Change Is In The Air - Look Out!

THE NEW TEAM IS SWORN IN
Last Tuesday evening the Costa Mesa City Council took on a very new look.  In the second segment of the meeting - held in the Senior Center because Council Chambers at City Hall is under significant renovation for the next few months - the results of the election held on November 6th was certified by the City Clerk, Brenda Green and were approved by the outgoing City Council.  Actually, only one person was "out-going" - termed out Jim Righeimer.  (Darn, there I go again, mentioning his name!)

KAREN ROBINSON PRESIDES
Then, the winners were sworn in by former mayor Judge Karen Robinson - a very special treat.

FOLEY CRUSHES GENIS
Katrina Foley was elected as the City's very first directly-elected mayor, defeating former mayor Sandra Genis by a huge margin.  This result was satisfying in many ways.  Genis was part of the council majority that deposed Foley as mayor last year without ever giving anything resembling a satisfactory explanation.  Foley conducted an energetic campaign, taking the high road and not responding to the vicious attempts to defame her name and record with lies and fabrications.  Genis, on the other hand, barely conducted a campaign and her representatives consistently took the low road.

DISTRICT VOTING A SURPRISE
The results of the district voting, also for the very first time in City history, was also very satisfying.  The candidates supported by the Righeimer/Mensinger/Genis/Mansoor group all failed miserably at the ballot box.

DISTRICT 3
Andrea Marr soundly defeated Mensinger supporter Brett Eckles in the District 3 race.

DISTRICT 4
Manuel Chavez crushed the developer-favorite Michelle Figueredo-Wilson for the District 4 race.  Activist Steve Chan finished far, far off the pace.

DISTRICT 5
Arlis Reynolds walloped former divisive mayor Allan Mansoor in the District 5 race.  Rebecca Trahan was also well off the pace in this race.

OOPS!
In the euphoria that followed the swearing-in ceremony, following the obligatory break so name plates could be properly placed and chairs juggled, Foley quickly re-conveined the meeting and nominated John Stephens for Mayor Pro Tem.  That motion passed, 6-0. It seems Mansoor was wandering around somewhere and was late returning to the dais, so the vote was taken without him.  I couldn't help but smile...

THE MESSAGE IS CLEAR - CHANGE IS NEEDED
We learned a lot from this election.  We learned that the voters, once again, affirmed that they'd had enough of the Righeimer/Mensinger style of governance.  They emphatically made clear that the solid rejection of those practices by the passage of Measures Y and AA in 2016 was not a fluke.  They don't want to see rampant multi-story developments.  They don't want to see spot zoning to facilitate that kind of development.  They don't want to see our residential neighborhoods defiled by increased density as a result of the Small Lot Ordinance.  They don't want to see the saturation of Sober Living Homes in our city.  They DO want to see a City Council that considers the needs of the residents before the profits of developers and sober living operators.

A LATINO PRESENCE!
After the first "Righeimer" segment there were still more than 200 people in the packed room at the Senior Center, who cheered enthusiastically when each result was announced and each new member was seated on the dais.  For the first time in my memory covering City issues I saw throngs of Latino faces attending a meeting.  This is understandable, because there are new three members of the City Council with Latino heritage.  And, interestingly, there are four women on the council for the very first time, too.

RIGHEIMER'S SCHEME BACKFIRED!
Righeimer hijacked the discussion of a District Voting plan more than two years ago and replaced the preferred choice as determined by several public meetings - Five Members - with his Six Districts/Directly-Elected Mayor plan and had it placed on the ballot using his majority, with Genis and Mansoor.  Unfortunately, nobody wrote an opposing opinion for the 2016 ballot, so it passed.  It's likely that Righeimer thought this scheme would help him retain control of the council when he was termed out this year.  It failed... yet another scheme of his that failed.

CHIEF OF STAFF AND COUNCIL AIDS
Mayor Foley had placed on the agenda a plan for an existing Finance vacancy to be converted to a Chief Of Staff, which would report directly to her, plus three part-time aids to be shared by the six council members, reporting to the Chief of Staff.  This proposal was, to say the very least, controversial.  The debate and public comment on this plan went on for nearly two hours, including a period when clearly-frustrated former mayor Sandra Genis mouthed to someone in the crowd, "What do I do now?",  before new Mayor Pro Tem Stephens offered a motion that changed the reporting relationship of that position... it will report to the City Manager.  That's a good compromise.  Now, if only we had a City Manager...  The recruitment for the four positions is now underway, with a closing date of Friday, December 14, 2018.

