Decomposed Granite Trail Drama Continues

 MORE COST TO THE CITY
As mentioned in my earlier post, tonight the Costa Mesa City Council will meet to discuss a variety of things.  This post addresses Consent Calendar item #7, the "BUDGET ADDENDUM TO ENGAGEMENT OF LEGAL SERVICES LETTER WITH MEYERS, NAVE, RIBACK, SILVER & WILSON AS SPECIAL LEGAL COUNSEL ON FAIRVIEW PARK".  You can read the staff report HERE, which includes links to the original December 6, 2013 agreement and the proposed extension of this assignment.

LAWYERS BACK TO THE TROUGH
The original agreement was for $50,000, which has apparently been used up.  This addendum extends the assignment and requires another $38,190, which will come from CEO Tom Hatch's million dollar contingency fund.

INTERESTING SCOPE OF WORK
The reason for this extension is very interesting.  Here's the section of the extension agreement that describes what this will cover:

"STEVE'S PATH"
We are presuming this deals with the destruction of vernal pools in the Southwest Quadrant of Fairview Park - that effort directed by current Mayor Steve Mensinger and described in the correspondence provided by public records requests by city staffers as "Steve's Path" - that has required thousands of dollars to attempt to mitigate.  It's our understanding that the mitigation work was completed many months ago, so I'm wondering what this legal work is all about?

 User Defined Trail

 Graded Path

Decomposed Granite Path

Removal Process

WHAT DOES ALL THIS REALLY MEAN?

• The first item is curious, since we thought that function had already been completed.
• The second item - permits - is also curious.
• The third item involves working with "enforcement special agents" from the USFWS.  On what?
• The fourth item involves meetings and correspondence with the U.S. Attorney!

AN EXPLANATION, PLEASE...
So, what's the story here?  It's been nearly two years since Mensinger directed City Staff to "do something" about the user-defined path that ran along the fence line that separated the Waldorf School/Estancia High School from Fairview Park.  That path encroached in at least one protected vernal pool and the "fix" - the decomposed granite trail that was wide enough to drive a dump truck on - further defiled those protected areas.

WHAT'S THE CURRENT STATUS?
USWFS enforcement officers?  U.S. Attorney?  What's the nature of this situation right now?  We won't find out unless someone pulls this item from the Consent Calendar and asks those questions.  Even then, there's no assurance that we'll actually get answers.

IS THE FUTURE OF FAIRVIEW PARK IN JEOPARDY?
All the current hoopla about sports fields in Fairview Park - which has been put on hiatus for now - could be cut off at the knees if the USFWS, in concert with the U.S. Attorney, finds that we, The City, have been poor stewards of this land and slams the door on any further "enhancement" of that land.  Who knows... maybe they will take the management of Fairview Park away from us... it's my understanding that it could happen.

BLASTING THE FAIRY SHRIMP...
All this because a guy who would rather spend his recreational time plugging helpless critters using a high-powered rifle with a scope than try to protect the habitat within our city boundaries.  This is a guy who apparently cannot stand to see a patch of land without a playing field, parking lot, multi-story dwelling complex or shopping center on it.  Let's hope his actions have not done irreparable damage to our relationship with USFWS on this issue.  If it has, he - personally - should be held accountable.

SHOULD MENSINGER BE EXCLUDED IN THIS DISCUSSION/VOTE?
My final question on this issue is, since this whole thing is a direct result of HIS actions - which has cost the City thousands of dollars in legal and mitigation fees - should Mayor Steve Mensinger be excluded from ANY conversation and vote on this issue?  It seems appropriate for him to be excluded on this issue.

US Fish and Wildlife Addresses Fairview Park(AMENDED*)

THE LETTER...
In an eleven (11) page letter to Bart Mejia, a Senior Engineer in the Public Services Department of the City of Costa Mesa dated July 24, 2014,  Karen A. Goebel, Assistant Field Supervisor for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) - a part of the Department of the Interior - addressed many issues that have arisen from the installation of the now-infamous illegal Decomposed Granite Path that encroached on protected areas that included the San Diego fairy shrimp within Fairview Park.  You can read the entire letter HERE.

...A CLEAR MESSAGE
After providing several pages of background on the issue, Goebel, beginning on page five (5) of her report, under the heading: Restoration, protection, and management of vernal pools in Fairview Park, outlines the City's responsibility to comply with the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and says, "In consideration of the degraded condition and management needs of the vernal pool habitat within Fairview Park, implementation by the City of the following measures would help ensure that the San Diego fairy shrimp population within the coastal terrace vernal pools at Fairview Park remains viable."

THE LIST OF ACTIONS REQUIRED
Under the following headings she lists specifics of what is expected of the City by the USFWS in that regard:
1 - Watershed Restoration
2 - Permanent Protection
3 - Fencing and Paths
4 - Public Education
5 - Trash
6 - Mowing, Weed Control, and Pesticide Use
7 - Employee Education
8 - Patrol 
9 - Biological Monitoring
10 - Adaptive Management
11 - Fairview Park Master Plan Update

You can review the report for the very expansive explanation of each.

