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.

Mensinger To Meet With Feds On DG Trail!

WHAT A WAY TO END THE WEEK!

Just when you think a week couldn't possibly get more bizarre, another curious missive is propelled out from the 5th floor of City Hall.

MEETING WITH FEDS
In a press release today, HERE, titled, "Statement from Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger on Fairview Park Trail", Mensinger tells us that, through the City Attorney's Office, he's requested a meeting with U.S. Fish and Wildlife to talk with their agents about what he knows about the incident.  Yikes!

HIS REQUEST STARTED IT...
You will recall from the released public records that it appears that Mensinger requested Public Services Director Ernesto Munoz to do something about the trail along the fence separating the Waldorf School/Parsons Field and Fairview Park.  What happened as a result of that request was a scraping of weeds and application of herbicide on a swath at least six feet wide.  And, later, mysteriously that area was found covered with decomposed granite to the depth in some places of at least six inches and wide enough to drive a tandem-axle truck on it.

ENCROACHED ON PROTECTED AREAS
That path encroached significantly on Federally-protected vernal pools - habitat for San Diego Fairy Shrimp.

DG REMOVED, SANCTIONS POSSIBLE
The decomposed granite has been removed under the guidance of the U.S Department of Fish and Wildlife at a very significant cost to the city.  Word on further possible sanctions by the government due to our poor stewardship of that site is still pending.

WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT?
It's not clear what Mensinger hopes to accomplish with his conversation with representatives of U.S. Fish and Wildlife.  One more thing for us to speculate about.  Maybe he will finally fess up to playing a bigger part in the debacle and take personal responsibility for it.  Or, maybe he'll tell them he didn't do anything.  Or, maybe he'll tell them who did it... I guess we'll find out.

IF HE'S CULPABLE HE SHOULD RESIGN
In my opinion, if it is the former - and he's consistently denied any knowledge of the installation of the DG path for more than six months - that's a serious breach of his fiduciary responsibility as a councilman and the number two elected official in our city.  If that's the case he should immediately resign from his office and pay whatever costs and penalties that act has caused the city to incur.  We'll see.

A Look Back At 2013

IT'S FOOTBALL TIME, BUT I'M BACK
I took a day off to fully immerse myself in family time and college football and will continue to enjoy the remaining bowl games over the next several days, but I thought I'd provide you a little reminder of what the last twelve months have been like in our neck of the woods as viewed from my perch on the far Eastside of Costa Mesa.  So much happened in our city last year that it makes one's head spin just trying to contemplate it all.  But first, some perspective...

NO WONDER I'M POOPED!

I began writing this blog in July of 2005 using a different host, which I've described as a "bare bones" host - no photos, no comments... just me writing and one or two of you reading.  Then, in November 2006, I switched to my current host, Blogger, which permitted me to use images and also gave me the mixed blessing of receiving comments.  In February, 2013 I told you, HERE, that by the end of January - roughly five and a half years since beginning to use this host - the page views on this blog finally surpassed 1,000,000 - 1,000,970, to be precise.  And, at that time, we'd posted 1748 entries.  Well, as of December 31, 2013 here's how those numbers look.

Whew!  More than a half-million page views in 11 months and more than one post per day for that time period!  It's no wonder I ended up the year completely thrashed!  But, it's a new year and there's going to be plenty going on, so onward and upward...  Thanks to you loyal readers... But first, a look back...

MY FACEBOOK RESPITE

A year ago I announced HERE that I was bailing out of Facebook for a variety of reasons.  It was my intent to stay out of that mosh pit, but after three months, without fanfare, I decided to  rejoin and sit quietly in a corner and watch.  HA!  Not a chance!  I missed the opportunity to comment on the Daily Pilot and Orange County Register articles, even though some thin-skinned wimps had been offended by my previous comments.  I must admit that I really enjoyed the additional time being away from Facebook provided to me for a quarter of last year.

