Our Reality: Living with Sober Living Homes in Costa Mesa

If you see something, SAY SOMETHING

It Takes a Village

United We Stand

Knowledge is Power

Never Give in, Never, Never, Never, (1941 Churchill)

Thank God for the Register’s OC Watchdog series (http://www.ocregister.com/tag/oc-watchdog/ ) exposing the sober living industry which invaded our quaint Costa Mesa a few years ago.  

The article may be the answer some of us have been waiting for to inform Costa Mesans about the complexities of the sober living home industry. A few years ago, a few brave residents united to try to oppose the takeover of once safe and quiet neighborhoods. However, to silence their free speech, residents received cease and desist letters warning them they could be sued if their actions showed discrimination towards the rehabilitation clients. Residents were hushed.  Who could risk a lawsuit and losing their home?

The City hemmed and hawed, doing nothing, citing possible lawsuits if there was discrimination towards clients, but in 2014 an ordinance was passed.  It was never strongly enforced. For several years only one code enforcement officer handled any citizen complaints about nuisance behavior or building code violations or lack of required permits from the sober living homes.

Now residents should be interested in reading through an update to the ordinance passed recently by the city council and taking effect June 2. Reading it and printing for future reference, residents will be able to understand better how the City, in context of ADA nondiscrimination laws, is trying to regulate and require permitting of sober living homes: http://www.costamesaca.gov/ftp/council/a...

There is a key paragraph on Page 8, if you don't want to read the whole ordinance: v. “The sober living home shall have a good neighbor policy that shall direct occupants to be considerate of neighbors, including refraining from engaging in excessively loud, profane or obnoxious behavior that would unduly interfere with a neighbor's use and enjoyment of their dwelling unit. The good neighbor policy shall establish a written protocol for the house manager/operator to follow when a neighbor complaint is received.”

Beginning on Page 5 are requirements for a City permit. Key point:  If a resident has a problem with a sober living home, the resident should contact the city to see if the operation is permitted or if it is a State licensed home.   

It is hoped all operators would apply for permits and follow all rules, but that is part of the challenge, many homes are unknown to the city.

“Curbing” has been the biggest problem in the last few years.  Clients are kicked “to the curb” when they “fall off the wagon,” or break other rules. Many of the clients are young people who came to Costa Mesa to get sober from places all over America. Getting them home isn’t easy. Many wander our streets, black trash bag or backpack hanging over their back.

Note on Page 6 of the Ordinance are the NEW requirements for eviction. "(6) At least 48 hours prior to eviction from or involuntary termination of residency in a group home, the operator thereof shall: i. notify the person designated as the occupant’s emergency contact or contact of record that the occupant is no longer a resident at the home; ii. contact the Orange County Health Care Agency OC Links Referral Line or other entity designated by the City to determine the services available to the occupant, including but not limited to, alcohol and drug inpatient and outpatient treatment; iii. notify the city’s Network for Homeless Solutions that an occupant is no longer a resident at the home, determine the services available therefrom; and iv. provide the information obtained from ii. and iii. and any other treatment provider or service to the occupant prior to his or her release on a form provided by the city and obtain the occupant’s signed acknowledgement thereon; v. provided, however, that if the occupant’s behavior results in immediate termination of residency pursuant to rules approved by the city as part of the special use permit for that facility, the operator shall comply with i. though iv. as soon as possible".

Just how many operators know about these new rules is anyone's guess. I’m not sure how the City plans to hold operators accountable since many homes are not registered.  

But with these rules residents are now empowered to report violations through Costa Mesa Connect, the Code Enforcement Department and the police department.

Should a certain address accumulate many reports of rules’ violations in addition to other types of nuisance behavior, it is possible the City could declare the property a nuisance.

Knowledge is power and City ordinances and reports are not always easy to understand, but I wanted to share this ordinance highlighting important parts hoping that neighbors will meet with their neighbors and work together to develop their own strategies to defend and protect their families, property and quality of life.

I love this quote from Winston Churchill: “I am addressing myself to the School - surely from this period of ten months this is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. We stood all alone a year ago, and to many countries it seemed that our account was closed, we were finished. All this tradition of ours, our songs, our School history, this part of the history of this country, were gone and finished and liquidated.”

Costa Mesans are courageous and strong folk who love our city and the life we enjoy here. I've raised 5 kids here and hope to die here.  We can’t give up. We must do all we can to defend and protect our families, homes and our quality of life.

(For the entire speech see: https://www.nationalchurchillmuseum.org/never-give-in-never-never-never.html) 
Looking forward to the new movie "Churchill".

It's Our Money

It’s city budget time!

The City Council will vote June 20 to approve the All Funds $155 million 2017-2018 budget, so if you have any concerns about how our money should be spent, now is the time to make your concerns known.  A special budget session for residents will be held Thursday, April 18 at City Hall.  https://www.costamesaca.gov/index.aspx?page=28&recordid=4173. The link will lead you to the proposed budget as well, and there are copies in the libraries and in the City Clerk’s office.

Also on June 6 residents have an opportunity to speak for 3 minutes at public comments at the Council meeting.