A GOOD IDEA, PRESENTED PREMATURELY
I understand what Foley had in mind, but she probably should have made this proposal sometime in January.  There are no more meetings planned until the first week of January.  Perhaps she simply could have floated the idea and had a full-blown discussion and a more thorough vetting - the City Attorney apparently did not vet this proposal for legality.   Resident Eleanor Egan, a former member of the City legal department and Planning Commission, was among those who spoke to this issue  and advised against the proposal as presented.  Others spoke, as well, while Acting City Manager Tammy Letourneau looked on.   But, as I mentioned above, the issue passed on a 5-2 vote, with Genis and Mansoor opposing.  The screamers at the Costa Mesa Public Square have been rabid on this issue for the past week.  We'll see how this goes.

WHERE'S DUARTE?
And, since I mentioned the City Attorney, I found myself wondering just where Tom Duarte was Tuesday night.  His seat was capably filled by former City Attorney, Kimberly Hall Barlow.  It was nice to see her back, even if it was for one meeting.  You may recall she was replaced by Duarte several years ago.  There was speculation that it was because she pushed back on the Righeimer/Mensinger mob.  Duarte was more compliant.

THIS WILL BE AN EFFECTIVE GROUP
I have every confidence that this new City Council will work together effectively.  Foley has demonstrated her leadership during 2017, before she was deposed by Genis, etal.  The new, young council members have demonstrated through their campaigns and prior public service that they have the education, intelligence and energy to make a significant contribution to the future of the City.  It's unclear what kind of contributions Mansoor and Genis will be making for the next two years, when their at-large seats expire.  One thing is sure... the 2020 local election in which we will again elect a mayor and three district council members - Districts 1, 2 and 6 - will be a doozy, as the forces of the Dark Side will certainly attempt to regain control. The next council meeting will be Tuesday, January 8, 2019.

This Election Is Too Important To Be Silent

WELL, I'M BACK... KINDA
Eighteen months ago, in the wake of my wife's retirement and my previously-mentioned health issues, I retired this blog.  At that time I presumed the restoration of my health and our anticipated travel would preclude me from giving enough attention to issues in Costa Mesa to justify the time it takes to produce this content.

THIS MAY BE A "ONE-OFF"... WE'LL SEE
Instead, although I throttled-back my meeting attendance to almost nil and paid a reduced amount of attention,  I didn't stop watching completely and I burped out frequent Facebook posts with my observations.  However, times have changed a little, to the point where I think it's important for me to comment here on our upcoming elections.  I don't know what the future holds for the blog - or for me, for that matter - but I may post things here on a very reduced schedule, so stay tuned.  And now, about this election...

LOST CIVILITY
I've lived in Costa Mesa for more than 45 years - 46, if you count the short time I rented a little studio apartment just off 19th Street in the mid-60's.  I've written about all things political in our city for more than a fifteen years, both in local newspapers and here on my blog.  I have never seen such a contentious, divisive political season in all my years as a Costa Mesan, and I'm concerned that our city might not recover from the wounds being inflicted in this campaign.  Civility is a lost art in our town these days.

BIGGEST ELECTION CHANGE
For the first time in it's 65 year history Costa Mesa voters will select council members by district, launching a potential "Balkanization" of our town, pitting one district's interests against others.  This was predicted several times from the dais by Jim Righeimer - the man who eventually orchestrated this mess.  And, for the first time, the mayor of our city will be directly elected by the voters instead of being chosen by council members from among their peers.  The only advantage of having a directly-elected mayor is that an incumbent can't be ousted by a capricious, petulant, agenda-driven majority in the future.  It will take another vote of the people to cast aside a mayor in the future.

THE GENIS FACTION

Since the campaigning began in earnest this summer two clear factions have emerged.  One, which includes current mayor Sandra Genis, current council member and former mayor Allan Mansoor (running for the District 5 seat), unknown newcomer Michelle Figueredo-Wilson (running for the District 4 seat) and Brett Eckles (running for the District 3 seat), appears to be largely funded by developer interests and other friends of termed-out councilman Jim Righeimer and former mayor Steve Mensinger - who was soundly defeated in his run for re-election two years ago in a statement by the voters that they'd had enough of their pro-developer schemes.

THE FOLEY FACTION

The other faction is led by former mayor Katrina Foley and includes outstanding candidates Arlis Reynolds (District 5), Andrea Marr (District 3) and Manuel Chavez (District 4).  More about this team later...

