The Natives Were Restless Last Night

GOING FOR LAUGHS, ENDED UP PROPHETIC
When I used this image on my entry yesterday discussing the Parks and Recreation Commission discussion of the proposed entryway improvements at the southern end of Fairview Park at their meeting last night I was kind of kidding.  However, it proved to be accurate, as an engaged - and often hostile - crowd attended the meeting to express their concerns about the conceptual plans, HERE.

THE SECOND TIME AROUND

At just about 6:30 p.m. the commission began the discussion of this project, delayed from the previous meeting because of concerns about the footprint and number of the parking spots originally proposed at the Pacific Avenue entrance to the park and the size and location of the play area.  The original plan showed 42 parking spots, but the current version of the Fairview Park Master Plan allows only 10, so Chairman Byron de Arakal sent the staff back to the drawing boards to come up with a scheme that more closely matched the approved plan.  They did, and they didn't.

SAME SONG, SECOND STANZA

The crowd of more than 60 residents and other interested parties had a chance for a little warm-up for this meeting when most of them attended the meeting Monday of the Fairview Park Citizens Advisory Committee, which covered some of the same ground.  After attending that meeting I knew this one would be fun.  It was, to say the very least.

MANY SPEAKERS, MANY COMPLAINTS
More than 20 speakers stepped up to address the commission with a variety of concerns, from inadequate noticing of this project to increased traffic on Pacific (a frequent refrain), to the lack of toilet facilities near the proposed tot lot, to illegal night-time use of the park, to the proximity of the amenities to a "failing bluff face", and on and on.  I'm not making light of the complaints - each person who spoke was very serious about the impact of these "improvements" would have on them, personally, and to the users of the park as a whole.  Several speakers were concerned about lights, even though de Arakal made it very clear early on that lights were not part of this particular discussion. 

SAME FOOTPRINT, FEWER PARKING SLOTS
Immediately it was evident that the "new" solution offered for the Pacific Avenue entrance was simply the same old footprint with fewer parking spaces.  Again, technical professionals opined that the footprint used was necessary to provide turnaround space for emergency vehicles.  No representative from the Fire Department was present to affirm that opinion.  At least this time the consultant who drew up the plans did not tell us that the larger space was prepared for "anticipated future uses in the park".  That's code for "playing fields".  That would have REALLY set last night's crowd off.  Nobody spoke in favor of the options offered.

SOFT-SPEAKERS
And, as the discussion moved along, many members of the audience had difficulty hearing Parks Project Manager Bart Mejia and commissioners Don Harper and Dean Abernathy as they spoke.  All three men are soft-spoken and, in their defense, it's very unusual to find more than a handful of people in the audience for these meetings.  But, de Arakal managed to poke the audience in the eye with a sharp stick when, in response to several members calling out for speakers to speak louder, he told them to just move forward.  Bad tactic, which evoked the rancor of the crowd and proved to be a precursor of things to come.

COOLING THEM DOWN
After all the speakers had presented their views and the discussion among the commissioners was moving along, it became pretty clear that the majority was going to vote for one of the staff recommendations.  The crowd became more vocal and agitated, to the point that the chairman was forced to take a 5 minute break to allow things to calm down.

PASSED, 4-1
When they resumed just before 9:00 p.m. the vote was taken and the commission recommended that the staff proceed with Plan B on a 4-1 vote.  Commissioner Bob Graham voted NO.  As is occasionally the case, Graham can be swayed by a loud, vocal opposition to an issue, regardless of the merits of the arguments.  The crowd might have reacted better - maybe not - if their major complaints had been addressed when possible before the vote.  Even though Chairman de Arakal indicated he had been listening and taking notes, specific issues were not addressed, leaving the speakers feeling that the only reason it was approved was because it was in the Master Plan.