But please be aware, if you are old, maybe a LTR (Long Time Resident) Council member Righeimer might chastise you from the dais for your comments for the sole reason that you are old, your house is paid for and you are out of step with the times and trends of younger folks. In his opinion your old opinions really don’t matter in Costa Mesa anymore. 

During public comments at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, I voiced my concerns about the proposed budget which includes the Lions Park Library Project.  

My main concern is borrowing money, even $18 million, which may not be the wisest decision.  Many sources point to another recession coming our way. We should also be building up our reserves beyond $45 million and replenish our self-insurance fund. And the coming tsunami is the increase in employee pensions in the next few years, projected to be $7 million on top of the $22 million we’re paying now. These concerns can’t be ignored and I often take advantage of public comments to exercise my First Amendment right of free speech to share those concerns, as a taxpayer, with the Council. 

Also, some of us really don’t like the proposed library design because it’s too massive; the 2 story white building looks out of place in Lions Park.

Losing many meeting rooms at the community center is another issue, although eventually the old library will be reconstructed and have meeting rooms, and the new library will have meeting rooms too. 

Cost of additional library staffing has not been discussed by the Council, as well as how the proposed library coffee shop will affect the local businesses on Newport Blvd. and at the Courtyards.  

It’s wrong for Council member Righeimer member to demean any citizen for voicing any concerns. The Council member should just listen politely.

My recommendation for a new library has always been for the library groups to raise some of the money from private donors, who may want to sponsor a whole wing, or room, to access library grants and for the City to save the money and not acquire debt.  

The difficulties of our City during the recession taught me many lessons about thrift and living within our means and having reserves. Thankfully we made it without going bankrupt because we did have plenty of reserve funds. 

All this is to say that community involvement makes for a better community.  Even if elected officials don’t agree with you, and think you are too old and should just be quiet, we should never be intimidated because it’s our duty to speak up about important city issues.   We're not dead yet and the collective wisdom of our years should be valued.

Puttering, SOY and Politics

I was contemplating puttering yesterday, because working in my garden is very refreshing especially on Sunday

My garden and pond

when I try to rest. I was hopeful the Fairview Park Preservation Initiative would get the 7,000 signatures by today which meant I could relax, for a few minutes anyway.  (Yes! we got the signatures, exceeding our goal of 7,000, to get the initiative on the November ballot assuming it's approved by the registrar of voters).

But I kept thinking about Friday night's joyful Save our Youth annual Fiesta honoring founder and board member Jean Forbath and wanted to share a few thoughts.

The whole event was delightful and speaks volumes about how much we care for our community and our kids who need help with school work and a vision from a tutor or mentor who encourage them to succeed in school and to prepare for college after graduation.

Money raised from the Fiesta goes for a small SOY staff, headquarters, art and music supplies etc. and scholarships and trips for kids to visit colleges and many other things. More than $3.2 million in college scholarships to more than 450 students has been given to attend all UC campuses and almost every Cal State.

"SOY academic students have a 100% high school graduation rate and  100 % enter college after high school"- SOY brochure.

I admire Jean Forbath for her vision and commitment to help Newport-Mesa disadvantaged youth since 1993. Jean founded SOS too. She's got a lot of gems in her crown and still contributing to our community, although now will be retiring and continue as board emeritus and advisor.

Upon arriving at the Fiesta, Silvia Rosales and SOY youth welcomed guests, Eddie Iniestra MC'd with live music courtesy of SOY students, as we browsed the silent auction (I didn't win), and Ivan Calderon of Taco Mesa served a scrumptious meal.  Former Mayor Joe Erickson shared Jean's many accomplishments and we all clapped.

A  very well-spoken young lady, Claudia Flores, shared her story about how SOY mentors helped her with studies and prepared her for college. She and other SOY college graduates come back to SOY to encourage the younger kids.  When the kids visit colleges in the spring, former SOY students proudly give them campus tours.

Fiesta guests were from Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. (About half of Newport Harbor High School kids live in Costa Mesa, board member Mary Cappellini reminded me as we chatted during the silent auction. Mary is one of Jean's 7 children who were all there to honor their mom).

Former Mayor Joe Erickson honoring Jean Forbath.

Ivan Calderon explaining the delicious menu.

Chatting with board member Mary Cappellini.

This joyful event speaks well of our great Newport-Mesa community and the generous, kind caring people we are.

Councilwoman Sandy Genis was there as well as former Mayor Mary Hornbuckle. Sandy and I chatted with others about our wonderful community and the success of SOY.

But where were the Costa Mesa mayor and the mayor pro tem? I know they get invited to plenty of events but I think they would enjoy this one too. Don't they know this is an important community event supporting one of several Westside non profits which encourages, and inspires hundreds of kids to get a good education?   Surely they were invited. But then I don't think Mayor pro tem Righeimer's recent "...If you can't afford to live here..."  statement at a recent council meeting would have made him too popular with SOY Fiesta goers.  According to Mr. Righeimer Costa Mesa has become an exclusive, wealthy community so poor people should consider moving to less expensive states. Unbelievable!

Hopefully, anyone who missed the Fiesta will send in a donation. We need to continue to support SOY and Newport- Mesa teens and all the good work they do for Newport-Mesa kids.

