Public Services recently completed improvements at Paularino and Pinkley Parks previously approved by the Parks and Recreation Commission.

A new metal hexagonal shelter replaced the deteriorating wood shelter at Paularino Park. The shelter was also relocated farther from the nearby residences and to provide easier access.

Pinkley Park’s existing arbor that was in disrepair with broken concrete columns and wood beams was replaced with a new metal arbor. The new arbor is safer for the community and is an aesthetic upgrade to the park.

Costa Mesa is updating its Bicycle Master Plan (BMP) for the General Plan Circulation Element and is looking for the public’s input.

The Bikeway & Walkability Committee has expanded the BMP to include walking and other forms of personal transportation, resulting in a proposed Active Transportation Plan (ATP).

Join us to review and comment on the proposed ATP.

The draft report and exhibits are available on the City’s website on the Bikeway and Walkability Committee web page. The Community meetings will follow the November 2017 and December 2017 Bikeway & Walkability Committee meetings:

• Dates: Nov. 1, 2017 and Dec. 6, 2017
• Location: City Hall, Conference Room 1A
• Time: 7 p.m.

City Manager Tom Hatch presented Senior Recreation Program Administrator Yvette Aguilar with the October City Manager Leadership Award at the monthly employee Meet and Greet on Thursday Oct. 26.

“Yvette’s success can be seen every day at our city Senior Center,” City Manager Hatch said. “Under her leadership, the Senior Center’s programs and membership have flourished, resulting in what is now one of the most robust and successful public senior facilities in Orange County. I’m extremely proud of what she has accomplished in such a short time.”

Aguilar came to the City of Costa Mesa in 2015, after spending nearly a decade working for the City of Covina. She was hired as the City’s Senior Center Program Administrator, which is a full-time staff position that served to lead in the transition of the operation of the Senior Center from a non-profit corporation to a fully operated City facility.

Aguilar has been a key factor in creating a successful relationship with the City’s Senior Commission as well as with local stakeholders and non-profit organizations to assure the forward moving direction and ultimately the success of the facility and program. Two notable project accomplishments that Yvette was instrumental in creating and facilitating were the implementation of the Senior Center’s strategic one, three and five-year goals and objectives and the revamping of the City’s senior transportation program.

Her current role as the Senior Recreation Programs Administrator has allowed her to branch out beyond the Senior Center Program, and to also take on the managerial responsibility of the facilities, programs and staff at the Downtown Recreation and Aquatics Centers.

She is grateful for and proud of the outstanding team that works diligently within the Parks & Community Services Department to make sure that there are quality programs and services that transcend all age groups.

In addition to honoring Aguilar, City Manager Hatch welcomed several new employees to the City and congratulated Jeffrey Bibler, who was recently promoted to Fire Captain.

Also honored were several new employees including Community Outreach Worker Bill Nelson and Administrative Secretary David Nguyen from the City Manager’s Office, Miranda Garcia the new Human Resources Analyst and Jasmine Vega an Accounting Specialist II in the Finance Department.

Development Services interns Ashley Bonetto and Jorge Maldonado were also honored as well as Parks & Community Services Department employees, Jonathan Hooton, Joseph  Nguyen, Peter Nguyen and Riley Stutz, all Recreation Leader II. Also honored was Cynthia D’agosta, the new Fairview Park Administrator.

The City Manager’s Office has created a web page to allow residents to keep up with the progress on the Lions Park Projects.

Construction crews began work on replacing the old Neighborhood Community Center with a new Donald Dungan Library that will feature a children’s library and teen section.

Click here to visit the Project Update page.

Public Services recently expanded its graffiti removal and pressure washing program. Historically, the Maintenance Division has dedicated a one or two-person operation to manage the program.

Maintenance staff is very dedicated and takes pride in the program, resulting in high level of success in managing graffiti issues throughout the City. Staff attempts to remove graffiti within 24 hours of discovery or reporting.