THE 60TH CELEBRATION/SCANDAL

January of 2013 saw the creation of the 60th Anniversary Celebration Committee and the election of Mike Scheafer as Chairman and Melinda Lowery as Vice Chair.  I wrote about it HERE and HERE.  Dozens of volunteers went to work with a very short head-start to prepare to celebrate the City's 60th birthday party and did a fine job.  By most reports - including mine, HERE - the celebration that took place the weekend before Independence Day was a rousing success.  However,  despite the euphoria, all was apparently not well in River City.  In August, HERE, we were told that Public Affairs Manager Dan Joyce and his assistant, Christine Cordon, were placed on administrative leave.  A few days later official-looking men were observed transporting boxes of papers and computers from the 5th Floor of City Hall to the Police Headquarters next door, HERE, and a couple days later the city finally confirmed the leaves of Joyce and Cordon, HERE.  The mystery surrounding the finances of this event continue to swirl and the City continues to drag its feet on Public Records requests, denying the public information about how it managed to allow spending on this event exceed their estimates by more than 20% - and counting.

THE DECOMPOSED GRANITE PATH
Ah, but there's more...
About the time the 60th Celebration was coming together somebody defiled federally-protected habitat in Fairview Park by installing a decomposed granite (DG) path, HERE.  This process, based on correspondence in the public record, was initiated by Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger's request (demand?) of Public Services Director Ernesto Munoz to improve a user-defined trail - basically a cow path - that ran from the end of Canyon Drive along the fence that separates the park and Parsons Field that Mensinger claims was used by kids walking to Estancia High School.  It's all about the kids, after all.  Munoz and his staff graded the area and encroached on vernal pool #6 - a federally-protected habitat of the San Diego Fairy Shrimp.  The staff apparently also applied an herbicide to kill off those nasty weeds.  Then, somebody spread tons of DG over that graded area and nobody will come forward to admit it, although in public comments Mensinger implied "people knew" who did it.  Now the federal government is involved and, as I type this, the offending DG is being removed and the vernal pools affected are being restored, HERE.  We still don't know the long-range impact of this inexcusable incursion - perhaps the Feds will forbid us to do ANYTHING in Fairview Park because of our poor stewardship of this site.

FITZY FINALLY RESIGNS - SCHAFER RETURNS

In January Jim Fitzpatrick resigned from the Costa Mesa Sanitary District Board, HERE.  He had earlier resigned from his seat on the Costa Mesa Planning Commission.  The two seats were found to be incompatible.  However, since he accepted the appointment to the Planning Commission seat after he was elected to the Sanitary District Board, he should have resigned the Sanitary District Board seat.  He and the board went round and round for months before he finally did what he should have done in the first place.  Nineteen people tossed their hats in the ring for Fitzpatrick's slot, HERE, the Board thinned out the candidate pool, HERE, and former Director Arlene Schafer - who had lost her seat to Fitzpatrick - was placed on the Board, HERE.

SALCEDO QUITS - FITZY BECOMES CHAIRMAN
Then Planning Commissioner Ed Salcedo resigned his seat, HERE, and the City Council made a mistake by attempting to appoint his replacement too quickly, HERE.  Eventually they seated a group of supporters, including Fitzpatrick, who was named Chairman, HERE.

DORNER
One of the biggest stories during the early part of the year was the rampage by Christopher Dorner.  I wrote about it HERE, HERE and HERE.  How does one begin to understand his actions?
COYOTES
And, the incursion of coyotes into Costa Mesa neighborhoods where they killed family pets continued, HERE.

STRANGE BEHAVIOR

Michael McHugh, a parent of an Estancia High School student, was apprehended when he threatened school officials with what turned out to be a replica gun, HERE.  Nobody was harmed.  And a Costa Mesa man blew himself up, HERE.

A SAD IRONY
In a sad bit of irony, Costa Mesa police officers were, once again, honored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) for their diligence in removing impaired drivers from our streets, HERE, virtually simultaneously with the tragic death of CMPD detective Mike Delgadillo, who crashed his car while impaired, HERE.