Here's the address:  SOY Center, 661 Hamilton Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92627  949-548-3255. Soycenter@aol.com

My 2016 Prayer/Hope/Wish List

Everyone is writing lists, so here's mine for Costa Mesa:

1. That the City Council would offer hiring bonuses for police officers wanting to make "lateral" transfers from other police departments to CMPD.   Mr. Hatch's $1 million (slush) fund could fund 20 officers @$10-$15K.  ($200,000-$300,000) This is a reasonable expense for our safety and to replace the "depth" the CMPD has lost through retirements, etc. We need a fully staffed police force with 134 officers when crime is increasing.  

2. That the mayor and mayor pro tem would drop the lawsuit and get on with the business of governing our city, not running it into the ground due  to  hatred of unions.

3. That within the next 90 days, the council would complete negotiations with our fire and police associations and sign contracts that "retain and recruit" the best public safety officers for our residents.

4. That the City would be proactive in its efforts to transition the Costa Mesa Motor Inn residents to their new homes and new lives and make sure all residents who need help are in fact, helped. (Similar to the way our city staff helped the residents from Anchor Mobile Home Park find new homes.)

5. That future apartment projects include units for those who need affordable housing because it's the right thing to do.

6. That the Council would pursue all leads to provide supportive housing to Costa Mesa homeless persons, including use of Fairview State Hospital.

7. That sober living home operators would incorporate a "best practices exit strategy" for all of their clients leaving rehab, and not dump these clients on our streets where some, not having maintained their sobriety, proceed to commit crimes in our neighborhoods. This is not being a good neighbor.  Also, that sober living operators require clients to do "community service" projects.  I'd like to see clients give back some sweat equity to our city and be openly appreciative of the gift it is to live here: scrape up gum, pick up trash, cigarette butts. Sober living recovery homes imbedded in neighborhoods were intended to promote healthy community living, not isolation.

8. That in 2016 Costa Mesa citizens would take the time to become informed about the many issues affecting our city's future such as the proposed changes to the General Plan on Harbor and Newport Blvds that will forever increase traffic. That citizens would ask questions and seek out the answers and be fully informed when voting in November.

9. That voters support the Costa Mesa First Initiative (http://www.costamesa1st.com) in November and sign petitions and vote for the recently launched initiative to preserve Fairview Park. (http://www.fairviewparkalliance.org) Both initiatives will give residents a voice in future city developments and uses of the park.

10. That the council follow the informed recommendations of its Pension Committee and request staff research and report on:  retiree medical, pension trusts, revenue/borrowing pre pay options, hybrid defined benefit and defined contribution plans, plans with employer and employee sharing basics costs 50 50, and also allowing employees freedom to contribute additional amounts. Paying down the Fireside Fund is goal too. Here is the complete report: http://www.costamesaca.gov/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=20327

11. And finally, should there be vacancies on any committees that the council would vote for the most qualified persons.

Encouraging Responses to my motel visit

I shouldn't be surprised by getting positive feedback from the piece I wrote about my visit to the Costa Mesa Motor Inn. It confirms that we Costa Mesans, in spite of other differences in opinions, are collectively compassionate, caring and eager to show mercy to our neighbors if given the chance to do something tangible.

I have been burdened by the real life, hard luck stories I heard from the CMMI residents.

Of course many of us knew this day was coming for those who live in motels, mobile homes and other affordable housing in Costa Mesa. Many of us have copies of the City's  "M" map showing our motels and mobile home parks with colored dots as targets for redevelopment.  For awhile, the planning department gave out those maps to developers who could zero in on those parcels when looking for prime real estate deals in Costa Mesa knowing our developer friendly council would help with the details.

But it's almost Christmas,  so let's put aside the politics for a moment.  Is there anything we can do to ease the plight of some of our neighbors? We can't help hundreds in need, but maybe we can stop and help one, or two.

Yes, we can act on those heart- felt impulses and reach out with some small act of kindness.

My friend Terri is collecting sleeping bags for the homeless. She emailed me today that the bag I gave her was placed on a woman sleeping and the woman almost cried when Terri placed it over her.

I'm going to buy a gift card for one CMMI family that touched my heart.

Maybe you're thinking of doing something too. Do it!

Let's not get overwhelmed and discouraged by the battles we've lost or the ones ahead.

Let's show our  Costa Mesa love and compassion and chase the demons right out of our city and pray they don't come back.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Life Happens in Costa Mesa

Arriving Saturday morning at the infamous Costa Mesa Motor Inn on Harbor Blvd., I saw three little girls, about 7 or 8 years old, giggling and chasing each other near the golf course fence, behind the motel's entrance gate. I immediately recognized one little girl whose picture had been in the paper recently.

My heart was telling me Saturday to go with a handful of others to pass out flyers to motel residents informing them of their legal rights.  Recently the city council voted to approve a zoning change and replace the motel with luxury apartments.  Those little girls and their parents live at the motel and will need to find a new home in 2016.  The flyers will help them with their futures.

This apartment project came before the city council in 2014 for a "screening" when I was still on the council. At the screening, I approved the new project's concept. The outdated motel had a bad reputation for crime and many police and fire calls.  However, at the time, I had asked the developer representing the owner to please include "affordable housing" to match the incomes of those residents being displaced, in the final project. Unfortunately, that request was denied. There will be some affordable housing in the new project, but the future residents would need to make approximately $75,000, perhaps more than $100,000 to be eligible for an apartment.  I wouldn't qualify. 

