Sara is the Mercy House Program Manager for the Costa Mesa Bridge Shelter. She has been a part of the Mercy House Living Centers team since 2011 and has served in a number of different roles, including Case Manager, Community Resource Coordinator, Leasing Agent, Outreach Coordinator, and now as Program Manager.

When the Costa Mesa Bridge Shelter opened in early April, one of the first people to enter was a senior named Sylvia.

Sylvia had previously owned her own business in town along with her children, but she later realized they were not contributing equally to the business expenses and were relying on her for their livelihood. Sylvia decided for her own survival she needed to leave the business and have her adult children fend for themselves.

This decision resulted in Sylvia becoming homeless.

Through the Bridge Shelter and her assigned case manager, Sylvia was able to make contact with an old family friend who she had once helped.

The family friend was able to return the favor to Sylvia by offering her a place to live in another state with a much lower cost of living. Sylvia remained upbeat and positive during her stay at the shelter. She saw it as a safe haven for nearly a month until she was eventually able to secure transportation, via train, to move to her new home.

We are happy to report Sylvia has been reunited with her old friend in the Pacific Northwest and has begun her new life. Congratulation Sylvia!

What: Crews will demolish a portion of the existing sound wall adjacent to southbound I-405 near Moon Park to create access to the bridge from the freeway. This work will be performed at night. Please be advised that this work may be loud.

Where: Southbound I-405, adjacent to Moon Park.

When: As early as 9 p.m. Friday, May 10 to 6 a.m. Saturday, May 11. This work will be performed concurrently with partial demolition of I-405 bridge over the Santa Ana River and will require freeway lane closures, which can only be done at night. The sound wall will be removed and replaced in its entirety at a later date as part of the project. The 405 Community Outreach Team will notify the community adjacent to the wall before this activity begins.

Note: Dates and times may change due to unforeseen operational factors or inclement weather.

Why: As part of the I-405 Improvement Project, which adds a general purpose lane and a tolled Express Lane facility in each direction, several sound walls will be replaced.

After a four-month, nationwide search, the Costa Mesa City Council voted at its Tuesday May 7 meeting to name Lori Ann Farrell Harrison, the Assistant City Manager from nearby Huntington Beach, to be the next City Manager.

“Ms. Farrell Harrison’s background in government as well as the private sector is extensive and diverse. Her resume impresses, as well as her thoughtful, inclusive and collaborative approach to governance,” Mayor Katrina Foley said. “Her experience as a finance director for a larger city prepared her for the challenges ahead to ensure Costa Mesa plans for a fiscally sustainable future, with quality services and facilities for the community, and no increased taxes on residents. We look forward to introducing her as our leader to take Costa Mesa to the next level as we work to restore our neighborhoods and parks, improve public safety, modernize, and develop a plan for fiscal sustainability.”

Farrell Harrison, a local government expert with 28 years of experience in the public and private sectors, has been the Assistant City Manager in Huntington Beach since 2017. In that role, she was responsible for coordinating complex initiatives in many aspects of city government with an emphasis on fiscal sustainability, transparency and process improvement.  She also worked with the City Manager in the daily oversight of the city’s 10 non-elected departments including police, fire and public works.

Additionally, she has served as chief advisor to the City Manager, the seven-member City Council and the elected City Attorney, City Treasurer and City Clerk. She has also been a leader in citywide homelessness efforts, and has led successful labor negotiations with the city’s eight employee associations covering 987 full-time employees.

“It is an extraordinary honor and privilege to be offered the position of City Manager for the City of Costa Mesa, known for its cutting-edge initiatives, commitment to public safety, emphasis on transparency in government, and dedication to the arts,” Farrell Harrison said. “I am truly excited about the opportunity to put my 28 years of experience to work in leading such an excellent organization under the direction of Mayor Foley and the City Council.”

Prior to her role as Assistant City Manager, Farrell Harrison served as the Chief Financial Officer for the City of Huntington Beach for seven years, overseeing a total budget of $344 million. She was instrumental in helping the City reduce its unfunded liabilities, bringing certain retirement benefits essentially to 100 percent funded status during her tenure.

She is also attributed with achieving a “AAA” rating for the City from Fitch Ratings due to her leadership, financial acumen and expertise.

She previously served as the City Controller, and later as the Chief Financial Officer, for the City of Long Beach, the sixth largest City in California.  In that capacity, she was responsible for working with 23 department heads in managing a City Budget of $2.3 billion.

