Thin Council Agenda - Lots Of Action Anticipated

COIN TOSS - SHORT MEETING OR LONG?
Tonight the Costa Mesa City Council will meet again for what, based on the agenda, HERE, should be a relatively short meeting.  However, considering the single item on the agenda - Councilwoman Sandra Genis' request for a re-hearing of the now-controversial plans for the Fairview Park Entryway Plans - nothing will surprise me.

The Consent Calendar brings us some interesting items tonight.

MORE LEGAL BUCKS
Item #3, Warrant #2493, HERE, includes an entry for our contract law firm, Jones and Mayer, for $132,140.30 - again and amount that exceeds the annualized projected costs for their services.  And, again, it includes an entry for the "Acosta Appeal", which seems like it is hanging on forever!

WHO?  FOR WHAT?
This same warrant includes $11,862.00 to an outfit called Interwest Consulting Group,Inc., for "Professional Svcs - Jul 2013".  Who are they and what kind of services did they provide?

COINCIDENCE?
Item #4 is Warrant #2494, HERE, and includes an interesting entry to Cognify for $52, 274.33.  You remember those guys, right?  Their head honcho, Mace Wolf, is a contributor to Mayor Righeimer's campaign.  I'm sure it's only a coincidence that we keep on paying this guy big bucks, right?

IT'S BAAACK!  NEW COMPUTERS
Item #12, HERE, is the return of the request for 435 new Desktop computers throughout the city.  Once again, the staff - this time in the form of Costa Mesa Police Captain Les Gogerty - will attempt to convince the council of the pressing need for this equipment.  And, once again, a grumpy old fella from Mesa North will tell them that they shouldn't buy them all at once.  For an alleged Mensa member, he sure can be stupid sometimes.  We hope the council has the wisdom to proceed with this critical purchase to keep our depleted staff more effective with contemporary productivity enhancing equipment.

AN ESSENTIAL TECHNOLOGY UPGRADE

Item #13, HERE, is a similar issue.  This one is for an essential upgrade to Broadband Service, again, to help the police and fire staff be more responsive and productive.  This is especially critical now that the short-sighted council majority has caused a critical and on-going shortage in police staffing.  Again, Captain Gogerty will lead this presentation.  The staff report makes it crystal clear why this upgrade is so important.

GENIS' REQUEST

The final item - the only item - on the actual agenda is Genis' request for a rehearing of the Fairview Park Entryway Concept Plan, HERE.  This one could be VERY interesting.  I expect we'll hear from more than a few interested residents, maybe some dueling archaeologists and, perhaps, some Native Americans with a very real vested interest in how Fairview Park is managed.  I have no idea if members of the federal government will show up - probably not, since they're on furlough.

NOT RE-HEARING, JUST A REQUEST
As I understand it, tonight is just Genis' attempt to convince the remainder of the council that they need to re-hear the item.  It won't be re-heard tonight, but the public can certainly weigh-in on the issue.  If the re-hearing is granted it will likely come sometime in November - maybe the first meeting.  Regardless, a lot has happened since this item was last formally discussed from the dais.  It will be interesting, indeed.

EARLY CLOSED SESSION
This one could be a short meeting or another long one.  As it is, the council begins their day with a very early closed session - 4:00 p.m instead of the normal 5:00.  There are two items on that segment of the agenda - a conference with CEO Tom Hatch on negotiations with the Costa Mesa City Employee Association, Costa Mesa Division Managers Association and the Costa Mesa Fire Fighters Management Association.  The second one involves existing litigation between the Costa Mesa Employees Association and The City.

Tuesday's Going To Be Fun!

BANKING SLEEP
I'm going to bed in a few minutes and will sleep straight through until Tuesday around noon to bank sleep in anticipation of what promises to be one very memorable evening at City Hall.


INSIDE AND OUT

Not only will the City Council meeting be packed with controversial items, sure to guarantee a very focused crowd in the chambers, the there will be a Public Safety rally outside beginning at 5:00 p.m.  Read what I wrote about it last Friday HERE.