By passing out the flyers, I was in a very small way helping residents in their relocation plans from the motel to a new home.  I told them that if they have lived at the motel for more than 30 days, they were promised cash relocation assistance. The owner agreed to pay the benefits beginning in February 2016 through August 1, 2016.  In addition, Councilwoman Katrina Foley successfully negotiated with the owner for  $250,000 for the City staff to assist residents. Those details, I understand, are still being worked out.

As I spoke with some residents, I was told by several that the conditions of the motel had improved greatly since 2013. Gone were many drug dealers and the problems they brought. 

 I talked with parents, children by their sides, all concerned with their futures and how things would work out for them.  They welcomed the flyers which reminded them of some things they could do to prepare for their moves.  I listened to several stories of lives on the brink, a few steps away from homelessness. Fortunately, they were looking forward to church members bringing cheer and presents for a Christmas party for them.

This motel and its residents had been characterized many times by the council majority as a den of iniquity, filled with drugs, pimps and prostitutes needing immediate removal from our city.  But that is not what I saw.  I saw a very clean motel, (no trash), a nice playground and sparkling pool and normal looking people and kids. Many told me they were long time Costa Mesa residents wanting to stay in Costa Mesa.

I believe all lives matter, and some lives are not worth less than others. (I hated that "lifeboat" analogy we used to teach in the 70's).

 If we keep going in this direction in Costa Mesa, we might end up with more money in our budget because of more revenue from property taxes, but we will have lost our heart, our compassion, and that will be pretty hard to restore.  

It takes all kinds of people to make up a great city like ours.  We seem to be going down a road where we are squeezing out those on the bottom rungs of the economic ladder.  It wasn't too long ago that residents of the mobile home park Rolling Homes on Newport Blvd. almost lost their homes to a proposed apartment project until an adjacent property owner saved the day and said he wasn't going to sell his property to provide access to the new project. God intervened.

I'm praying for these folks at the motel.  They could use some miracles too.

I'm baaaack! Some crazy glitch in Blogger (or some nefarious plot to dismantle my ocpublicsquare square blog) prevents me from posting the normal way, but I have overcome all obstacles and I'm back in the blogging business.

ICYMI Fairview Park Preservation Alliance is now waiting until Oct 2 for the CM City attorney to approve the petition which would preserve the park "as built" in perpetuity and require any additions to follow the park's master plan. Those interested, watch for updates. We need to collect more than 5,000 valid Costa Mesa voter signatures. Check out and like Facebook page Fairview Park Preservation Alliance.

That's the same amount we need to collect for the Costa Mesa First initiative to put a stop on out of control development adding more density and traffic to our already busy streets. Check out Facebook and website www.costamesa1st.Com for details and how you can help gather signatures.

It's a busy season for us normal Costa Mesans who want our voices to be heard by the City Council.

Next up: homeless issues and sober living: how are they related?  (No visible relapse plan for those who fall off the wagon onto our streets and parks and remaining bus benches).

Why?

Why?
Why do we do it? Why do we skip dinner, put on our thinking caps after a long day and go to a city council meeting? Why don't we just stay home? Why do we sit there and pore over staff reports, scribble out what we hope makes sense, turn a card in so we can speak, and then stay past midnight to put in our 2 cents about Fairview Park? Why?

Because, we care. We love this city. We care about Hank Lloyd and his great tennis program which for Costa Mesans is affordable and convenient.  We care about the City Council budget and the reserve fund.  We want the Council to put more than $500,000 towards the unfunded pension liability. We don't want to see our city, blessed with probably the biggest shopping center in the world, go bankrupt.

We love this city and are prepared to do whatever it takes to get it back into the hands of people who really care about people and are not just interested in reimaging out city from one end to the other and changing the rules so developers can make more money and then give some of it to the politicians who helped them.

We've never  been in this place before.  We stopped TWO dumb charters, stopped Big League Dreams, elected Sandy and Katrina, but our backs are still against the wall without a majority. 

But last night's council meeting was a doosy! We actually beat back the sports fields because people got up and told the council we don't want no stinkin sports fields at Fairview or some crazy survey that is skewed to tell the Council Costa Mesans want sports fields.  (No data has EVER been produced by the recreation department to prove we NEED more sports fields or lighted sports fields).

Earlier, we watched as Gary divulged confidential information about the CMPOA---totally breaking the Brown Act by stating the POA turned down an offer.  Tom Duarte's  answer was so wishy washy. Katrina did an awesome job of calling him out.

So if you are reading this and thinking you don't need to pay attention to what is going on at city hall, I have to tell you that you are wrong.  We need more people who love this city and are willing to sacrifice a few comforts to continue to confront the City Council on issues that impact the future of our City. 

In a few minutes I'm off to College Park School to a forum on sober living homes put on by College Park residents who are enraged that a neighbor's home was broken into by someone who lives in a nearby sober living home.  The kids were asleep and the dad got up and chased him out!  He was arrested later, thank God. How has the sober living home market been allowed to saturate our city? Why don't we have enough police to patrol our neighborhoods?

