Parks & Rec. Commission Wrap

 SHORT CREW, PACKED AGENDA
The short-handed Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commission met again Thursday night and plowed through a full agenda caused by the cancellation of their meeting last month.  No replacement has yet been named for departed Commissioner Don Harper and that vacancy made itself apparent during the evening.  You can read the full agenda HERE.  Click on any of the images below to expand them for easier reading.

SMALLER KIDS NEED SPACE TO PLAY
Only one resident addressed the commission during Public Comments.  Dan Goldmann opined that there are few places for small children to play in our parks, and cited Wilson Park - he described it as closed - and TeWinkle Park.  He suggested that something akin to the dog park, where critters are separated by size, be established so smaller children can play without being "run over" by larger ones.  He cited Redondo Beach and Newport Beach as good examples.  Commissioner Byron de Arakal suggested he present his views at one or both of the upcoming workshops for the Open Space Master Plan (see previous entry).

COMMISSIONER COMMENTS
Byron de Arakal observed that, with the lessening of watering restrictions, we should immediately begin to try to salvage and rehabilitate playing fields - both city and school district.  He also reminded us of the two workshops mentioned above. (see that link)

Kim Pederson acknowledged Goldmann's comments and also suggested he attend the workshops.

Vice Chair Bob Graham suggested that, because of the controversy about the 3-story condos, we should go see them before they're all sold out.

Chairman Brett Eckles observed the tragic loss of a young boy's life in Newport Heights Wednesday when he was hit by a trash truck.  He also observed the recent announcement that Costa Mesa United had contributed over $900,000 to youth sports activities in Costa Mesa over the past fifteen years.  He also reminded us of the Daily Pilot Cup next week at the Jack Hammett Sports Complex, and cited Kirk McIntosh's great job of producing the event.

PLAYFUL CITY USA
Next came a presentation of Playful City USA - an award presented to Costa Mesa for the second consecutive year.  Recreation Coordinator Christian Hernandez showed a few slides about what it takes to qualify, then showed a video that was part of our presentation for qualification.

TWO TREE REMOVAL REQUESTS DENIED
Following the approval of the Consent Calendar the commission dealt with two tree removal requests and denied both after short discussions.  de Arakal and Pederson observed that neither applicant appeared before the commission, so it's hard to understand their argument for removal.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
Acting City Engineer Bart Mejia then presented information on the Capital Improvement Program as it applies to areas relevant to the commission.  The following slide array will provide you with that information.  Resident Jim Kearins - a member of the Bikeways and Walkability Committee - spoke to this issue and asked for an alley near Royal Palm to be considered for enhancement to make it more bike and stroller friendly. 

SHIFTING DOLLARS
Following Mejia's presentation the commissioners discussed the program generally and more specifically made suggestions for changes.  de Arakal suggested that the $625,000 earmarked for more bleacher seats at the Costa Mesa High School field be removed and that money be used elsewhere next fiscal year.  After much discussion the vote was 2-2, with Eckles and Pederson voting no - so the motion failed.  Later Eckles moved to shift that money to the next fiscal year and that motion passed, 3-1, with Pederson voting no.

JACK HAMMETT PARKING
de Arakal moved to expand the parking at Jack Hammett, which passed, 4-0.

WIFFED
Graham made several motions, none of which received a second.

VETS MEMORIAL DISCUSSION
Eckles asked that the discussion for a Veteran's Memorial at Vista Park be moved to the 17/18 fiscal year.  It passed, 4-0.

MOTIONS PASSED
Pederson moved the two required motions - passage of the 16-17 CIP as amended and the 7-year CIP as amended.  Both passed, 4-0.

ARLINGTON AVENUE BIOSWALE MOVES FORWARD
Next came the discussion of the Arlington Avenue Bioswale project by consultants Lea Kabarra and Roger Kobota.  The following slides show some of that information.

Following a discussion about a few of the plants on the palette - based on input from Maintenance Services Manager Bruce Hartley a few were changed - the commission voted to remove the 118 trees and approve the plant palette as amended on 4-0 votes.

AB2496 - DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME DEMISE (MAYBE)
Next came the discussion of AB2496 by Interim Recreation Manager Justin Martin - a bill that has apparently stalled in the State Assembly, but may not be forgotten.  This bill would make Daylight Savings Time year around and cause all kinds of havoc with playing field use.  Eckles described the impact of that change as the end of youth sports as we know it because there would be no practice time available.  After a discussion the commission, on a 4-0 vote, recommended that correspondence strongly opposing this plan be crafted by the appropriate city official body - commissions may not prepare nor deliver position papers to the legislature.  There is an appropriate group in city government made up of the CEO, Mayor and one other...  I suspect de Arakal may have a hand in the preparation of that document since it was his carefully-crafted motion that was passed.

GRAHAM AND PEDERSON APPOINTED
The commission then appointed Pederson and Graham as representatives to the Streetscape &  Median Development Standards Committee on a 4-0 vote.