TACTICS
The Genis faction has chosen a very vicious, back-stabbing, divisive tack, spewing lies and other fabrications to cast a shadow on Foley, in particular, but also includes attacks on the others in her faction.  This has fractured old friendships throughout the city and may have done long term damaged to the very fabric of our city.  The Foley faction, meanwhile, has focused on presenting their qualifications for office, citing their strong education credentials, career successes and previous public service, instead of rolling around in the political mud with their opponents.

OUTLIERS
Steve Chan (District 4) and Rebecca Trahan (District 5) are outliers and bring little for the voters to consider, but both tilt strongly toward the Genis faction, which could complicate the votes in their districts.

MANSOOR AS ATTACK DOG
In this most unpleasant campaign season Mansoor, a divisive councilman throughout his career with two years left on his at-large term, has chosen to attack Foley with lies and deceit rather than actually taking on Reynolds for the District 5 seat.  Clearly, he knows he has nothing to lose, since he will be sitting on the dais the first week of December when the results are certified no matter which way this campaign goes.  Perhaps he's contemplating a run for mayor in 2020 and figures he can fool the voters, again - who knows?

LIES, LIES AND MORE LIES
Similarly, Genis - also with two years remaining on her at-large seat -  will still be sitting on the dais even if she loses the mayor's race to Foley, who will be out without a seat once the music stops unless she prevails on November 6th.  The Genis team has chosen to unleash a blistering social media (perhaps "anti-social" is more appropriate) attack on Foley, spreading lies and falsehoods to all who would read them.  Foley, on the other hand, has taken the high road, remaining focused on guiding her team of volunteers in positive actions - meet-and-greets, letter-writing, knocking on doors, placement of signs throughout the city - instead of engaging the opposition in combat on those sites.

WHAT HAPPENED TO GENIS?
Genis has a long and, until recently, illustrious political career in Costa Mesa. She's a former mayor, with service on the council dating back 30 years.  No one can question her contributions to our city, both as a council member and as a private citizen.  However, more than a year ago she changed and that change manifested itself most clearly in her unwarranted, unexplained and unceremonious ousting of Foley as mayor a year ago - despite the fact that she, herself, nominated Foley for that slot - and having herself placed in that job by a 3-2 vote.  Mansoor and Righeimer joined her in that vote.  Previously viewed as an intelligent, independent thinker, with only the good of the city guiding her moves on the council, she has shifted her focus and aligned herself with the developer-oriented folks who seem eager to pave over every single square foot of earth in our city.  These are the very folks who, only a short time ago, vilified, ridiculed and chided her mercilessly and attempted to sabotage her last campaign - straight out of the OC GOP playbook that we saw in action in the 48th District Primary combat between Scott Baugh and Dana Rohrabacher.   It's difficult to see how the city benefits from this new alliance, since the voters spoke overwhelmingly two years ago that they'd had enough of that kind of governance.

OUR BALLOTS ARE IN THE MAIL
My wife and I mailed our completed ballots off to the Registrar of Voters last Wednesday and they included our votes for Foley.  This time around we get no vote for our council district, Number 6 - that will wait until 2020.  If we could have, we would have also voted for Arlis Reynolds - a hometown woman with an M.I.T. engineering degree, a successful career and strong community volunteer history, including currently serving as the Vice Chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission; Andrea Marr - a Naval Academy graduate with five years of service in the United States Navy where she led sailors in hostile waters and has shown a strong volunteer spirit, serving on two important committees, since moving to our city 6 years ago; and Manuel Chavez, another home-grown product of our schools and a UCI graduate who, despite his youth, has been heavily involved in his community since a child.  Nobody has a better feel for residents of the district and the needs of District 4 than Manuel Chavez.

FIXING THIS WILL REQUIRE STRONG LEADERSHIP
My concern is how this city comes together after this campaign.  How will those campaign combatants reconcile their differences, resolve the bad feelings generated over the past couple months and find ways to work together for the good of all our residents?  We've seen this campaign fracture old alliances and friendships.  How do those get repaired?  In my view, that will take strong leadership - something Katrina Foley has clearly demonstrated throughout her political and volunteer career, and especially during her year as mayor, when she guided the prioritization of issues for the future of our city.  Genis has not shown leadership since ousting Foley.  Quite the contrary - Genis has allowed others - Righeimer and Mansoor -  to guide the ship during her recent mayoral tenure.

