ANOTHER MARATHON COUNCIL MEETING AHEAD

LOTS OF CONTROVERSIAL ITEMS ON THE AGENDA
The Costa Mesa City Council meets again on Tuesday, April 18, 2017 for what appears, based on the agenda report, HERE, to be another barn-burner of a meeting.  The public meeting begins at 6:00 p.m. and is preceded by a Closed Session at 4:00.  The Closed Session contains four (4) items - two labor negotiations with Fire staff and two items of existing litigation.  Those wishing to address the council on closed session items can present themselves before the council at 4:00 and have three minutes to speak on those issues.  Warning:  It's going to be a long night.

CONSENT CALENDAR
Following the Public Comments and Council Member Comments segments the council will consider the Consent Calendar - ten (10) items that might be considered on a single vote without separate discussion.  It's unlikely that will happen this time due to the nature of some of the items.

MORE BIG BUCKS SPENT
Item #2, HERE, is the Warrant Resolution #2575.  This one lists more than $3.6 million in expenditures.  As is usually the case, Legal Costs leads the way, accounting for more than $200,000.  Jones & Mayer accounts for $168,951.82; Liebert Cassidy Whitmore for $32,685.38 and Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth $11,311.00.

SELLING BOOZE AT THE SENIOR CENTER
Item #5, HERE,  is a request for Sale, Service and Consumption of Beer, Wine and Liquor beverages at the Senior Center. I know, images of tipsy seniors just flashed before your eyes, too.  I suspect there may be a few comments on this one.  Theoretically, this is just a temporary measure, while the Lions Park Project is being completed.  Again, I suspect we'll hear from some folks interested in this issue.

CANCEL JULY 4TH COUNCIL MEETING
Although it may not get pulled for discussion, Item #8, HERE, is a request from the City Manager's Office to cancel the regularly scheduled City Council meeting of July 4th.

YES... DO IT!
Item #9, HERE, is a request to replace an antiquated, non-functioning Fire Department Alerting System to the tune of $369,497.78.  I doubt anyone will pull this for discussion, but it's good to know that we may finally get a system that actually works.

APPROVING MANAGERS SALARIES AND BENEFITS
The first public hearing is the COIN ordinance second hearing for the new salary and benefit resolution between The City and the Costa Mesa Division Managers Association (CMDMA), unrepresented executives and confidential employees.  This won't take long.

CHANGING SOBER LIVING ORDINANCES
Public Hearing #2 is actually two hearings combined for discussion, HERE.  This is going to take some time because the Planning Commission massaged it with a virtual meat-axe during their hearing, so it will be interesting to see how the City Council responds to those recommendations.  The first amends the municipal code relating to group homes, residential care facilities and reasonable accommodation, and the second amends the code regarding operator's permits for group homes of seven and more located in the City's multi-family zones.  I expect this one to take a couple hours of discussion, comments and negotiation.  In a related matter, see New Business #4, below.

MEASURE X MEDICAL MARIJUANA PROCESSING FEES
Public Hearing #3, HERE, addresses the Fees to Process Applications for Medical Marijuana Businesses Allowed via Measure X.  You may recall my entry about the Stakeholder's Meeting recently on this subject.  Here's an exhibit that shows the proposed fee Schedules.  This one may generate some serious discussion by many of the proponents of the businesses proposed for that little section of town north of the 405 Freeway where such businesses are permitted.

URGENCY ORDINANCE FOR PEG FEES
New Business #1, HERE, is an Urgency Ordinance necessary for The City to be able to continue to collect a public, educational and government access fee (PEG Fee) from ATT.  It is possible that because the authorization for the collection of this fee expired 3/31/17, the city will be prohibited from continued collections unless and until it is re-authorized.

 NEW AMBULANCE MODEL PROPOSED - AGAIN
New Business #2, HERE, is the most recent iteration of Fire Chief Dan Stefano's plan for Ambulance Transportation in The City.  This issue has been batted around for several years, beginning with then Interim Chief Tom Arnold's first proposal.  This proposal asks the council to review and approve the updated option of the public/private partnership ambulance transportation model.  It also asks the council to authorize the City Manager to allocate an amount not to exceed $100,000 for the comprehensive administration and facilitation of the Request for Proposals (FRP) process for both the ambulance and billing services.  It also asks for the approval to annually utilize the billing rate structure that is consistent with those identified through the Orange County Health Care Agency EMS Policy and Procedures.

