Well-rested Council Makes Quick Work Of Agenda

FINALLY BACK!
The Costa Mesa City Council, which has been on walkabout for nearly a month, dispatched the agenda at its meeting Tuesday night in near-record time.  Even though they had special presentations and a gaggle of public commentors, the council finished its work at precisely 8:00 p.m., barely two hours of work.

WAIT A MINUTE, HERE...
When they emerged from their Closed Session City Attorney Tom Duarte announced that Item #3 had been settled.  That was a lawsuit between Police Officer Jeffrey Horn and The City.  Duarte said that, on a 5-0 vote, the council agreed to pay Horn $200,000.  Well, on the Warrant on the agenda this evening there is the following entry: (click the image to enlarge it)

My question is, since the Warrant is supposed to represent checks already cut over the past several weeks, and when you add the legal fees and the amount paid to Horn on this entry it totals exactly $200,000, is THIS the entry of the settlement?  If so, how did checks get cut before the council voted on the settlement?  If not, is this an additional amount?  This is very strange.

LITTLE LEAGUE AWARDS
Mayor Steve Mensinger was in his element when he presented awards to both Costa Mesa Little League Teams.  He's right - he should have been a coach, not a politician.

PUBLIC COMMENTS
During Public Comments Several people stepped up to address issues important to them.
Beth Refakes reminded us for the final time of the Gown collection drive for the women of the 1/5 Marines.  She praised  Jim Righeimer and Katrina Foley for their community meetings last week.  She was also concerned about the delay in the renovation of Council Chambers and the status of the rebuilding of Fire Station #1.

Greg Thunell raked the council over the coals for making bad decisions - I'm giving you the abbreviated version of his comments.

Linda Dean pleaded for relief for parking issues on Coolidge.

Alex Reich, a candidate for a seat on the Mesa Water District Board, briefly addressed the problems with Desal.

Tamar Goldmann expressed concern for the loss of meeting space for many users when the Neighborhood Community Center is demolished and hoped it could be delayed.  She cited specifically the Freedom Committee as one user that might have trouble finding space.  She referred to a problem with the funding of the new NCC/Library complex.

Kim Hendricks, peeved that she arrived one minute too late for her PowerPoint presentation to be used, suggested we all vote YES on Measure AA.

Mary Spadoni praised resident and attorney Eleanor Egan for her victory over some very high-priced attorneys in her successful quest to get bogus rebuttal language removed from the ballot last week.

Cynthia McDonald also mentioned Egan's accomplishment and suggested we visit www.savecostamesa.com for more information.

DEVELOPER'S DREAM TEAM (DDT)
An unidentified woman compared Mensinger to a Reverse Robin Hood - taking from the residents and giving to the developers.  She referred to his slate as being referred to as "Team Costa Mesa", but suggested they should be referred to as the Developer's Dream Team (DDT), and made the comparison of the developer's activities in the city to that toxic substance.

MONAHAN MUTE
During Council Member Comments, Gary Monahan - as usual - had nothing to say.

RIGHEIMER
Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer, fresh off his misinformation-spreading gambit in Newport Beach last Thursday morning, had remarkably little to say.  Addressing the Coolidge parking issues, he suggested Permit Parking.  He asked for clarification on the NCC/Library issue.  Assistant CEO Tammy Letourneau said there is plenty of available space for the users of the NCC and that her staff is working with them to locate the right space for them.  She also said there is NO PROBLEM with the funding - that everything is on schedule.

Mensinger said he could help the Freedom Committee - I don't know if he meant he would house the meetings in his new palatial golf course estate, or what.  He was unclear.

FOLEY
Katrina Foley spoke about her meeting last week in which she and Sandy Genis spoke to members of the public in a range of issues, including Permit Parking.  She said her next meeting will include discussions of the Skate Park, Sober Living Homes and the NCC/Library issue.  She also told us about an apparent sober living resident who has been wandering in her Mesa Del Mar neighborhood and actually knocked on her door at midnight last week.  She was arrested for break ins in the neighborhood.  She also expressed concern for the misinformation that is being spread from the dais.

GENIS
Genis also spoke of the Coolidge Street parking issue. She also mentioned a group that has been formed, apparently by a Wilshire Blvd. law firm in Los Angeles called Costa Mesans Against The Power Grab, and thought it was curious that a remote law firm was involved.  She expressed the opinion that if this group is concerned about residents actually wanting to take back control of their government, "maybe it's about time".  To me, this smells like the stench of developer dollars trying to influence our election.

HATCH
During his segment CEO Tom Hatch said progress is being made on the mosquito issue in Fairview Park.  He said Fire Station #1 rebuild is on schedule.  An architect has been hired and a consultant is being selected to help with the planning of continuing service while the building is re-built.  He said construction would begin in February or March.  He didn't have an answer on the long-stalled Chambers renovation.  He also expressed concern for the condition of our urban forest, indicating that we're losing many trees due to the drought and our conservation efforts.