It may be everything is just fine on your street, but with police staffing down below 100, and plan underway to close Fire Station 6 up by South Coast Plaza, it's only a matter of time before you realize you need to come down to City Hall and make your voices heard to the City Council too.  It's not too late.  Those of us who go don't want our city to be just a memory.  We want to preserve it for the future so that others can enjoy the blessings and quality of life we have enjoyed.

Time to Return to the Blogosphere

With so much free time on my hands, I've come back to revive my blog. First, thank you very much to everyone for the many very kind words as I termed out on Tuesday. I'm very humbled and blessed by the comments, presentations, my own "Costa Mesa book", a tennis racket from Hank Lloyd and more. Like I said, it felt like I was at a "funeral/graduation" from city council after 8 years-- a send off I never imagined.
Did I work hard? Yes. (I won't say I worked my butt off because all those free meals made me gain weight). But I did my best to serve and speak for the residents, and now as an ex council person, I intend to keep serving where I see the need. Stay tuned for updates.

I was teaching at juvenile hall today and remarked to another teacher that we only have one gang officer or less in Costa Mesa. Our police department keeps shrinking. We've lost the depth we were so proud of a few years ago. In the last 20 years we made the City safer, especially Shalimar, because we had 4 to 6 gang officers who kept tabs on the homies and home girls. Just one result of an unfortunate decision by the mayor and mayor pro tem to sue our police association, which really means they are suing the police department. To me it seems like a type of class action suit which only harms the residents of Costa Mesa. It will have to play out in court but in the meantime  our department struggles to serve residents with sworn staff of less than 100 officers. We have patrol officers who are stretched to the max and not enough detectives, investigators, traffic cops and special enforcement officers,
for things like prostitution and trafficking, to serve a city of our size.

Don't be a vector's victim

Just the facts, please

Costa Mesa council OKs $132.7 million budget (click here to read Register article for more details)

Cops or colored sidewalks?
I contend some projects can wait and are not "must haves."

I believe our service levels are going down, our response times are getting longer. People are telling me it's difficult to find a person to answer the phone at city hall.

However with this budget, we will have pretty sidewalks to brag about and welcome those to Costa Mesa looking for "curb appeal" and of course fast food restaurants--if they want to move here.

Are we focused on the "potential" newcomers or on those who live here NOW? Seems to me all this reform is for what folks can "see" but doesn't address the underlying quality of services we are all used to receiving, especially public safety services.  Since we are doing all of this at break neck speed, it is impossible to analyze how all these massive changes will impact our quality of life in our great city. Only time will tell if these were good decisions. I've said before, we are moving recklessly to re-image our city.

Since I was cut off  on Tuesday night by the Mayor from explaining why I oppose this budget, I wanted to share the details.
See http://costamesa.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=4&clip_id=1962  (I begin my explanation at 6:07.05 and I am shut down at 6:09:23 when the mayor "calls for the question" and says my comment is a "ramble.")

Instead of the items in yellow below--which definitely can wait,  I suggested we instead fund  6 cops (@$160,000 per officer including benefits, which would total approximately $960.000. 

Previously a consultant recommended that Costa Mesa, with its population and other factors, needed 137 police officers.  We have 131 officers funded. (And, we have many retirements coming up. But that is another story...how we are working with our police and fire associations on new agreements so we can begin hiring and have those new hires pay more into their own medical and retirement funds and lower our unfunded liability).

Here are the details: (pages in Preliminary Budget noted for more info)

All these expenses will be from the "Capital Outlay Fund" otherwise known as "General Fund" unless otherwise noted:
$500,000 -Fairview Park-Placentia Ave. Connector Trail-in need of rehab to "correct drainage problems and to repair old asphalt concrete trail . . .replace with color concrete" (page 185). (City has applied for a grant, so possible city will only contributre $250,000.

$250,000-Westside Improvements-19th street from Harbor to westerly city limits: "decorative crosswalks, decorative sidewalks, parkway landscaping including planting trees, street furnishings such as benches, trash resceptablces, news racks, etc." (page 160).

$360,000 Harbor Blvd. Bike Trail Improvements--safety lighting for bike trail. Will utilize same low-level lighting to maintain uniformity, increase safety and beautify this very important corridor..energy efficient." (page 159)

$540,000 Harbor Blvd. Improvements--"installation of decorative crosswalks at intersections of Harbor Blvd. at Baker and Date Place. ..construction of a colored concrete intersection at Harbor and Baker." (page 163).
$300,000 for "legal costs related civil and criminal litigation" This is $400,000 more than in 09-10 budget. (pages 79, 81, 82).
From the "Summary of Proposed Capital Improvement Projects" spreadsheet
$300,000 for Sports Fields Master Plan (work with NMUSD to upgrade CMHS football field/track
$500,000 for set aside for "Problem Properties" (motels).
Total costs for above: $2,750.000
Plus  $1 million for contingency fund--
Let's hire six more cops, not fire the four who were recently fired and put the rest towards the unfunded liability debt.  That's being more fiscally responsible.
Other employee related decisions which may affect quality of services eventually: (see 6/19/12 Agenda Report PH-5 page 1) Savings for firing 3 office specialists and one information technology manager: $401,000.
(Also, we eliminated 4 custody officers for the jail, a mechanic, maintenance worker, a planner, and suspended the in-house street rehab program, all of which the city manager acknowledges "may result in delays in service delivery but the financial savings is needed to balance the budget and move the City into a better financial position." He added staff will continually evaluate...and make adjustments to ensure appropriate service is provided to the community." (page 3 June 12 Study session report, CEO recommended changes) Total savings of these cuts are approximately $1million however, some money will be set aside for overtime and hiring 3 more code enforcement officers so it's hard to deermine actual projected savings. Fixing potholes in a timely manner is now another issue.)
LEECE.WENDY@costamesaca.gov or wendyleece@gmail.com