MAINTENANCE MANAGER'S REPORT
Hartley presented a long list of recent accomplishments by his organization and upcoming events as demonstrated on these two slides.  He told us of renovations of cabinetry at the Baelaric Center; replacement of the Senior Center Great Room flooring and significant renovations of the Dog Park, among other things.

RECREATION REPORT
Martin gave us an overview of the accomplishments of the Recreation Division, but they were not included in his written staff report.

NEXT MONTH...
The commission meets next on June 23, 2016.  Hopefully, by that time there will be a new commissioner appointed to replace Harper.

Daily Pilot Cup Fiasco

GIANT GAFFE!
In what must be one of the biggest public relations gaffes in recent memory, the folks who conduct arguably one of the most positive and enduring youth sports events in our community - The Daily Pilot Cup - appear to have looked around for the biggest pile of feces they could find, then jumped squarely into the middle of it with both feet.

PARTICIPATION FEE INCREASE NO SURPRISE
As recounted in the Daily Pilot "Sounding Off" commentary on April 8th by Costa Mesa resident John Jason titled, "Soccer fee should apply to all equally", HERE, the organizers of the soccer tournament informed the team liaisons that there would be a 100% fee increase for participants - from $5.00 to $10.00. The increase came of no surprise since it had remained constant for many years.

DISCRIMINATORY DECISION
What DID come as a surprise, however, was the fact that only players from private schools would have to pay the increase - public school participants would pay the previous amount. When the tournament organizers were questioned about the disparity they apparently were told, "Private school families can more easily absorb the fee increase and we do not want to add a financial burden to the residents of the Westside of Costa Mesa."

WHAT? WHY?
After their jaws hit the floor, the parents of private school children began looking for answers to this unbelievable situation. According to Jason, tournament Director Kirk McIntosh responded in an email that it surprised him and that he was "no longer involved in the financials".

THE EXCREMENT HITS THE FAN
However, what really caused the "stuff" to hit the fan was a subsequent explanation from Cara Stephens, promotions manager, who, according to Jason's account, sent an email that stated, "This year's pricing structure was determined by the Daily Pilot, NMUSD and CM... Unfortunately, private school students who object to the one-sided fee increase based on principle will not be allowed to participate in this year's Daily Pilot Cup."

WRITERS ARE UP IN ARMS
The heat generated in the comment thread of that commentary could light a small city - with good reason. In my view, as I said in that comment thread, Stephen's statement is the most arrogant, elitist bunch of drivel I've heard in years.

CITY DENIES A ROLE IN FEES
Costa Mesa City Manager Allan Roeder fired off a press release denying any role in creating the fee structure on the part of The City. He emphasized that the City's role is to provide the use of the City's soccer fields and the promotion of the tournament to area youth.

DAILY PILOT MEA CULPA
New Daily Pilot Editor John Canalis wrote a column that appears online Friday night and will appear in print Saturday titled, "We made a mistake", HERE, acknowledging that the fee structure created for this year's event was a bad idea, although he did try to provide part of the thought process that went into it. He went on to tell us that the decision has been reversed and that every participant will pay the same fee - $5.00.

KIND HEARTS, SOFT HEADS
Certainly, an increase in the fee would be reasonable - even doubling it doesn't seem out of line. During the discussions, someone with a kind heart probably felt guilty about imposing the increase on less-well-off children on Costa Mesa's Westside - mostly Latino kids - so they decided to exempt ALL public school participants. It's hard for me to imagine how they ever thought this would fly without controversy. Cara Stephens comment, basically telling private school kids that if they didn't like it - if they disagreed "on principle" - well, they could just sit this tournament out - was the height of arrogance.

QUESTIONING DAILY PILOT'S JUDGMENT
What troubles me most is that the editors of the Daily Pilot went along with this scheme. It troubles me because it appears to be a symptom of a deeper problem - that the current decision-makers of our newspaper of record for more than a century are so out of touch with the community that they simply didn't realize what a firestorm of controversy their decision would create.

RESTORATION OF LOST "INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE" NEEDED
Please understand that I consider myself the Daily Pilot's biggest fan. However, it seems to me that all the editors of the Daily Pilot need a kind of full-immersion therapy session into the nuances of the Newport-Mesa community. One person writing on the comment thread of Canalis' column suggested a restoration of the "meet the editors" sessions previously conducted by former editor Brady Rhoades and former City Editor Paul Anderson. That would be a good start. Further, I might suggest to John Canalis that he and his senior staff personally carve out some time to get out and about in the community - attend council meetings, homeowner association meetings and school board meetings - to get a better "feel" for the community they serve. With the departure of former publisher Tom Johnson and Director of Editorial and Online Tony Dodero more than a year ago, much of the institutional knowledge of what makes our area tick was lost. To properly serve this community that knowledge needs to be restored.

WHENCE THE SCHOOL DISTRICT?
There are plenty of tensions in our communities that strain relationships along racial lines without the Daily Pilot being an unwitting facilitator of those kind of problems, as was the case in this situation. And, oh, yes - when do we hear from the School District about this fiasco?