RIGHEIMER'S LATEST CHARTER SCHEME
Mayor Jim Righeimer, apparently frustrated by the overwhelming statement by the voters in the then-recent election to defeat his Charter scheme, demanded - and got - another bite of the apple, HERE and HERE.  He had a Charter Committee formed - stacked with his cronies - and they are meeting with regularity to try to cobble together a document that will change the way Costa Mesa is governed that the voters will buy into.  Despite the diligence of facilitators Kirk Bauermeister and Mike Decker, progress is slowed by Tea Party Tom Pollitt's insistence is squandering valuable time debating whether to pray at the beginning of the meetings, HERE.  The process moves forward, HERE, although Righeimer got a big kick in the teeth from the State Legislature when Governor Jerry Brown signed SB311, which changed the way "Prevailing Wages" are handled.  That knocked the foundation of Righeimer's argument for a Charter out the window, HERE.

HOMELESS HOUSING WHIPSAWED
The continuing problem of how to deal with the homeless population in Costa Mesa continued to bubble.  Near the end of the year a site was identified for possible use as a venue for homes for previously homeless folks - Civic Center Park, across the street from the Police Headquarters, HERE.  Meetings to provide the community a chance to address this issue were scheduled, HERE.  Then, inexplicably, it was announced that the site was no longer under consideration! HERE.

COUNCIL MAJORITY POISONS THE WELL
The toxic atomosphere created by the current elected majority on the City Council has drawn more than a few critics.  Former Interim Police Chief Steve Staveley once again addressed it HERE.  Former Police Chief - and current Beverly Hills Police Chief Dave Snowden - addressed it HERE.  The relationship between the council majority and employees continued to deteriorate and long-time employees like Billy Folsom, HERE, and Helen Nenadal, HERE, chose to retire earlier than expected due to the stress placed on them.  They were not alone.  Overworked Finance and Information Technology Director Bobby Young announced his departure for private industry in July, HERE.  In an attempt to get a handle on the steady loss of experienced, skilled employees the City commissioned Chip Espinosa to do a "Listening Survey", HERE.  However, I don't think they were ready for the result.  Espinosa apparently had to go back several times and massage his final report - we assume because folks in power just didn't like what they were being told.  And the bleeding continues, with - especially in the case of the Police Department, departures are far outstripping our ability to back fill with qualified candidates.

LAWSUITS AND CRITICS
Where have you heard of a city where the employees found it necessary to sue the City to force it to follow its own rules?, HERE.  Where has the mayor and mayor pro tem sued the men and women of its police department? HERE and HERE.  Where have you heard of a mayor, so upset with criticism of his actions during City Council meetings that he changes the rules and forces speakers to stay until the end of meetings - sometimes well past midnight - to air their grievances? HERE.

DISTRACTIONS
There were many positive things that happened last year, although some were just shiny objects designed to distract from what was really happening, like the "Mayors Dinner", HERE, and the 60th Anniversary Celebration.  And, of course, there was the Snoopy House event on City Hall lawn.

TWO LEADERS
We did finally hire a new Fire Chief, Dan Stefano, HERE, after years of instability in that position.  And Police Chief Tom Gazsi was honored by the Daily Pilot as #1 on their DP 103 list of influential people in our cities, HERE - an acknowledgement of his outstanding contribution to our city as he attempts to hold the Police Department together despite roadblocks placed in his way by the council majority.  And, yes, I'm #19 on that list, for which I'm very grateful and humbled to be included again.

MORE FUN AHEAD
There was much, much more going on in our city last year.  This year, an election year, promises to be even more interesting and, probably, contentious as candidates for public office jockey for position.  It is presumed that Righeimer will run to retain his seat on the city council, but we're told that Katrina Foley will also run for one of the two seats available.  And, announced candidates Lee Ramos and Tony Capitelli will fragment support for Righeimer - always a good thing.  And Assemblyman Allan Mansoor has announced he will run for Supervisor John Moorlach's seat, but is getting no Republican Party support.  Looks like he may have no place to sit down when the music stops this year.  One thing is certain... it's NOT going to be boring in Costa Mesa this year.  Even without elections, those in power continue to find ways to make themselves look silly and incompetent.  It will be fun reporting about it.