ANTICIPATED FENCING
For example, on page seven (7) of the report the following image appears, which shows in red the fence lines they expect to be established to protect the watershed and habitat.  Take a close look... this is a really BIG deal!  For example, if you're a member of the Harbor Soaring Society, you're going to have big problems retrieving errant plane landings in and around the rubble pile that is just to the west of their "airstrip".

WHAT ABOUT THE DG PATH?
The only mention of the investigation of the construction of the Decomposed Granite Path is near the end of the letter.  Goebel's says, "These are the measures that are needed to protect San Diego fairy shrimp and their habitat in Fairview Park and are not intended to offset the damage caused by path construction.  Issues relating to take that may have been caused by path construction remain under investigation by the Service at this time and will be addressed separately in the future".  So, those folks responsible for the desecration of that habitat "for the kids" are not yet off the hook.  I suspect the folks at the USFWS are not happy about it.  We look forward to learning what kind of penalties might be imposed on the City, or individuals, for the damage that was done.

THE SOUTHEAST QUADRANT*

When I made my first run through the letter I completely ignored what may be, as a friend mentioned, the 800 pound gorilla - the East side of Placentia.  In a paragraph that begins at the bottom of page eight (8) and continues to page nine (9), Goebels says the following:
"Three additional vernal pool areas, located east of Placentia Avenue, require additinoal surveys to determine if San Diego fairy shrimp and/or sensitive vernal plant species are present.  We recommend the City delineate the watershed of the three pools in the near future and avoid impacts to the waterhsed areas until protocol surveys (Service 1996) can be completed.  Positive survey results may require changes in management actions to address San Diego fairy shrimp.  The City should coordinate adaptive management with the Service prior to implementation."

Yikes!  As I, and a few others, read it, this could put the old kibosh on ANY activities on the Southeast Quadrant of the park - that segment that the Fairview Park Citizens Advisory Committee is scheduled to begin addressing on August 6th.  This is, indeed, that 800 pound gorilla!  There seems to be no reason for the committee to continue to meet on this subject until this issue is resolved.

COMMUNITY INPUT SOUGHT
It's my understanding from Mejia that a meeting will be scheduled with USFWS to be sure the City clearly understands the full meaning and scope of the work involved.  The City will also be soliciting input from the community on this issue.  There is a meeting of the Fairview Park Citizens Advisory Committee scheduled at 6:00 p.m. at the Neighborhood Community Center, 1845 Park Avenue (Lions Park) on August 6, 2014 during which the committee will begin discussing ideas for the Southeast Quadrant of the park.  There will be a Public Comments segment PLUS opportunities to comment on individual items.  The Public Comments segment might be a place where concerned residents could address THIS item.  And, you can aways send your thoughts to Bart at his email address at City Hall: baltazar.mejia@costamesaca.gov.  That's a hot link, so you should be able to just click on it to compose your message.

Mooney Demands Identity of Trail Violators - From Mensinger

REGISTER COMMENTARY DEMANDS ANSWERS
Those of you who subscribe to the Orange County Register probably have already seen the commentary published on those pages Saturday, December 27, 2013 written by Costa Mesa resident Charles Mooney titled, "Official owes public an end to trail mystery".  You can read it HERE, if you've paid the price to sneak behind their pay wall, that is.


DOES MENSINGER KNOW?
In a nutshell, Mooney aims an incriminating finger directly at Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger on the issue of the illegal application of decomposed granite on a trail that encroached on federally-protected vernal pools, suggesting through the use of direct quotations by Mensinger, that he knows who installed the decomposed granite.

COSTS SHOULD BE REIMBURSED
Mooney also gives us a very brief summary of activity by federal officials regarding the trail and the vernal pools and suggests that the $14,000 the city is paying to have the offending materials removed should be reimbursed by those responsible for it.  And, we still don't know what kind of sanctions, if any, will be imposed on the City regarding our poor stewardship of Fairview Park - that shoe is waiting to drop.

MOONEY'S STATEMENT...
His final two paragraphs says the following:

"I can somewhat understand why the person or persons who installed the trail are afraid to confess and pay for the trail's removal.

However, it seems that Mayor Pro Tem Mensinger knows who installed the trail and, as a public official, has the responsibility to Costa Mesa taxpayers to identify those responsible."

IF MENSINGER KNOWS...
I agree with Mooney... if Mensinger does know who is responsible for the installation of the decomposed granite on the trail that may have harmed an endangered species - the San Diego Fairy Shrimp -  he is violating his responsibility as a sworn council member if he does not come forward with that information.  Of course, there's always the small chance that he might incriminate himself, in which case he is protected by law from doing so.  It's a very sticky wicket.  Perhaps the reward that was announced a few weeks ago will  produce verifiable leads so this mess can be cleared up once and for all.