Pines, Benches, Field Use And New Plants

THEY'RE BACK - FINALLY!
The Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commission meets again Thursday, June 25th, after missing a meeting last month.  The meeting begins at 6:00 in City Council Chambers at City Hall.  You can read the agenda HERE.

NEW PLANTS FOR MEDIANS
The agenda includes a review of the proposed plant palette for medians on Mesa Verde Drive East and California Street, HERE, in the part of town where the mayor and mayor pro tem live.

NEW FIELD USE POLICY AND SPECIAL TREATMENT
Perhaps the most interesting and possibly controversial issue on the agenda is number 9a, the proposal for a NEW Field Use and Allocation Policy, which is combined with a request for SPECIAL STATUS for some specific youth sports groups: AYSO 97, Newport Harbor Baseball Association, Newport Mesa Girls Softball and Matt Leinart Football.  Read that agenda item HERE.

BOB'S BENCH
Commissioner Bob Graham had requested the temporary placement of a bench near the Canary Drive entrance to Fairview Park for one month to measure public response.  That agenda item is HERE.  It seems like one month might not be long enough for this evaluation.

MORE PINE TREE PROBLEMS
The final two items on the agenda, HERE and HERE, are tree removal requests on Prospect Place in a neighborhood in which this kind of activity seems to have been on-going for many, many months.  Apparently Canary Island Pines, narrow planting areas, block walls and neighbors with allergies are not compatible.  Imagine that!  Seldom are these issues easy to resolve.

HOPING FOR AN EARLY EVENING

I'll attend and report back tomorrow evening.  With any luck it will be an early night.

Busy - Possibly Explosive - Council Meeting Tuesday

CONTROVERSIAL ITEMS
The Costa Mesa City Council will hold its first council meeting of the new fiscal year on Tuesday, July 1, 2014 and this one promises to be "special" in many ways.  First, the Closed Session that precedes the regular meeting has a long agenda so it begins at 3:30 p.m.!  The regular meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:00 in City Council Chambers starting at 6:00 p.m.  The agenda report is HERE.

FREE SPEECH RULES
I've previously written about the onerous change planned late in the meeting in which it will be proposed to crush opposing viewpoints by speakers before the City Council, HERE.  One thing I neglected to mention in the proposed ordinance, HERE, in my last post was the element included in Section c., 1.  During the discussion of "Enforcement", beginning on page 2 and continuing to page 3, mention is made of "warnings" given to violators of the policy before further action is taken.  However, in the second paragraph the discussion turns to examples of when a warning shall not be necessary and includes this final sentence: A warning shall also not be necessary when an individual violates the rules of conduct more than once during a council meeting, or continuously violates the rules of conduct council meeting after council meeting.  I read that to mean that if you violate ANY of the eleven (11) in more than one meeting - yell in one, speak without being recognized by the presiding officer in another and continue to speak after the allotted time has expired in another, a person could - without any warning - be subjected to the sanctions listed further in the ordinance.

 THE CONSENT CALENDAR
As always, the Consent Calendar is packed with issues that some might wish to have pulled and voted upon separately.  Mayor Jim Righeimer always reminds council members that he would prefer them to NOT pull items, but to discuss them during Council Member comments.  That accomplishes a couple things.  1) It keeps the item from being "trailed" to the end of the meeting - one of his draconian practices that is used to stifle public discussion of issues. 2)  It forces a member of the public to pull the item and stick around to the wee hours of the next day, in many cases, to ask questions or offer comments.