WHAT ABOUT DEPLOYMENT?
Here's my problem with this report... not enough specific data about how this new - and it appears to be new - proposal will impact staff deployment.  In the previous, two-year-old, report there were charts and graphs showing deployment models.  And, this model slices more than a half-million dollars of cost recovery money from the previous "Model #3".  While these questions and many more may be answered during Chief Stefano's presentation on Tuesday, it would be helpful if that information also appeared in the staff report.  And, the new Finance and Pension Advisory Committee DID NOT hear this report last week, even though it was on the agenda.  It seems to me that this subject required a Study Session environment during which council concerns could be fleshed out in a less formal setting before being brought to the council for a final approval.  We'll see how this plays out late in the agenda on Tuesday.

REINING IN ILLEGAL FIREWORKS - WITH MORE FIREWORKS
New Business #3, HERE, is rookie Councilman John Stephens' multi-pronged plan to mitigate the impact of illegal fireworks throughout the city over the Independence Day holiday.  It involves:

• A centrally-located July 4th Celebration at the Orange County Fair and Event Center.
• Allocation of $50,000 in new revenue and expenditures for FY 16/17 to cover event costs.
• A proactive campaign announcing the city will vigorously enforce the prohibition against illegal fireworks and seek a maximum penalty for such violations.
• No changes in current sale or discharge ordinances regarding safe and sane fireworks.

SAFER, LEGAL, FUN
I guess you could say the objective is to have a safer, legal holiday marking Independence Day while generating a more community-oriented major event at the Fairgrounds.  Stephens held a community forum on this issue recently, and the staff report includes a summary of comments from that event.

A LOT OF FLASH, NOT MUCH BANG
The staff report provides great detail of the event as Stephens perceives it, including the kind of entertainment and the kind of pyrotechnic - not concussive - display planned.  We're told there will be no "bombs bursting in air" - unlike what typically happens over several days in most of our neighborhoods in recent years.

IMPOSES MAXIMUM PENALTIES
And, the plan includes the imposition of a maximum penalty of $1,000 and/or six months in jail for the discharge of illegal fireworks - not the $150 fine that's been imposed in the past.

AVALANCHE OF WORK AWAITING PLANNING COMMISSION
New Business #4, HERE, presumes that the modifications to the municipal code regarding group homes mentioned in Public Hearing #2, above, will be approved.  This item remands back to the Planning Commission previous decisions for reconsideration.  It involves decisions involving:
2 Conditional Use Permits
4 Special Use Permits
1 Denial of a Conditional Use Permit
21 Applications for Reasonable Accommodation for CUPs
1 Special Use Permit back to the Director for Further Consideration

It's unclear what happens if the City Council does not follow through with the recommendations in Public Hearing #2.  The discussion will be lively on this issue.

TREVINO WAS RIGHT - PLANNING COMMISSIONERS NEED SOME REST
One thing is clear, though - we now know why Interim Development Services Director Jay Trevino admonished the Planning Commission at their last meeting to get some rest even though their next meeting will be canceled.

LETTER OPPOSING SENATE BILL 54 - LAW ENFORCEMENT DATA SHARING
New Business #5, HERE, is the final item on the agenda, which may actually be heard Wednesday morning.  This is a request by Councilman Allan Mansoor for the City of Costa Mesa to send a Letter of Opposition to SB 54, which involves repealing a segment of existing law involving sharing of data on certain offenders who may be subject to immigration enforcement action.  This bill is opposed by most major law enforcement organizations.  I'm not going to address whether I think this is a good bill or not - the text of the bill and an analysis is available as attachments to the staff report.  I do find it ironic that Mansoor, whose previous tour on the City Council was marked by controversy involving the Latino community in our City and who became the face of intolerance during that time, is the one putting this forward.  We'll see how this one goes.  

No Day Of Celebration For Me

 SAD, SAD REMEMBRANCE
While many of you are probably out celebrating St. Patrick's Day today - I know one Costa Mesa Councilman who is giddy about this day of the year and is probably raking in the bucks selling libations at his gin mill today - this stopped being a day of celebration for me five years ago.

