New Senior Commissioners Sworn-in And Briefed

 NEW COMMISSIONERS TAKE THE OATH
The new (well, mostly new, since Gary Parkin and Lee Ramos were re-appointed after serving on the commission previously) Costa Mesa Senior Commission met this morning just after sunrise - that's how 9:00 a.m. felt to me, anyhow - at the Costa Mesa Senior Center for the first time for this group.

ASHENDORF AND NEFT TO LEAD THE GROUP
Costa Mesa City Clerk Brenda Green was on hand to swear-in the commissioners and to facilitate the selection of a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson.  The human energizer bunny, Charlene Ashendorf, was chosen unanimously by her peers as Chairperson.  Darrell Neft was chosen as Vice Chairman, but not without a little drama.  Gary Parkin nominated Lee Ramos as Vice Chair, but he failed to receive a second from the remaining four members.  Neft was nominated, seconded and was elected unanimously.  The commission is one person short because appointee Olga Reynolds resigned before being sworn-in due to the drama surrounding the selection process.  Recruitment for that position has begun and a new commissioner will be chosen before the next meeting - two months from now.

ALL READY TO GO
So, Ashendorf and Neft will lead commissioners Alexa Merchant, Gary Parkin, Lee Ramos and Barbara Steck as they move forward to provide guidance and oversight for Senior activities in our city.  I wish them the best of luck.

INTRODUCTIONS
While awaiting additional staff information each of the commissioners introduced themselves to their peers and to the small group of attendees - there were nine of us today.

Gary Parkin presented himself as a retired General Motors engineer and volunteer on the previous commission and other committees.

Alexa Merchant is a first-time volunteer, a Registered Nurse who works in geriatrics and is enthusiastically looking forward to bringing her skills to the Senior Commission.

Darrell Neft, a resident since 1966, attended UCI and worked at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard until it closed as an engineer.

Lee Ramos described himself as a long time resident and retiree.  He also is a returnee to the commission and has participated in other city committees.

Barbara Steck has lived in Costa Mesa since 1960 and is looking forward to helping guide senior issues.

Charlene Ashendorf has been active in many city committees for many years and has worked in the private non-profit sector in senior leadership roles - and it showed.

PUBLIC COMMENTS
During Public Comments Lisa Knowles, a volunteer with the CMPD, inquired about the operations of the senior transportation process which operates out of the Senior Center.  She has been unable to use it to be transported from home to her volunteer work at the Police Headquarters due to unreliability of scheduling.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Senior Center Program Administrator Yvette Aguilar provided the commission an overview of the current One, Three and Five Year Goals and Objectives as cobbled together by the previous iteration of this commission over many months.  The following series of slides provides you with a thumbnail of her presentation.

ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT
Following that presentation Aguilar provided the commissioners with her Senior Center Program Administrator's Report, in which she outlined many of the statistics of Senior Center activities.  For example, there are now 1,387 members of the Senior Center.  She spoke about past and upcoming events - the 3rd Annual Knowledge & Health Fair Expo at the Senior Center tomorrow from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. A large turnout is expected for this event.  On Friday there will be a St. Patrick's Day luncheon.

COMMISSIONER COMMENTS
During Commissioner Comments most of the commissioners acknowledged being overwhelmed by the staff presentations.

Ramos expressed an interest in exploring a Senior Day at City Hall and wondered if there is a staff report available regarding how to proceed in the event of a Massive Emergency at the Senior Center.  He also suggested to his peers that they attend the many social events at the Center and move from table to table to meet members and gather their ideas.

Neft wondered if some of the Senior Center programs overlap with those offered at the library and whether there is public WIFI available at the Center.  Yes, there is.  He also wondered if there is volunteer assistance to seniors having electronic problems.  He also wondered about reading old radio program scripts and/or listening to old radio program recordings.  He also suggested a "Senior Commissioner ID Badge", so folks could identify them as they moved around the Center.

Merchant wondered if there is value in delegating a specific topic or segment of activities to an individual commissioners, who would be the focus of questions and become a subject expert and report activities and questions to the other commissioners?  She also wondered about the workload for the part-time social worker who attends to the Senior Center needs.

