Foley And Genis On Parking, Pets And More...

RESPONSE TO PUBLIC CONCERNS
Costa Mesa City Councilwoman Katrina Foley, along with Councilwoman Sandy Genis, held a little public workshop in City Council Chambers at City Hall last night to inform interested members of the public on a few issues about which Foley has been getting inquires.

RESIDENTS AND STAFF INTERACTING
A couple dozen people attended the meeting, along with a few members of the staff, who provided the background and were available to answer questions.

BARK PARK UPDATE
First up was Recreation Manager Justin Martin, who provided us with an update on the recently-renovated Bark Park.  The 10 week makeover/expansion was successful and users seem to appreciate the new turf, shade and furniture, plus other features.

HATCH ON LICENSING AND STATS
CEO Tom Hatch spoke on the pet licensing process, indicating that approximately 36% of Costa Mesa residents are pet owners.  He provided us with some very interesting statistics.

For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016 the city showed the following numbers:

• Total active animal licenses - 5,046
• 397 unaltered dogs (it costs $80.00 per year to license an unaltered dog)
• 4,591 altered dogs (it costs $25.00 per year to license an altered dog) 
• 30 service dogs
• 28 non-domesticated animals which include mainly chickens, a mini pig and an iguana
• 1,265 dogs owned by senior citizens age 62 and up (it costs $40.00 for an unaltered license and $10.00 for an altered pet)
• 4,605 payments processed
• Fees collected - $116,43.20
• Check transactions processed - $83,000.07
• Cash transactions processed - $33,492.50
• Late fees collected - $2,900.00, approximately 2.5% of total fees collected
• It was estimated that there are actually 40,000 pets in the city

He also went over the process of licensing your pet.  Genis chimed in with a comment about needing to have a chip inplanted in your pet to help with retrieval if it gets lost.

BAKKILA ON NEW HUMANE SOCIETY FACILITY
CMPD Lieutenant Vic Bakkila then spoke about the new arrangement with the Humane Society for the operation of a facility on Hamilton in Huntington Beach - just across the Costa Mesa border - which will be shared with Garden Grove.  Genis suggested the facility could use lots of volunteers to help with the site - and to be eyes and ears for The City in case things don't go well.  A half-dozen people asked questions from the audience including the use of artificial turf (Martin said we have a test strip now); the availability of dog waste bags (in theory we provide those bags at all parks); the possibility of becoming part of the new, modern County animal shelter (Foley said someone would get back to that person); how to contribute money to help with the maintenance of the Bark Park(Foley suggested contributing to the Community Foundation with the money earmarked for Bark Park use).

THE PET COMMITTEE
Dan Baker spoke of the Pet Committee, a cross-departmental group of City employees working on four points:
1 - Working with the Humane Society, including on-site visits
2 - Pet Licensing
3 - Making sure the Dog Park remains in excellent condition
4 - Community Engagement and Awareness, including knowledge of our partnering with the Humane Society.  He also mentioned a September 15th Pet Prep Rally, which will include a mobile vet to administer free rabies innoculations and pets available for adoption.  In October there will be something called the Howl-O-Ween.

RESIDENT-ONLY PERMIT PARKING
Next came the discussion of Permit Parking throughout the City.  Transportation Services Manager Raja Sethuraman took the lead on this segment.  Foley, discussing the impact of strangers parking in her Mesa Del Mar neighborhood - mostly college students from Orange Coast College - reminded us that the first week of parking at OCC each semester is FREE.  She also reminded us that after that it's only $30.00 per semester.  Genis spoke about landlords renting out garage space and creating on-street parking problems.

THE FAIR, COMMERCIAL AND NOW APARTMENTS
Raja told us that Permit Parking in residential neighborhoods was first the result of the Orange County Fair.  Then the demand spread to neighborhoods near commercial venues.  Now the impacts are coming from the large number of apartments in the city.  He told us to have an area receive permit parking 51% of the neighbors must sign the petition - a sample can be provided -  and that 70% of the usable parking (on street and in driveways) must be taken up during an inspection.  He said we currently have 2,000 homes with parking permits.  The City is divided into six zones and the permits are color-coded so they cannot be used in other zones.  Each permit is good for 3 years.

GOOD PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Eight members of the public, like Beth Refakes, address several elements of this issue.  Some spoke of businesses being run out of garages, foreclosing them being used for parking.  Others spoke of owners of a half-dozen cars using the streets to park them.  Others spoke of the frustration of years of reporting problems but having no resolution to them.  Others addressed obviously commercial trucks/trailers that are being left in residential neighborhoods.  Lt. Bakkila encouraged them to call the parking hotline - 714-754-5290 - to report a problem.  He said they love to haul those trucks away.  He mentioned that the CMPD used to have 8 Community Service Specialists (CSS) assigned to work on parking issues.  The staffing cuts in the CMPD lost all those people.  Presently there are seven (7) part time aides attempting to cover the entire city.  He mentioned he would work on training his sworn officers on recognition of parking decal for individual zones in the city.

