FMW Farewell?

RECALLING THE JOURNEY
Now that it appears that Facilities Management West is apparently no longer in the running to purchase the Orange County Fair and Event Center I took a little time today to reflect on the drama that has been this whole "sale" fiasco over the past couple years. I won't even attempt to chronicle all the twists and turns for you here - maybe someone else will - but it's safe to say that this was very much akin to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Disneyland.

MESSY FROM THE START
From the very get-go, when then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger decided to sell the Fairgrounds and the Fair Board attempted a stealth purchase - a move that was perceived by many as an attempt to buy the site on the cheap and use it as a retirement nest egg - things were messy, messy, messy.

WHO WOULD BELIEVE THIS?
The on-again, off-again sale process; the sale-that-wasn't-a-sale; the various factions attempting to buy the property or stop the sale; the rancor between long-time business partners; the multiple trips to Sacramento by City officials to pitch their plan; the City dancing with FMW, then being left at the altar; the shape-shifting by Jim Righeimer; the stupid voice mail message he accidentally left on Norberto Santana's phone; and on and on and on... You couldn't write this kind of farce if you tried.

LEMMON
When FMW was attempting to partner-up with the City of Costa Mesa, I got to know some members of their management including their main spokesman, Guy Lemmon. He's a very nice guy who does a wonderful job representing FMW's interests. I also met several times with other members of their PR apparatus as they tried to sway me to their side of the issue. Here's a good example of Lemmon's pitch for the FMW purchase of the land.



SORTING THE WHEAT FROM THE CHAFF
I was surprised when FMW jilted the City of Costa Mesa and decided to go it alone in the sale process and was amused at the drama spinning around the sale. All along, I tried to carefully listen to both sides of the argument and tried to sort the truth from the fabrications. It wasn't easy.

MOMENT OF TRUTH
I think FMW lost me that fateful night when their leader, Ken Fait, stepped up to the speaker's podium in an attempt to rescue his associate, Richard Dick, from a peculiar grilling he was getting from then-mayor Allan Mansoor. Lemmon was in Arizona for the birth of a grandchild, so the FMW hierarchy was left on their own to deal with Mansoor, who was not part of the negotiating team but acted like he was that night. This short video clip will demonstrate why Fait became the face of FMW from that night on. As you watch it you'll understand why so many people distrust his motives.


UNLESS...
So, unless FMW decides to appeal this case to the State Supreme Court, they are done. Unless old/new Governor Jerry Brown decides to move forward with the sale of the Orange County Fair and Event Center, all this drama is finished and now the current Fair Board can move forward with their profit sharing scheme. What a ride!

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ON THE ROAD AGAIN...
Don't panic if comments don't get posted promptly... I'll be on the road, away from any computer for a few hours, but your thoughts will, eventually, get posted.

Fairgrounds Sale Quashed

THE BIG NEWS!
Before I could even sit down in the Council Chambers last night my cell phone began vibrating with text messages and at least three people approached me to see if I'd heard the BIG news - that the 4th District Court of Appeal that afternoon tossed out the sale of the Orange County Fair and Event Center (Fairgrounds) to Facilities Management West. Joe Serna has the story in the Daily Pilot, HERE.

DGS SCREWED UP
According to Serna, Presiding Justice William Rylaarsdam wrote that the State Department of General Services screwed up (my words) by not having an outside appraisal of the property done before making the deal with FMW. According to Serna, Rylaarsdam wrote, "The Legislature reserved for itself the opportunity to veto the sale if it was not satisfied with the terms of the sale in comparison with the fair market value of the fairgrounds. It never got that opportunity... any future sale must begin at square one."

FMW NOT HAPPY CAMPERS
As you might expect, the folks at Facilities Management West are not pleased with this outcome. I suspect the image on the left of FMW President Ken Fait shows just about how he felt receiving the news. In a statement sent to me this evening their spokesman, Guy Lemmon, said, "We disagree with the appellate court's decision. We are weighing our options, and considering an appeal. The sales process was open, fair and in full compliance with the law.

