Bikeways and Walkability Committee Moves Forward

SHORT-HANDED COMMITTEE IS WORKING
The Costa Mesa Bikeways and Walkability Committee, led by Chairman Ralph Taboada, met again Wednesday evening - at least some of them did.  As it turns out, only a dozen of the seventeen members showed up.  One member has apparently resigned, a couple were known to be out of town and the whereabouts of the others is unknown.  At the end of the meeting I asked if they had any kind of replacement plan - they don't.

A QUICK PACE
The meeting moved briskly for the two hour duration.  Vice Chair Cynthia McDonald gave a brief PowerPoint presentation of some local bikeway facilities she and her husband had accumulated during a recent drive to the venues, ranging from Santa Monica to Santa Ana.  It was enlightening to see what other municipalities have done with their bike routes.

SORTING THROUGH THE INFORMATION
The main thrust of the evening was to plow through the data each of them had supplied to the staff since the last meeting.  The staff had compiled it into a format to make it easier to define the Goals for the group.  The conversation on this topic took more than an hour, but they've got the skeleton of a plan which will be fine-tuned by the staff before the next meeting.  Once their goals and objectives are completed they can begin to move forward with their mission.

WILL MEET TWICE A MONTH...
Speaking of moving forward... the group decided to meet twice a month instead of once because they may run out of time before work product can be considered for inclusion in the General Plan, which the City Council majority has decided to fast track.

...PROBABLY AT THE SENIOR CENTER
The next meeting will be September 30, tentatively at the same place - the Costa Mesa Senior Center.  The next two meetings will be October 14th and 28th.  From that point forward, beginning in November and depending on the results of the staff research, meetings will be held the first and third Wednesdays, probably at the Senior Center.

STARTING TO WORK TOGETHER EFFECTIVELY
I'm impressed with the diligence of most of the committee members.  They've been doing their homework, staying focused and benefiting from some good staff work.  They treat each other with patience and respect and are beginning to jell into a cohesive unit.  Council liaison Katrina Foley has taken a more active role in getting this group moving than we normally see in these kind of committees, but it seems to be working out.  Chamber of Commerce member Brent Stoll - the fella from Santa Monica - is making a positive impact on the group with solid suggestions.

GRINDING AWAY...
Sometimes watching these kind of committees work is like sausage being made. That's the case with this one, too. At the peak there were 8 members of the public in the audience.  Visitors wandered in and out. At the end there were two of us.  That's all until after their next meeting in two weeks.

Something To Chew On For Tuesday's Study Session

A CURIOUS SITUATION
The Costa Mesa City Council and the Planning Commission will hold a joint study session on Tuesday, September 8, 2015 beginning at 5:00 p.m at the Neighborhood Community Center (Lions Park) at which one of the two items on the agenda will be the Proposed General Plan Land Use Alternative For the Year 2015-2025 General Plan Update.  You can read that staff report HERE.

ROSE EQUITIES
Way down several pages in that staff report there's a page that begins with a paragraph that looks like this (the highlighting is mine): (Click on the image to enlarge if necessary.

 A BELL RANG...
As I read through the staff report that entry caught my eye and I tried to figure out why... Then it dawned on me.  I did some more research and found this entry from a recent listing by the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce:

ROSE EQUITIES-BRENT STOLL
Those of you that follow civic matters may recall that Brent Stoll - of Rose Equities - was recently the subject of some controversy when he was appointed to the Bikeways and Walkability Committee but is not a resident of Costa Mesa - a requirement for that appointment.  Stoll lives in Santa Monica.  As you can see, he doesn't even work in Costa Mesa.  So, he was removed and another person was appointed.

WHAT A SURPRISE!
Then, at the last meeting of that committee, he shows up - this time as the appointed representative of the Chamber of Commerce!  I might not have thought a thing about it except for the previous bogus appointment - when he was erroneously appointed when many other qualified residents were available for that position.  As I've said before, because his wife is fully immersed in bike issues in Santa Monica and he apparently works with her on that stuff, he probably brings knowledge and some degree of expertise to the table... but...

ASKING FOR A CHANGE?  REALLY?
And now, here is his company mentioned in the staff report as having "expressed interest in a change in the land use designation to allow mixed use development including a high-density residential component".  Curious... no?

SOMETHING TO CONTEMPLATE
Anyhow, this is just one more thing to contemplate as you do your homework for the study session... one more reason to view development-related issues with a jaundiced eye.