STREET SWEEPING
Finally the discussion turned to Street Sweeping - which has been outsourced to a private company -  and the difficulty folks are having in some neighborhoods because cars clog the curbs during sweeper day.  Raja told us that if 50% of a section of street is not swept it could qualify for posting "No Parking On Sweeper Day" signs.  He told the audience to call the Transportation Department line - 714-754-5343.  He did mention that on holiday weeks - like the upcoming Labor Day holiday - NO streets will be swept due to conflicts with trash pickups.

ENDED ON TIME WITH GENERAL SATISFACTION
The meeting ended promptly at 7:30 and the attendees seemed generally satisfied with the information they received.  There will be follow-up with specific neighbors on some of their specific concerns.  It was a good start and a comfortable process with excellent opportunities for residents to interact with staff and council members informally.

Another Successful "Coffee With A Cop" In The Books

IT WAS GOOD EVEN THOUGH...
Despite the fact that Mayor Steve Mensinger - who is suing the men and women of the Costa Mesa Police Department - showed up and stayed for an hour, the latest Coffee With A Cop event at the Starbucks store at Harbor and Wilson today went very well.

OTHER SENIOR STAFFERS
Not only did Mensinger grace us with his formidable presence, but CEO Tom Hatch, Assistant CEO Rick Francis and new Public Information Officer Tony Dodero also attended the event.  Councilwoman Katrina Foley showed up and visited with police, staff and residents.

MANY OF COSTA MESA'S FINEST
From the CMPD, Chief Rob Sharpnack, Captains Mark Manley and Bryan Glass, Lieutenant Vic Bakkila, Sergeant Clint Dieball, Community Service Specialist Kelly Vucinic and many other officers came and went, stopping to visit with residents.

RESIDENTS AND ACTIVISTS
Throughout the morning residents came and went, many stopping to chat with officers and to get a free cup of coffee.  I saw many familiar faces and many new ones - folks on their way for their morning cup of Joe who saw the police officers and stopped to visit.  Former City Council candidate and homelessness activist Tony Capitelli, who works for Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, also showed up to chat with the police and residents about homelessness.

RECRUITING
I saw young people, enthralled by the weaponry carried by the police officers, stop to ask questions.  We saw some disabled folks, including one disabled Marine, stop to say "Hello".

THE CHIEF IS OPTIMISTIC
We stood there as Chief Sharpnack told residents about all the exciting things happening in his department - new hires and new recruits in the pipeline; re-staffing the Detective Bureau and a new spirit of optimism.  It was good to hear.

JOSE TORRES
We had a chance to visit with long-time officer Jose Torres, now astride one of our new bicycles, who shared stories about this new adventure for the CMPD.

MIKE BRUMBAUGH
We had a chance to visit briefly with Code Enforcement Officer Mike Brumbaugh - shown below on the left - who recently lost a boss when Jerry Guarrancino abruptly left the employ of the city.  Brumbaugh will be part of the other Code Enforcement team now, but basically maintain the same assignments.

A CHUCKLE
I had to chuckle as I saw a CARE Ambulance team snuggle their rig in next to a CMPD vehicle.  CARE is at the core of controversy regarding our proper use of our brand new quarter million dollar rescue ambulances, but that's another story.

A VISIT TO WILSON PARK
On my way to Starbucks I stopped at Wilson Park, just a block East of the site, to see how many homeless/junkies/prostitutes were hanging out there.  Residents apparently have reported such activities, so we've locked the bathrooms and removed the picnic tables.  Instead of miscreants I found only Park Ranger Ann Harkey, on the job.  She and I visited about the situation in the park, which is better today than it was a month ago.  When I asked about the locked bathrooms she told me stories that made me cringe - stories about several people being seen emerging from the bathrooms following whatever illicit activities they had engaged in.  She told me about having the drains cleaned from the bathrooms and found them packed with drug residue - syringes, etc.  No, I wouldn't let a child use those bathrooms today.  When I left heading for Starbucks she also departed, leaving for a meeting, but was replaced with another Park Ranger, who was still there two hours later when I drove home.  There was still no sign of bad actors in the park.  See, a greater law enforcement presence CAN and DOES make a difference, despite with Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer tells us.

KUDOS TO ALL
So, another good day for Coffee With A Cop.  I hope this series continues because it provides an excellent opportunity for residents to meet and chat with officers in a very casual setting.  Kudos to all.

