and a man with decades of experience managing operations with the Orange County Sanitary District presented his views on the value of Outsourcing earlier during Public Comments.

Following a lengthy debate the committee came up with the following language for the Charter on this issue:

The City may enter into a contract for any services unless limited by the constitution of the State of California.  The City shall periodically review its existing operations and services to consider whether said operations and/or services may be performed as, or more, efficiently and effectively by a third party.  Any contract entered into pursuant to this provision shall be ratified in accordance with the procedure set by the City Council. 

SALE OF PROPERTY
They briefly spoke about the Sale of City-Owned Real Estate and left the following statement to be discussed further, if necessary:

The sale, conveyance or exchange of any real property owned by the City shall require supermajory approval of the City Council.

ENUMERATED POWERS
They also briefly considered the following language for the Charter:

All powers of the City shall be vested in the City Council except as otherwise provided in this Charter.


POLLITT FLIPPED OVER "COIN"
The then moved on to COIN, Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger's much-ballyhooed and as yet untested scheme to improve transparency in labor negotiations,  and a discussion of whether it should or shouldn't be placed in a Charter.  At this point the tensions between some members that had been building began to manifest themselves.  Sharp comments between Harold Weitzberg and Kerry McCarthy and Weitzberg and Tom Pollitt marked the discussion.  Frequent references to "the unions" rankled Weitzberg and the comments seemed more political than helpful.  At one point Weitzberg corrected Pollitt's remark that a "union-backed council" approved recent pension increase decisions - reminding him that the council majority that approved those changes was not "union-backed".  Pollitt lost it!  His face turned beet red, he slammed his fists together, jumped up, turned briefly toward Weitzberg, then spun on his heel and stormed angrily into the small kitchen room and slammed the door behind him.  He returned about a minute later, apparently calmer, but left the meeting promptly after it ended shortly thereafter.  That was the worst moment of all the meetings so far and doesn't bode well for future meetings.

MORE ANGRY COMMENTS
Member Bill Fancher also complained to Decker and Bauermeister about being ignored, and that it took 20 minutes for him to be recognized to make a statement or ask a question.  I didn't see that happening, but he might have thought it did.  Again, another tense moment.  Clearly, the stress of this process is getting to some of the members.  Only Mary Ann O'Connell was absent tonight.

TIME TO TIGHTEN FOCUS
I suspect the next couple meetings could get interesting as the committee begins to tighten up the language they've created.  They've almost finished their agenda and appear to be on  schedule for that end of February date to present their work product to the City Council.  We'll see on February 12th.

SANITARY DISTRICT BOARD TO CONSIDER ORGANICS RECYCLING
Off to the Costa Mesa Sanitary District meeting Thursday at 5:30 in the Neighborhood Community Center, 1845 Park Avenue (Lions Park) to hear the Board discuss their Organics Recycling scheme and see if they actually vote on it.  It's possible they will commission more community outreach meetings like the two already held to further gauge community sentiment for this costly, inconvenient change in the way our trash is handled.

Dave Ellis Attacks Bob Ooten - Really?

OOTEN'S COMMENTARY
On March 30, 2013 Costa Mesa Sanitary District Director Bob Ooten published a commentary in the Daily Pilot, HERE, in which he defined his decision to forgo the stipend he would normally receive for his service on the board as a way to offset some of the costs the District incurred during their legal challenge to Jim Fitzpatrick's claim that he was entitled to hold a seat on the Board despite two separate legal opinions that holding that seat and one on the Costa Mesa Planning Commission formed a conflict.  You may recall that this fiasco went on for months before Fitzpatrick finally resigned his Sanitary District Board seat rather than continue the legal wrangling.

PIT BULL ATTACKS - WHY?
Over the weekend OC GOP uber-operative Dave Ellis penned a letter to the Daily Pilot that just dripped in sarcasm, challenging Ooten's sincerity in his earlier commentary.  You can read his contribution to the "Smart Ass Hall Of Fame" HERE.  I'm trying to figure out what would prompt Ellis, who is NOT a resident of Costa Mesa nor is a ratepayer of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District, to exercise his limited, but caustic, critical skills on a mild-mannered, sincere public servant like Bob Ooten.  I mean, what's his interest in this issue?  Does he have a dog in this fight?

OH, NOW I UNDERSTAND...
As I considered that question I realized that Ellis is a cohort of Buck Johns and Fitzpatrick has recently been shilling Johns' EB-5 visa plan to wealthy Newport-Mesa residents.  In fact, Fitzy's recent communication on the subject described Johns as a "Titan of Industry" - not a surprising description for a bootlicker like Fitzy to use for one of his benefactors.  For more on the Ellis/Johns relationship, just Google "Dave Ellis+Buck Johns".

JUST WHO IS DAVE ELLIS?
We need a little perspective here.  You need to know that Dave Ellis - who prefers me to refer to him as "David Ellis" - fancies himself a kingmaker locally.  He's presently a member of the 32nd Agricultural District Board of Directors - the Orange County Fair Board - and apparently was one of the major players behind that group's attempt to buy the Fairgrounds on the cheap a few years ago.  Following a long investigation by a group approved by the current Fair Board, that issue has been delivered to the Orange County District Attorney's office.