Hubris in Costa Mesa

Definition:  Excessive pride and arrogance.  That's the word that comes to mind to describe the Council majority at Monday night's public "hearing" on the proposed charter.

Now that more outsiders have come to Costa Mesa to make our city ground zero for local government reform, it is all starting to make sense.  First it was the OCGOP who insisted we should have our employees contribute more to their retirements.   Now it is "others" representing special interests, as they did in Oceanside, who don't want the City to pay prevailing wages on municipal projects. 

What a slap in the face to Costa Mesans who work in construction trades, who live in our clean, safe city and depend on those established wages to make a living.

Monday's meeting was another epiphany for me.  I honestly thought that we would sift through many of the submitted suggestions to the Charter.  Why did we ask for public input if we were not sincere in reading the hundreds of emails or listening to resident comments and discussing additions to the charter?  All those hours spent by staff to organize the emails was a waste.

What a monumental waste of time for those who have taken the time to send in their ideas. I think some people thought their ideas might be considered.

Reviewing the ideas should have been done at a series of study sessions where we could have deliberated and wordsmithed each of them since we opted not to have a citizens committee write the charter.

At the very least, on Monday night I thought I would start with improvements to the proposed preamble, which has bothered me from the beginning.  It just isn't right to copy and paste from Oceanside and Vista. We are Costa Mesa.

I made an exception to copy and paste from Huntington Beach's preamble because I like the part about ethics.  As an elected, these words do hold me accountable and remind me to behave ethically.

We had a hard time agreeing on where to put the sentences, (and thanks to Perry Valantine who helped with his suggestion). We should have spent as much on time on the hundreds of other suggestions. Oh well.

At least we were able to include "that ethics and integrity are the foundation of public trust and that just governance is built upon these values" and "It is incumbent upon those who govern and make decisions for and on behalf of the City of Costa Mesa to legally, as well as morally, abide by the provisions of this Charter, in its strictest sense, to assure the continued success and well-being of our fair City."

However, I did NOT vote for the changes since "in its strictest sense" was deleted by the mayor pro tem.  You will have to ask him why he didn't want "in the strictest sense" included.

Further motions of mine died for lack of seconds.  I could see we were going nowhere so rather take up more time to achieve nothing, as it was nearly midnight,  I agreed to end the meeting.

We've wasted a year--spinning, racking up more than half a million dollars in extra legal expenses, postponing layoffs, paying exorbitant salaries to consultants and what have we accomplished but to divide our city and create strife? Municipal finance is not rocket science. Residents can see through the exaggerations. Week after week residents have spoken to us about their ideas for cost savings.  We had a $3.5 million surplus from the previous council's decisions.  We aren't saving money now, that's for sure. We're spending!

By now, we could have met in good faith with all of our employee groups to achieve savings as we did before this council came into being. We've lost experienced and faithful employees, police and fire too, to other cities. We're losing our ability to retain and recruit the best.

All for pension reform. We're the tip of the spear you know. And now we also know that people are not as important as fixing potholes and alleys.  We're taking a great risk to make all these changes so fast when we don't need to move so quickly. 

The sky has never been falling.  The unfunded liability bogeyman is something every city struggles with.  In fact, pension expert John Bartell told us in October that we should "set up an affordable and reasonable time frame of not less than 20 years to payoff the unfunded pension liability."  He also said that we would save money by establishing a second tier for new employees (we did with general employees in Oct. 2010) and having employees pay "some or all of their pension costs."

But this contentious environment has not been conducive to achieving those savings with employees.

I am not opposed to a charter, but I am opposed to this one because of the process, or lack of process, that the city council council has devised to pretend to take public input.  It's really a sham.

I intend to work hard to oppose the charter assuming it will be approved on March 6. Wake up Costa Mesa!

Unbelieveable Week

I was amazed to see so many Costa Mesa residents turn out last night to speak to oppose the 19th Street bridge idea.  Bravo!  Our Huntington Beach neighbors made their desires loud and clear to the 6 council members attending:  NO BRIDGE! 

However, I was the only Costa Mesa council member there.  Residents must let the rest of the Costa Mesa Council know of their opposition. The Newport Beach City Council members also need to hear from residents in all cities.  Newport wants the bridge as Supervisor Moorlach told us NB Councilman Rosansky asked him to bring up the bridge idea again and that's why we are going through this again.