It's Almost Party Time!

FAIRGROUNDS OPEN HOUSE
The staff of the Orange County Fair and Event Center (Fairgrounds), headed by new CEO Kathy Kramer, held an Open House in the Administration Building on the Fairgrounds Tuesday night to tell the community about their plans for the upcoming 125th Orange County Fair this summer - operating for a month beginning July 17, 2015 - and to introduce the theme of this year's fair - One Big Party!

SORRY...
I apologize for the poor quality of the images this time.  I took my backup camera with a slow lens.  That, coupled with the light glaring across the screen, have made for some shoddy images.

A GOOD CROWD
The crowd of more than five dozen people paid close attention as Kramer spoke of their plans and the relationship the Fairgrounds has with the Costa Mesa Police Department, since noise, rowdiness and neighborhood parking issues are major concerns of nearby residents.  I noticed many community activists in the crowd, but most were residents of College Park and Mesa del Mar - the two residential areas closest to the Fairgrounds.  With the exception of the members of the CMPD present, I saw no elected or appointed city official, nor did I see any member of the city staff.

CMPD INTERACTION

Captain Mark Manley spoke from the CMPD standpoint and introduced Lieutenant Vic Bakkila and Sergeant Bryan Wadkins, who will be the command staff in charge the CMPD interface with the Fair staff.

ENTERTAINMENT

Dan Gaines, who heads up the Entertainment element of the Fair, spoke briefly about that subject.  We learned that they usually have about 80% of returning acts, but this year in the Hanger there will be 40% new acts.

EVENTS

Joan Hamel spoke about the events planned, as listed on this image.  As you can see, they include a new ice skating attraction, Fairenheit 32 and the ever popular Cattle Drive on August 8th.

SECURITY
Nick Buffa, who manages Safety and Security, ( I apologize for having no good photo of Nick, son of former Costa Mesa Mayor Peter Buffa) then spoke about the new Neighborhood Ambassador Program, which is designed to have eyes and ears in the two main communities around the Fairgrounds to help head off problems.  The folks will patrol in 2-person teams in GEM electric cars and be dressed in bright Orange uniform shirts.  They will have dedicated VOIP telephones with which they can report problems as they roam through the neighborhoods.  They will NOT be sworn officers - all police-related matters will be directed to the CMPD.

SOUND CONTROL
Sound guru Gary Hardesty spoke briefly about the efforts that will be made to contain and control the sound from the musical acts this year.  He told us that there will be two self-contained sound monitoring units placed in the community - one in College Park and one in Mesa del Mar - to provide valuable real-time information to help with this year's Fair and into the future.

COMMUNICATIONS
Robin Wachner told us of the communication tools that will be used, as listed on this image.  She also gave us a link, HERE, which will take you to the page shown below for more information.

BEHAVIOR
Then Kramer took questions from the audience and had her team available to answer them.  The concerns expressed covered the gamut - drunkenness, rowdiness, trash and unwelcome parking in the neighborhoods.  To those kinds of questions Manley and Wadkins advised us that the CMPD will be properly staffed to handle those issues.  Resident Jeff Wilcox advised folks concerned about parking to go to the City and request resident-only parking stickers.

AND THE NOISE...
Noise - from the musical groups and the car, motorcycles and truck events that happen during the fair - were concerns of many residents.  I smiled as Hardesty tried to console them with vague assurances that they will try to control the musical groups.  The automotive noise will be addressed.  For example, if the contract requires mufflers on vehicles and they show up without them, the event will be cancelled.

VANGUARD CONCERNS
Residents along Vanguard expressed concern about parking and rowdy folks, indicating they feel neglected because they are a little farther away from the Fairgrounds.  They were encouraged to immediately call the police if there are problems.

CMPD ON THE JOB
Wadkins assured the neighbors that the CMPD would be there to manage the traffic during the Fair, and to route it to alternate parking sites when the Fairgrounds parking filled up.

OTHER STUFF
Other issues, like being able to buy tickets with a smart phone and not have to print it out, entering the Fair from Gate 5, were discussed.  Kramer, who has only been on the job about 4 months, has a nice, easy style and did her best to make the members of the community feel welcome and appreciated.

IT SHOULD BE ANOTHER GREAT FAIR
This meeting was video taped and will be made available somewhere on the OC Fair web site in the near future.  It sounds like we have yet another terrific Fair ahead of us.  For the past decade more than 1,000,000 people attended the Fair - the ninth largest county fair in the country.  Last year over 1.3 million folks attended.  To learn more about the Orange County Fair and Event Center and the Fair click HERE.