Parkin thanked the staff for all their hard work.  As he put it, "There's a lot of work being done here."  He wondered if all members must now use their ID cards for entry or sign-in?  The answer was yes.  He also asked if he could arrange for a ride-along with the Meals on Wheels staff.

Steck wondered if the Senior Center communicates via email or just mail.

Ashendorf suggested the commissioners visit the art gallery and enjoy the exhibits.  She also suggested they try to attend meetings of the Senior Advisory Committee to become informed about their activities.  She reminded all of the April 8th Members Social coming up.  She also proudly directed them to the "wrapped" utility boxes around the city, including one near the Center.  She also suggested strengthening the content of The Chronicle to include recent information about Veterans, Elder Abuse and other senior issues.  She also suggested participating in the upcoming Costa Mesa Community Run on April 22nd.  Recreation Manager Justin Martin remarked that last year was the first time members of the Senior Center participated and that the Senior Center will pay the admission for any Seniors wishing to participate this year, either running, walking or whatever...

TRANSPORTATION ISSUES BEING MONITORED
In response to the question about the transportation issues, Aguilar advised that they have a new staffer on board with that responsibility and they are monitoring the program to improve it.  Their first responsibility is to get seniors to and from the center.

NEXT MEETING IN MAY
The meeting wrapped up just after 10:00 a.m.  The next meeting will be Tuesday, May 9, 2017.

Lots Happening In Costa Mesa Tomorrow

ANOTHER BUSY DAY
Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 14, 2017, will be marked by lots of official activity in The City.

SENIOR COMMISSION SWEARING-IN CEREMONY
First, the brand new Senior Commission - 6 of 7 at least - will be sworn in by City Clerk Brenda Green at the meeting which begins at 9:00 a.m. at the Costa Mesa Senior Center, 695 W. 19th Street, HERE.   Following the swearing-in ceremony the commission will select a Chairperson and a Vice Chairperson.  The only business on the agenda is a review of Goals & Objectives.

CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING AT THE HILTON HOTEL
Then, beginning at 4:00 p.m., the Costa Mesa City Council will meet in a Special Meeting offsite - at the Hilton Hotel, 3050 Bristol Street, Bristol Room 1, HERE,  for a quasi-team building exercise at which Goals and Objectives will theoretically be discussed.  We have no idea how long this meeting will last, but rookie Councilman John Stephens tells us the City will validate parking for attendees.

CMPD PUBLIC SAFETY TOWN HALL AT VANGUARD UNIVERSITY
Finally, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Costa Mesa Police Chief Rob Sharpnack will host a Town Hall meeting on the campus of Vanguard University, 55 Fair Drive (next door to City Hall) in the Heath Academic Center, Room 109 (#26 on this map).  Sharpnack will brief the public on the current status of the Police Department, Crime Stats and have plenty of time for Questions and Answers.

WILL ATTEND AND REPORT
It's going to be a long day, but your humble correspondent plans to attend all these meetings and report back to you.  Hope to see you at one or more of them along the way tomorrow.

Brand New Planning Commission Meets Monday

 FIRST MEETING FOR THE NEW CREW
Well, unless somebody decides to cancel the meeting to try to sort our Councilwoman Sandra Genis' big mistake last week, the brand new Costa Mesa Planning Commission will be sworn-in to their new gigs and begin work on Monday, February 13, 2017 beginning at 6:00 p.m. in City Council Chambers at City Hall.  You can read the agenda for that meeting HERE.

TAKING THE OATH, ELECTING LEADERS 
First up will be the swearing-in ceremony by City Clerk Brenda Green, then the Commissioners will select one of their own as Chairperson and then another as Vice Chairperson.  They also will select a liaison to the Housing and Public Service Grant Committee - one of those vacated last week by the City Council.  The new commissioners, in no particular order, are:

 Byron de Arakal

 Isabell Mayer Kerins

 Jeffrey Harlan

 Stephan Andranian

 Carla Navarro Woods

APPROVING THE MINUTES SHOULD BE INTERESTING
One of their first official duties will be to approve five (5) sets of minutes from previous meetings. Unfortunately, only returning commissioner Stephan Andranian was around for those meetings, so I'm not quite sure how this process is going to work.