IT'S IN THE HANDS OF THE VOTERS...
The future of our city is in the hands of the voters, who will cast their ballots in the most important election since the formation of this city.  I hope they do it with care.  I hope they will select Katrina Foley, Arlis Reynolds, Andrea Marr and Manuel Chavez to lead our city into the future.

EVERY SINGLE VOTE COUNTS

In recent elections we've had races decided by fewer than 50 votes, so it's very important that every registered voter take the time to exercise this responsibility.  PLEASE VOTE!

A Taste Of What's To Come

A STRANGE MEETING
The Costa Mesa City Council met last night and this meeting may have given us a little taste of what's to come after the new council is seated.  In many ways, this was a very strange meeting - it even ended fairly early, for goodness sake!

PLAYING "WHERE'S GARY?"
As anticipated, termed-out lame duck councilman Gary Monahan didn't show up last night.  I doubt we'll see him again on the dais since he's basically checked-out following the receipt of the Mayor's Award a couple meetings ago.

MENSINGER CLEARLY ON THE WAY OUT
Mayor Steve Mensinger, apparently nursing a cold or suffering from some other affliction that made his nose run, was clearly off his game and, since he's usually off his game anyhow, it really showed last night.  He is not a good loser.  He told us he only has a couple more meetings and I found my cheeks hurting from smiling.

WHO IS THAT GUY?
Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer was strangely concilliatory - nary a single rant was heard from him all night.  I kept looking up at my television screen to be sure I'd tuned into the right channel.  I suppose he thinks folks will forget all about his dictatorial demeanor over the past almost six years when he and Allan Mansoor are on the short end of 3-2 votes starting next year.  HA!  As if!

SMILIN' A LOT
Katrina Foley fought off - with only limited success - the temptation to gloat about the election.  It became clear as the night wore on that she expects changes to happen once the new council is seated.  Most council watchers will not be surprised if LOTS of stuff changes after the first of the year.

STUDY SESSIONS AGAIN?
One of the things referred to was "Study Sessions" - something that was abandoned by Righeimer/Mensinger/Monahan because they'd already made up their minds on important issues and didn't see the need to waste time on a study session.  I suspect we'll see Study Sessions reinstated quickly.  Both Foley and Sandra Genis - who appears to be the top vote-getter in the recent election - mentioned issues they wished to discuss in a study session before the end of the year.

ESTANCIA HIGH SCHOOL SISTER CITY PRESENTATION
OK, let's talk about the meeting itself.  It began with Mensinger honoring the Estancia High School Sister-City program and recognizing the students who participated in that program.  It was nice.

PUBLIC COMMENTS
Eighteen (18) people spoke during Public Comments and many of their comments evoked applause from the audience, which, in turn, evoked anger from Mensinger.  He threatened several times to call a break in the meeting and/or have the violators hauled out of the chambers by the Sergeant-at-Arms.  One of the speakers, Anna Vrska, politely reminded him that applause is a free speech activity protected by Federal law, and urged him to use caution.  She reminded him of the Benito Acosta affair, which cost the City hundreds of thousands of dollars and cause there to be a change in the Municipal Code permitting "insolence".

Several speakers called for Civility, including Robin Leffler, who brought a visual aid with her.

Sue Lester, a less-frequent visitor to the speaker's podium in recent months, returned with a quickly-spoken call for civility and expressing joy that the majority was broken up by the election because it could/should result in more thoughtful consideration of issues.  It was good to see her back.

Mary Spadoni congratulated the members of the public who participated in the grassroots effort that got Genis and John Stephens elected and got Measures Y and AA passed.  She also took a backhanded swipe at political king-maker, consultant Dave Ellis, for his ham-handed attacks on the Costa Mesa public safety personnel during this election cycle.  She suggested that may be what turned the tide throughout the city.

Flo Martin provided an entertaining reading of a recent NextDoor thread that bemoaned the increase in traffic and vehicle speed throughout town and closed with "We need more cops!"

Dr. Richard Mehren was the final speaker and he praised all the folks who helped get Measure AA passed and protect Fairview Park from development.  He then launched into a short condemnation of the recent election, citing the slanderous flyers that circulated through the city against the citizens.  He received much applause, causing Mensinger to almost lose his temper - again.