The next Costa Mesa City Council meeting is Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 6:00 where you will have 3 minutes to voice your opinion and concerns about the bridge changing the quality of life for many Costa Mesans.  A resolution (I said "proclamation" last night and I meant to say "resolution") was passed by the Costa Mesa Council in 1993 officially opposing the bridge and that opposition STILL STANDS. 

Bottom line, the bridge needs to come off the county master plan for highways.  But Newport needs to agree to it with CM and HB. This will not be an easy battle, but we Costa Mesans are up for it! This is a hill to die on, so please spread the word to your neighbors.

My head was spinning this morning when I started to see ALL of the emails with suggestions and comments about the proposed charter!  I need to "process" these emails (each and every email is important to me) BEFORE Tuesday's special public hearing. 

Are you kidding me?  This is no way to run a city!  We ask our residents to give us input but tell them they only have a few days to RESEARCH other charters, think about what IS BEST FOR COSTA MESA, and make a pitch for their ideas to be included! Haste makes waste.  We will be sorry down the road if we don't slow this train down. 

This morning, I have asked the CITY MANAGER and city attorney for clarification on the DROP DEAD date as we are all confused as to the timeline and legal requirements for adding and removing items.  Why didn't we think all this through in the first place?

The Charter meeting on Wednesday was very ineffective and I listened to many frustrated residents that night.  I agree. I am frustrated too!  Residents wanted to ask questions and LISTEN to answers from other residents.  Some residents, in asking questions at the info tables were told "look in your packet." It would take a normal person at least an hour to READ the packet let alone THINK about it!

I think we could be there all night at the special city council public hearing next Tuesday, Jan. 10 going over all of the input from residents and discussing among ourselves.  Unless, other minds have already been made up about what is supposed to be in the Charter and input from residents really doesn't matter. 

I'm sorry. I have have read the Charter, some of the emails and suggestions and I am having a hard time sifting through it all and also looking at other charters for OTHER ideas.  I like to be thoroughly prepared when I walk into a meeting.  Well, I could be prepared if I dropped everything else in my life for the next few days!

Costa Mesa is a very unique city.  We should not be copying and pasting from other cities! Makes us look dumb! We aren't!

If this moves as fast as I think it will, the only recourse we have is to send a resounding message in June:  WE DON'T WANT A CHARTER THAT WE HAVE NOT HAD TIME TO UNDERSTAND THOROUGHLY  AND THAT WE KNOW IS THE BEST FOR COSTA MESA, NOW AND IN THE FUTURE.

I don't care what other cities are doing to serve THEIR purposes.  We have many great minds in this city and those ideas deserve to be heard in an orderly and timely manner. 

We are a safe, clean city with excellent customer service. We live the good life here! I want to keep it that way.

Thankful for the Opportunity to Serve

Lots of thoughts run through my head this year when thinking of the many things for which I can thank God. 

My baby--22-year-old Emily--is in her third week of USMC Boot Camp at Parris Island. I am thankful she has chosen to serve our Country.   I have been parenting for 38 years and with Emily's joining the Marines, I now find myself wondering where all those years went with my five kids. I'm thankful we survived!

Next year, I will have lived in this great city for 40 years. We could have moved away from Costa Mesa when life brought us some challenges, but there's something very unique about the Costa Mesa brand that doesn't exist anywhere else. I am thankful for Costa Mesa.

We are a safe, clean City of the Arts and not just performing arts. We're creative.  We're eclectic. We're friendly. We're diverse. We do unto others. And I think a reason we're creative is because we're safe--or we have that "sense" of feeling safe that allows us to pursue our dreams and enjoy life.  The cool ocean breezes, the ability to walk or ride to the beach, the varied cultures and lifestyles--Costa Mesa is like a taste of heaven on earth.  We really do have everything here.

I am thankful I am in good health.  I am optimistic about the future. I  trust God to help us get through these difficult changes in our city's structure and delivery of services.

As I have kept up with my Council duties, I have continued to teach in the juvenile hall schools. City Council is not a full-time job for me and was not meant to be.  I love the  challenge of substitute teaching. Working with incarcerated youth has given me a greater understanding of why these kids fall through the cracks. I continue to support and recruit volunteers for our city's afterschool programs--non-profit or school-based.  Encouraging literacy and life-long learning--to see our libraries remodeled and expanded, and a new, central library--these are my dreams.

I am thankful for those who support me in the positions I take--and for those who don't--and for those who have come out to the recent Town Hall meetings.  I plan to hold more Town Halls in different parts of the city, so that we can work together with our city staff to keep us a safe city. I will continue to listen to resident concerns and work on solutions.

I am thankful for our city employees who have persevered with courage these last 3 years.  They have shown their endurance and strength.  They are true servants who, in my opinion, value the nobility of public service.

I am thankful God has given me the opportunity, at this time in my life, to serve on the Costa Mesa City Council. 

                                                    Happy Thanksgiving from the Leeces
             Stephen, Emily, Megan, Bret, Amy, Derek, Blithe, Mom, kiddies Kennedy, Hamilton

Open House and a Thank You

Little guys and gals donning fire hats. Costa Mesa firefighters and paramedics explaining to them all the bells and whistles on the fire engine.  Moms and dads watching approvingly.  Today was Open House at Costa Mesa's five fire stations and there was a great turnout, firefighters told me.