CONSENT CALENDAR
Two items were pulled from the Consent Calendar, #5 and #7, for later discussion.

NEW BUSINESS #1 - VOTING DELEGATES
Because it was still well before the witching hour of 7:00 p.m. when Public Hearings are to begin the council jumped forward on the agenda to New Business #1 - the last item on the agenda.  This is the selection of voting delegates at a convention in Long Beach in October.  Mensinger will remain the primary voting delegate, with Righeimer and Genis as voting alternates, decided on a 5-0 vote.

EXPENSIVE ARTICIFICIAL TURF OK'D FOR JACK HAMMETT
With time still to spare they tackled the Consent Calendar items.  Foley stepped out of the room for #5, the artificial turf for the Jack Hammett Sports Complex because she lives within 500 feet of it.  The remaining four made quick work of it because the person who pulled if for discussion had left.  It passed on a 4-0 vote.

FUAP GENERATES DISCUSSION
Item #7, amendments to the Field Use and Allocation Policy (FUAP), got much more attention.  Genis pulled this item for clarification about certain users and their status.  Recreation Manager Justin Martin - who Mensinger referred to as "Travis" during the discussion, confusing him with his predecessor, Travis Karlen, who has moved on to Irvine.  The discussion revolved around giving "our" kids - Costa Mesa kids - priority on field use, and included some comments about enlisting Newport Beach to share some of their fields and to get clarification from the Newport-Mesa Unified School District on a recent change in THEIR field use policy that seemed to conflict with our Joint Use Agreement with them.  Martin will handle that.  Eventually they passed the issue, 5-0.

NORTH COSTA MESA SPECIFIC PLAN
Public Hearing #1, the amendments to the North Costa Mesa Specific Plan, was presented by Minoo Ashabi.  This issue just brings those areas into conformity with the recently-approved new 2015-2035 General Plan.

HOME RANCH DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT
Public Hearing #2 was the 4th amendment of the Segerstrom Home Ranch Development Agreement.  Justin McCusker, representing the Segerstroms, helped with some history on this issue.  There were a couple timeline-related questions that he and staff will research, but the issue was passed on a 5-0 vote at precisely 8:00, after which Mensinger adjourned the meeting.

LOTS OF YOUR MONEY SPENT WITHOUT DISCUSSION
If you refer to my previous entry - the preamble to this meeting, HERE - you will realize that the council just blitzed through the Consent Calendar and all those interesting, expensive issues.  And, I'm told, that entry on the Warrant in which we theoretically cut a check for more than $26,000 to the City of Newport Beach was a typo - it should have actually been Huntington Beach.  It's not clear to me whether the typo was on the report or the check.  If it was on the check, our neighbors in Newport Beach will be having one big party!

Parks & Rec. Commission Tweaks The FUAP, And More

IMPORTANT ISSUES CONSIDERED
The Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commission met again last night and dealt with a couple important issues.  You can read the agenda HERE.

ABOUT MS. MERCURIO
Before we get to the important parts of the meeting, let me report to you that rookie commissioner Julie Mercurio - she who recently withdrew from the City Council race - attended this meeting, although you wouldn't know it if you depended solely on audio for your information.  During the entire 2 plus hours of the meeting, with the exception of when she started the meeting by leading the Pledge of Allegiance, she was not heard to utter a single word.  Even then, we couldn't tell if she spoke or lip synched it.  In fact, it looked like she didn't even turn on her microphone the entire evening.  We presume she can actually speak, since she looks like she's whispering in Commissioner Kim Pederson's ear in this image.

SHE CONTRIBUTED NOTHING!
During Public Comments two speakers criticized Mercurio's selection.  In fact, Cindy Black presented a slide show of all the applications for that appointive position to demonstrate how unqualified she was for the position.  A couple of the commissioners, including my friend, Byron de Arakal, angrily defended her selection, citing the fact that she was a mother as reason enough for her appointment.  I almost choked when he said that!  Since this was early in the meeting he probably had no idea that she would become the invisible woman, offering not a single thing to the proceedings.  It was clear at the time that her appointment was solely to give her some visibility during her council campaign.  Last night she demonstrated just how unprepared she is for this assignment.  The two items on the agenda were pithy enough that every commissioner should have had something to contribute to the discussion.  All the others did.

STEP DOWN, JULIE!
So, enough with this charade... I'm asking Ms. Mercurio to simply step down - resign from the commission and let one of the other applicants be appointed to fill out Don Harper's term which expires in February.  If we're going to pay her $100 a month for her service, she should at least try to provide some.  Her continued presence on the dais is a constant reminder of the partisanship that rules our city.

