Waves In Mesa Water's Little Pond

REICHER'S WATCHDOG ARTICLE OPENS THE DOOR (NOTE)*

More than a few of you probably don't read the Orange County Register in print, which means you didn't see Mike Reicher's excellent piece above the fold in the Local section today, Sunday.  And, unless you've decided to pay for it via the Register's recently-announced Paywall, you can't read it online, either.  That's a shame.  However, if you DO have access to the Register online - like me - you can read Mike's article HERE.  John Canalis, editor of the competing Daily Pilot, described this article as "strong enterprise" in a Twitter feed.  So, since you probably can't read Mike's work, I'll give you a taste of it without (hopefully) violating their copyright. *Early Tuesday, 41613, Mesa Water President Jim Fisler sent me the following link to a blog entry by their former PR consultant, Laer Pearce, providing his view (spin?) on this issue.  Thanks to Fisler for this information: http://clutterinclarityout.com/mesa-waters-excellent-rebranding-program/

THE HOOK

Mike's opening paragraph will give you a little bit of the flavor: "Native American musicians blessed the 'ancestral waters,' valets parked cars for the 150 'VIP' guests and $50,000 event planners passed out catered custom cookies shaped like water drops and redwood trees - $1,500 worth of cookies"

REELING YOU IN
He goes on from there to describe "Mesa Water District's lavish spending on marketing and communications.", including "undergoing a $500.000 branding campaign, including a name change and redesigned logo."  By now you've probably got the feel for the article.


MILLION DOLLAR PLUS PR BUDGET

He tells us that, while raising rates, Mesa (the new name) has increased its communications spending by 300% in four years - a $1.25 million annual budget that "dwarfs those at similar water districts."

PEARCE
Apparently Mesa paid PR consultant Laer Pearce nearly $270,000 in total consulting fees since beginning talks in 2008, including $85,000 specifically for branding.  They stopped using Pearce in December and plan to issue a new request for proposals for public relations consulting support.


WHY SPEND SO MUCH?

By all measures Mesa is a financially strong organization, but we wonder why they feel it's necessary to spend so much on public relations - to let people know who they are.  Reicher says, "A customer survey in 2012 found less than one-third of surveyed ratepayers could identify the district by name."  He quotes Mesa's Communications Manager Stacey Taylor as saying, "There's a big void.  It showed a lack of connection with the community."

GRAND JURY OPINION

Reicher tells us that "in 2009 the Board of Directors voted to increase rates by 25% between fiscal years 2010 and 2014".  He quotes district officials as stating the money to be received by the increased rates "is needed to maintain its AAA credit rating".  However, Mesa has "about $23 million in reserves and the Orange County Grand Jury issued a report last year recommending districts use excessive reserves to pay down debt."

STAFF COMPENSATION

To further illustrate the financial condition of Mesa Water, Reicher provided a little chart showing the top ten most highly compensated members of the Mesa staff - - each earn over $150,000 including benefits - starting with General Manager Paul Schoenberger at over $315,000  and includes Taylor at the number 3 spot, with more than $194,000 in total compensation.  You can find out more information about Mesa Water at their website, HERE, and specific information about the compensation program HERE.

NO GRUMBLING ALLOWED!

Reicher's last paragraph leaves his readers with an interesting quote from Communication Manager Taylor.  He quotes her as saying, "Yes, we're a monopoly public utility, and customers don't have a choice," Taylor said, "but does that mean we want people grumbling about their government?"  That should make us all think just a little about how Mesa is spending OUR money.

FIND IT AND READ IT

I hope these snippets will cause you to jump off your couch, abandon watching the final round of the Master's Gold Tournament, and go buy a copy of the Sunday Register at your local convenience store.

DEBBIE COOK COMMENT
Reicher's article is only the most recent of many critical publications about Mesa Water District.  In February former Huntington Beach Mayor Debbie Cook published a scathing commentary on the SurfCityVoice blog titled Mesa Water Drops Fiduciary Duties as Ratepayers Pick Up The Tab, HERE.

SURF CITY VOICE ALL OVER IT
SurfCityVoice Blog publisher John Earl has long been a watchdog on water issues in our region, focusing on the planned Poseidon desalination project in Huntington Beach.  Last month he published two very critical essays on his blog concerning Mesa Water, HERE and HERE.

LITVAK'S QUESTION

Late last month Costa Mesa resident Jay Litvak published a commentary in the Daily Pilot that asked, "What is Mesa Water Up To?", HERE.  And resident Howard Hull - one of the cadre of true believers who hover around the power elite in Costa Mesa - published a snarky rejoinder to Litvak in the Daily Pilot last week, HERE.