THE WARRANT
Item #3 is Warrant 2518, HERE, which is packed with interesting information.  I'll just list a few of the items you may find illuminating.
Civil Source - $28,215.00 - Design Alleys, Apr. 14 and $4,255.00 - Water Quality/Storm Drain
Costa Mesa Conference & Visitor Bureau - $222,105.09 - BIA Receipts for March, 2014
Jones Day - $54,821.25 - CMCEA, March and April
Enterprise Counsel Group - $9,911/10 - Successor Agency DOF, Apr. 2014
FTOG, Inc. - $2,115.00 - Interim Buyer, 5/26 - 6/6
Government Staffing Services - $3,410.00 - Temp Svcs Proj Mgr.
Scientia Consulting Group, Inc - $3,800.00 - IT Tech Consultant 5/4-5/10
Jones & Mayer - $166,585.92 - various listed services
Interwest Consulting Group, Inc. - $9,990.50 - Bldg Inspection Svcs, Apr. 2014
Liebert Cassidy Whitmore - $6,480.00 - PD and CMCEA Negotiations

Once more, we racked up more than $235,000 in legal fees for one month.  Yikes!

 SALARY CHANGES FOR CMPD AND CMPMA 

Item #4  fulfills the contractual obligation the City has with the Police Association and the Police Management Association for a 4% increase if certain fiscal milestones are met, HERE.  They were met, so the increases kick in.

PUBLIC SAFETY SOFTWARE
Item #5, HERE, is the continuation of a software maintenance and services agreement for $127,334 Public Safety software. 

PROJECT MGT/SERVICES CONTRACT EXTENSION
Item #7, HERE, is a change order for the contract with Civil Source for Project/Construction Management and Public Works Inspection services on as-needed bases due to the volume of projects and diminished staff - to the tune of $600,000.

ARLINGTON AVE. BIOSWALE
Item #8, HERE, is for engineering services of $208,863.00 for the design of the Arlington Avenue Bioswale and Dry Weather Diversion Project.

SUNFLOWER AND ANTON
Item #9, HERE, is for construction at the intersection of Sunflower and Anton for $238,823.00

55 GATEWAY AND MAINTENANCE PROJECT
Item #10, HERE, if the Agreement for Maintenance of the proposed Gateway Monument Sign and Landscape Maintenance Agreement with CalTrans.

HARBOR AND ADAMS IMPROVEMENT INCREASE
Item #11, HERE, is for an increase of $478,00 in the Harbor and Adams Improvement Project and a budget adjustment of $100,000.

CONVERTING PRINT SHOP TO MEETING ROOM
Item #13, HERE, is to increase the scope of the original contract for upgrading the audio/visual and broadcasting equipment to include conversion of the former print shop into a community meeting room to make up for probable loss of meeting space with the planned re-use of the Neighborhood Community Center as a library.

CIVIC CENTER BARRIO HOUSING CORPORATION
Item #14, HERE, is a Cooperation Agreement much too complicated to describe briefly here.  Read the staff report.

HARBOR SOARING SOCIETY AGREEMENT RENEWAL
There are no Public Hearings scheduled, nor is there any Old Business.  New Business #1 is the Renewal of the User Agreement with the Harbor Soaring Society, HERE.  This item has been reviewed with the Fairview Park Citizen Advisory Committee and the Parks and Recreation Commission and the staff recommends approval of a 5-year renewal with some terms amended.

FIELD USE AND ALLOCATION
New Business #2, HERE, is the Athletic Field Use and Allocation Policy Information and Recommendations.  Extensive modifications are being recommended, including the expansion of Lighted Fields at Back Bay School, Kaiser School, Lindbergh Field and Woodland School.  Changes are also being recommended for "Resident Status", "Priority Use Classifications", "Group 3 Organizations", "Payment of Fees", "Specific Field Use"and the "Banner Policy".

MORE SECURITY CAMERAS
New Business Item #3, HERE, is the Authorization of Security Cameras at the City Corporation Yard, Key Access Points Along the Joanne Bike Trail, Exterior Areas Around the Senior Center, the Volcom Skate Park and locations in Fairview Park.

REWARDS TO INCLUDE PRIVATE PROPERTY
New Business #4, HERE,  is the replacement of Municipal Codes section 11-15 relating to rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of persons vandalizing property.  It changes the language to include PRIVATE property.  Read the Redline version of the new ordinance HERE. 