READ ALL ABOUT IT
The agenda, HERE, is full of interesting stuff, so just take a deep breath and let me plow through it for you in the order it's presented.

CONSENT CALENDAR
The Consent Calendar, which is supposed to include items that won't require separate discussion and vote so could be passed on one vote, has taken on a very different look in recent months.  This one is no different, with sixteen items listed for consideration.  From the top:

LIQUOR LICENSES
#1 -  This is the reading folder and has no staff report, but does include transfer activity on eight (8) liquor licenses.  Every time I see entries like this I wonder why we permit there to be so darn many businesses in this town that sell liquor.  It certainly must contribute to the fact that our police staff rack up huge numbers of DUI arrests every year.

WHY?
#2 - This one, with no staff report, is a procedural item about the reading of issues.  They've been doing this for years, so I wonder why it's necessary?

LEGAL FEES
#3 - This is Warrant 2489, HERE, which includes some very interesting items, including yet another whopper of a check to our contract attorneys, Jones and Mayer, for more than $128,000, including a charge for the Benito Acosta appeal.  Further on down we find a charge from Woodruff Spardlin & Smart for $17,645.85, also for Acosta.  He's the gift that keeps on taking.  We also find $7,378.00 to Management Partners for the last two weeks in July - we assume for the services of Tammy LeTourneau, who is making a career of being a consultant to our city.

STARTS AND ENDS STRANGELY
#4 - This is Warrant 2490, HERE, which begins with an interesting entry - $37,968.16 for "Misc. Procurement Card Purchases".  I find myself want more detail for nearly $40,000 in miscellaneous purchases.  We also find $6,998 to Keyser Marston Associates for consulting services and $6,049.80 to Liebert Cassidy Whitmore for legal services - they provide our negotiator.  Perhaps the most interesting entry, although not about much money, is $102.00 to reimburse Margaret Chang for 4 birth certificates for 4 homeless people.  And, among the several 60th anniversary celebration charges scattered throughout this warrant and the previous one is $6,875 to "We The Creative" for PR materials.  Funny, that check was cut September 6th - fully a month after the scandal broke and well after folks requested records on bills.

HOUSING AUTHORITY BUDGET
#5 - This is establishes a $90,000 annual budget for the Housing Authority for this fiscal year, HERE.

HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE TO GENERAL PLAN
#6 - This is the proposed Housing Element Update for the 2000 General Plan, HERE.

WEST 19TH STREET PEDESTRIAN CORRIDOR COSTS
#7 - This is for more than $500,000 in costs for the West 19th Street Corridor Pedestrian Improvement Project, HERE.

AQUATICS ALL-YEAR ROUND
#8 - This is a proposal to reinstate the Aquatics Programming Year Round at the Downtown Aquatic Center, HERE.

MODEL TRAIN SHORT EXTENSION
#9 - This is renewal of the agreement with the Orange County Model Engineers, Inc. (OCME) for use of a portion of Fairview Park, HERE.  This group, who currently holds a 25 year agreement that expires this month.  The Parks and Recreation Commission recommends an extension ONLY until December, 2014, despite the fact that the OCME has been an outstanding tenant in the park and have provided a very positive image for our community.  I suspect the good folks who form that organization are just a little uneasy with this turn of events.

REPEAL PART OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE
#10 - This repeals a section of the Municipal Code based on a recent Redondo Beach legal ruling that has determined that our Section 10-354 violates the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and may no longer be enforced, HERE.

SUCCESSOR AGENCY BUDGET
#11 - This is the $125,000 6-month Administrative Budget for the Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency, HERE.

ROPS REPORT
#12 - This is the review and approval of the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule (ROPS) for the last six months of the fiscal year, HERE.

LONG RANGE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT PLAN
#13 - This one is the Long Range Property Management Plan (LRPMP) for the Successor Agency, HERE.

NEW FIRE DEPARTMENT DATA SOFTWARE
#14 - This is for the purchase of new Fire Data Mapping and Administration software for the CMFD, HERE.  With the new deployment model, having accurate, timely data will be essential for efficient operations of the New Fire Department.