The appellate court's decision will have a chilling effect on the governor's plans to sell nonessential assets to address the current fiscal crisis."

FAIR BOARD IS ALL SMILES
On the other side of the issue, Serna quotes Orange County Fair President and Chief Executive Dr. Steve Beazley as stating, "I think what this does is the inevitable - it puts it in the hands of the governor. There's many who thought this was going to be his final decision the whole time."

Serna quotes Fair Board Chairman David Ellis as stating, "The ball's in the governor's court."

APPEAL OR NOT?
So, now we wait to see if FMW appeals this decision to the State Supreme Court and/or if Governor Jerry Brown finally makes his position known on this issue.



GENIS, FOLEY, LEECE SMILIN' - THE GUYS ARE NOT
As an aside, there were mixed feelings in Council Chambers tonight. Former Mayor Sandra Genis was so giddy about this news that I thought she might cartwheel down the aisle. Former council member Katrina Foley also showed up to be sure the council heard the news. There was only one smiling face on the dais when the news was announced, first by Genis, then by Foley - that of Wendy Leece. The council majority didn't seem pleased at all - which made me smile all the more.

Wa'sup With The Fairgrounds?

NOW ON SIMMER
The boiling tumult that was the sale of the Orange County Fair and Event Center (Fairgrounds) has been on simmer for the the past couple months awaiting resolution of the legal challenges to the sale and to see if New/Old Governor Jerry Brown will use his executive power to halt the sale.

WHO DO YOU BELIEVE?
Parties on all sides of the issue - it's not really a two-sided issue, more like a parallelogram - have quietly jockeyed for position in the arena of public perception, hoping to be viewed as the "real" savior of the Fairgrounds. Jaded members of the public seem unwilling to buy any "I'm really a good guy" argument at this time, but we'll see.

ORANGE COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS PRESERVATION SOCIETY
Sandra Genis' Orange County Fairgrounds Preservation Society remains poised to pounce if it looks like the sale will go through. Over the past couple years Genis has spent countless hours lobbying with government officials at the local and state level trying to quash the sale.


FACILITIES MANAGEMENT WEST - "WE'RE GOOD GUYS"
Potential owner Facilities Management West recently issued a press release in effect telling the world that they are good guys and would be good stewards of the Fairgrounds if the sale goes through. Since President Ken Fait's little tirade before the City Council many months ago folks are having a hard time conjuring up the image of him as a benevolent owner.

PARTNERSHIPS AND PROFIT SHARING
Last week the management of the Fairgrounds, through their CEO, Dr. Steve Beazley, issued a couple press releases. The first, HERE, issued on March 24th "announced several forward-looking endeavors to enhance partnerships and profitability" and went on to talk about its relationship with Barrett-Jackson, including a new 85,000 square-foot exhibit hall to be used for the car auction. It also addressed the plan to find a partner for an 8,500 seat Pacific Amphitheater concert venue - we're assuming this would be a covered building that would deflect any future "noise" issues.

32ND DAA OWNS THE FAIRGROUNDS!
The second, HERE, issued the same day, announced the Fair Board affirmation of its belief that the 32nd District Agriculture Board actually owns the 150 acre site and pledged to halt the sale. The Fair Board has apparently unleashed it's legal counsel toward that end. This is good news.

ELLIS SPEAKS!
Then, today, OC Weekly Chasen Marshall gave us his most recent view of the whole Fairgrounds issue, HERE, and actually got Fair Board President David Ellis to speak for attribution! Be still, my heart! Ellis actually is quoted by Marshall, when asked about the stealth non-profit creation that was at the cornerstone of the controversy nearly two years ago, as saying, "I'll be the first to admit I was in the middle of all that..." You can read the rest of his quote in the article at the link I provided.