FREE SPEECH QUASHING
New Business #5, HERE, is the new ordinance about conduct while addressing the city council, which I mentioned previously.

THE LATEST CHARTER SCHEME
Finally, at the very tail end of the meeting, is New Business Item #6, the consideration of placement of a proposed Charter on the ballot in November, plus other related resolutions, HERE.   You can read the entire proposed Charter HERE and some Public Communications on the subject HERE.
Those of you who are regular readers already know I'm against this Charter.  Less than two years ago the voters of this city resoundingly rejected a similar document, 60%-40%.  There is nothing in this "new" document that makes it more acceptable than Jim Righeimer's Charter in 2012.  This document - prepared by a committee he personally stacked in his favor - is just another example of Righeimer's apparent belief that he knows what is best for the City regardless what the voters think, so he's going to attempt to steamroll this through - again.  That being said, I expect this will be placed on the ballot by a 3-2 vote, with Sandra Genis and Wendy Leece correctly voting NO.  That's fine - if it ends up on the ballot in the form proposed it will be just that much easier to defeat.  The voters  two years ago recognized the danger of placing unbridled power in the hands of the current majority and events since then have only further demonstrated that danger of abuse.


COULD BE ANOTHER LONG ONE...
It's possible this could be another long, long meeting.  I'm projecting it running until at least 11:00 p.m.  Pack a lunch...



 

Field Use Tops Parks & Rec. Commission Agenda

PACKED AGENDA TONIGHT
Tonight the Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commission will meet at 6:00 p.m. in City Council Chambers at City Hall for the regular monthly meeting of that group.  You can read the agenda HERE.

NEW OFFICERS AND FIELD USE ALLOCATION POLICY
Following the election of officers, HERE, the commission will launch right into what is probably the most interesting, and potentially contentious, issue of the evening - the Athletic Field Use and Allocation Policy Recommendations, HERE. The changes will be recommended to the City Council for approval.

MINOR AND MAJOR CHANGES - BUT NOT LIGHTS
That 35-page staff report includes minor modifications to the policy - the re-naming of the new Parks and Community Services Department - to major changes to the definition of user groups.  It also includes a red-line version of the new policy so the changes are quite evident.  The staff recommends that the commission NOT include the issue of portable lights, but that studies should be made during the summer and that issue be brought back at a future meeting following those studies.

THREE TREE REMOVALS
Next up are three requests for tree removal - 2550 Fordham Drive, HERE; 2721 Cardinal Drive, HERE and 1164 Bismark Way, HERE.  The staff recommendation in each case is to deny the request.

NEW MONUMENT AT ESTANCIA PARK
Item 10d is the request for a granite dedication stone at Estancia Park Sepulveda Adobe, HERE.  The Costa Mesa Historical Society has requested this stone be placed in the park by the "Native Sons of the Golden West", with a dedication ceremony on Saturday, November 15, 2014.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET
Item 10e is the Capital Improvement Budget for the period including fiscal years 2014/2015 - 2020-2021, HERE.  Included in the staff report is more than 30 pages from the current proposed fiscal year budget dealing with Capital Projects.  The commission will consider the budget proposal and make recommendations to the City Council for their approval next month.

WEST 19TH STREET STREETSCAPE PLANS
Item 10f is the concept plans for West 19th Street, HERE.  The commission will consider and approve the concept plans as presented.

DEL MAR AVENUE BEAUTIFICATION
Item 10g is the Del Mar Avenue Beautification Concept plans, HERE.  The commission will be asked to approve the conceptual design.

STRANGLING EAST 19TH STREET
Item 10h is the East 19th Street Landscape Plans and Monument Signs project, HERE.  You will recall that there have been community meetings on this issue at which the strangulation of the traffic along that stretch of roadway from Irvine Avenue to Newport Boulevard was discussed.  The commission will be asked to approve the concept and one of the monument sign options.

C'MON DOWN!
It's going to be a long night tonight - again.  Join me watching your government in action and express your views to the commissioners on these many important issues that will affect the lives of most Costa Mesa residents for decades to come.