REAL TRANSPARENCY IS GOOD
Personally, I think a little light on Mesa Water and the other small, special districts, is a good thing.  I'm not so sure that Mesa anticipated the kind of attention they're getting when they decided to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a PR campaign so folks would know who is delivering their water.  It might be one of those "be careful what you ask for" situations.  We'll see...

The Great Takeover - Part 2

TODAY, MESA CONSOLIDATED WATER DISTRICT
Yesterday I wrote about the races for the Costa Mesa Sanitary District seats, planning to cover the Mesa Consolidated Water District races, too.  However, that piece became too long, so here we are today to talk "water".

I GET NO VOTE, BUT...
This time around I have no vote for the seats available on the Mesa Consolidated Water District.  All the seats on the board are elected by district and mine is occupied by Shawn Dewane.  However, the three seats that ARE up this time around are VERY important to all of us because, depending on how the election goes, the result could mark a huge change in that organization and beyond.  This time around the seats held by long-time board member Trudy Ohlig-Hall (widow of former mayor Donn Hall), current president Fred Bockmiller and Jim Fisler are on the ballot.
 

PLAN TO COMBINE DISTRICTS
As I've mentioned many times, there are those running for both the Mesa seats and those on the Sanitary District - and those who are supporting them - who want to see those two special districts combined, then blended into the City of Costa Mesa government.  It's my understanding that the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) would be happy to see fewer special districts, but the combination of them requires support from both boards.
 

FISLER VS. WORTHINGTON
Jim "a realtor here in town"Fisler (I used to tease him about saying that all the time when he was on the Planning Commission) faces a challenge from long-time activist Minuteman Dan Worthington.  I refer to him as such because of his ill-advised journey down to the border a few years ago to hang out with the vigilantes on patrol.  It's unlikely that Dan will defeat Fisler.


OC GOP AFTER HALL'S SEAT
Trudy Ohlig-Hall is a legend in the water business, having served three terms as President of MCWD during her 25 years on the Board.  Her resume, HERE, is impressive and it would be hard to find a more effective, dedicated public servant.  She is being challenged by Jim Righeimer's protege', Ethan Temianka.  He is currently on the Parks and Recreation Commission and is very active in OC GOP circles.  He, and the party, are spending lots of dollars to elect Temianka to this board because his vote would be pivotal to the aforementioned consolidation effort.  He knows zip, zero, nada about water, except he probably swims in it and drinks some from time to time.  The OC GOP machine is pulling out all the stops to defeat Hall.

BOCKMILLER, BY FAR
Fred Bockmiller, current President of the MCWD Board after also having served in that role four previous times, is an Engineering Manager by profession and understands the technology of the water business.  Check out his resume', too.  He has provided solid leadership to an organization that is known far and wide for being on the cutting edge of technology and a producer of reliable, clean, inexpensive water.  He's being challenged by Costa Mesa's part-time, part-time, petulant, profane lame duck mayor, Eric Bever.  This challenge would be almost laughable if the Orange County Republican Party Central Committee had not turned it's back on Bockmiller and chose to endorse the eminently unqualified Bever for this spot.  It's all about politics and their grand plan and Bever may be the best (worst?) example of it.

HALL, BOCKMILLER AND FISLER
As I said, I don't get a vote this time around, but the choices seem pretty simple.  The only reason to consider Temianka and Bever is based purely on politics - they certainly don't have any qualifications for the job.  Quite honestly, I don't trust them with the water we drink.  It's that simple.  So, my recommendations are to go with the proven experience and leadership -  Trudy Ohlig-Hall, Fred Bockmiller and Jim Fisler.  Yeah, that's right... I support Fisler for re-election.

OC GOP Takeover Of Special Districts?

A BIG DAY FOR THE SPECIAL DISTRICTS
A week from tomorrow, November 6th, voters will make choices that will impact the future of two special districts that serve Costa Mesa and some adjacent areas - and not necessarily for the better.

OC GOP POWER GRAB
In a power grab previously unseen locally, the Orange County Republican Party (OCGOP) has fielded and funded candidates for both the Costa Mesa Sanitary District and the Mesa Consolidated Water District.  If all are elected the result could be, in very short order, those two districts being combined and subsequently folded into the City of Costa Mesa, bringing with them the estimated more than $40 million is cash.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION PENDING
Most of us are familiar with the drama playing out in the Sanitary District, where Director Jim Fitzpatrick is the subject of a legal challenge by the remaining directors, who have two legal opinions that Fitzpatrick is holding his seat illegally.  Some say that, since he stepped down from his seat on the Costa Mesa Planning Commission, the conflict no longer exists.  The response has been that he broke the law and illegally holds the Sanitary District seat  and this needs to be resolved once and for all.  And they are correct.  It is in the hands of the State Attorney General at this point.