MAYBE THE WORST DAY IN THE HISTORY OF COSTA MESA

In the afternoon on March 17, 2011, young City of Costa Mesa maintenance worker, Huy Pham, leaped to his death, apparently in response to being called to work to receive a 6-month layoff notice, along with 212 of his fellow workers.  This was the handiwork of Jim Righeimer - at the time Mayor Pro Tem - and his council majority that included the above-mentioned Mayor, Gary Monahan.  That photo above is from that fateful day, when Monahan chose to stay at his pub and pull beer taps on what he described to one reporter as, "the biggest day of my life".  It makes me almost puke even five years later when I type those words!

A LITTLE REFRESHER FOR YOU
So, to help you remember what it was like back then I've gathered some links to entries I wrote, and one other, that may help you put what's happening today into perspective - this is how it started.  Let me take you through a few my blog entries beginning with my final one in 2010, to give you a flavor of what happened in our city back then during 2011.  Just click on the title to travel back to that entry.

12/31/10 - The "DP 103" Announced.  This was a fun issue and I was included in this list.  It was a nice way to end the year.

1/3/11 - Contemplating Steve Mensinger.  I wrote this in anticipating of Mensinger being appointed to the City Council to replace Katrina Foley, who was elected to the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board.

1/5/11 - Mensinger Appointed To City Council.  This appointment changed EVERYTHING in our city from that date forward.

2/10/11 - Barlow Bails Out!.  Contract City Attorney, through Jones & Mayer, Kimberly Hall Barlow left her appointment as City Attorney.  Some speculated if it was because she pushed back... we'll never know.

2/16/11 - Eagle Shot Down - And That's Not All.  The decision was made to shut down the A.B.L.E. helicopter program, and more.

2/24/11 - Runaway Train Continues...  Righeimer's plan to privatize paramedics gets sprung on us.

2/25/11 - Costa Mesa To Discuss Outsourcing Nearly EVERY Job. Tom Hatch - not yet City Manager/CEO - announced this draconian plan, listing practically every organization that would be outsourced.

2/26/11 - A Look Back In Time. I reprised an essay I wrote on 2/22/06, speculating about what was to come.  You'll find this one interesting.

3/8/11 - Shawkey Finally Out & Hispanic Population Grows.  This one is self-explanatory.

3/1/11 - First The Fun, Then The Bad News. In this one I speak about the reception prior to the City Council meeting for retiring City Manager Allan Roeder and departing City Attorney Kim Barlow, and then talk about the appointment of Tom Duarte to replace Barlow.  This council meeting was where the groundwork was laid for what would follow on March 17th.

3/2/11 - Adios To Roeder & The Snowball's Moving. This summarizes what happened at that council meeting.  You'll find some interesting quotes in this one.

3/7/11 - The Beginning Of The Tom Hatch Era - Self-explanatory

3/15/11 - Staveley Appointed Interim Police Chief - Again.  Steve Staveley, a law enforcement icon, was appointed as Interim Police Chief for the second time.  As it turned out, never did we need his leadership more.

3/17/11 - Suicide At City Hall.  Shortly after 3 p.m. on that fateful day I received a call from a friend telling me to grab my camera and head to City Hall - but wouldn't tell me why.  He was insistent, so off I went.

3/18/11 - Costa Mesa Issues Press Release About Huy Pham. The verbatim text of Tom Hatch's press release.

3/19/11 - Of Loving, Lameness and Losers.  Here we discuss the candle-light vigil in memory of Huy Pham and the lamest of lame press conferences every held.

3/21/11 - Today The Healing Began - Or Did It?  This one discusses the memorial service held for Huy Pham at City Hall that day.   More than 100 people circled City Hall in a drizzle, paying their respects to Huy Pham.

3/24/11 - Lobdell As A Lightning Rod - This discusses the rapid hiring of Bill Lobdell as a consultant to manage the damage.

4/7/11 - The News - Righeimer, Bad - The City, Good.  Spin on the EMS issue

4/29/11 - Yes, Costa Mesa, The Sky Is Falling. We talk about departed senior staffers and the future.

