Parks & Rec. Commission Meeting Preview

SHOULD BE A SHORT MEETING
The Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commission meets tomorrow evening in City Council Chambers at City Hall beginning at 6:00.  You can read the full agenda HERE.  As is usually the case, the agenda is thin and I would anticipate this meeting ending before 8:00 p.m.

CAMERAS AND HORSE VAULTING?
There is an Instructional Class Proposal, HERE, for the commissioners to consider involving using DSLR cameras and two involving Horse Vaulting.  Yeah, horse vaulting.

YANKING TREES FROM OUR URBAN FOREST
In addition, there are three (3) tree removal requests, HERE, HERE and HERE. The last two are Canary Island Pines, a species that has been under attack in our city over the past couple years.  The staff has recommended denying each of those requests.

ADIOS, BRUCE!
Of special interest to me is that this will be the first meeting without Maintenance Services Manager Bruce Hartley, who retired last Friday after a long career with the City.  It's my understanding that he left to join former Public Services Director Ernesto Munoz in a private sector organization.  So, we've lost yet another senior manager.

I'M GOING TO THE TOWN HALL INSTEAD
I will not be attending this meeting - I'm going to the CM4RG Town Hall at the Neighborhood Community Center at the same time.  I will tape the meeting and report on it eventually.  I'll be interested to see if new commissioner Julie Mercurio shows up, and if she does, will she speak?

Bikeways and Walkability Committee Meeting Wrap

SPARSE CROWD ATTENDS THE MEETING
The Costa Mesa Bikeways and Walkability Committee met Wednesday evening at the Costa Mesa Senior Center before a very small crowd - four visitors joined the committee this time.  Ten of the twelve members remaining on the committee attended.  Leah Ersoylu and Tony Capitelli did not attend.  Nor did council liaison Katrina Foley and NMUSD liaison Dr. Kirk Bauermeister, both of whom are out of town, or Chamber of Commerce liaison Brent Stoll, who is dealing with family issues.

BOB'S BACK...
During Public Comments Parks and Recreation Commissioner Bob Graham stood to ask the committee to push forward to have the existing Bike Map modified to show potential routes.  He also, once again, brought up this idea of opening up the pathway along the Greenville-Banning channel for bicycle and pedestrian use.  When he brought this up to this committee the last time a couple months ago more than 30 neighbors along that channel attended and spoke out strongly against that plan, citing privacy and safety as the main reasons.  Graham is persistent, though.  After he finished Chairman Ralph Taboada said he would ask the committee to discuss putting it on a future agenda at the end of the meeting.  More on that later.

COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS
During Committee Member Comments, Rick Huffman stated appreciation for the Greenville-Banning Trail, but also recalled the vehement rejection of the idea by neighbors.
John Merrill spoke on the "Go Human" campaign.  Jim Kerins complimented the staff.
Jim Erickson mentioned the Costa Mesa Community Run, which is coming up and wondered how he could help represent the committee at that event.  He then showed a brief video clip of a Bike Park in Irvine, which includes a resting place and permanently-installed tools.
James Kane, referring to the Greenville-Banning Trail, referred to the "negativity from the NIMBYS" - the neighbors who spoke out at the earlier meeting.  He suggested a large wall could be buile and motion-detector lights installed.
Flo Martin showed slides of a homeless person receiving a citiation from a Costa Mesa Police Officer - perhaps a Park Ranger - for not having her bicycle in a proper bike rack at Wilson Park.  Martin suggested that the adjacent rack was full at the time, which launched a long discussion of bike racks in general.  The city is sorely in need of bike racks in most, if not all, public areas.  Ernesto Munoz suggested this is the time to lobby the city council on that issue since the budget is in the midst of being prepared.
Cynthia McDonald told the group of a Cyclovia in Lynwood/South Gate on May 15th.
Taboada said he will be speaking to the council at the next meeting about bike racks.
Andrea Marr mentioned the "Action Arts In The Park" sponsored by the Cultural Arts Committee, to be held in TeWinkle Park in the afternoon of May 14th.

BICYCLE EDUCATION
The first New Business item was a presentation by Pat Hines, founder of Safe Moves, a bicycle education program currently being used in Costa Mesa elementary schools and is funded by the city through a grant by the Orange County Transportation Authority.  Hines formed this business more than three decades ago after her best friend was killed in a bicycling accident.  Since then she and her team have worked with thousands of children all over the state.  The following slides will capture the essence of the program.

HARBOR BLVD. BIKE TRAIL
Next up was a briefing by Director of Public Services, Ernesto Munoz, on the status of the new Harbor Boulevard Bicycle Trail.  The following slides will help you understand the scope of the project.  Basically, it's providing a 12 foot wide multi-purpose trail removed from the vehicular traffic by landscaped areas and will be lighted with bollard lighting for safety.

GRANT PROJECTS
Transportation Services Manager Raja Sethruaman provided an update on Grant Projects and explained the status of the project for a signal on Placentia Avenue at the bottom of the hill from Adams Avenue at the northern border of Fairview Park.  That will be installed soon.  Additional funding is being sought for the 19th Street Bicycle Trail to accommodate the processing through the Coastal Commission.  The construction funds are secure.

COMMITTEE SAYS NO TO GRAHAM
During the discussion of items for the next meeting agenda Taboada, as promised, opened up the Greenville-Banning path for discussion.  After several minutes of discussion, the commissioners chose NOT to place it on the next agenda, citing the overwhelming negative outcry the last time a couple months ago.  Graham was not happy with that turn of events and grumbled about the residents who showed up at that previous meeting, referring to them as a mob.  Since Graham doesn't like to hear "no", I suspect he will find some other way to get this issue into the municipal discussion.