WHEN GOOD INTENTIONS TURN BAD
#15 - This one is a doozy!  Take a few minutes to plow through the staff report, HERE.  The shorthand version is - the city loaned Civic Center Barrio Housing Corporation a bunch of money to purchase affordable housing units decades ago.  Those units are about to go into default and the only way to protect the city's interests are to appropriate $350,000 from the General Fund to pay off the loan, take title to it via the Costa Mesa Housing Authority and find someone to run the places.  Good grief!

INCREASING SINGLE FAMILY REHAB LOANS AND GRANTS
#16 - This modifies the Single Family Rehabilitation Loan and Grant Program policies and procedures due to increasing costs of materials, HERE.

OK, take a deep breath, grab a cup of coffee (or Diet Coke, Jim and Steve) and we'll move on to the "real" business for the evening.

PUBLIC NUISANCE ORDINANCE
The first Public Hearing of the evening - who knows when that will begin - may be the most controversial.  This is the now-infamous Public Nuisance Ordinance that has been juggled around between the council and the staff until they think they've finally got an ordinance that will be effective and (probably) not sink the city with lawsuits.  You can read the staff report HERE.  Among other things, it is presumed that this ordinance will facilitate regulation of rehabilitation homes that have begun popping around town like poison mushrooms and also enable more enforcement efforts for so-called "problem motels".  However, it seems to me after a quick read of the ordinance and Attachment 3, HERE, that this is still way too broad and has the potential for mischief by folks in charge.

CIVIL PENALTIES
One of the things that got my attention is the penalties section of the new ordinance.  Section 20-12, Civil Penalties, reads as follows:

(a)    Commencing the day following the expiration of the period provided in the notice to abate, a fine of up to $1000 (one thousand dollars) may be imposed until the violation is corrected. Fines shall be set by city council resolution.

(b)    Unpaid fines shall be collected pursuant to Section 1-48 of this code.

(c)    Any fines collected for failure to maintain a property acquired through foreclosure or deed of trust shall be solely directed to the city’s nuisance abatement program.

YIKES!

The way I read that, if you are found in violation you could be fined up to $1,000 PER DAY until the violation is corrected!

FAIRVIEW PARK IMPROVEMENT PROJECT APPEAL
The second Public Hearing, Councilwoman Sandra Genis' Fairview Park Entryway Concept Plans Appeal, HERE, is likely to pack the auditorium with folks who are not happy with the plans recently approved by the Parks and Recreation Commission.  If Mayor Jim Righiemer's recent Meet The Mayor event on Pacific Avenue is any indication, the nearby neighbors are not happy with this plan.  You can watch the video clips recorded by Righeimer's presumed personal videographer, Barry Friedland, at his Costa Mesa Brief YouTube site.  You can see the first 35 minute segment HERE and the second 47 minute clip, in which Righeimer describes the neighborhood as "third world" - twice - at around the 8 minute mark, HERE.  I don't know whether he captured the entire evening, but the second one seems to end early and I'm told by those in attendance that the first segment left out part, too.  And, the second segment had big difficulties with the sound and Friedland forgot about backlight, so Righeimer and Ernesto Munoz are only shadows at the end of the second one. 

LIVE/WORK AT SUPERIOR AND 17TH STREET

There is no Old Business, but there are three New Business items on the agenda.   The first one is an urban plan screening request for a 20-unit live/work development at 1695 Superior Avenue, at the intersection of Superior and 17th Street.  You can read the staff report HERE, which includes links to other relevant documents.

A CURIOUS REQUEST
The third New Business item is a curious one.  The staff report is HERE. It's a request for a payment to an outfit called Cognify, Inc. of $52,274.63 and authorize previous payments of $34,387.51 made beyond the original professional services agreement of $49,900.  So, what the heck happened with this one?  I'm sure it's just a coincidence that we somehow managed to overpay this outfit without authorization and the CEO of Cognify, Mace Wolf, is a contributor to Mayor Righeimer's campaign, right?

WHEW!
So, that's it for that meeting.  It's going to be a long night...  I'll try to report the results as quickly as possible, but no guarantees.