BYRON DE ARAKAL JOINS FAIRGROUNDS TEAM
At the end of Marshall's piece today he announced to the world that my friend, Byron de Arakal, has been retained as a public relations consultant by the Fair Board. I've known about this assignment for a little while, but withheld comment until it was officially announced - I guess we're at that point now. I've teased my pal about this assignment since we first began talking about it. Much like Bill Lobdell's assignment with the City of Costa Mesa, Byron is going to have his hands full with this one regardless which way the sale goes. I've teased him about being a "corporate make-up artist", alluding to that old "lipstick on a pig" analogy. One thing I think we can anticipate is crystal clear communications coming from the Fair Board while Byron's onboard. We'll see...

O.C. MARKETPLACE OUT?
And, the fate of the Orange County MarketPlace remains in doubt. Operator Jeff Teller may find himself odd man out regardless which way the sale is resolved. It's clear from public pronouncements that Facilities Management West feels (felt?) that they could operate the upscale swap meet better. And, Teller is currently in "negotiations" with the Fair Board about problems with his rent. The drama continues...

Fat Lady Warming Up?

CAN YOU HEAR HER YET?
According to reports in the Daily Pilot, HERE, and the Orange County Register, HERE, Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael Brenner ruled against every element of the lawsuits filed to stop the sale of the Orange County Fairgrounds to Facilities Management West.


HANGING BY A THREAD
Judge Brenner did, however, extend the temporary restraining order until late next Tuesday (the Register says 4:30, the Pilot says 4:00) to provide time for petitioners to petition the Appellate Court for a rehearing. Apparently, if that move is successful, the TRO will remain in place until that court makes a ruling. I tried to reach representatives of the petitioners for a comment but have received no reply yet. I'm going to assume they will move briskly with an appeal since they've come this far. If they can get an appeal court to agree to hear this case, the upcoming holidays may drag this out long enough that the new administration will take over in Sacramento and put a stop to the sale, period.

MONAHAN ASSURES US - WHY?
In an interesting bit of juxtapositioning, yesterday former and current Costa Mesa Mayor Gary Monahan wrote a Community Commentary in the Daily Pilot with the title, "Facilities Management will do what's best", HERE. I guess we can blame the incorrect name of the company on a headline writer - the company's name is Facilities Management West. My question is, "Best for whom?"

OK, GARY - IF YOU SAY SO...
In his piece Monahan assures us of the good character of the folks at Facilities Management West that he helped negotiate with during our ill-fated attempt to partner-up with them to purchase the Fairgrounds from the State. He vouches for FMW's "professionalism and integrity in all the dealings we have had together." Hmmm, am I the only one who remembers former mayor Allan Mansoor reading the riot act to FMW principle Richard Dick from the dais for what was described as abusive treatment of our negotiators by FMW's negotiators? Who are we to believe here? Do we not remember that part of our deal was apparently hammered out at Monahan's gin mill? I want to believe Monahan, but....

SIX DAYS LEFT...
So, the clock continues to tick until late Tuesday afternoon, appropriately, the first day of winter, to see if Jeff Teller and Sandra Genis can convince an appeals court to hear this case. If not, next week that fat lady will be belting out a tune - and it won't be a Christmas Carol.
A REMINDER...
I'll leave you tonight with a reminder of the goal of Facilities Management West as articulated to Mansoor by principle Ken Fait last spring.

La Femme Wonkita Analyzes Ground Lease

HOT TIME IN THE OLD TOWN...
It's going to be hot, hot, hot in Costa Mesa today - and probably even hotter in the Council Chambers starting at 5:30 p.m. When the Orange County Fairgrounds Authority (the City Council in a fancy dress) deliberates the Ground Lease necessary to consummate the sale of the Fairgrounds it's likely that there will be more heat than light generated by the proceedings.

LA FEMME WONKITA STRIKES AGAIN
Today former mayor Sandra Genis, writing as La Femme Wonkita, has thrown more fuel on the fire by publishing yet another incendiary essay on the Orange Juice Blog. You can read it HERE. Thanks to reader Gericault for the heads-up on this one.