A Packed Agenda Coming Up On Tuesday

AN EARLY CLOSED SESSION...
The Costa Mesa City Council is going to have a VERY interesting afternoon/evening on Tuesday, June 18th.  The Closed Session of the council meeting will begin at 4:00, not the normal 5:00, which tells us that the three items on the agenda - two bits of litigation and discussion of negotiations - are anticipated to be time-consuming.

...FOLLOWED BY A LONG REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
Then, the regular meeting begins at 6:00 and this one is guaranteed to be action-packed.  There are a few items that promise to be contentious and may drag out during the deliberations.  So, one more time, let's take it from the top...

CONSENT CALENDAR
The consent calendar has fifteen (15) items on it!  Yikes!  Most, of course, will likely be considered in one vote, but there are some that look ripe for separate discussion.

MORE LEGAL FEES AND MOTORCYCLES (TWICE?)
There are two Warrants, #2476, HERE, and #2477, HERE.  On the first one we see that contract City Attorney Jones and Mayer were paid over $130,000 for their services last month.  And, there is an entry for $163,897.35 for six (6) Honda Motorcycles for the CMPD.  OK, I get that, but there is a duplicate entry on the second warrant for the same amount for the same purchase.  We also spent over $14,000 to Apple Computer for some Mac products and over $13,000 to Liebert Cassidy Whitmore for legal services (contract negotiations).

REVIEW OF THE 2000 GENERAL PLAN
Item #5 is the 2012 review of the 2000 General Plan, HERE.  State law requires this review of the progress being made on the 2000 General Plan and the 80 page staff report provides exhibits demonstrating that progress.  And, of course, The City is in the midst of preparing the 2013 revision of the General Plan right now.

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD!
Item #11 is interesting, HERE.  The staff recommends the City Council reject all applicants for Insurance Brokerage Request for Proposals - two - and re-issue the nearly year-old RFP to try to find more interested parties.  Apparently the responses received were inadequate.

CHANGES IN THE FIELD USE ALLOCATION POLICY
Item #12, HERE, is a request from the Parks and Recreation Commission to revise the Athletic Field Use Allocation Policy.  This one could generate some very serious interest on the part of current so-called "Group 1 Users" because the suggested change could severely adversely impact some of them.

HATCH'S NEW CONTRACT...
The final item on the Consent Calendar, #15, HERE, is the much-discussed amendment to the employment contract of CEO Tom Hatch.  You will recall that Mayor Jim Righeimer let this cat out of the bag before the staff report had been released - and before this item has been voted upon.  According to the staff report, Hatch will receive a 5% increase in pay, a bump in his car allowance to $650 per month and something called a "technology allowance" of $250 per month.  He also has several items in his contract - vacation and sick pay - reduced.

LOTS OF PUBLIC HEARINGS
We have five (5) Public Hearings on the agenda Tuesday night and it looks like none of them are going to be short discussions.

NEW PUBLIC NUISANCE ORDINANCE
The first one is the new Public Nuisance Ordinance, HERE.  This one should be a doozy!  Among other things, it provides an exhaustive list of conditions and uses that qualify as public nuisances, including:
a) Unsafe occupied, vacant, abandoned, or partially constructed structures.
b) Dead, decaying, or overgrown vegetation that is not in compliance with the City’s landscaping standards, likely to harbor rats and other nuisances, and may be dangerous to general welfare.
c) Nuisances that are dangerous to children, including: broken equipment, hazardous pools, etc.
d) Unsafe disposal of toxic materials.
e) Use of a garage as a living space.
f) Buses, tow trucks, tractors, truck trailers, and any other commercial vehicle over 25 feet long, eight (8) feet in height, or 90 inches wide in a residential zone or on residentially-developed property.
g) Property in a condition that is defective, unsightly, or in a condition of
deterioration or disrepair that is detrimental to surrounding properties.
h) Property that generates an unusually high number of calls for police and/or fire service.
i) Property that continuously generates excessive or unreasonable noise which disturbs the peace or quiet of any property within the city.
j) Property that generates an unusual amount of traffic and/or parking shortages, noise, second hand smoke, trash, or other disturbances which interferes with other residents’ or business owners’ quiet
enjoyment of their property,
k) Any business or other activity not consistent with the City’s zoning code and approved permits.
l) And other nuisances and details identified in proposed Section 20-11.