5/27/11 - Hatch-No Staff Increases On His Watch.  Yes, he DID say that.

6/20/11 - Chief Staveley Resigns Effective Today! This was a seminal event of this year because Steve Staveley left a letter outlining EXACTLY why he was leaving.  This is a "must read".

6/23/11 - Jones & Mayer Bounces Staveley.

6/26/11 - A.B.L.E. - End Of Watch.  The demise of the finest Airborne Law Enforcement organization in California, maybe the country.  The model after which all others were created.

7/1/11 - The Pit Bull's Back!  My report of an attempt to intimidate me, for the second time, by OC GOP insider and one-time brother-in-law to Righeimer, Mark Bucher.  Didn't work the first time and didn't work this time, either.

7/11/11 - Gazsi Named Costa Mesa Police Chief!  A positive note, finally.

7/18/11 - Judge Affirms 'Outsourcing" Premilminary Injunction (Amended)*.  The beginning of the end, but not without millions in legal fees, to Jim Righeimer's bogus layoff plan.

7/22/11 - What Is Talon Up To?  The hiring of a high-priced investigative organization to investigate Huy Pham's death.

8/3/11 - If You Thought It Was Bad Before. A report on resident frustration and anger on the situation.  Tamar Goldmann, Perry Valantine and others chime in.  Worth a look.

8/4/11 - It's Official (Again) - Huy Pham Jumped.  Talon concludes what we already knew.

8/22/11 - Outsourcing Jousting. Sparring between the City and the Employees Association

*8/19/11 - Tad Friend's Great Costa Mesa Adventure**. New Yorker magazine writer Tad Friend journeyed to Costa Mesa and wrote a great piece on the turmoil.  I quoted him extensively here.

9/1/11 - Labor Day In Costa Mesa . My summary of events of the year to that point.

*9/1/11 - It's Gotten Messy In Costa Mesa. Chasen Marshall's great piece in the OC Weekly discussing the chaos in our city.

10/20/11 - Costa Mesa PR Jobs Announced.  Bill Lobdell and Dan Joyce hired.

10/21/11 - Tom Arnold Named Costa Mesa Interim Fire Chief.  Another positive bit of news.

11/2/11 - Righeimer Wants A "Charter City".  Righeimer's Bombshell announcement.

12/2/11 - City Confirms Hiring Francis As Assistant CEO.  The staff additions continue in the Executive Suite.

12/14/11 - What A Great Evening! Snoopy House saved from the trash heap - and provides a convenient distraction from the chaos in the city.

*Read these if you don't read the rest.

OUTSOURCING WELL ON THE WAY
So, here we are, five years later and it's been five years of rancor, turmoil and lawsuits.  Outsourcing HAS occurred - Jail Services, Street Sweeping and, soon, Landscape Maintenance.  Many of the essential functions in City Hall are being performed by outside contractors and consultants.  Engineering is being done by consultants.  Building Inspections and Plan Checking are being done by consultants.

A WARPED VISION
Of course, the police staffing is down and the crime rate is up.  Senior, experienced officers have left by the dozens and the replacement of them was delayed for most of a year and now we cannot catch up.  The current council majority, led by the warped vision of Jim Righeimer, is filling potholes at a record pace but our city is not safe.  We purchased $1.6 million worth of rescue ambulances, but Righeimer refuses to permit them to be properly utilized to keep his campaign contributors at the trough.

HIS DEATH WAS UNNECESSARY
If Jim Righeimer was not such a ham-handed manager he probably could have accomplished his evil goals without the death of Huy Pham, but we'll never know.

TAKE A FEW MOMENTS TO REMEMBER HUY PHAM
So, on this normally festive day, take a few minutes while sloshing back green beer to remember that young man who leaped to his death five years ago.  Despite all the attempts by officials and their hired guns and minions to defame him as some kind of drug-addled loser, he was a wonderful young man, early in his career, who worked hard to support his family and make a future for himself.... just the kind of person Righeimer says he wants to attract to our city.

