Fairgrounds Intrigue & My Pal's Birthday

What's going on over at the Fairgrounds?

INTERESTING AGENDA ITEM
Late yesterday I got a heads-up that the Fair Board, at it's meeting Monday morning at 10 a.m., will consider Item #8. A. "Review and Approve Revenue Sharing Proposal between the 32nd DAA and the State of California."

NO STAFF REPORT AVAILABLE
Since no staff report is available on this subject, it's difficult to tell exactly what the Board is up to - no surprise there - but it certainly looks like the same issue that the State refused to consider several months ago, when it agreed to enter into exclusive negotiations with the City of Costa Mesa for the purchase of the Fairgrounds. At the time the Fair Board and management were ticked off that the State wouldn't hear their proposal. NOTE: Just got off the phone with Steve Beazley at 11:15 a.m. He promises a staff report on this issue will be available for viewing Saturday, tomorrow. He confirmed that this is exactly the same issue they placed on their agenda in April, but that the Governor asked to be pulled at that time.

WHY NOW?
While the Fair Board is not known for it's openness and transparency as it conducts business, the timing of the consideration of this issue now seems curious. Because at least a couple members of the Fair Board are very well-connected in Sacramento - that's probably the biggest understatement you'll ever see on this site - one might suspect that some inside information about the future of the deal being hammered out by Costa Mesa has led the Fair Board to re-visit this issue at this time.

WHAT DO THEY KNOW?
For example, I wonder if they have received insider information that the legislature will not pass the required bill to facilitate the sale of the Fairgrounds to The City? If so, from whom? The legislature goes on a summer break next week for a month, which leaves us all waiting a long, long time for that proverbial "other shoe" to drop.

HUMMING THE JEOPARDY! THEME, WAITING...
I tried to contact Fairgrounds CEO Steve Beazley about this a few minutes ago, but reached only his voice mail. The folks in Media Relations at the Fairgrounds were no help, either. So, until we have a chance to view a staff report and/or hear back from someone in authority at the Fairgrounds, we are left to speculate... I'll report back if and when I hear more.

***
LARRY MOORE'S BIRTHDAYToday would be my buddy Larry Moore's 69th birthday. Regular readers here know the story of our relationship - best friends for 57 years - and the tragic circumstances of his passing. I've written about it here and elsewhere since he died more than six years ago.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMIGO
Today, rather than re-hash all the pain of his passing, I'll simply wish my friend a Happy Birthday, knowing that he's looking down on us from a better place. If you wish to re-read some of the things I've written about him and our life together in the past you can do so HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.

DO IT NOW
I leave with the reminder that you need to tell those you love how you feel NOW - don't wait. You never know what is around the next bend in the road.

Costa Mesa City Council Actions

The Costa Mesa City Council meeting Tuesday night went pretty much as anticipated.

TRAFFIC IMPACT FEES RETAINED
After a very brief discussion the council decided to maintain the existing Traffic Impact Fees, with the staff citing the significant decline in development activity.

3R COMMITTEE STAFFED-UP
The four regular members of the 3R committee requesting re-appointment were confirmed and alternate and soon-to-be newlywed Rob Dickson was moved up from an alternate to a regular membership. We got a pretty good idea of Mansoor's mindset when he attempted to appoint Colin McCarthy as a regular member although he specifically requested NOT to be moved up from his role as an alternate. For some inexplicable reason the council denied Katrina Foley's motion to appoint Evan Little as an alternate. They were probably following Mayor Mansoor's lead, in which he rebuffed Foley's suggestion.

"ABLE" BUDGET PLANS PRESENTED
The council heard an excellent presentation by members of the Police Department regarding the cost savings measures implemented by the staff for the ABLE (helicopter) program we share with Newport Beach. The upshot was that no additional reductions were proposed and Mansoor will get together with Newport Beach Mayor Ed Selich to draft a letter to adjoining cities to encourage their participation in the program as full members and share the cost.

NO COMMISSION COMBINATION
The council rejected Mansoor's motion to combine the Planning and Parks & Recreation Commissions. It apparently felt the $3,500 annual savings wasn't worth the drop in service to the community.