PUBLIC COMMENTS
During Public Comments Beth Refakes reminded us that the Military Affairs Team is, once again, collecting lightly-used cocktail dresses, ball gowns and accessories for the wives of the men of the 1/5 Marines at Camp Pendleton for the Marine Ball.  Donations may be left in the lobby at City Hall.

Rocky Evans again asked the commission to consider extending the operating hours of the Skate Park.

Mark Arblaster, who runs a club soccer organization, announced that his group is helping a struggling  recreational soccer group with their expertise and financial aid.

Kim Hendricks asked that the rope barriers for some of the vernal pools in Fairview Park be re-installed.  She also offered criticism of Mercurio's appointment

Cindy Black reminded the commission of the proximity of Banning Ranch to Talbert Park and then offered criticism of Mercurio's appointment.

CONSENT CALENDAR
Back to the meeting.  The commission passed the Instructional Class Proposals on the Consent Calendar - they were all Ice Skating-related - without discussion.

FUAP REPORT AND MODIFICATIONS
The first item on the agenda was the spring Field Use Allocation Report (FUAP) and amendments to the existing policy.  Recreation Manager Justin Martin led the discussion.  You can read the staff report HERE.  This is the completion of the first year this new FUAP has been in existence and, based on the report, the results are quite positive.  The staff and the users had some tough going sorting out the residency requirements.  Only one user - Newport Mesa Friday Night Lights - failed to produce sufficient numbers of verifiable residents to retain Group 3 status, and will have limited use of fields.

APPROVED WITH MODIFICATIONS
After lengthy discussions the commission, led by Chairman Brett Eckles, approved the Field Use Report and recommended modifications to the changes to the FUAP, including tightening up the definitions of what constitutes a "strike" against a group under the new Code of Conduct section.  The staff will tinker with it following the direction provided by the commission before this issue is presented to the City Council for approval.

TALBERT PARK
The other item on the agenda was the Review of Talbert Regional Park Final Habitat Restoration Plan, HERE.  You can plow through the 168 pages if you wish.  City Engineer Bart Mejia led this discussion and had assistance from Susan Brodeur from Orange County Parks.  The commissioners heard the report and heard from members of the public, each of whom expressed a desire to keep Talbert Park as natural as possible.

BOB'S IMAGES
Vice Chair Robert Graham provided some photographic information to demonstrate some things that could be done to make that area more accessible.

MOVING IT FORWARD...
Eventually the commission moved to partner with OC Parks to search for and apply for grants and other funding opportunities to fulfill the estimated $22 million necessary to complete the plan as presented.  They also recommended Alternate 1 and segments of Alternates 2 and 3 for future consideration.  Both de Arakal and Graham suggested that we should think big in this process - it's going to take quite awhile because of the many governmental entities that will have their oars in this water.

HIGH PRAISE FOR MARTIN AND STAFF
The evening finished with Martin providing his report on recent activities - none of which was included in the online staff report.  Suffice it to say that things in the Recreation Division are looking up, with enhanced activities at the Senior Center and throughout the city.  Several commissioners, including Kim Pederson,  praised Martin and his staff for their outstanding work.  The next meeting is August 25th.

BYRON WANTS SECURITY AT FUTURE MEETINGS!
One last thing... at the very end of the meeting de Arakal said he was going to ask CEO Tom Hatch and Police Chief Rob Sharpnack to assign a Sergeant-at-arms to all future Parks and Recreation meetings!  This is very strange!  I've attended most of these meetings and the crowd (a generous term for the few people normally attending) have NEVER been rowdy - EVER!  I don't know what was going on at that meeting last night, or why he felt it necessary to take that step, but he mentioned safety.  Maybe with Ms. Mercurio comes a more rowdy crowd... who knows?

Leinart Part 2 And More Tomorrow

 STARTING THE NEW FISCAL YEAR OFF...
The Costa Mesa City Council meets in the first meeting of the new fiscal year tomorrow, Tuesday, July 7, 2015 beginning at 5:45 p.m.  You can read the full agenda for that meeting HERE.

NORMAL PROCEDURES
Following a presentation, Public Comments and Council Member Comments the first order of business will be the Consent Calendar.  This, as you may recall, is supposed to be a collage of issues that, in theory, are "routine in nature" and can be voted upon without separate discussion on one vote.  If any member of the council, staff or the public "pulls" on or more of the items it will be trailed to the very end of the meeting and considered at that time.  As has been my practice, I will observe on a few of the current dozen items on the Consent Calendar.