Volunteers from CERT (Citizens Emergency Response Team) in their bright red shirts were also on hand to give out coloring books to the kids and emergency preparedness information to parents. 

This week a Costa Mesa resident sent this email note about our CMFD to the City Council:

Your EMT team from fire station Park & 19th came to my assistance in late nite last Tuesday/Wed and took me to Hoag emergency. Thankfully I was able to return home in the early morning hours from the emergency room.

I cannot tell you what fabulous young men you have in that station. They responded to my home almost immediately - delivered extraordinary compassionate - professional - patient and kind treatment on the spot and throughout the trip to Hoag. Then later - when bringing in other "pick up patients" into Hoag through the night - they looked in on me another 2 times - always with a smile - "how are you doing" - just the BEST !!!!!
Please know that I am not a person who easily hands out any accolades, but these men - and their training - deserve special acknowledgement.

I hope you and your family members never need them - but if you do -- you will have the very finest of care you could hope for. They are priceless.
We can count on our firefighters, paramedics and police officers to continue to perform their duties and serve our residents with the highest professional standards.  Regardless of the politics over the pension wars, the public safety employees working for our city continue to do an excellent job and for that I am grateful.

One Kid at a Time

Graffiti.  I detest it. It’s a proven neighborhood destroyer. As soon as I see it, I call the Graffiti Hotline (714-327-7491). Within hours, it’s gone.

When I am teaching in the juvenile hall schools, I often observe students tagging on the desks, in the books, on the chairs, walls-- anywhere they can make their “mark.” When I catch them, they get “written up” and have consequences.  I try to make this a teachable moment.

I’ve explained to my classes numerous times about a new camera that will take a picture of their “art” The pictures are fed into a countywide data base. 

 “When you get arrested, all that artwork will become evidence in charges against you and you will also have to pay restitution.”

Recently, one young man told me that he paints graffiti because he is mad at the government.  I tried to explain to him that his taking a risk to be arrested again—to be locked up-- is not going to make any difference or change what the government is doing or not doing.

He seemed to listen.  Later, I went to Michael’s craft store and bought him an artist’s pad so he could practice his art work on a more “appropriate” medium.  (I was able to give the pad to him because he had completed a special program at the school. Otherwise, I would have to give a pad to all of the students).

I told him he could, when he gets out, go to Michael’s and buy small canvas boards and start selling his art work.  “You are talented!” I told him. He smiled.

But, I knew  he could make more money selling drugs and feared all my encouragement wouldn’t mean much when he got back to his neighborhood.

I haven’t seen him again.    Perhaps he’s been released. I just hope he thinks next time before he does his “art”—and remembers a teacher once told him he had talent and to use it differently.  This would make me smile.  

 

From time to time I plan to share some of my thoughts and insights about the students I teach in the juvenile hall schools. I appreciate any comments or thoughts you might have as well. Each of these kids has a unique story.

Eagle in the Sky

I am sorry for the tragedy on Capri this week.  I am going to ask how soon the HB helicopter arrived in CM.  I am just wondering if we should not have been so hasty to do away with ABLE?  Maybe, just maybe we should have been a little more analytical in our decision to unwind it.  A force multiplier, a time tested way to get to the scene of the crime  before the boots on the ground, we know that crime isn't selective these days.  High income, low income, middle income--we are all at risk.  We need to rethink ABLE.  Maybe it's not too late.  Maybe this is a wake-up call.

Thank you for coming to the Town Hall

Dear Costa Mesans,
Thank you! I am so pleased with you coming out last night, taking time from your busing schedules, to come to the first Town Hall.  There were a few rough spots, so I appreciate your patience, but I am glad we could get the message out that what done is done and we need to work together as a community to keep us safe.  Thank you to the CERT representatives--Diane Swarts and Diane Hill of United Neighbors and Neighborhood Safety and Preparedness Program for their great presentations and encouraging residents to sign up for the newsletter and training.  (More later, I'm off to teach today). I can upload those documents so others can spread the word too.
Our city is awesome! Our employees---all of them--- are awesome! I believe those who are still with us are hard workers regardless of what is happening on the City Council. We miss those who have moved on, but appreciate their service to our City and wish them well. Not everyone goes into public service.  It takes a special kind of person.  And not everyone goes into public service for the benefits and pensions.
My priority will continue to do what is best for Costa Mesa.  Thankfully things are slowing down a bit so we can catch our breath and begin to do things decently and in order.

You are invited to the Town Hall on Monday

Town Hall Meeting with Wendy Leece ...

(6:30 to 8:30 p.m.) at the Neighborhood

Community Center.

Save the Date-Monday, August 15-- Town Hall Meeting With Councilwoman Wendy Leece

Let's talk about Costa Mesa's future in light of the City Council's recent actions.  Will these decisions impact our safety? Will crime increase?  Will response times be longer?  What about the loss of ABLE? What's in store for the future of our city? I want to hear from you and also listen to your suggestions.  I know many do not always agree with me, or may not have voted for me, but I can tell you truthfully, I represent all Costa Mesa residents who value the great city we live in who are concerned about recent changes.

6:30-8:30 p.m. Monday August 15, 2011
Neighborhood Community Center
1845 Park Ave. (between Lions Park, Library, Fire Station)