The committee meets next on May 4th.

New Fire Station Plans Discussed

SMALL TURNOUT
Monday night a small group of residents - 20 individuals - and Public Services and Fire Department staff met in a chilly, noisy truck bay at Fire Station #1, 2803 Royal Palm Drive, to discuss plans to completely rebuild that aging facility - it was built in 1961 and is, indeed, getting long in the tooth.  The floors show signs of soil shifting and the layout is very out of date, as are the housing facilities for the staff.

SENIOR STAFF PRESENT
Fire Chief Dan Stefano, Director of Public Services Ernesto Munoz and Consulting Architect Kelley Needham guided the discussion for most of an hour in a casual environment.  CEO Tom Hatch was also on hand, but only listened.  Other staff members, including Associate Engineer Arash Rahimian, who is the Project Engineer on this project.  Battalion Chief Tim Vasin was also present and answered many questions.

NICE TRY, BARRY
Barry Friedland brought his Costa Mesa Brief camera to record this discussion for his YouTube Channel, but gave up shortly after the meeting began because the sound was impossible to record due to the echo and street noise.  He quietly folded his equipment and sat patiently listening with the rest of the residents.

OTHERS
Among the attendees were Councilwoman Sandra Genis and former Interim Fire Chief Tom Arnold.  Among the residents were several familiar faces plus some folks attending this kind of an event for the first time because it will be in their neighborhood.

TWO OPTIONS
Two different options were presented by Needham, both as part of a slide show and on charts along the wall.  Both are identical inside - the only differences are cosmetic.  Among the improvements were the egress from the facility for the fire apparatus out onto Adams Avenue, which will be facilitated with Fire Department actuated all-stop signals, to permit the trucks to leave quickly and without having to dodge traffic.  There are NO plans to consider another location for this station.

 Option 1

 Option 2

 Floorplan

NO SOLAR, BUT...
The current plan does NOT anticipate a solar power installation, but we were told the new building will be LEED-compliant.  The building WILL be strong enough to accommodate solar panels, if necessary.

EXPENSIVE, AND FUNDING UNDEFINED YET
In response to questions by the audience we learned that this project will cost an estimated $8.5 million, and that funding of it will be included in the discussion at the City Council meeting Tuesday night as part of the package for the new library, community center and Lions Park enhancements.

NOT SURE HOW THAT WILL WORK
We also learned that the City hopes to continue to operate from this site during the anticipated year-long construction process.  Mention was made of utilizing modular buildings to house the staff on a temporary basis.  The use of Fire Station #6, which is anticipated to close, is not a consideration at this time because of response time issues.

EXPANDABLE ONCE COMPLETE
The new facility will have expansion capability according to comments made by Stefano and Vasin - additional staff and equipment could be domiciled there once it's complete.

CONSTRUCTION COULD BEGIN NEXT SUMMER
According to the tentative timetable, this issue will be heard by the Planning Commission on December 14, 2015 and then passed on up to the City Council in January.  Presuming all issues are resolved - including how to pay for this new facility - construction drawings would be rendered and the actual demolition of the site could begin next summer.  A one-year completion time is anticipated.  According to Munoz, construction hours will be 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday and it is anticipated that construction parking will not encroach on nearby neighborhoods, which - we found out - have permit-only parking.

SEND YOUR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS TO...
Questions and comments from the meeting Monday night will be folded into the staff presentation to the Planning Commission.  If you were unable to attend, but wish to comment, any questions and/or comments should be addressed to Arash Rahimian by email at Arash.Rahimian@costamesaca.gov or by mail to the City at 77 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626.  For more information please review the city announcement HERE.

Bike Committee Hears OCTA Report, And More

A NEW, SMALLER, WARMER VENUE
Once again I attended the meeting of the Costa Mesa Bikeways and Walkability Committee last night.  This one was held at the Costa Mesa Senior Center, as usual, but this time in a smaller, warmer room.  What a nice change to, 1) be able to hear the participants from my position in the cheap seats and, 2) not have my teeth chattering throughout the meeting.  Nearly a dozen members of the public attended this meeting - a new record.

EXCELLENT OCTA PRESENTATION
The committee, which again failed to have all members present, but did have enough to form a quorum, heard a presentation from Paul Martin, Active Transportation Coordinator for the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA).  What follows is part of his slide presentation:

STANTEC SUMMARY OF 9/18/13 MEETING
Then Melissa Dugan from the consulting firm, Stantec, provided us with a brief presentation of the information gathered at a community meeting two years ago, September 18, 2013.  She showed us slides of four maps that were used to gather data, then showed us a combined map.  She also handed out a hard copy of that map for the committee members to use to doodle their own ideas on for a segment of their process later downstream.

ONCE AGAIN....
Then, guided by Chairman Ralph Taboada and Vice Chair Cynthia McDonald, the committee began the slog through the Goals and Objectives once again.  This is slow going, but essential because this process will form the foundation of their future activities and must be done so a proper set of recommendations can be presented to the City Council early next year.

GOOD PROGRESS, AND GOOD SUPPORT
Once again, this committee works very effectively together.  Discussions are respectful and none of the members seem impatient with the process.  The staff, headed by Director of Public Services Ernesto Munoz, continues to provide excellent professional support to the committee.  They will continue to meet twice a month through this year, hoping to complete the first segment of their assignment in time to have their handiwork included in the General Plan.  Their next meeting is on Wednesday, November 18, 2015 beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Senior Center.