Earlier in her career, she worked for the State of New York and later the City of New York’s Administration for Children’s Services overseeing the $2.0 billion budget for child protective, adoption and day care services.

In addition, she currently serves on the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners, the five-member governing body for the Port of Long Beach.  The Port of Long Beach is the second largest container port in the country, responsible for $180 billion in international trade.

Her leadership skills have resulted in numerous awards including the Association of California Cities-Orange County Chapter’s Golden Hub of Innovation Award and the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers’ Innovation Award for her plans to reduce pension-related unfunded liabilities.  She was also nominated for CFO of the Year by the Orange County Business Journal in 2016.

Farrell Harrison holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a Bachelor’s Degree from Barnard College of Columbia University. She is fluent in Spanish. In her free time, she enjoys skiing and snowboarding and traveling with her husband and their four teens.

Farrell Harrison anticipates starting her role as City Manager by the first of July.

On Thursday, March 28, 2019, the Cannabis Enforcement Unit, which is made up of the city’s Code Enforcement Unit, the Costa Mesa Police and the Bureau of Cannabis Control, served a search warrant on “Costa Mesa Beach Buds,” an unlicensed cannabis dispensary located in Costa Mesa.

The Bureau of Cannabis Control is part of the state’s Department of Consumer Affairs.

The search warrant was served at 1651 Placentia Ave., which resulted in the seizure of over $1.4 million in cannabis products.

The enforcement action is part of the city’s ongoing partnership with the state to track down and close these illicit facilities. 

“Illegal dispensaries harm and burden surrounding business owners and taxpayers,” Mayor Katrina Foley said. “Allowing them to illegally operate in the city creates an unfair advantage over our lawfully permitted green zone businesses. We are so grateful for the efforts of the Bureau of Cannabis Control to address illegal dispensaries in Costa Mesa.”

All commercial cannabis activity in California requires a state-issued license from one of the state’s three cannabis licensing authorities.

Costa Mesa Beach Buds is one of seven dispensaries the city has shut down for illegal operations. Click here for a list of dispensaries currently under investigation.

Selling cannabis goods without a state license is a violation of state law.

To file a complaint against illegal activity, click here – https://bcc.ca.gov/consumers/file_complaint.html.

To check and see if a cannabis retail location is licensed, visit www.CApotcheck.com.

Sara is a recent Bridge Shelter client. Currently employed as a Certified Nursing Assistant in north Orange County, she found herself living on the streets and in various motels due to chronic illness and the inability to obtain a consistent and affordable housing situation.

Sara entered the Costa Mesa bridge shelter several weeks ago and was provided a safe place to sleep, new clothes, the opportunity to work with a case manager on a housing plan and access to consistent transportation to her job.

We are excited to share that just this week Sara was able to secure and enter into a shared living situation/room rental and has plans to continue her stabilized housing situation.

Stories like Sara’s are impactful and life-changing and we look forward to sharing more stories of success with the community.

Acting City Manager Tammy Letourneau presented Neighborhood Improvement Manager Stacy Lumley with the City Manager Leadership Award at the monthly Meet and Greet on Thursday April 25.

“Stacy’s hard work and passion for helping the less fortunate in our community was a key factor in the successful opening of our new Bridge Shelter,” Letourneau said. “She worked tirelessly to get the shelter open and she continues to serve our clients on a daily basis. I am so proud of her and delighted to give her this award.”

As Letourneau presented her with the award, she noted the words to describe Lumley are “Leadership, Commitment, Compassion.”

In her role, Lumley manages the city’s Community Outreach Team and the city’s Network for Homeless Solutions, balancing the needs of individuals experiencing homelessness with the needs of residents and businesses.

Hired as a part time Costa Mesa Outreach Worker in 2014, Lumley has helped to link and house hundreds of homeless individuals to medical, mental health, substance abuse and housing opportunities.

Working alongside the city’s community policing officers, she used her crisis skills and helped police officers by defusing potentially volatile situations by linking homeless clients with services, which would free up officers to attend to other matters.

Under the guidance of the City Manager’s Office, she also developed monthly police briefings to keep law enforcement informed about homeless coordination policies, helped develop partnerships within the community and assisted in managing, developing and evaluating new programs designed to stabilize clients and provide them with additional housing resources.

She also took on the responsibility of participating in the 211 OC Coordinated Entry (CE) Permanent Supportive Housing Program. She also trained other workers to complete housing assessments and became one of the key players in the Coordinated Entry program throughout the County.