GENIS ANALYSIS
Genis has reviewed the Draft document made available late last week, and that has been updated at least once since then yesterday, and presents to us for our consideration her take on the problems with the Ground Lease and the entire deal. Hit that link above and take a couple minutes to review her conclusions.


NOT ENOUGH TIME
I agree with Genis that this deal is being jammed down our municipal throat with woefully insufficient time to do a proper job of analyzing it. Naturally, that leaves us hanging, with only two real options: (1) Sign the agreement and hope it works out for the next half century or, (2) Walk away from the whole thing and trust that a new governor will have second thoughts about selling the Fairgrounds.

LEGISLATION PENDING
And, after all this turmoil and rancor, there is still the probability that the State Legislature will fail to pass the bills necessary to complete this deal.

FMW IS OPPORTUNISTIC
As I've said before, Facilities Management West - led by Ken Fait - has been portrayed as the bad guy here, but are they? Seems to me that they are slick operators who see the chance to snatch up a good business opportunity and are moving forward to do so. If they are better negotiators than we are, who's fault is that? If we've failed to put enough horsepower behind this effort - which is what many critics have implied - is that FMW's fault? Hardly!

INSUFFICIENT GRAY MATTER
This evening our City Council will be forced to work well beyond their skill sets, trying to make sense of the document they must approve. We know that at least a couple of them lack the education, background and - quite honestly - the brain power to fully grasp this deal. I'm worried about how tonight will turn out.

HERE'S A HINT - WE'RE MOUGLI...
So, while crossing my fingers until they turn blue, I leave you with this little video clip that seems to me to represent our situation. See you at City Hall at 5:30...

Fairgrounds Ground Lease Vote Tomorrow

THE FINALE?
Well, the BIG news this week is the meeting Tuesday, August 24th of the Orange County Fairgrounds Authority (OFCA)/City Council during which they will discuss and, theoretically, vote on acceptance of the proposed ground lease for the purchase of the Fairgrounds. You can read the draft for yourself HERE.

MY HEAD HURTS!
I DID NOT spend much time looking over the lease - as I've said before, it's going to take a much better brain than mine to unscramble that lingo so a normal human being can understand it. I did, however, notice that there are several items - conspicuously highlighted in Gary Monahan Green - that are as yet unresolved, and some of those seem to be deal breakers.

GENIS ON THE ATTACK
In the meantime, the opposition is whipping itself into a frenzy and are generating much heat on the blogs. Former Mayor Sandra Genis, President of the Orange County Fairgrounds Preservation Society, has re-awakened her alter ego, La Femme Wonkita, and posted an epistle on the Orange Juice Blog, HERE, which was followed up by the management of that blog with another call to arms, HERE.

OVER OUR HEADS?
The general consensus of the opposition seems to be that the neophyte negotiators for the City of Costa Mesa are getting bulldozed by those brutes from Facilities Management West, enabled by the unreasonable deadlines imposed by our "friends" in Sacramento. I'm not so sure I agree with the former, but sure do agree that The State seems intent on making our deal fail.

FMW AS THE BAD GUY
Facilities Management West has been portrayed as the bogyman in this deal ever since Ken Fait, their head honcho, ranted before the City Council a few months ago that he "wanted all the money". He was being interrogated by lame duck Mayor Allan Mansoor about some of the terms of the deal and didn't like it at all. There may be no better example of why big organizations should hire a spokesperson - the "big guys" don't like to be challenged, and certainly not by a lame brain politician, posturing for campaign points. Unfortunately, that night the FMW spokesman, Guy Lemmon, was on the way to Arizona for the birth of a grandchild. At least HE has his priorities in order!

UNUSUAL HOUR FOR MEETING
Tomorrow's meeting, which commences at an unusual hour - 5:30 p.m. - should be very interesting and worth attending or watching live on Channel 24, CMTV. (Channel 99 on ATT Uverse)

OUR LAST CHANCE
This may be our last shot as residents to influence what happens to the Fairgrounds for the next couple generations. The drop dead date for the legislature to pass the bill(s) necessary for the sale to come to fruition is Friday, August 27th. After that date they will be gone until after the November elections and a new governor will be at the helm of our sinking ship of state.