Bikeway Committee Struggles With A Flat Tire

MEETING RULES LET THE AIR OUT
The Costa Mesa Bikeway and Walkability Committee met again Wednesday evening and struggled for direction.  This meeting, which was called as a "Special" meeting due to an administrative complication, meant that ONLY the single item agendized - the Work Plan - could be discussed.  That proved to be frustrating to those committee members who showed up.

ATTENDANCE ISSUES
On that issue, only Chair Ralph Taboarda, Vice Chair Cynthia McDonald, Michael M.S.Chun, Jim Erickson, Leah Ersoylu, Richard Huffman II, James Kane, Jim Kerins, John C. Merrill and Brian Valles made it to the meeting on time.  A third of the members either did not attend or only attended briefly.  Kathleen Brown again showed up 40 minutes late and again left 40 minutes early.  Members Andrea Marr, Flo Martin, Donna Check and Tony Capitelli did not attend this meeting.

NEW MEMBERS
However, two new members did attend, which brings the total number of members to seventeen (17).  Dr. Kirk Bauermeister is the representative from the Newport Mesa Unified School District and Santa Monica resident Brent Stoll is the new representative appointed by the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce.  You will recall Stoll was originally appointed, then was found to be ineligible due to residency issues.  And yet, here he is.  In fairness, he does bring significant experience in municipal bicycle issues to the table.

STAFF SUPPORT
City staffers Ernesto Munoz, Raja Sethuraman and Minoo Ashabi were in the room, along with City Council Liaison Katrina Foley.  Parks Commissioner Bob Graham briefly sat in on the meeting.  A half-dozen members of the public attended the meeting again.

PUBLIC COMMENTS
Public comments were permitted, although the speakers were cautioned to address ONLY the one issue on the agenda - the Work Plan.  None did.

Greg Ridge addressed difficulties bicycling around the Westside, and handed out information showing photos of some of the problem areas.

Bill Denton, who identified himself as an Irvine resident and operator of a restaurant at The Lab, addressed the need to include that part of town in any considerations about bikeability.

Teresa Drain spoke of the recent Planning Commission meeting at which a section of public right-of-way was vacated - returned to the property owner - and wondered if that kind of thing would hamper plans for making parts of the city more bike friendly.

Olga Reynolds spoke of bicycling from the Freedom Homes area to the Fair and stressed the need for better communication and mentioned the new Public Information Officer, Tony Dodero. Foley affirmed that was the reason he was hired.

THE PACE AND EXPECTATIONS
Concerns were expressed by the Chairman, Ralph Taboada, about the need to finish their assignment so it could be included in the General Plan update.  Munoz assured the committee that there was NO RUSH - that they should just go about doing their work at a pace that worked for them because it is always possible to amend the General Plan later.  Foley affirmed that view and encouraged the committe to "just get started".

THE CONSULTANT
Consultant Rock Miller of Stantec, a sub-contractor the consulting firm of MIG - the firm working on the General Plan for the City - gave a brief, but somewhat convoluted, presentation.  The slide equipment was not working, so he winged it using paper handouts that seemed not to be in the order of his presentation.  He spoke of Bicycle Levels Of Service on certain types of roadways and referred to a meeting held 23 months ago, the so-called Great Reach Visioning Workshop, that formed the community outreach.  Even those few of us in the room who actually attended that meeting seemed confused.

TRYING TO DECIDE...
Then, for about an hour, the discussion went round and round about goal  and objective setting; timing of meetings; the need for the committee members to do their homework before the meetings; the need for the agenda packets to be provided a week in advance so they CAN do their homework; whether or not the once-a-month meeting schedule is sufficient, and more.

SUBMITTING IDEAS
It was agreed that the committee members would take the staff report for the Work Plan and review it and send to Munoz - via email - their ideas for modification of the Work Plan and ideas for goals and objectives.  He asked that they be sent two weeks before the meeting date if possible, but no later than one week prior.

DOUBLING-UP ON MEETINGS
And, based on that conversation, he asked for a show of hands for those who would favor meeting twice a month, at least initially... I didn't get the count, but the idea carried, so he will meet with CEO Tom Hatch to discuss the use of staff resources and scheduling.

FACILITATOR
There was also a need expressed for someone - a consultant - to facilitate the discussions/workshops that will be held in the future.  Miller's scope of work does not include that element, but Munoz will talk with Hatch about it.