In 2016, she became a full-time employee and in 2018, she was promoted to manager and has been an integral member of the leadership team as it worked through issues surrounding the OC Catholic Worker lawsuit.

Prior to coming to the City, Stacy had 19 years of administrative social service experience serving children, families and seniors.

In addition to honoring Lumley, Letourneau honored employees who are new hires or were recently promoted.

In Development Services, Amber Miranda is a new part-time Office Specialist II working in the Housing & Community Development and Evelyn Castorela is a new part-time Permit Process Specialist in our Community Improvement Division.

Angela Madsen is the new Executive Secretary working in the Finance Department, Brooke Dunn is a new Intern in the Fire Department and Doreen Penfill is a new full-time Outreach Worker working in our Network for Homeless Solutions division.

In the Police Department, Joanna Hart and Madison Munguia are new Police Records Technicians, and George Letourneau (no relation to Tammy) is one of our new Police Officers, and Andrea Granados Valdez is a new Office Specialist II working in the Engineering Division of Public Services.

Those promoted include David Nguyen who has been promoted to Deputy City Clerk in the City Clerk’s Office and Mark Geiger has been promoted to Fire Engineer.

Council Member Allan Mansoor has been named the Ambassador to this year’s Tour de OC Bike-a-Thon and will be hosting the Opening Ceremony of the event on Saturday April 27 at the race’s starting line at Vanguard University.

The Tour de OC is run by a group of volunteers who are raising awareness and funds to send abused and neglected foster children to a weeklong camp in the San Bernardino Mountains and provide them with a year-long Mentorship Program. The event is held in April, which is National Child Awareness month.

“It is my honor and pleasure to be the Ambassador for this event,” Council Member Mansoor said. “As a father, I know how important it is for children to have a loving and stable household and I am grateful to the Tour de OC volunteers and participants who do so much for the many foster children in need of our help.”

Registration is still open for the bike ride through Orange County or to sponsor a rider  http://TourdeOC.org.  Being a 100% volunteer organization, 100% of the proceeds donated will be applied to the charity.

Tour de OC’s Metric Century (62 miles) with relentless hills including Santiago Canyon and Newport Coast, with lots of rolling hills through south Orange County has over 3,000 feet of vertical gain and has a five-star rating according to the Bicycle Rider Directors Association of America (BRDAA).  There will also be a Family Fun 25-mile route.

Check in begins at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday.

The 62-mile race starts at 7 a.m. and the 25-mile Family Run begins at 7:30 a.m. Both start and finish at Vanguard University. Both routes take riders on a scenic tour through Orange County.

Tour de OC sponsors include The Promise Child, South Coast Toyota, Rack N Road, Two Wheels, One Planet, Crown Plaza Hotel,  The Unlikely Cyclist, Newport Rib Company, Flightdeck, Simple Green, MedPost Urgent Care,  Farthing Development, Surfside Sports,  El Ranchito Restaurants, Davey’s Locker, Shirley’s Bagels, Wingnuts, Hanks Electric, Ganahl Lumber, Pasta Connection, BJ’s Restaurants, El Matador, MARC Chick-fil-A, Newport Mesa Church and OCTA.

As part of the I-405 Improvement project, OCTA and Caltrans crews will begin demolition to a portion of the existing sound wall adjacent to southbound I-405 between Harbor Boulevard and Fairview Road as early as Monday April 22 through Friday April 26 from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

This work will be performed at night.

Please be advised that this work may be loud.

Demolition of the wall requires full closures of the southbound I-405 on-ramp from Harbor Boulevard and the southbound I-405 off-ramp to Fairview Road, which can only be done at night.

Dates and times may change due to unforeseen operational factors or inclement weather.

The I-405 Improvement Project, which adds a general purpose lane and a tolled Express Lane facility in each direction.

The work will require several sound walls to be replaced.

COSTA MESA, CA — America Walks, a national advocacy organization working to empower communities to create safe, accessible, and enjoyable places to walk and move, announced today that Council Member Arlis Reynolds has been awarded a Walking College Fellowship as part of the 2019 program.

The Fellowship will enable Reynolds, who represents Costa Mesa’s Fifth District, and other advocates from around the country to participate in a five-month training program designed to strengthen local efforts to make communities more walkable and livable.