Chief Arnold Sets The Record Straight

HIS DAILY PILOT COMMENTARY IS CORRECT
By now many of you have already read former Interim Fire Chief Tom Arnold's commentary in the Daily Pilot, HERE, in which he sets the record straight on the process by which the City of Costa Mesa acquired six (6) rescue ambulances for $1.6 million as part of his 17-point plan for the reorganization of the Costa Mesa Fire Department.

I REMEMBER...
As one of those who sat through each of the many presentations of Arnold's plan over a couple of years, and who wrote about it every time, I have a pretty good recollection of how things went.  I recall, specifically, that an integral part of the plan was for the Costa Mesa Fire Department to take over the transportation of injured or ill individuals and, as a result, the charges for that transport would end up in the city coffers and not in the pockets of the private ambulance company - CARE Ambulance.

UNBELIEVABLE DECISION
I was in the audience when the City Council majority chose to leave things as they are and continue permitting CARE Ambulance - a campaign contributor to Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer's campaigns - continue to reap all those dollars - upwards of $3 million each year, depending on which iteration of the alternatives were chosen.

A FLAT-OUT LIE!
Worse, I was aghast when Righeimer flat out lied about the transportation element.  As he uttered those words I glanced around the auditorium and saw many regulars to this process - residents and city staffers alike - do double-takes.  When I looked back at Righeimer I fully expected to see his nose growing as he told that whopper.

 A TOUGH DECISION
Those who know Chief Arnold - a kind and thoughtful man of impeccable credentials, a long-time Costa Mesa resident and mentor to many in the fire service - have some feeling of the kind of angst he must have gone through before he published that commentary.  As kindly and professionally as possible, he told us that Righeimer was wrong - and intentionally wrong, to boot.

TELL IT LIKE IT IS...
Chief Arnold was correct, but let's just say it like it is.  Here's what I said in the comment thread of Chief Arnold's commentary: "Jim Righeimer is a self-serving, devious liar who placed his personal political priorities ahead of what is best for the community."  Of course, we could go on and on about him, his lack of character, his hatred of "union" employees, how he has tried to run this city like a dictator ever since he came to town nearly a decade ago, and on and on and on...

USELESS, CONIVING LAME DUCK
Righeimer is now officially a lame duck - a man with less than three years left on his tour - which makes him even more dangerous.  He's done tremendous damage to this city over the past five years and, with no election on his horizon, has nothing to lose if he continues to dismantle one of the best municipal staffs in Orange County and cut the legs out of the public safety organizations due to his vindictive hatred of those who perform those dangerous jobs to keep us safe.  I've discussed those shortcomings of his many times in the past and will keep reminding you of them as we move forward.

WHAT ABOUT STATION #6?
Now this big cloud hangs over Chief Dan Stefano's fire organization.  What now?  What is the future of Fire Station #6, our newest station, which sits on land donated to the city by the Sakioka family for that purpose.  Part of the plan included the closure of Fire Station #6, but the developments being planned - ground was broken for one of them this past week - makes the closure of that station questionable.

WHAT ABOUT THE RIGS?
And what about those six rescue ambulances we purchased and have been in the process of folding into the deployment plans?  Do we sell them off like brand-new scrap, for pennies on the dollar?

SWAYED BY POLITICAL INFLUENCE
In my opinion, the City Council made a HUGE mistake when deciding to stick with the status quo.  They allowed a campaign contributor to frighten them into believing that NO ambulance company would agree to a reduced role in our city.  Shame on them for walking away from a significant revenue source - greater on an annual basis than our Business License Tax and Investment Income  revenues combined - and the opportunity to provide state-of-the-art Emergency Medical Services to the community.

THANKS....
With that on our minds, I finally want to say thanks to former Chief Tom Arnold for his wisdom, guidance of our fire service and support for our city.... and for the courage to tell it like it is on this issue.

Marathon Council Meeting Ends In A Fiasco!

DISAPPOINTMENT
Remember how I've mentioned in the past that nothing good happens at Costa Mesa City Council meetings after midnight?  Well, the council proved that point once again as their latest meeting ended with a very dull thud.

TOO LATE AGAIN
Because the meeting ended at 1:20 a.m. Wednesday morning and because I'm still dealing with the aftermath of this darn cold and because I'm just too exhausted to give you more right now, let me attempt to summarize how the final item on the agenda was handled.  I'll cover the rest of the agenda later today sometime.