RIGHEIMER
During Councilmember Comments Righeimer praised the St. John The Baptist Church/School - his girls attend that school - for their Veterans Day celebration.  He then commented on the recent election, referring at first to the national, state and local races.  Commenting on the changes the election will bring about, he said, "The public decides the direction they want the city to go.... and so, you take those cues from where it's at because how politics works is culture happens first, politics happens second."  He congratulated the winners in the campaign and praised the folks who didn't win for running good campaigns.  He said he's still going to vote the way he wants to vote, but pledged to listen to his colleagues on the dais during deliberations.

MENSINGER
Mensinger congratulated the winners and Jay Humphrey for a good campaign.  He praised the staff.  He managed to mangle his attempt to praise the folks who disagree with him, saying, "We don't always disagree but I think, in our hearts, we all have the same objective and the same goal and that's to make our city a better city and we all live here together."

FOLEY
Foley asked the audience to raise their hands if they are eligible to vote, then asked them to raise their hands if they voted.  She didn't tell us the result of that exercise, but did exhort all to vote.  She spoke about the Veterans Heroes Hall celebration last Friday.  She spoke about the collaboration between the Home Tour on December 1st and the Heroes Hall.   She praised Flo Martin for her presentation on speeding/traffic.  She asked CEO Tom Hatch to look into scheduling a study session if all council members are available on December 20th to begin contemplating the integration of Measure Y.

GENIS
Genis thanked all the volunteers for their election activities, regardless which side they participated on.  She spoke of the Veterans Day celebration and observed that we need to do much more for our veterans.  She asked for a Study Session soon - before the first of the year - to initiate a General Plan amendment to roll back the overlays on Newport and Harbor Boulevards.  This is how it begins. She cited the meeting in 2009 when the OC Fairgrounds was up for sale and they stopped it.  She observed it as an example as what can happen when residents work together.  She reminded us of the Halecrest Chili Cook-Off on Saturday at Halecrest Park.

CEO REPORT
Hatch had no report.

CONSENT CALENDAR
Items 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 were pulled from the Consent Calendar for separate discussion.

CONSTRUCTION CODES
Public Hearing #1, the amendment of the Municpal Code to conform with state codes.  Consultant Sherri Vander Duessen, as interim Assistant Development Director, made the presentation.  This presentation took only three minutes and was passed, 4-0.

SORTING OUT "HOLIDAY"
Next up was the controversial Holiday lounge on West 19th Street, pulled for review by Genis.  Senior Planner Mel Lee made the presentation.  During the Public Comments segment Chuck Perry praised the place; Mary Spadoni asked for a way to cede time for other speakers.  She then asked Mensinger if he had a conflict that would require recusal and cited contributors.  She also called into question the participation of Righeimer and Monahan (absent).

Before other speakers could address the council Mensinger asked for a clarification about his eligibility to participate.  He consulted with Contract City Attorney Tom Duarte.  After about five minutes of conversation they took a break.  When they returned it was determined that Mensinger did, in fact, have a conflict and he recused himself from further discussion on this issue.

Wendy Leece continued the public comments, observing competing interests - reviving the Arts on the Westside and quality of life of Westside residents.

CHAN LETS IT RIP!
Steve Chan, who lives nearby to this site and who has been the tip of the spear on this issue, spoke next.  He first contested the way the recusal was handled, observing that Mensinger's comments on the issue BEFORE his recusal may have been inappropriate.  He then cited the infringement of his rights of peaceful enjoyment of their property because of the late-night noise which violates state laws.  He asks for abatement of the nuisance.

CONTINUED UNTIL JANUARY 3, 2017
Foley,  observing that there were still many more speakers in the audience and citing the multitude of issues, including a sound study they just received a few minutes before, asked to continue the issue until there is a full council.  It was decided to select January 3rd, when there will be a full council.  She made the motion, which passed, 3-0.

STORAGE ON BRISTOL
Old Business #1, was the second reading of an ordinance for a self-storage at 375 Bristol.  There was no discussion and no public comments and the item passed, 4-0.  It took one minute.

OLD LOS ANGELES TIMES PROPERTY
Old Business #2, the second reading of the ordinance for the old Los Angeles Times property on Sunflower.  There was no discussion and no comments and this also passed, 4-0.  It took one minute.

FORD ROAD SELF-STORAGE
Next up was New Business #1, the General Plan Screening for a proposed Self-Storage facility on both sides of Ford Road at the corner of Newport Boulevard.  During the discussion both Righeimer and Mensinger commented on the stubbornness of the property owner, who "kept jacking up the price" whenever a project was presented.   The Floor Area Ratio (FAR) gave all the council members heartburn.  One member of the public, Ford Road resident Judy Ann Smith, who cited many of the transient-related problems at that location and explained that 21 residents of Ford Road oppose the project.  After a short discussion the proposal was rejected.