AN APPEAL IS PROBABLE
As the crowd cleared the room, leaving only staffers and a couple audience members who were interested in tree removal requests, several called out that they would appeal the decision.  On the porch councilwoman Sandra Genis - who had attended the meeting, but had not spoken - suggested that she would appeal the decision to the City Council.  If that does happen, I expect another loud, vocal group to attend that meeting, too. 

ZERO TOLERANCE OF MISBEHAVIOR
However, they need to be forewarned - council meetings are a whole different breed of cat.  With several officers typically in attendance, NO outbursts like the one we saw last night will be tolerated - not for an instant.  The crowd will lose any sympathy council members might have for their position if they behave that way before them.

THAT DG TRAIL!
Early in the meeting, during the Oral Communications segment, Fairview Park Citizens Advisory Committee Chairman Dr. Richard Mehren spoke to the commission about the illegal decomposed granite trail that runs along the fence next to the Waldorf School that, as it turns out, encroaches significantly on Vernal Pool #6.  He advised the commission and audience that the Federal Department of Fish and Wildlife is now involved in helping us "solve that problem" - government speak for giving us a whack across the knuckles that might take any number of forms, from simple scolding to severe sanctions for not fulfilling our custodial obligations in the park relative to protecting the vernal pools.  That was part of a decades-old agreement between the City and the Federal Government.  We had the impression that the Feds were not happy campers.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out, and if anyone takes responsibility for this serious infraction.  We hear rumors of some fairly prominent names in the community being associated with this transgression.. we'll see.

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Fairview Park Citizens Advisory Committee Meeting

MY VERSION OF THE MEETING
OK, so my impressions of the inaugural Fairview Park Citizens Advisory Committee meeting won't be the only ones available to you after all.  Reporters from the Daily Pilot and the Orange County Register were onhand to cover the event.  I'm going to give you my shorthand impressions of the meeting and let you ferret out the other details elsewhere.

ALL MEMBERS PRESENT
The meeting began with all the chosen members of the new committee present and ready to get to work.  Those names are: Ron Amburgey, Terry Cummings, Brett Eckles, Dr. Richard Mehren, Dennis Popp, Lee Ramos, Steve Smith, David Stiller and Anna Vrska.

LIAISONS AND STAFFERS
In addition, Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger and council member Sandra Genis, as liaisons to this committee were present.  Dean Abernathy and Bob Graham, liaisons from the Parks and Recreation Commission also attended.  Director of Public Services Ernesto Munoz, Fairview Park Project Manager Bart Mejia and City Engineer Fariba Faselli were among the staff members present to help guide the conversation and provide perspective on the park itself.

MEHREN AND SMITH TO LEAD THE COMMITTEE
The first order of business was to elect a Chairman and Vice Chairman.  Mehren, Smith and Amburgey were all nominated for Chairman.  When the vote was taken Mehren had 4 votes, Smith had 3 and Amburgey had 2, so Dr. Richard Mehren was elected as Chairman.  This appears to be an excellent choice, because Dr. Mehren was previously the Chairman of the previous committee for 15 years and led the effort to craft the first Fairview Park Master Plan.  Steve Smith was the only person nominated for Vice Chairman, so he was chosen.

(Dr. Richard Mehren, Chairman, and Steve Smith, Vice Chairman)

MEJIA GUIDES THE DISCUSSION
As might be expected, this group got off to a shaky start, with more than a little confusion about their actual charter.  Bart Mejia presented information to help with that process, including these two slides that provided some guidance for the committee.

BUDGET CONCERNS
Early in the meeting the group got a little off track, in my opinion, by focusing on the pending budget discussions.  They expressed concerns about having sufficient time to do a careful assessment and then present budget views to the council before the new budget is approved in a couple weeks.  In my view, they need not worry about that at all.  It's not their charter, but some of the members just couldn't let it go.  Finally, Munoz suggested that any members that had concerns about the list of items he provided to them that were being considered for this new budget process should send him an email and he would be sure the council received the information.  The committee won't have an official position on those issues this time around.