A PLAYER OF DIRTY TRICKS?
Ellis has also long been involved in local politics, representing many local politicians in their quest for office - including current Newport Beach councilwoman Leslie Daigle in her campaign when she was challenged by current Orange County Register columnist Barbara Venezia.  Venezia dropped out of the race when the Ellis-directed campaign began attacking her husband's business.

SOME READING MATERIAL FOR YOU...
Let me provide you with some interesting reference material about Dave Ellis.

On 11/28/2002 Anthony Pignataro authored a piece in the OCWeekly titled, "Backstabber (Ellis screws friends and enemies alike)", HERE.

In 2007 the Newport Beach Voices blog offered  an entry titled "King David Ellis of the Orange County Fair," HERE.

Early in March, 2011, Vern Nelson published an item on the Orange Juice Blog titled, "Who is Dave Ellis?  A Portrait of our Fair Board Chairman", HERE. 

In June of 2011 Chasen Marshall published an entry in the OCWeekly titled, "David Ellis Opens Up About the Fair Board Foundation, the Appraisal and His Reputation", HERE.

And, just a few days ago, InlandPolitics.com published an entry that includes references to Ellis titled, "DA Advisor Entangled In Second Political Prosecution", HERE.

OPINIONS, PLUS SOME FACTS...

I make no claim about the "facts" provided in any of those links, but they may give you a view of Dave Ellis and his modus operandi that might be helpful to you as you try to answer that question above: "What's his interest in this issue?"  I wondered, for example, whether Buck Johns has retained him to attack Ooten for his part in the challenge to Fitzy's position on the Sanitary District Board.  It's just a question that seems reasonable to ask under the current circumstances.

DON'T MESS WITH DAVE...
I can tell you one thing, though, from personal experience.  Don't let that smiling face, above, fool you - Dave Ellis is not a guy to trifle with.  I've found his sense of humor limited to only those clever comments he authors - like his attempt to pillory Ooten in his most recent public pronouncement.  He doesn't take kindly to criticism.

WAITING FOR HIS CALL...

History tells me that I will soon have a communication from Ellis, complaining about this entry and accusing me of trying to defame him - kind of like what he did to Ooten.  Of course, I've done nothing of the sort.  I've just provided information from my personal experience with him, an opinion of his attack on Ooten and links to information that will help you with some perspective on him.  He has my number...

Sewer Rate Increase Workshop

SLIM TURNOUT
Last night I attended, along with five (5) other residents, the workshop hosted by the Costa Mesa Sanitary District at the Neighborhood Community Center intended to provide information about the proposed sewer rate increase planned for later this year.

DISTRICT LEADERS AND CONSULTANTS
CMSD General Manager Scott Carroll and consultants John Farnkopf and Richard Simonson - hired to provide the study that resulted in the proposed rate restructuring - were joined by Directors Jim Ferryman, Bob Ooten, Mike Scheafer and Arlene Schafer in a free-flowing, casual discussion of the issue with us.

PLENTY OF GOOD INFORMATION AVAILABLE
Handouts included the 25-page Sewer Rate Study, available for review on the CMSD website HERE, and a FAQ sheet, HERE.  Unfortunately, because the study is necessarily founded on assumptions instead of measurable facts, some of the attendees probably left dissatisfied.  I suspect some of you will feel similarly if you take the time to plow through the detail of the report.

SOLVING INEQUITY
The proposed new rate structure will remedy what the consultants perceive as an inequity between what residential users pay versus what commercial users pay to move their sewage.  The rates proposed for beginning with the fiscal year 2013/2014 will theoretically adjust that inequity - single family residential users will carry a greater portion of the burden.  Their rates will go from $69.00 per year to $85.34 - a change of just over 16%.  Here's a chart from their FAQ sheet that displays the changes proposed.  Click on the image to enlarge it.

RIGHT QUESTIONS?  WRONG VENUE
Some attendees attempted to turn the meeting into a budget discussion, questioning District costs, salaries, pensions, etc.  Of course, while the questions may be valid, this was the wrong venue.  We were there to be briefed on how the new rates were established - and we received that information.  The District will be beginning their budget discussions soon and Carroll invited the public to attend those meetings at the District Headquarters.

ONE-TWO PUNCH
Most of us received the required notice of the public hearing proposing these rate adjustments.  And, we also received a notice from the Orange County Sanitary District about THEIR plan to also increase rates.  So, this will be a double-whammy for sewer processing rates.  The hearing on THAT increase will be held later this month.

VIRTUALLY NO OPPOSITION
Residents who oppose the CMSD rate increase may formally oppose it by writing to the District.  At one vote per parcel it will require more than 13,000 parcel owners - half of the total number of parcels covered by the CMSD - to protest and halt this increase.  Based on the turnout last night, I think the chances of that happening are pretty darn slim.

I UNDERSTAND IT...

I looked through all the information provided and listened to the questions and answers last night.  At this point, I think I understand the methodology and the need for the rate increase.  If you review the information on the website and still have questions contact the District.