Of Bars, Barbs and Boneheads

MORE INFO ON THE FAIRGROUNDS SALE
Well, the dust is beginning to settle after the late (early?) meeting of the Orange County Fairgrounds Authority Tuesday night - actually, 12:10 Wednesday morning - and some subsequent information makes this whole process even more fascinating.

MICKADEIT - "DEAL DONE IN A BAR"
For example, Orange County Register columnist Frank Mickadeit tells us in his column, HERE, that the deal was dead until Gary Monahan resurrected it on cocktail napkins at his gin mill late Friday night. His account of this event is very interesting.

KUDOS TO MONAHAN
Before going further I must commend Monahan for his role in salvaging the deal, both Friday evening and during a marathon session on Saturday. That, plus his matter-of-fact comments in the proceedings Tuesday night, probably kept it from going down in flames. He correctly pointed out, after much rancorous discussion, that we didn't really have a choice. Only by approving the deal with Facilities Management West would the City avoid having absolutely no influence on the future of the Fairgrounds. If the State, as it threatened, did put the property back on the market Wednesday it would likely be lost forever. And, as Monahan quietly alluded to, there was the chance that the State would simply lease the property, voiding the impact of Measure "C" and permitting an unlimited variety of uses.

THE LIST
Early in the discussion Monahan provided seven bullet points - a list of benefits to the city that this deal represents:
1 - Maintains control of the property's use.
2 - It receives a steady income from the property.
3 - We're not investing City tax dollars for the purchase of the property or for operations of the property.
4 - Unfettered ownership of the property when the lease terminates.
5 - Protects the community uses on the property as well as the annual fair.
6 - Benefits from protection from damages and liabilities.
7 - Has the opportunity to receive big ground lease payments once the state loan is repaid.

SPEAKERS STILL NOT HAPPY
Clearly, many speakers Tuesday night, among them former Mayor Sandra Genis, were unhappy - that's no surprise. Each of them had a passionate interest in keeping the Fairgrounds as-is. I understand their angst. However, this deal is much, much better than they could have expected under almost any other scenario. I hope, as time passes, they will begin to see that more clearly.

NO TRANSPARENCY
The trail of speakers on this issue during public comments made it clear that few were happy with the deal as they understood it. I phrase it that way because there was much confusion about just which version of the deal we were addressing at this point. Many of them thought this was a bad deal, that lacked transparency as it progressed and without any kind of guarantees for transparency in the future. They're not wrong...

PAINFUL ETCHING
Burned in my brain is the exchange Tuesday night between OCFA Chairman Allan Mansoor and of the Facilities Management West team. I think a peek at the streaming video of the proceedings, HERE, will help you understand just how that went. Drag the timer bar over to 39:50 if you're in a hurry. That's the point where Mansoor begins his inquisition of Facilities Management West partner, Richard Dick, who was speaking in the absence of their normal negotiator, Guy Lemmon. Mansoor posed to Dick an issue that, in Mansoor's words, was "a deal breaker"... he told Dick that "it's my understanding some of the attorneys from Facilities Management West were, um, and this is what I've been told, I was not there, were considerably less than respectful to some of our city staff." He went on to express more concern about the alleged disrespectful treatment of the Costa Mesa team and stated, "that troubles me more than some of these details that are in this written agreement." waving the papers in the air. Oh, really, Allan? Is that right? You care more about some hurt feelings than a deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the city with a life span of more than a half-century? Are you really that obtuse? Guess so, because he persisted.