“We are thrilled to welcome Arlis Reynolds as a member of the Walking College,” said Emilie Bahr, Walking College Manager with America Walks, “This year’s application process was extremely competitive and rich with unique professionals, and she will make a fitting addition to our 2019 class. We look forward to developing her skills and are excited to see all fellows grow their knowledge, share experiences, and prepare plans to expand their work for bolstering walkability at home.”

Council Member Reynolds will complete a six-module training program this summer, followed by an independent study project in Costa Mesa. They will also engage with the national network of America Walks and meet one another and other walking champions at various events throughout the year.

“Our residents are asking for safer streets for walking, and we know that increased pedestrian activity boosts both community health and the local economy,” Reynolds said.

The City Council recently adopted its 2019 priorities, which include supporting the Active Transportation Plan (adopted in 2018) and initiating a Pedestrian Master Plan.

“As we open our new library, to invest in our parks, and support local businesses, and we need to make it safe and enjoyable for people and families to access those spaces,”

Reynolds said. “I look forward to learning from experts and others about strategies and opportunities to improve walkability and quality of life in Costa Mesa.”

Reynolds hopes to engage community members in the Walking College program through shared learning, community discussions, and neighborhood activities such as walking street clean-ups. You can follow Reynolds’ journey on social media @arlis4costamesa or email her at arlis.reynolds@costamesaca.gov.

The Walking College curriculum has been designed to expand the capacity of local advocates to be effective community change agents.  Topics include the science behind the benefits of walking, evaluation of built environments, as well as communication skills and building relationships with stakeholders and decision makers.  Fellows work with other members of their class and a set of experienced mentors to develop the knowledge and skills needed to create community change. At the conclusion of the Walking College, Fellows will develop a Walking Action Plan for implementation using their new skills.

About America Walks: America Walks, a nonprofit national organization, is leading the way in empowering communities to create safe, accessible, and enjoyable walking conditions for all. We provide a voice for walking and walkable communities with federal agencies, provide strategy support, training and technical assistance to statewide, regional, and local organizations, and serve as the convener of the national Every Body Walk! Collaborative. Together, America Walks and the Every Body Walk! Collaborative boast 700 allied organizations who across the nation are working to increase walking and support walkable communities for all members. More at www.americawalks.org.

Contact:

Heidi Simon
Deputy Director, America Walks
America Walks
hsimon@americawalks.org
414-241-3805

At their April 16 meeting,  City Council members agreed to publicly support several bills that are making their way through the state legislature that deal with sober living, land use and development, public safety and licensing of athletic trainers.

On the heels of this action, Mayor Katrina Foley signed  letters of support on the city’s behalf.

The following are the bill numbers and brief descriptions:

Sober Living Bills

• AB 919: Establishes an enforcement arm of the Department of Health Care Services to monitor and enforce sanctions on unauthorized sober living homes.
• AB 920: Exempts sober living homes with a financial relationship from being considered residential uses of property. In other words, sober living homes operated by a single entity as a business can no longer file for permits as residential uses of property.
• AB 940: Imposes fines on sober living homes brokering patients, or receiving some form of remuneration (compensation) for referring patients to other programs/facilities.
• AB 1779:Establishes certification requirements for sober living facilities that are recognized by the state

Land Use & Development Bills

• AB 1199: Subjects Fairview Developmental Center to public hearing to determine future use of land
• AB 65: Prioritizes Proposition 68 funding for projects that utilize natural infrastructure

Public Safety Bills

• AB 1327: Requires licensed narcotic treatment programs to make available safe storage products for medication. This is an effort to reduce the rise in accidental overdose in children.
• SB 689: Authorizes entities to engage in a needle exchange program only if approved by a local jurisdiction.

Licensing – Athletic Trainers

• AB 1592: Establishes licensing procedures for athletic trainers, which would benefit local high school sports teams.

These bills will be heard next week, on both Tuesday April 23 and Wednesday April 24. The bills to be heard on April 23 include: Assembly Bills 919, 920, 940, 1779 and 1592. The bills to be heard on April 24 include: Assembly Bills 1199, 1327 and Senate Bill 689.

Assembly Bill 65 has passed through the committee process and awaits a hearing.

Residents are encouraged to reach out to their state legislative leaders to ask them to support these bills.

Here is the contact information for the Assembly and State Senate:

Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, 74th District

District Phone: (714) 668-2100

Email: assemblymember.norris@assembly.ca.gov

Senator John Moorlach, 37^th District

District Phone: (714) 662-6050

Email: senator.moorlach@senate.ca.gov