ADDING A SMOG CHECK FACILITY AT 2059 HARBOR
The commission has a pretty light agenda for this first meeting.  Public Hearing #1, HERE, is an amendment to a Conditional Use Permit for a property at 2059 Harbor Blvd. Suite A, to add a smog check facility within 200 feet of a residentially-zoned property. 

 TIME EXTENSION FOR 2068 MAPLE
Public Hearing #2, HERE, is a request for a one year time extension for a planning application and tentative parcel map for four (4) detached units at 2068 Maple Avenue.

RE-PURPOSE AN INDUSTRIAL BLDG. AT 3101 REDHILL
Public Hearing #3, HERE, should take the most time for this new group.  This is a planning application for the renovation of an existing industrial building to a banquet facility located at 3101 Redhill Avenue, at the corner of Fischer Avenue.  The request involves two (2) Conditional Use Permits and two (2) Minor Conditional Use Permits.  This one will be interesting for this new commission - something to sink their teeth into.  It should be interesting to watch.

A GOOD GROUP, READY TO DO GOOD WORK
Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing this new Planning Commission get to work.  Each brings a special blend of experience, education and training to this assignment, with enough diversity in all those areas that the discussions of some of the more pithy issues should be very interesting in the months to come.  I will be especially interested to see how they deal with Sober Living Homes once the City Council decides to turn them loose on the issue.  And then there's the rumored modification of the Harbor Boulevard and Newport Boulevard Residential Overlays that will likely be popping up on their agenda.  I wish each of them well and hope the Genis vote controversy doesn't distract them from their business Monday.

Call For Volunteers Re-issued

EVERY COMMISSION SEAT AVAILABLE
The City of Costa Mesa re-issued the call for volunteers for three city commissions - Planning, Parks & Recreation and Senior - based on the actions of the City Council Tuesday night when they voted, 3-2, to flush out all the existing commissioners and start afresh.  You can read the city recruitment announcement HERE.

ALL INTERESTED PARTIES SHOULD APPLY
Personally, I think this was a great idea.  I agree with the idea that there should be diversity of ideas, backgrounds and locations on the commissions.  Recently, in the case of the Planning Commission in particular, it has been populated predominantly by lock-step lemmings, ready to follow every word uttered by the council majority.  That's not healthy for the city, as witnessed by things like the Small Lot Ordinance and the proliferation of those ghastly multi-story developments on the Westside.

OH, WOE IS ME!
There has been much wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth about the loss of the experience represented by the current commissions.  There is nothing to keep existing commissioners from re-applying and I hope some of them do toss their hats in the ring again.  I've said before that a couple of the current commissioners should be considered for re-assignment, but certainly not all of them.  A few will never shake the stench of their obvious allegiance to the recent past council majority.

CHECK THE SITE FOR ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS
So, check out the site and, if you have any interest in serving the community in a very important, visible way, file an application.  The deadline for submission is Wednesday, January 18th at 5:00 p.m.  There will be two special City Council meetings, on January 24th and January 31st at which applicants will be vetted and, probably on the 31st, selected for the commission assignments.  The council is looking for a large pool of interested parties, so get those applications filed - you can do it online, fax, mail or hand-deliver to the City Clerk, Brenda Green.

GOOD LUCK!
Good luck to you all.

New City Council Members To Be Sworn-in Tuesday

THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA
The recently-elected Costa Mesa City Council members - Sandy Genis, John Stephens and Allan Mansoor - will be sworn-in at a Special Meeting of the City Council on Tuesday, December 13, 2016, beginning at 5:45 p.m.   You can read the full agenda for that meeting HERE. 

PUBLIC COMMENTS RESTRICTED
Public Comments will be restricted in this special meeting to items on the agenda only.

GREEN'S SHOW...
City Clerk Brenda Green will manage the only item on the agenda, #1, HERE.  She will acknowledge the certification of the election by the Registrar of Voters and tell us that the  total number of ballots cast in this election was 43,721.  Total registered voters in Costa Mesa according to the Registrar of Voters is 54,888, so 79.65% of the voters participated, slightly less than Orange County as a whole.  She will announce the names of the three people who secured a seat.