The program’s current expansion includes additional resources and equipment to better serve Costa Mesa. The program is now staffed by two full-time employees and one part-time employee operating out of two fully equipped graffiti abatement trucks, one pickup truck and trailer, and the gator which is dedicated to Fairview Park and the Joann Bike Trail.

Staff works an overlapping schedule to provide coverage every day. With the additional staff and equipment, the program now has increased the frequency of services to include weekly pressure washing of park shelters and pressure washing high use bus stops in conjunction with the City’s bus stop maintenance contractor.

As part of this program, maintenance staff performs regular pressure washing of the Skate Park, Bark Park, all City owned park playgrounds, Davis field restroom and sidewalks, senior center walkways and City facilities. Staff is also quick to respond with pressure washing services to daily requests related to paint spills, utility markings and graffiti removal.

The City of Costa Parks & Community Services Department has recently appointed Cynthia D’Agosta as the new Fairview Park Adminstrator, who is tasked with maintenance, inspiring local participation and trust in the improvement and protection of Fairview Park.

“Fairview Park as a truly unique and special, local and regional resource, that can serve the community through passive recreation, environmental and cultural education, volunteerism and its pure landscape beauty,” D’Agosta said.

D’Agosta is a native Californian, urban open space planner, landscape architect and artist.  She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in science and fine arts from UC Santa Cruz and a Master’s Degree in landscape architecture from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design.

In her 25-year career, she has focused on:  enriching human experiences with local landscapes; supporting and leading communities in the area of preservation; and in the creation of meaningful public spaces.

Her expertise includes community leadership, project management, and planning of urban parks, open spaces, natural areas, and cultural resources. She has studied and performed management and design of regional scale urban open spaces for both non-profits and government entities such as the Los Angeles County Dept. of Parks & Recreation, the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the National Parks Service, and the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority.

D’Agosta’s Southern California experiences have included projects for the Los Angeles, San Gabriel, and Santa Ana River restorations; LA County regional parks; and in private practice, designing trails and parks for housing developments of Newport Coast and Rancho Santa Margarita.

Most recently while in the Bay Area, she has served as Executive Director for a multi-jurisdictional urban infrastructure creek project (the SFCJPA), 50-year-old environmental advocacy non-profit, and a historic garden estate.

Following recently passed legislation and the corresponding closure of the Ramsay Rexall Pharmacy and Harbor Compounding pharmaceutical drop boxes, Costa Mesa Sanitary District (CMSD) installed a new pharmaceutical waste drop box at the district headquarters.

To dispose of medication in Costa Mesa, stop by the CMSD Headquarters located at 290 Paularino Avenue, Costa Mesa. Pharmaceutical waste will also be accepted at various Orange County drop sites on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017, the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.

The list of drop sites, which are coordinated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, are available at https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/index.html.

Beador Construction Co., Inc. has started construction of the partially grant funded Placentia Avenue Median Improvement project, between Estancia High School and Adams Avenue, this week.

This project with the construction of a landscaped median on Placentia Avenue will improve the streetscape adjacent to Fairview Park and Estancia High School. The raised median will also improve the traffic operations on Placentia Avenue as it will provide an overall appearance of a narrower roadway, which consequently provides a traffic calming effect.

During the first three weeks, Placentia Avenue, from Estancia High School to Adams Avenue, will be restricted to one-lane in both directions. The electronic traffic information signs located at each end of the project limits on Placentia Avenue will provide up-to-date traffic conditions to the community.

The project is scheduled for completion by spring 2018.

The city’s website staff has created a number of new web pages and features to assist residents using the website and to better highlight city initiatives.

One addition has been a page dedicated to issues around group homes and sober living. On this page, residents can learn about city ordinances and rights of those who live in group homes. Click here to view that page.

The results of the Point in Time survey of homeless by the nonprofit service organization 211oc indicates Costa Mesa’s homeless population has dropped to 103 individuals, a decrease from the last count by Vanguard University in February of 2016 that counted 158 homeless on Costa Mesa’s streets.

That Vanguard study was reported on here.