LIGHTS OR NO LIGHTS?
One of the "current projects" included on the list provided to the committee members was "lights in the parking lot".  Genis took strong exception to that item, indicating that the Fairview Park Master Plan did not permit lights - that the park is a "dawn to dusk" park and that any attempt to install lights anywhere in the park will require re-opening the Master Plan first.  Mehren seemed to support her view.  Mensinger was agitated and tried to cut off her discussion.  Again, this was not within the purview of the committee, but they spent a lot of time on it.

PLAYING FIELDS
One thing became clear as individual members were asked what their priorities might be for the park - there are factions that would like to install playing fields in the park.  Amburgey made it abundantly clear that he felt the city needed more playing fields and the park is a perfect place for them.  He said most of the fields presently being used belong to the Newport-Mesa Unified School District via the Joint Use Agreement.  He wanted to build fields in Fairview Park, where the city could control them and let the school district worry about their fields.

MENSINGER PANICKED
Eckles voiced much the same concern about the shortage of fields, although not in as strong terms as Amburgey.  Mensinger jumped in - he could see where this was going - and tried to re-direct the discussion lest folks think they "knew what was in his mind"... his words.

MENSINGER AND GENIS SHOULD THROTTLE BACK
At this point let me state that both Mensinger and Genis were MUCH too vocal during this meeting.  Yes, Genis has a wealth of knowledge that she should share when appropriate, but she overplayed that, in my opinion.  Mensinger, on the other hand, just seemed unable to keep his mouth shut.  He constantly tried to take over the meeting, which put Mehren at a real disadvantage.

ANNA SETS HIM STRAIGHT
Finally, the youngest member of the committee, Anna Vrska, looked directly at Mensinger and opined that she hoped he would be able to just sit and listen in the future and let the committee run its business and not try to steer the conversation.  I'm still smiling...

PLANES AND TRAINS
There was a lot of discussion about both the Model Railroad group and the Harbor Soaring Society, and concern for their future in the park.  The airplane folks just had their permit extended for only one year - it expires in December - and the railroad folks have their permit pending within a couple months.  Mehren expressed concern for both long-time, very positive uses and seemed concerned that there are plan afoot to oust one or both of them.  The railroad venue - on the Eastside of Placentia Avenue - looks like an area where those in favor of playing fields might be eyeballing.  Mensinger has been trying to figure out how to put a parking lot into the southern part of the park near Estancia High School and the flat take-off and landing site used by the airplane folks seems perfect.  In my opinion, both groups should be very worried.  Why do I say that?  Because Mensinger assured them that they would always be there!


LOOKING FOR A ROAD MAP
The conversations last night were robust.  Most commitee members took their opportunities to express their views about the process and some specifics on their ideas for the park.  A few expressed concern about what, specifically, their mission was supposed to be.  Again, all that "budget" conversation sidetracked the discussions.  Concern about their ability to gather community input in this process was expressed several times.  Munoz discussed distributing a survey to all residents, but that it was premature until the committee had a tighter focus on THEIR vision for the park.

MORE GUIDANCE NEXT TIME
Eventually it was agreed that the staff would provide some critical information for them - like a copy of Roberts Rules Of Order (suggested, ironically, by Mensinger), and some instruction on the Brown Act - which covers this committee's activities.  There was a discussion about a Park tour for the members, to provide them with perspective and to understand more clearly just what can and cannot be done in certain parts of the park.

NEXT MEETING TIME AND DATE UNDETERMINED
The next meeting date was not established because the logical time and date had a space conflict.  Munoz will review the available times, dates and venue and poll the committee members on their thoughts.  It's likely it will be held during the first couple weeks of July.

THE TRAIN IS ROLLING...
So, they are off and running under the steady and knowledgable hand of Dr. Richard Mehren.  I suspect the next meeting will run much more smoothly and the committee will gain focus on what's ahead of them.  As Genis reminded them, the City Council has not given them a due date for completion of their effort.