PRODUCT SPONSORSHIP
Mansoor then went on to question Dick about the product sponsorship segment of the MOU, observing that there is a cap on the amount the OCFA would receive. Of course, this issue had been hammered out over long, long meetings by teams of negotiators. It sure looked like Mansoor was attempting to modify the agreement that had already been approved by the City team and Facilities Management West. Dick attempted to give a little history and pointed out that the issue Mansoor was raising was just part of the approximately $300 million in net income to the city under the deal. Mansoor persisted, asking if there was a reason it couldn't be a percentage. Dick responded by saying, "Excuse me, but I didn't think we were coming here this evening to negotiate." Mansoor persisted and Dick said, "I didn't think we were in a negotiating position on rent."

TAG TEAM MATCH - FAIT/DICK VS. MANSOOR
This is where it got to be fun. At that point, around 46:45 on the counter, Kenneth Fait, head honcho of Facilities Management West, came to the podium - apparently tired of seeing his guy getting pilloried by Mansoor - and tried to calm the issue down. He apologized for any incivility by his team. He emphasized that "Sir, we're going to be in it forever, and how that works out - we better get along." Mansoor persisted, pointing out to Fait the difference between "hard, aggressive negotiating and unprofessional actions". In response to that Fait said, "I apologize, but we've offered you the max rent and I'm not going to offer you a penny more." He pointed out that it represents about $371 million "coming down the pike here." Mansoor persisted, indicating that he just wanted to know why there's a cap. Fait explained that, "If it's just money you want, we've offered you the max that we're going to offer." Mansoor said, "I appreciate that, but it really doesn't answer my question, simply a question of why there's a cap." Before Mansoor could finish that statement Fait said, "Because I want all the profit beyond that! It's very simple - I want all the money beyond that. It's really simple - that's mine! I've offered you what you're gonna get. That's a good working relationship. You know, I'm a private entrepreneur, I hope to make more than the money I'm paying you." He and Dick then left the podium and took a seat in the audience.

WAS THE DEAL BLOWN?
At that moment many of us watching the proceedings thought that Mansoor, in his ignorant, clumsy way, had blown the deal that had taken hundreds of hours of negotiation to bring to this point. With his apparent complete lack of grasp of business dealings and negotiations - probably due to spending 16 years in the black and white world of a jailer - he was going to destroy all the efforts of our negotiating team. In a headline in my previous post I asked, "Is he that stupid?" Here was your answer - Yes, he is.

CALMER HEADS PREVAILED
Fortunately, calmer heads prevailed. Fait and his team didn't do what some of us might have done - tell Mansoor to take the deal and shove it where the sun don't shine - and, after long and contentious discussions, the deal was finally approved by the OCFA Board, 4-1. Katrina Foley, to the surprise of a few observers, voted "No" on the deal.

WOULD THEY TRY THIS AGAIN?
I doubt if any of the participants would choose to try to put together a deal of this complexity in such a short time if the State had not held a gun to our heads all the way. And yet, they managed to do it. Good for them.


LATINO CAUCUS LURKING?
Now the details must be hammered out and the State must do it's part - that's no slam dunk, either. Our "amigos" in the Latino caucus are lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to stick a knife in the jugular of this deal by not passing the required legislation. We can only hope that they won't hold the political posturing of our mayor with his "Rule of Law City" resolution against the entire city and block the sale for spite. We hope they are bigger than that. Time will tell.

NINETY DAYS OF PINS AND NEEDLES
So, we now move forward toward a probable September 30th closing date for the escrow with fingers tightly crossed that nothing else will occur to quash the sale.




MANSOOR ILL-EQUIPPED AND UNWORTHY
One thing became crystal clear Tuesday night - Allan Mansoor has demonstrated, one more time, just how ill-equipped he is for higher office. While watching him Tuesday night it was obvious why he was not one of the members of the negotiating team. His limited intellect, lack of formal education and narrow life experiences have left him unprepared for a role in this kind of activity. No matter how hard he prays, no amount of divine intervention is going to change that. As we approach the November elections I'll remind you of just what a short-sighted, ignorant, political opportunist he is and how unworthy he is for your consideration for the Assembly seat he's seeking. History shows us that he will provide us with plenty of opportunities to point out his shortcomings between now and November.