THANKS
Happy New Year to you all.  Thanks for reading. 

Fairview Park Decomposed Granite Path Remediation Begins

PATH REMEDIATION BEGAN TODAY
Today, Friday the 13th - which somehow seems appropriate - remediation of the illegally-installed decomposed granite (DG) path in Fairview Park along the fence line that separates Jim Scott Stadium and the Waldorf School from the park began today.

MENSINGER STARTED THIS WHOLE THING
In case you've forgotten, this all began when Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger prodded Director of Public Services Ernesto Munoz to "do something" about the user-defined trail that ran along the Waldorf School fence line.  Seems he was concerned about the children navigating through the weeds that bordered that path to get to Estancia High School.    This is what it looked like then:

STAFF RESPONDED
The city staff then responded to the request and graded the trail and applied an herbicide to kill the weeds and it ended up looking like this:

WHO APPLIED THE DG?
Then, mysteriously, some "DG Fairies" apparently applied a thick layer of that material to the paths and nobody seems to know who did it.  Men were seen doing the work by park users, but were combative when approached by observers.  The City officially says it did NOT do it and doesn't know who did it.

ENCROACHED ON VERNAL POOLS
However, this process managed to encroach onto federally protected vernal pools that are part of Fairview Park.  The city is required to be a good steward of the park and protect those pools.  It didn't.  Now the Federal Department of Fish and Wildlife is involved and, among other things, is demanding that the DG be removed and the vernal pools be properly restored.

(Ernesto Munoz and Christine Medak of US Fish and Wildlife)

 (Medak, Dickson, Nerheus and other biologist)

REMEDIATION TEAM ARRIVES

Today members of the City Staff, U.S. Fish and Wildlife and contractors, including biologists, all arrived around noon at the site to discuss the proper method of removal and to begin the work.  Munoz and Parks Project Manager Bart Mejia represented the City.  Barry Nerheus is with the contractor, Endemic Environmental Services, and was joined by one of his biologists, Crysta Dickson, in pink.  That organization has done a lot of work in Fairview Park and is familiar with the sensitive nature of the sites in question.  USFWS was represented by Christine Medak.  Councilwoman Sandra Genis - and avid lover of Fairview Park -  also showed up to observe the process.

THE WORK BEGAN
Test holes were dug in a couple spots along the DG path and methods of removal and possible restoration was discussed.  Eventually the team from the contractor began carefully removing the DG from the path closest to the Parsons Field/Waldorf School fence line near the intersection with the path that runs parallel to the Jim Scott Stadium fence line, taking the DG down to the original underlayment.  Once the shoveling is complete brooms will be used to remove ALL the DG from the path.  The same process will be repeated on the other leg of the path - with the logs (old telephone poles) that line the path carefully removed before the DG is shoveled away -  and it is hoped that this process will be complete next week - before Christmas.

RESTORATION MAY BE NECESSARY
Once the DG is removed sightings will be made to determine what measures, if any, will be necessary to adjust the level of the pathways so water will, once again, flow into the vernal pools adjacent to them. 

NO MORE PATHWAY!

According to the officials onsite today, one thing is certain.  Because the city is required to maintain a 10 foot buffer around the perimeter of the vernal pools, there will be NO ROOM for a pathway along the fence.  The kids will just have to find another way to school - like walking another 100 yards around the pools.

INVESTIGATION CONTINUES - PENALTIES UNKNOWN
In the meantime, an investigation is under way to determine just who is responsible for the application of the DG on the pathways.  So far, nobody has admitted responsibility for it, although there is much speculation around the community.  And, it is still unclear what, if any, kind of penalties the city faces from the federal government from this broach of its responsibility to properly maintain this natural habitat.  That part of the drama continues to percolate.