 MATHEWS WOULD FIND HIMSELF IN SAME POSITION
This time around recently appointed Planning Commissioner Jeff Mathews - a major contributor to Republican candidates and causes locally and a member of the OC GOP Central Committee who has "contributed his way" to powerful seats on commissions - is running for a seat on the Sanitary District Board.  If successful, he will find himself in the same situation as Fitzpatrick - illegally occupying two "conflicted" seats simultaneously.  This issue needs to be resolved.

CAMPAIGN OF FABRICATION AND HALF-TRUTHS
In the Sanitary District race Mathews and newcomer Don Harper - who's campaign website outlined the plan to combine the two special districts first showed up - are challenging incumbents Art Perry and Jim Ferryman, using as their primary weapon the fact that the Sanitary District has not placed the trash collection contract out for bidding since the late 1940's.  Well, that's a true statement - as far as it goes.  Unfortunately, it's just part of the manipulation of the truth that's going on in too many campaigns this year.

APPLES AND TANGERINES
The Sanitary District was a "self-hauler" for the first forty years.  In the mid 1980s they began using private trash haulers and those players changed as companies acquired others.  They have re-negotiated with those haulers over the years to get the best rates possible and provide superior service to the customers.  The challengers compare Costa Mesa rates to those of Newport Coast, but that's comparing apples and tangerines.  Newport Coast residents must recycle their own trash, which saves work for the hauler and reduces their rate.  Costa Mesa uses the popular one-trash can system - we put all our stuff in the same can.  And, recently the Sanitary District Board approved a more than 5% reduction in rate - which is now reflected on your tax bill that's showing up in your mail.
 

CUSTOMERS SAY "THUMBS UP"
Recently a survey was done of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District's ratepayers, the vast majority of which feel the District is doing an excellent job under the current leadership.  This year it received the "District of Distinction Award" - another reflection of how well the current leadership is doing.

 

SOLID FISCAL MANAGEMENT
The Costa Mesa Sanitary District has NO DEBT.  All district facilities are owned by the taxpayers free and clear.  While most special districts rely on property taxes to subsidize their rates, ours does not.  It receives only $215,000 per year from property taxes - 1.7% of the operating budget.  Only 18% of the District's budget is consumed by salaries and retirement costs.  By any measure, the Costa Mesa Sanitary District is well-run and fiscally sound.

DON'T BE FRIGHTENED INTO MAKING A CHANGE
Art Perry and Jim Ferryman have served the community for their entire lives and have demonstrated their skill as members of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District Board for decades.  The opposition is fabricating crises - that's the tactic of the OC GOP - to frighten voters into making a change.  Don't let fabricated fear and thousands of outside dollars frighten you into voting for Mathews and Harper. 

Vote for Art Perry and Jim Ferryman to retain sound management and fiscal stability at the Costa Mesa Sanitary District.

Candidate Forum Schedule

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN

A press release I received yesterday reminded me that it's time to circle some dates on our calendars in anticipation of some lively candidate forums in the run-up to the November 6th election.

TOM'S BACK...
That press release, issued by former Daily Pilot publisher Tom Johnson from his newest business, Johnson Media, on behalf of Costa Mesa United, announced a candidate forum hosted by that group.
 
TWO MONTHS AWAY
The Costa Mesa United forum, which will be held Wednesday, September 26, 2012 at the Neighborhood Community Center, 1845 Park Avenue (Lions Park), will take place from 7 .p.m. - 9 p.m., preceded by a "Meet the Candidates" hour beginning at 6 p.m.

A DIFFERENT MIX
This will be a different kind of forum in that the theme, "Academics, Athletics and Activities" will feature not only candidates for the Costa Mesa City Council, but those running for seats on the Newport-Mesa Unified School Board, as well.  Costa Mesa United President Gordon Bowley will moderate the festivities.