CHANGE OF NEXT MEETING DATE, AND...
And, life got even more complicated when Munoz told the committee that he recommends changing the next meeting date to September 16th instead of the 9th because of a conflict with a big meeting at OCC on their EIR for the expansion planned on their campus.  The group agreed to the date change, but now the issue is, will that again be a "Special Meeting", with all the restrictions that goes with it?  Great concern was expressed by several committee members about that possibility - particularly since many had pent-up comments to make that were forbidden by the Special Meeting rules.

AN ENTHUSIASTIC, MOTIVATED GROUP
It seems to me that this committee is highly motivated and most bring much to the discussion.  However, the process has been an anchor - ill-defined and structureless -  so it's been slow to get started.  We hope more progress will be made at the next meeting and that the "foundation" and "structure" spoken of during this one will finally fall into place.  It's clear that the group WANTS to move forward.  I think the addition of Stoll and Bauermeister to the group will help with the discussions because they both bring special knowledge to the process.  You may recall that Bauermeister was co-facilitator of the Charter Committee, so he knows how this process can operate.  Stoll brings special "bike" knowledge and seems to be a smart fella.

NOW WE WILL SEE...
So, we will see what this next month brings.  If they plan to hold the next meeting in a "workshop" setting, Conference Room 1A is NOT the right venue.  Perhaps space will be available at the Neighborhood Community Center or even the Senior Center.  This meeting wrapped up just before 8 p.m., about 90 minutes after it began.

Amended Council Agenda Assures A Short Meeting

SMALL AGENDA PROMISES SHORT MEETING
The Costa Mesa City Council will meet again tomorrow, Tuesday, June 2, 2015 beginning at 5:45 p.m. for what will likely be a relatively short meeting.  Then, again, with this council, one never knows.  Two items were yanked from the agenda shortly after noon today, so you can read what remains of the full agenda HERE.  My fingers will be crossed for a ten o'clock departure.

PARK FEES PULLED
The first of the two items removed was Public Hearing #3, the "proposed 2015 update to the park in lieu impact fees".  No indication was given about why this time was pulled and, as of press time here at the old Cauldron, nobody was available for comment.

FORENSIC AUDIT PULLED, TOO
The second one, New Business #2, "Information regarding a forensic audit for the 60th Anniversary Event", was also removed without comment, although considering the fact that the Orange County District Attorney chose to not move forward with his investigation last week, one can read between the lines.  Katrina Foley said for the record that she would NOT support such an audit.  I don't disagree with her on much, but do on this one.  Besides, it's VERY unlikely that there were three votes for it, anyhow.

Moving forward to what's left of the agenda, taking it from the top...

CLOSED SESSION
There is a Closed Session beginning at 5:00 p.m. at which three items will be discussed:
1 - Existing litigation, City of Costa Mesa v. Civic Center Barrio Housing
2 - Labor negotiations with the Costa Mesa City Employee Association (CMCEA)
3 - Existing litigation, CMCEA v. City of Costa Mesa

PRESENTATIONS
There are three presentations:

1 - Signature Academy Program
2 - Mesa Water District's Water Conservation Measures
3 - City of Costa Mesa's Water Conservation Mandate Implementation
On those last two, we're hoping to hear something from the city about slackening up code enforcement on brown lawns, since it doesn't make any sense to fine residents for brown lawns when Mesa Water will ding them for using too much water.

CONSENT CALENDAR
Following Public Comments and Council Member Comments they will move on to the Consent Calendar, which has eleven (11) items this time.  These will be voted upon as one vote unless someone wants to pull one for separate discussion, in which case it will be moved to the end of the agenda for discussion.  If you're interested in any of the items on the agenda, please go down through the list.  Most are pretty straightforward.