SPENDING YOUR MONEY
I'll begin with Item #3, Warrant #2538, HERE.  There are usually some things on the warrants that I find of interest and think you might, too.  There is much, much more on this list of paid items, but you can look those over yourselves.  This list is taken from the top, in case you want to see more detail.
Costa Mesa Conference & Visitor Bureau - $197,618.23 - BIA receipts for April 2015
Costa Mesa United - $49,483.76 - Athletic Fac Imp - Estancia
Fatpot Technologies LLC - $24,995.00 - New Interface Implementation - CAD
Civil Source - $11,310.00 - Inspect & Constr. Mgt svscs
Enterprise Counsel Group - $6,121.25 - Succesor Agency March 15
FTOG, Inc - $2,650.00 - Specl Prj Cnsltng 6/26-6/4/15
Johnson Favaro LLP - $11,300.00 - Library & NCC Architect Plng
Jones Day - $7,053.75 - CMCEA
Kelemen Consulting - $12,000.00 - Training Services
Liebert Cassidy Whitmore - $14,596.65 - Legal, Various
RJM Design Group, Inc. - $8,026.40 - Open Space Master Plan Update
All City Management Services, Inc. - $30,539.89 - Crossing Guard Svcs4/12-6/6/15
G4S Secure Solutions, Inc. - $64,477.02 - Jail Facilities Svcs, May 15
Safe Moves - $17,956.00 - Bicycle Education Services
Lilley Planning Group - $10,800.00 - Planning Consultant Svcs 5/1/15
RJM Design Group, Inc. - $12,798.05 - Open Space Master Plan Update
Jones & Mayer - $130,085.20 - Legal Services, various
Randstad Technologies IP - $10,400.00 - Temp IT Support Staff
Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth - $8,160.00 - Legal Counsel

LEGAL FEES OVER $170,000
And, of course, there's much, much more.  Lots of temporary service bills.  And, this time around, the legal fees totaled over $170,000.

REPURPOSING THE SUBSTATION
Item #4, HERE, is the request for authorization for furniture procurement for a "repurposing" of the Westside Substation into a Community Resource Center.  This is interesting because it provides a new home for Lt. Everett, who will manage the day-to-day operations.  Plus, staff from the City's Homeless Solutions group - ever hear of them? - will move from the Neighborhood Community Center across the street and will also house the Community Improvement Division.  This division consists of group home, motel/hotel enforcement and neighborhood stabilization staff members. I understand the idea behind this, but the last time I looked there was a whole room of surplus furniture in the old print shop/soon-to-be conference room.  I wonder what kind of consideration has been given to using that furniture?

A FEW OTHER FUN THINGS
Other items include a state required change to the sick pay policy and a resolution authorizing street closures for the 2015 Orange County Fair Cattle Drive next month.

CMCEA COIN HEARING

Public Hearing #1, HERE, is the second required such hearing under Mayor Steve Mensinger's COIN Ordinance dealing with changes to the contract with the Costa Mesa City Employees Association (CMCEA).  I don't expect this one to take very long.

STATE REQUIRES THIS
Old Business #1, HERE, is the second reading of the so-called Expedited Permitting Procedures for Small Residential Rooftop Solar Systems as required by AB2188.  This one will take about 5 minutes.

LAND USE FIX
Old Business #2, HERE, is the second reading of a technical fix to an existing city ordinance that affects the Land Use Matrix and the Zoning Code regarding Group Homes.  Again, this one won't take long.

REHIRE EXCEPTION
New Business #1, HERE,  is a resolution for an exception to the 180-day waiting period to rehire a retired employee, in this case Senior Programmer Analyst William Verderber, who retires July 11, 2015.  Again, a quick voter on this one.

SLAMMING THE DOORS ON VAGRANTS
New Business #2, HERE, is the request by residents to close off wall openings at certain locations along Victoria Street to preclude illicit activities that occur there. (Click on map to enlarge it)

A TEST OF INTEGRITY
New Business #3, HERE, is the biggie for the evening - the proposal for the New Field Use and Allocation Policy (FUAP) and the request for special status for specific youth sports organizations.  I wrote about this in my last entry, HERE.  As I said in my earlier post, this is going to tell us whether the rules will be followed or if a favored organization will get preferential treatment by this city council.  The Parks and Recreation Commission DID NOT vote at their recent meeting to extend the Matt Leinart Flag Football program Group 3 status, despite what the interpretation by the City Attorney might have been.  We'll see what happens at this meeting.  IF Leinart has managed to figure a way to present itself as a legitimate non-profit organization and IF they've managed to gin up numbers that show more than the 14% Costa Mesa residents participating - maybe, just maybe - the council can justify giving them preferential treatment.

ANDRANIAN ON THE VECTOR CONTROL DISTRICT
The final item on the agenda, HERE, it the appointment of rookie Planning Commissioner Stephan Andranian as the City's representative on the Orange County Vector Control District.  Another 30 second item.

BE THERE OR...
This could be a fairly short meeting.  Depending on how many folks show up to speak at the Leinart item, we could be out of there by 9:30.  See you there... I'll report on the meeting tomorrow night..