THE BALLOT MEASURES
She will then certify the status of each of the eight (8) items on the ballot.  According to the staff report, here are the final results:

MEDICAL MARIJUANA ISSUES
Measure V -  14,937 For; 24,565 Against (39,502 Votes Cast -  90%)
Measure W - 16,501 For; 22,695 Against (39,196 Votes Cast -  89.6%)
Measure X -  21,470 For; 17,845 Against (39,315 Votes Cast -  89.9%)

GROWTH MEASURES
Measure Y - 26,132 For; 12,081 Against (38,213 Votes Cast - 87.4%)
Measure Z - 20,506 For; 16,258 Against  (36,764 Votes Cast - 84%)

FAIRVIEW PARK MEASURES
Measure AA - 27,098 For; 11,149 Against (39,247 Votes Cast - 89.7%)
Measure BB - 17,591 For; 20,289 Against  (37,880 Votes Cast - 86.6%)

VOTE-BY-DISTRICTS/DIRECTLY-ELECTED MAYOR
Measure EE - 23,295 For; 12,495 Against (35,790 Votes Cast - 81.8%)

RECOGNITION
According to the staff report, there will be a recognition of outgoing Mayor Steve Mensinger and Councilman Gary Monahan and each will be given the opportunity to speak, although Monahan already did his thing at the last meeting.

THE OATH
Green will then administer the oath to the three new council members, which will be followed by the nominations for Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem.

COMMENTS, THEN ADJOURNMENT
Apparently there will also be time for Council members' reports, comments and suggestions, followed by adjournment until the first meeting in January.

CITY MANAGER AND 9/80 - A GREAT START!
By the way, change is already happening.  Tom Hatch announced that he will no longer be known as the CEO of the City - he will be City Manager, the title he should have had for the past almost six years.  And, the Miscellaneous Employees will soon return to the 9/80 work schedule they had before Righeimer/Mensinger took over.  This is GREAT news for them, and for the city, because it provides us with a competitive recruitment tool.  Kudos to Hatch for these moves.

Council Takes A Mulligan On SoBECA, And More

LAST PRE-ELECTION MEETING ON TUESDAY
The Costa Mesa City Council meets for their final meeting before the election on Tuesday, November 1, 2016 beginning at 5:45 p.m. in City Council Chambers at City Hall.  You can read the full agenda report HERE.  There is no Closed Session scheduled.

DEALING WITH THE "CONTINUED" ISSUE
You will recall the previous council meeting - the Special Meeting on October 17th precipitated because Mayor Steve Mensinger wanted to attend a party honoring his old boss on the 18th - ended in disarray when Councilwoman Sandra Genis abruptly left before a vote could be taken on the proposed SoBECA Urban Plan amendment that would have permitted up to 450 dwelling units (at 40 dwelling units per acre).  Because her absence created a no-quorum situation the vote that was subsequently taken by Mensinger and Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer without Genis on the dais apparently was not valid even though City Clerk Brenda Green announced it as passing "on a 2-0 vote".  Nothing can pass on a 2-0 vote.  Although I immediately contacted the City on this issue I received no response despite followups.  Apparently "Transparency" is just a myth.  I guess we know the answer now - the item is back on the agenda Tuesday.

WHY REFUND SOBER LIVING BUSINESS LICENSES?
And, because there was no quorum, the continued public comments and items pulled from the Consent Calendar were also not heard.  Those consent calendar items are back this time around.  One of the questions I had involved the Warrant.  This time around Warrant 2565. HERE, is on the agenda with the same issues.  My question - as yet unanswered by the folks in the Finance Department - is why we have refunded business license fees to several sober living homes in the city?  If I hear about this before the meeting I'll post about it.  Perhaps someone will pull the item and ask the same question Tuesday night.

SOBECA HOUSING - WILL IT PASS?
Public Hearing #1, HERE, is the aforementioned SoBECA Urban Plan amendment which was continued from the October 17th meeting.  An interesting issue here will be if they have a full council or not.  Gary Monahan, the lamest of lame ducks, implied at the meeting where he was given the Mayor's Award that he may not show up for his final meetings.  If he holds true and doesn't show up, that could make a four-person council and the strong possibility of a 2-2 vote on this project - which would mean a failure to pass.  Never a dull moment.