AMBULANCE TRANSPORT
The issue at hand - the reorganization of the Costa Mesa Fire Department and, specifically, the Ambulance Transport segment of that project.  The council began hearing this item at 9:37 p.m. Tuesday evening following a 10 minute break.  CEO Tom Hatch kicked it off, then turned the presentation over to Fire Chief Dan Stefano, who took us through a "brief" history of the planning of this process dating back to the middle of 2011, through the tenure of Interim Chief Tom Arnold and the various approvals given by the council at critical mileposts in the evolution of the plan.

CONSULTANTS
The consultants who were hired to prepare the feasibility study that's available on the city web site for review made a presentation, explaining their process and their backgrounds.  They refuted information in the letter from CARE Ambulance received that day.

SPEAKERS
Seventeen speakers addressed this issue, most of whom concurred with the staff recommendation to select Option #3, a public/private partnership, although more than a few thought other options were more appropriate.  Some thought #2, which would generate the most cash for the city and put the full responsibility for medical transport in the hands of the Costa Mesa Fire Department, was the better choice.

CARE DIGS IN HEELS
Of those seventeen speakers, the final one was Troy Hagen, the owner of CARE Ambulance, who refuted claims made by the consultants.  Hagen had earlier sent a letter to Mayor Steve Mensinger - three pages of petulant rhetoric which ended by him stating that his company would NOT participate in Option #3, the staff recommended option, because it would cost them money to do so.

AFTER 3.5 HOURS - NOTHING!
Three hours and thirty-two minutes later, when the final vote was cast - after Councilwoman Sandra Genis made a motion to approve the staff recommendation and go with Option 3 with Katrina Foley seconding that motion, Jim Righeimer offered a substitute motion, seconded by lamest of lame ducks, Gary Monahan.  That motion was to adopt Option #1 - which is to do NOTHING!  Zero, nada, no change!  After much wailing and gnashing of teeth and with Foley calling him out for what he is, the motion passed on a 3-2 vote, with Genis and Foley voting no.

FOLEY RAKES RIGHEIMER
That thud I mentioned above was actually a thud muffled by Foley yelling at Righeimer for his subterfuge.  It was not a pretty sight.  So, after more than three years since the discussions began, thousands of staff hours assessing the organization and evaluating the results of the consultants report, there will be NO CHANGE in the way Emergency Medical Services are handled in the city.

WE'VE GOT THE EQUIPMENT, BUT..
After the council previously approved the purchase of six medical vans worth $1.6 million and after putting half of them in service anticipating the next step - to use them to perform patient transport and reaping the financial windfall that goes along with it - nothing will happen.

NO RETORT - SHE WAS CORRECT!
It was interesting to note that when Foley was calling Righeimer out last night, describing in great detail how he had joined the other council members over several years in voting to move forward with elements of this plan, including buying the medical vans, by quoting the reports from those meetings, he just sat there with a kind of vacuous expression on his face.  He did NOT even attempt to rebut her claims.

MISSTEP WITH COMMENTARY
The meeting ended with Foley demanding that City Attorney Thomas Duarte investigate and report back to the council whether Righeimer and Mensinger should be barred from any consideration about the future of Fire Station #6 - the subject of their recent Daily Pilot commentary in which they said it should be kept open - and she referred Duarte specifically to what she called the "Woody's Wharf" case.

VERY DISAPPOINTING
This was one of the most disppointing council meetings in my memory.  It's hard to describe the frustration one feels after watching all the staff time, hard work, overtime being worked because staffing has been delayed all for naught.  Watching that drama play out it became quite clear that there's something more at play with the Righeimer/CARE Ambulance relationship.  We will find out what that is and report back.

STAFF WORK IGNORED
In the meantime, your council majority just voted to deny all the years of staff work - the careful consideration given to this issue - and ignore the millions of dollars left on the table for CARE Ambulance to continue to pocket.  The next time Righeimer, Mensinger or Monahan complain about not being able to fund something, please do remind them that they just left a big chunk of change on the table.

MORE LATER
More on the rest of the council meeting later today.  Suffice it to say, this was not the only disappointment of the evening.