PLUS BIGGER FINES
It also provides the City to declare a public nuisance and fine violators up to $1,000.

LOTS OF POWER...
This new ordinance, in my opinion, has the potential to be a sledgehammer in the hands of Code Enforcement in cases where a scalpel is more appropriate.  For example, if you're a working person who uses a truck in your business, item f) above looks to me like you're going to be in big trouble.  Yes, this ordinance will address many issues that have been big problems for years in the city.  However, I'm concerned about just how it will be enforced, and by whom.

CDBG SERVICE GRANT ALLOCATIONS

Public Hearing #2 is the CDBG Service Grant Allocations, HERE, that saw some very serious changes when reviewed at the Study Session last week.  Councilman Steve Mensinger made it clear that he wanted to use more of these federal dollars to patch potholes instead of helping people.  He suggested several of the items be funded out of the General Fund, and the staff report for both items implies that will be done.  However, there are no guarantees with the budget.

CDBG & HOME FUND PRIORITIES
Public Hearing #3, HERE, is the establishment of priorities for the use of CDBG and HOME funds.

THE BUDGET!
Public Hearing #4 is the Fiscal Year 2013-2014 Municipal Budget, HERE.  I have no idea what time of the night we will finally get to this one - maybe after 10:00 - but this could take awhile because of the changes demanded by certain council members at the last Study Session.  Hatch had presented them with a balanced budget, but this time the council will have to make some potentially difficult choices for it to remain balanced.  We'll see.  There are fifteen (15) items listed early in the staff report that require some serious consideration.  The first four include Hatch's recommendations for funding.  The remaining 11 will require the council to give alternative funding sources some serious consideration.

APPROPRIATIONS LIMIT
Public Hearing #5, HERE, is the state-mandated establishment of an Appropriations Limit The City of Costa Mesa for the Fiscal Year 2013-2014.  This one won't take long since the state requires it and the formula to determine the amount is fixed.

MANAGED INVESTMENT SERVICES CONTRACT
Old Business #1, HERE, is the award of a three (3) year contract for managed investment services.  As I've said before, I'm curious why we need to do this.  I guess the reason is because the staff is too busy to pay attention to our investments so we need to pay someone to do it for us.

NEW PENSION OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEMBER
New Business #1, HERE, is an appointment to the Pension Oversight Committee as a result of the resignation of Mesa Water Director from this committee Shawn Dewane.  The council will cull through the applications previously submitted, HERE, and pick a replacement for him.  Hopefully, the person selected will have already determined that he has time to do this job.

SCREENING REQUEST FOR 38 WESTSIDE UNITS
New Business #2 is the final item on the agenda, HERE.  It is a Master Plan screening request for 38 live/work units on the Westside.  This one shouldn't take long, either.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this one gets moved up on the agenda.

HOPING FOR A "TUESDAY" MEETING
So, that should be it Tuesday night.  I just hope it doesn't drag on into Wednesday morning.

Full Agenda For Parks & Rec. Commission Thursday

A LONG NIGHT AHEAD THURSDAY
The Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commission meets again on Thursday, May 23, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. in City Council chambers at City Hall and has a whopper of an agenda facing them... I'm not surprised.

BYRON WARNED US...
Chairman Byron de Arakal has given us strong signals that he wants to make the most of his two-year tour on the commission, so this agenda, HERE, looks like he's getting a running start.

BARK PARK MAINTENANCE COSTS
In addition to five tree removal requests, the meeting starts right off with Old Business (a), a discussion of Maintenance Costs Associated with the Costa Mesa Bark Park, HERE.