FOUR - SO FAR
This brings the total candidate forums so far this year to four (4).  Each of them will be held at the Neighborhood Community Center and I'll provide details of them as the dates approach.  For now, mark your calendars with the following dates:
 

• Wednesday, August 29th - Mesa Verde Community, Inc., will host the first candidate forum for Costa Mesa City Council candidates. 
• Monday, September 17th - The irrepressible Barbara Venezia and her collection of local news media honchos will host the always-fun Feet To The Fire Forum for Costa Mesa City Council candidates.  No times have been announced yet, but I'll let you know ASAP when they are.  I suspect it will probably commence around 6:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, September 26th - The aforementioned Costa Mesa United combination forum for Costa Mesa City Council candidates and School Board candidates.
• Thursday, October 18th - The Eastside Costa Mesa Neighbors Group will hold the final forum of the campaign season.  Two years ago their event was the best of the bunch, so it will be worth waiting for again this year.

NO FORUMS FOR THE SPECIAL DISTRICT RACES
So far, nobody has stepped forward to host a forum for candidates for seats on the Costa Mesa Sanitary District or the Mesa Consolidated Water District boards.  Historically, these races have been ignored by the public until they step into the voting booth, but this year there are some interesting elements in both.
 
A STEALTH TAKEOVER?
Based on the announced and presumed candidates for both organizations, it looks very much like the OC GOP intends to extend it's tentacles even further into our community by taking control of both boards.  If events are scheduled for these races I'll let you know.

NO CHARTER EVENT SCHEDULED

And, there has been NO event announced that will cover, exclusively, Jim Righeimer's Charter - the most important issue on the November ballot for Costa Mesans.

 
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
So, take out that big red pen and mark your calendars.  I'll remind you again - probably several times - as the dates draw near.

Bland Council Meeting - Fireworks Later

SLOW GOING
Funny thing happened last night. I went to the Costa Mesa Council meeting - got there before 5, in fact, so I could see what, if anything, might be said before the council adjourned to a closed session. Not much. Former mayor Sandra Genis reminded them that they could only discuss price and terms of the Fairgrounds Sale in that segment of the closed session - nothing else. Yeah, like that happened! Unlike previous weeks, when the chambers were packed with orderly demonstrators from the public safety organizations, there were only a couple of us in the audience. When the council returned at 6:30 after having discussed the four items on the closed session agenda and began plowing through the rest of the evening's agenda there were only a couple dozen people in the auditorium -mostly the "usual suspects" - and the remainder of the agenda was uninspiring. If you really want to you can watch it HERE.

WATER DISTRICT CELEBRATES 50 YEARS
The Mesa Consolidated Water District, at least 4/5ths of it, was honored for the 50th anniversary of the water district. Congrats to the district, who decided to celebrate with a VIP event - no members of the public were included. Ah, the lives our bureaucratic aristocracy leads...

STATUS OF FAIRGROUNDS SALE BLEAK
During Council Member Comments Katrina Foley asked City Manager Allan Roeder for a brief report on just where we stand on the Fairgrounds deal. Let me summarize his comments - he said things are at a standstill and, "it does not look good", further indicating that he anticipates a legal challenge regardless how the sale turns out. Foley asked the City Attorney for a report on the legal remedies available to the City on the Fairgrounds Sale. That set the tone for much of the rest of the meeting.

GENIS RE-HEARING REQUESTS REJECTED
When it came time for the council to address the two re-hearing requests filed by Genis the council made quick, unenthusiastic work of them by voting each request down. It was clear following those discussions and Roeder's earlier comments that the heart pretty much has gone out of our negotiating team on the Fairgrounds sale and lease. Genis may have gotten off the best line of the night when, discussing the recent closure of bidding on the new RFP, it was learned that Facilities Management West had presented a bid directly to the State, she said, "This all may be moot. From what I read in the newspapers, it looks like our prom date may be going to the dance without us."

TOUGHER GRAFFITI ORDINANCE PASSED
At the tail end of the meeting the council passed the new, tougher Graffiti abatement ordinance - the product of more than a year's work by the staff. Resident John Feeney, normally a sometimes amusing, always grumpy curmudgeon when speaking before the council, lavished well-deserved praise on Officer Jason Chamness for his efforts to craft this new ordinance and for spearheading the visible improvement of graffiti issues around our town.

BEVER ABSENT - AGAIN
By the way, I teased in an earlier post anticipating this meeting that Councilman Eric Bever might pout during the contract negotiations in the closed session. I was wrong. Nope, Bever was a no-show for the entire meeting. I guess when he says he's boycotting, he means he's boycotting his entire job as a councilman. Perhaps someone can go back and check the records to see just how many other meeting's he's missed in the past year or so. It could well be that he's just adjusting his work hours to fit the pay reduction the council agreed to take last year. More likely that Bever is throwing a little fit of petulance because he's been roundly criticized for his pronouncement about boycotting negotiations. We didn't miss him...