As always, there are many factors that have helped with this positive change. A key factor for Costa Mesa is the City’s Network for Homeless Solutions, which since 2013 has helped house nearly 300 people who were previously homeless.

The Network for Homeless Solutions is a collaborative effort among city outreach workers, code enforcement, police and park rangers, community churches, and non-profit and private organizations to address homelessness in Costa Mesa. The network works daily to assist homeless and educates community members and businesses on how to best manage the issues that arise from homeless populations.

Additionally, a recent survey by the County of Orange found that of the 422 individuals living in the homeless encampment along the Santa Ana River near Angels Stadium, only five of them or 1.6 percent stated Costa Mesa was the last place they called home. This demonstrates that Costa Mesa’s homeless is not necessarily contributing to the larger countywide problem.

The Point in Time count of homeless individuals in the county was conducted by the nonprofit service organization 211oc and began on the night of Jan. 27, 2017 and continued until the next morning.  There was a 40% increase in volunteers helping 211oc to conduct the count (1,184 people), which represents a 47% increase in the number of mapped areas covered, making this the most comprehensive and detailed count ever completed.

To see the city’s Point in Time Report prepared by 211oc click here.

Costa Mesa, with a population of 113,000, represents approximately 3.6% of the total population in the county. That 3.6% number is reflective of nearly the same ratio of the city’s homeless population in the entire county, which is at 4%.

This brief report provides information for Costa Mesa on the estimated number of people who were experiencing unsheltered homelessness within the city on the morning of the 2017 Point-In-Time Count.

The estimates were derived using the total unsheltered PIT count as well as census data indicating the 2016 estimated poverty population of the city (see Appendix for a discussion of the data and assumptions used). In addition to the total number of people experiencing homelessness who were unsheltered, the table below provides additional estimates of that population in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, and race.

As the table below indicates, three people in families experiencing unsheltered homelessness and 100 unsheltered individuals (a total of 4% of the all people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in the County of 2,584 individuals) are estimated to have been in Costa Mesa. Single adults were primarily: over 24 years old, male, and Caucasian. The family household had two adults over 24 years old and one child under 18 years old.

The Table below illustrates both family and adult only households

The Point in Time count is mandated by Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to be conducted at least every two years, and includes counting those sleeping in both sheltered (emergency shelter and transitional housing) and unsheltered locations.

Orange County, and the cities within Orange County, were further interested in the geographic distribution of the people experiencing homelessness. Because the location of shelters varies throughout the County, the only information that is useful to report at a city level is people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. The full PIT report can be found at http://www.211oc.org/.

Last Wednesday Oct. 4, Costa Mesa officially went on the bond market for the Lions Park Projects and the 2007 COPs refinancing. A total of $29.8 million in bonds were offered for both the project and refinancing of existing debt.

Orders were exceptionally strong. A diverse mix of investors including 33 investor accounts and many individual investors ordered six times the amount available. As a result, the City was able to obtain better pricing (lower interest rates) resulting in additional interest cost savings over the life of the bonds.

Final pricing results in a total of $29.7 million in bonds and compares to our Sept. 19, 2017 Council agenda report as follows:

• True interest cost is 2.76% vs. 3.11%.
• For the 2007 COPs, the new annual payment averages $1.76 million, which equals a savings of $514,000 vs. the prior estimated savings of $503,000 per year.
• Total savings from the refinancing increased to $4.625 million over the remaining nine years compared to $4.524 million previously reported.
• For the new money portion, the annual payment averages $1.084 million compared to $1.133 million previously estimated and compared to the former 2003 COPs payment of $1.24 million which was the original target not-to-exceed amount when staff took the first financing concept to Council nearly two years ago.

The success of this financing plan is credited to members of the City Finance department, Public Services and the City Manager’s office as well as outside advisors including Fieldman-Rolapp, Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth and Stifel Nicolaus & Co.

Pictured above is the city’s bond financing team of Interim Finance Director Steve Dunivent, policy and legal analyst Michelle Manu with Chelsea Redmon and Anna Sarabian of Fieldman-Rolapp.