PUBLIC STORAGE ON BRISTOL STREET
Public Hearing #2, HERE, is the first reading of a request to re-zone the site at 375 Bristol Street to facilitate the installation of a self-storage facility and retail center.  It will include a 774-unit mini-storage facility and some retail space.  The food court in the original proposal has been abandoned.  It's interesting to note that in the original proposal the applicant observed that the city needed more storage facilities - at about the same time just up the street there was another proposal in the hopper to demolish a similar storage facility and build homes.  You just can't blink around here!

RE-ZONING OLD LOS ANGELES TIMES SITE
Public Hearing #3, HERE, is the first hearing of the request to re-zone the 23.4 acre site at 1375 Sunflower Avenue - the old Los Angeles Times site and an adjacent chunk of property that is currently a baseball field.  There are three parcels involved and this request will change the venue to be consistent with the recently-approved 2015-2035 General Plan.

SINGLE FAMILY HOMES TO REPLACE ESTABLISHED BUSINESSES
Old Business #1, HERE, is the rezone of a 2.07 acre site at 2850 Mesa Verde Drive East to convert the site from Local Business District to R1, Single Family Residential.  It involved demolishing a couple dated, but successful, buildings occupied by long-time businesses.  It's an interesting coincidence that this project, for single-family homes, is in the approach to the neighborhood where the mayor and mayor pro tem happen to live while throughout the city elsewhere high-density development is being planned/built.

HELPING HEROES HALL - BUT HOW MUCH, AND FOR WHAT?
New Business #1, HERE, is an enigma for me.  According to the staff report by Dan Baker, Assistant to the CEO, Mayor Mensinger is asking for more funding for the Heroes Hall Veterans Museum located at the Orange County Fair and Event Center.  The council had earlier authorized $25,000 for this purpose.  As a resident and veteran, I'm all for this proposal, but the staff report provides no guidance as to how much they want, and what it would be used for.  It seems fiscally-irresponsible to just cut a blank check, regardless the reason.  According to the staff report, the amount approved - whatever it is - will come from CEO Tom Hatch's slush fund.  You know, that $1million this council has authorized for him to be used however the council majority wishes.

THEATRICS TUESDAY?
Finally, I wonder what kind of theatrics we'll see Tuesday night.  It's the final council meeting before the election on November 8th and our local campaigns have been the most nasty and contentious I've seen in my more than 43 years in this city.  It seems that some of the candidates have taken a cue from Donald Trump's campaign and kept diving for a new bottom every day.

EXPECTING CAMPAIGNING FROM THE DAIS...
I fully expect Mensinger and Righeimer to campaign from dais although that's supposed to be forbidden.  I will not be surprised if one or both mention the support the Costa Mesa Firefighters Association - you know, those so-called "union thugs" that put their lives on the line for us every single day - have given to Mensinger's opponents, Sandra Genis, Jay Humphrey and John Stephens.

...AND MAYBE FROM THE SPEAKER'S PODIUM, TOO
I expect folks on the other side might mention the scurrilous tactics apparently orchestrated by the local campaign villain, Dave Ellis, in which flat-out lies have been told on campaign materials. misrepresenting issues and defaming candidates.  I also expect some might address the recent tactic of renting an aged fire engine and driving it around town to present the image of support by firefighters for Mensinger, Allan Mansoor and Lee Ramos.  Clever, but dishonest.  And, I wonder if anyone will mention that those who rented that engine - I've heard Monahan and our intellect and judgment-challenged village idiot, Jim Fitzpatrick mentioned - instructed the driver to drive past every firehouse, slow down and honk the horn - kind of giving the finger to the firefighters.  Despicable!

MORE DETAILS COMING, BUT HERE'S THE SHORT VERSION...
We have a few days left before some of you will enter the polling place and cast your ballots.  More on that next time.  Here's my short-hand version for your choices...

• Vote for Genis, Humphrey and Stephens.  
• Vote YES on Measures Y and AA.  
• Vote a resounding NO on every other municipal issue.  
• Vote for Jim Ferryman and Art Perry to return to the Costa Mesa Sanitary District to continue mature, experienced leadership.  
• Vote for Alex Reich to unseat Jim Fisler on Mesa Water District Board.  One position can change the attitude of that organization.