WWW.RIGHEIMER.COM WHITE HOT!
The real excitement of the evening occurred AFTER the meeting was over and I returned home and checked my computer. In an online article that will likely appear in print today, HERE, Daily Pilot reporters Joseph Serna and Mona Shadia report that there's a new website up and running, www.righeimer.com, that - according to the article - is the product of members of the Costa Mesa Police Department. Apparently Righeimer once owned this domain but missed a payment so it was snatched up by someone else. To say this site will be inflammatory is the understatement of the year! By the time I saw the site it had gone viral throughout Costa Mesa - many Facebook page entries and white-hot emails flew through the ether. I find myself wondering how the content on this site will square with the letter I received from Righeimer's lawyer last week? I guess we'll find out.

MAY CHANGE THE CANDIDATE FORUM TONIGHT...
I'm thinking the candidate forum scheduled for this evening may take on a very different dynamic because of this new website. We'll see in a few hours. See you there.

Water, Water Everywhere...

DID MESA CONSOLIDATED WATER PASS INCREASES?
I spoke with Coleen Monteleone, Administrative Manager at Mesa Consolidated Water District, this afternoon. I was curious about how the hearing went on the proposed rate increases last night.

THE ANSWER IS "YES"!
Coleen told me that, first of all, the Board passed the rate increases as proposed. That means that we will be paying roughly 25% more for our water at the end of five years than we are paying now, and that the progressive increases will not require any further public hearings to implement the subsequent increases.

POWERPOINT ANSWERED QUESTIONS
She sent me the PowerPoint presentation used last night and answered several of my questions about this process. While it seems curious that such a huge increase would be bitten off in such a huge gulp, and that the only public hearing on these increases is being held three days before Christmas, when most residents are preoccupied with holiday responsibilities, I'm personally satisfied that this process is OK.

ONLY 10 SPEAKERS SHOWED UP
Ms. Monteleone told me that 10 people spoke before the Board regarding the rate increases and that 8 of them approved the increases. Thanks to those folks who took the time during this busy holiday season to present their views to the Board. She went on to tell me that currently the ratepayers of the district are paying only $.003 per gallon of water and that, after the final increase as proposed in five years, will be paying only $.004 per gallon.

NO MEDIA COVERAGE....?
It's interesting that none of the local media has provided any mention of the meeting or the results. I guess our water and a 25% increase really isn't news these days.



SPREAD YOUR WEALTH
So, dear readers, we have one more day until Christmas. I hope you spend tomorrow wisely, buying gifts for those you love and also finding a little change in your pockets for those less fortunate. The land of Newport-Mesa has many, many wonderful groups more than willing to help funnel your spare change into the hands of folks who really need it.

MORE CHRISTMAS CHEER FOR YOU TO HEAR
Once again I leave you with a couple very nice holiday clips to consider...

HARRY BELAFONTE - MARY'S BOY CHILD

HUNTER BAPTIST CHURCH CHOIR - JOY TO THE WORLD

Water Rates, Secret Meetings and Tiger...

WATER RATE INCREASE?
It's late Tuesday night and I find myself wondering if the Mesa Consolidated Water District passed the new water rates at it's meeting tonight. No word on the local media yet, but there really is no reason to expect they wouldn't pass what amounts to a 25% rate increase over the next 5 years.

SECRET FAIR BOARD MEETING?
Also, a friend asked if I knew if the Orange County Fair Board was holding a meeting on Wednesday, tomorrow, at the Fairgrounds. Seems the Daily Voice makes mention of it, but the Fair web site has absolutely nothing on it's pages to indicate a meeting will be held and, if so, what the agenda will be. Sadly, this is precisely why so many activists have come to distrust this Fair Board. I'll post an entry if I hear anything about the meeting, which is theoretically to be held from 10-12 Wednesday in the Administration Building on the Fairgrounds. UPDATE! After spending much of last night trying to track down the source of the info regarding a possible OC Fair Board meeting today, finally this morning late I was advised that the information previously provided was in error. So, I called the Fair staff and was told that, indeed, the Board will not meet this month in their regularly scheduled meeting and will meet on January 21, 2010.

TIGER!
Oh, yes - Tiger Woods. There, now I'm no longer the only blogger who has failed to mention Tiger Woods.. 'nuff said, except that I'm certainly going to pull MY sponsorship dollars from him! :-)

MORE JOY TO ENJOY
More Christmas videos for you again tonight. Tonight I'm going to juxtapose two tunes, both in the Christmas spirit, but are somewhat of a paradox. In any event, enjoy...

OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN - SILENT NIGHT

FAITH HILL - LITTLE DRUMMER BOY