AN INTERESTING REMINDER
As a sidebar here, during the above discussion reference was made to an event four years ago when the council met with residents on Ford Road to address problems.  Some will recall the curious situation that precipitated that visit by council members, the Police Chief - Tom Gazsi - CEO Hatch and other staffers at the time.  At the council meeting the night before, following a complaint by several members of the Ford Road community, Righeimer commanded the Chief, Hatch and others to meet at Ford Road at 3 p.m. the next day to meet with the neighbors.  I thought at the time it was an unprecedented and curious command.  Following that meeting - at which not much was accomplished - Mensinger and Righeimer decamped to Gary Monahan's pub.  Then the whole "Chris Lanzillo" affair commenced which resulted in a lawsuit being filed a year later that is still pending.  Just in case you forgot about this situation...

MORE SOBECA DEVELOPMENT
Next up was New Business #2, the Urban Master Plan Screening for a mixed-use development - The Plant - in the SoBECA area.  This involves a re-purposing of existing buildings and adds 48 dwelling units, including some live/work units.  Several members of the public spoke, including the husband and wife team of Rick Huffman and Cynthia McDonald, who live close to the proposed development.  Parking was the major concern for most of the speakers.  All thought the concept was interesting and typical of a project proposed by Shaheen Sadeghi, the developer of The Lab and The Camp.  The developer was sent away with instructions to address the parking issue and to engage in more community outreach.

ITEMS PULLED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR
Item #2, the Warrant was pulled but the person didn't stick around.  The item passed, 4-0.

MESA VERDE MEDIANS
Item #5, deals with the re-landscaping of the medians in Mesa Verde and generated a lengthy conversation dealing with the types of plantings being proposed and complaints from council members that it appeared that Mesa Verde - where Mensinger and Righeimer live - seem to get all the expensive infrastructure improvements at the expense of other parts of town - like the Westside, for example.  A community meeting was held and only 20 people showed up to hear and discuss the project earlier this year.  During the discussion, in which council members expressed an interest in scaling down the plantings to save money. Robin Leffler, who has special expertise in plantings, spoke about that meeting, citing the limited discussion which was controlled by only a couple of people.  Righeimer was flummoxed by what he saw as an attempt to revisit this entire project and said, "We just had an election.  Things are gonna change.  I got it.  But I think it's not a good idea for people to start overturning everything as they go, especially a budgeted, funded and ready to go to construction project.  I think that is, uh, I don't know.  I don't think it's a good idea."

CONTINUED TO DECEMBER 5TH
The solution was to continue the item until December 5th, at which time staff will bring back what could be done as a change order to the project as proposed.  The plan would be for the council to then vote on this expenditure as-is if they're happy with the proposed change order (s) which may save some money.

PROPERTY LINE DISPUTE
Item #6, is a final tract map for a development on the Eastside in an area that was annexed from the County of Orange not too long ago.  The resident who pulled it is in a tug-of-war with the developer, Melia Homes, regarding the property line between their properties.  It was resolved by having the staff agree to provide a document that appears to be missing to satisfy the property owner's surveyor.  Geez!

INCREASED FUNDING FOR LAW FIRM
Item #7, an increase in the contract with Best, Best and Krieger, was pulled by Genis to try to figure out why we're spending money on another outside law firm instead of it being handled by our Contract City Attorney.  When asked about it Hatch admitted they used this firm because they specialize in the issues involved, and that they could do with less than the  $75,000 requested - we could do $30,000.  Assistant to the CEO Dan Baker provided a further explanation.  Wendy Leece spoke to this issue.  Foley asked to delay this vote because of an anticipated review of our legal processes by the new council.  She moved to hear it at the second meeting in January.  It passed, 4-0.  I suspect Duarte found that particular exchange to be VERY interesting.

CONTRACT COST FOR VANDER DUESSEN
Item #8, the increase in the contract for Kimley-Horn and Associates for the services of Sherri Vander Duessen as interim Assistant Development Services Director to an amount not to exceed $499,999.00 through next June, was passed.  Foley emphasized the need for this position to become an inside position.  Mensinger asked for a report on how these costs compare to an employee with pension burden applied.  A parting shot at greedy city employees and their darn pensions!