HOW WE SPENT OUR MONEY
However, as has been my practice, I'm going to give you a little tease about Warrant #2536, HERE, by listing a few of the entries to pique your interest.  I'm taking my entries from the top, in case you want more info.
City of Huntington Beach - $23,590.00 - helicopter svc, Mar. 2015
Civil Source - $28,000.00 - Constr. Mgt. Svcs, Mar. 2015
Complete Landscape Care, Inc - $59,213.18  - Bear/Yukon Bldg Mod. Proj
G4S Secure Solutions, Inc. - $120,193.59 - Jail Facilities Svcs, Feb and Mar. 2015
Jones & Mayer - $154,376.34 - Legal Svcs (a long list of them)
Lilley Planning Group - $23,655.00 - Planning Consultant Svcs (doesn't say for when)
US Bank - $33,937.86 - Retreat/Luncheon, Sales Tax/Misc Proc.Card Purchase.  WHAT?
Accountemps - $5,418.30 - Temp. Svcs, various
Allied Nationwide Security, Inc. - $1,345.56 - Security Guard Svcs, 3/16-3/31 - Assume for Sr. Center.
CBI Noor, Inc - $11,350.00 - Harbor/McArthur Sign Solar Lt/Bear/Yukon Proj
Government Staffing Services - $11,047.75 - Temp svcs, April, various
Hyatt Legal Plans, Inc. - $1,872.00 - Prepaid legal svcs, 4/15
Jones Day - $11,068.25 - Legal svcs. CMCEA, Jan. 15
Keyser Marston Assoc. - $6,690.00 - HOME policies, Nghbrhd Imp, Mar. 15
Liebert Cassidy Whitmore - $10,650.50 - Labor Neg. various
Meyers Nave - $5,202.50 - Legal - Fairview Park
Randstad Technologies, LP - $12,610.00 - Temp IT Support Staff 3/2-4/5
Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth - $4,352.00 - Legal, various
Hilton Costa Mesa - $10,322.09 - 2014 Employee Svcs Awards Bal.
CSG Consultants, Inc - $2,446.40 - Bldg Pln Chk/Insp + Fire Plan Review
Government Staffing Svcs - $13,120.00 - Temp Staffing, various (again)
Pacific Municipal Consultants - $4,500.00 - Consulting Svcs for Group Home
Quickstart Intelligence - $1,900.00 - IT Prof. Dev.
Safe Moves - $3,860.00 - Bicycle Education Services
Civil Source - $22,250.00 -  Staff Support, various Engr.
Costa Mesa Conference & Visitor Bureau - $227,300.11 - BIA receipts for March, 2015
Scientia Consulting Group, Inc. - $32,938.00 - On-site Tech Support, 2/22 - 5/2
Commercial Cleaning Systems, Inc. - $8,481.72 - Addl Fee - WAGE INCREASE
Interwest Consulting Group - $10,783.50 - Bldg Inspt. Svcs.Mar. 15
Traveltech Enterprises - $7,920.00 - Sr. Center Travel, various
All City Management Services, Inc. - $18,803.60 - Schl Crsng Guard, 3/1-4/11
Merchants Building Maintenance, LLC - $25,960.98 - Janitorial Svcs
Accountemps - $7,605.38 - Fin. Temps, various

Of course, there's much more on the Warrant list itself.  This time we spent more than $185,000.00 on legal services; $40,250.00 to Civil Source; more than $25,000.00 to Government Staffing Services; more than $45,000 on IT support.

BIA REAUTHORIZATION
Public Hearing #1, HERE, is the Business Improvement Area (BIA) reauthorization and resolution to levy annual assessment.  Don't blink... this one won't take long.

GIVING AWAY LAND
Likewise, Public Hearing #2, HERE.  This is the hearing for the vacation of a portion of Fullerton Avenue at 155 Flower Street.  This one also seems like a no-brainer, although there may be a few people unhappy with the City giving away land to a developer on general principles.

VICTORIA STREET DEVELOPMENT - AGAIN
Old Business #1, HERE, is the second reading of the rezone for the planned development at 1239 Victoria Street.  This one passed on a 3-2 vote last time and there's no reason to assume otherwise this time around.  The last time few neighbors showed up.. I wonder if more will make it to this meeting?

APPOINTMENTS
The final item left on the agenda is New Business #1, HERE, the appointments to the Traffic Impact Fee Ad Hoc Committee, Bikeway and Walkability Committee and the Pension Oversight Committee.  This one could get interesting, particularly if the council chooses to appoint Santa Monica resident Brent Stoll, who professes a "passion for bikes and commercial real estate interests in Costa Mesa" to the Bikeways committee again instead of one of the other eighteen (18) applicants.  If they do that they must waive Council Policy 000-2, HERE, which REQUIRES members of such committees to be a resident of Costa Mesa.  Every other applicant is either a current resident, about-to-become a resident or has been educated in Costa Mesa.  Plenty of other choices area available to the council - you can read their backgrounds HERE - without violating yet another city policy to place an outsider on the committee.  The Traffic Impact Fee Ad Hoc Committee is a slam dunk for Mayor Steve Mensinger and Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer.  The choices for the Pension Oversight Committee are sparse, but it looks like there are a couple qualified individuals in the hopper.