CLASS FEES
Under New Business (a) the commission will discuss fees for Youth and Adult Classes, HERE.


ATHLETIC FIELD ALLOCATION POLICY
New Business (f) is the discussion of Athletic Field Use Allocation Policy Recommendations, HERE.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET
New Business (g) is a review of the Proposed Capital Improvement Program for fiscal year 2013/2014 through 2019/2020, HERE.

CHALLENGING AGENDA
As you can see, it's going to be a very challenging agenda to tackle in one bite.  Will make for some interesting watching.

"Adios Critter" Day, Jackass Gets His Way, Allocating Fields and How We Play

Back from a much needed weekend out of town, I'm perusing the agenda for the Costa Mesa City Council meeting on Tuesday, July 17th and find some interesting items listed. It looks to me like the agenda saves the best, and most controversial, items for near the end.


CRITTERS, RE-DEFINED AND RESTRICTED
For example, in an ironic bit of timing since the critter-filled Orange County Fair is currently being held right across the street, the second item under Old Business is an ordinance amending Title 3 of the municipal code relating to animal regulations and another section specific to dogs. Theoretically, this is to bring the city up to date and drag it into the 21st Century from it's initial days almost 60 years ago as a primarily rural community. With the sweep of the pen - and the solid line of a ruler through the old code - this change basically removes almost any reference to critters other than dogs, cats and some birds. There are some exceptions, but they are few and severely regulated. For example, all you reptile fanciers are going to need a permit for your critters. And you dog and cat owners are going to be restricted to a maximum of three each unless you have a license for a kennel, pet store or an animal hospital.

I find myself thinking about Noah, and wondering how he would react to the whopping fines imposed on him if his ark happened to come to rest within the Costa Mesa city limits.

As I read the new ordinance, if it doesn't bark, meow or chirp you can't have it inside our city. The exception to this will be the Orange County Fairgrounds. But, if you hope to own a cow, horse or other hoofed critter in this town you're out of luck unless the police chief gives you special dispensation. This is going to cause a problem in a neighborhood in the north part of town, where a well-known jackass is in residence.

PAULARINO PARK - AGAIN
Speaking of which, item 3 of Old Business will be the presentation to the council of the Parks and Recreation Commission's recommendations regarding Paularino Park. You will recall that this flap was created by a single Costa Mesa resident - see hoofed critter above - who felt threatened by marauding soccer players in "his" park, so has been a thorn in the city's side ever since, demanding that this park be restricted to non-athletic uses. Anyone paying attention to this guy and his agenda over the past few years knows what he was after - elimination of a place where Latinos could kick a soccer ball around after work. Now that he has a sympathetic - maybe that should just be "pathetic" - majority on the council it's likely that "his" plan will pass and the park will become a field of grass littered with boulders and trees to prohibit any use but walking or sitting. Don't you dare take your young son over there to play catch with a baseball or a frisbee. No sir, the Park Rangers will bust you, for sure.


FIELD USE AND ALLOCATION - ONE MORE TIME
And, as a perfect segue, the final item on the agenda will be Number 1 under New Business, Field Use and Allocation Policy. This one promises to be very interesting because of the many diverse constituencies represented and the fact that, although much progress has been made, there appears to still be much animosity between leaders of some of the youth sports groups in town. I've watched this debate over the past few years, through various iterations of the City Council and Parks and Recreation Commission, and thought much progress had been made recently. Then we hear of the recent discontent by one leader of youth football and wonder if perhaps we would be better served by just turning this whole thing over to the kids - the adults don't seem to be able to sort it out amiably. Or, maybe we should just take the adult leaders out onto the front lawn of the City Hall and let them settle the thing once and for all by a tug-of-war.

In any event, as usual, the best will be saved for last on Tuesday evening. I invite you to attend the meeting beginning at 6 p.m., view it live on Channel 24 or on streaming video via the city web site - there's a link to it over there on the right side of this page. Or, you can just wait for me to tell you how it went.