JIM FITZPATRICK APPOINTED TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION
Much to my surprise, Parks Commissioner Jeff Mathews was not appointed to the vacancy on the Planning Commission. Instead, Gary Monahan nominated Jim Fitzpatrick, which was seconded by Mansoor. Fitzpatrick has become very visible in community activities over the past couple years and is a very amiable guy. However, he has virtually no planning-related experience in his background, unlike several other applicants. This may not be all that bad, but he's going to have his hands full on a Planning Commission dominated by three developers. Fitzpatrick has become a "water guru" of sorts and writes a regular column on the fledgling Newport-Mesa Daily Voice on water issues. Since Mathews was not moved up there was no vacancy on the Parks & Recreation Commission to fill.

BUDGET WOES OUTLINED
As outlined in my earlier blog entry, Budget Research Officer Bobby Young presented the bad news to the council. No action was taken, but the council looks forward to the midyear budget presentation, when the impact of reduced sales, property and TOT tax revenue will become clearer. We'll also have a clear picture of the number of retirees that will take advantage of the enhanced retirement program and the actual fiscal impact of those retirements. Right now 34 people have either retired or filed to do so. The city was hoping for around 50.

FAIRGROUNDS SPECIFIC PLAN
The council spent a significant amount of time discussing the creation of a Specific Plan for the Fairgrounds area in an attempt to lock in that use regardless who the buyer of that property might be. Many residents and vendors from the Equestrian Center presented their views, including Planning Commission Chairman Jim Righeimer. The upshot was that the staff will move forward briskly on the creation of the Specific Plan and the City Attorney will research and present views on the possibility of placing this issue on the ballot for a vote of the people in June - a suggestion that Righeimer is moving forward with at warp speed.

MONAHAN'S SIGN PROPOSAL REJECTED
After hearing Gary Monahan's request to relax enforcement of temporary signs and banners throughout the city to "give merchants a break", the council correctly rejected that proposal, but did vote to request the Planning Commission to review our current sign ordinance for possible revision.

A Big Week In Costa Mesa

The next couple days are going to be very interesting in Costa Mesa...

BUFFA BACK AGAIN BEFORE PLANNING COMMISSION
Monday, the 19th, the Planning Commission will, once again, hear the plan for the rescue of the current South Coast Furnishings Center. This item was pushed out from last week. It will be very interesting to see what, if anything, former mayor Peter Buffa has come up with for his clients on this issue.

WILL THE COMMUNITY TURN OUT - AGAIN?
At the last meeting it was clear that all the commissioners wanted to make this project work. However, the staff report for Monday's meeting includes a petition signed by more than 100 residents theoretically affected by the plans for a 60 foot tall LED light display that is part of the plan. Should make for interesting watching at 6 p.m. in the council chambers, on CMTV, Channel 24 or on streaming video.

CITY COUNCIL AGENDA FOR TUESDAY
Then, on Tuesday, the City Council will address several items of great interest.

NEW PLANNING (AND MAYBE PARKS) COMMISSIONER
Among those will be the selection of a new Planning Commissioner to replace Jim Fisler, who resigned in August because he was appointed to the Mesa Consolidated Water District Board. The recruitment for this opening was actually a joint recruitment for both the Planning and Parks and Recreation Commissions. That might lead one to think that the Planning Commission slot is already pre-ordained to Parks and Recreation Commissioner Jeff Mathews - why else would we run a dual recruitment effort? Mathews, you may recall, was a campaign operative for Gary Monahan last year.

POLITICS WILL DETERMINE THE CHOICES
The pool of candidates for both commissions is quite impressive, but I suspect it will be pure politics that determines the selections.

CURRENT STATUS OF OUR FINANCIAL CONDITION
Also on the agenda is a quarterly update on our current fiscal situation, although there is presently no staff report available for advance viewing, much to my disappointment. Perhaps the staff will post the report on Monday for those of us actually interested in just how we're doing in light of all the extreme measures adopted. How many city staffers have opted for the retirement program, for example?

FAIRGROUNDS USE RESTRICTION TO BE DISCUSSED
And, of extreme interest will be an item near the end of the agenda dealing with the consideration of a Specific Plan for the Fairgrounds. I've read the staff report and it appears that such a plan would severely restrict any future uses of the Fairgrounds property to only it's current use. This might put a crimp in the game plan of any potential purchasers of the 150 acre facility.... we'll see.

WHAT'S MONAHAN UP TO NOW?
And, at the very end, there is a curious little item in which councilman Gary Monahan is apparently requesting a moratorium on enforcement of temporary signs and banners. There is no staff report on this one either, so we have no clue at all what's on Monahan's mind. Based on what is presented, it sounds like he must want to put an even bigger banner on his gin mill! I guess we'll just have to wait until the bitter end of the meeting Tuesday to find out.