City Manager Tom Hatch awarded Development Services Administrative Secretary Julie Colgan with the City Manager Leadership Award at the July Meet and Greet.

“Julie has the important job of being the recording secretary for the Planning Commission meetings,” Hatch said. “Her organization skills and ability to remain cool under pressure are impressive traits and I appreciate her professional style very much.”

Colgan started with the City as an Apple temp in April 2012 and was offered a part time administrative secretary position in August of 2014 and later promoted to full time for the Development Services Department in November 2015.

As the Recording Secretary for the Planning Commission she has to make sure the various types of public notices occur on time, that agendas and staff reports are readied and copied and sent off to the Commission and other parties, as well as attend all the meetings and prepare the minutes.

Colgan wants to make sure that everyone knew that it’s not possible for her to do her job without the support and companionship of her colleagues.

In addition to honoring Colgan, City Manager Hatch welcomed several new employees and congratulated others for their promotions.

New employees included Barry Curtis, the city’s new Economic & Development Services Director; Issam Shahroui, the new Building Official; and Courtney Harvey, Office Specialist in the Finance Department.

From Parks & Community Services, he welcomed Zander Fletcher and Elise Price, two new Recreation Leader I hires and Kianna Gicale a new Recreation Leader II. The Police Department’s Mayra Avalos, a new Police Records Technician was also welcomed.

In the promotions category, Hatch congratulated Ana Baca, the new Revenue Supervisor in the Finance Department; Katelyn Walsh, who was promoted to Assistant Planner Economic & Development Services; and Theresa Byrne, promoted to Recreation Leader III in Parks & Community Services.

The City will hold an official Groundbreaking Ceremony this Friday July 28 at 10 a.m. for the planned Lions Park Projects.

The $36 million public works projects will include a new 20,000-square-foot Donald Dungan Library as well as the refurbishment of the existing library into a new Neighborhood Community Center.

City Council members, staff and other dignitaries are expected to attend, including the architect of the project Steve Johnson as well as Orange County Librarian Helen Fried.

The Boy Scout Troop No. 339 will be the Color Guard that morning.

Click here for more information about the Lions Park Projects.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the new Costa Mesa Line bus shuttle will take place Friday July 14 at 8:30 a.m. in front of the Experian building at 475 Anton Boulevard in Costa Mesa.

The new bus shuttle is the culmination of an OCTA grant obtained by the city as well as  a partnership with Anaheim Resort Transportation and Travel Costa Mesa. Click here for details about the Costa Mesa Line schedule.

The ART-Costa Mesa Line is free to the public and began operating daily on a fixed route schedule on June 15. It offers area businesses, employees, residents and visitors an easy and economical transportation option and is designed to reduce traffic, and enhance the dining, shopping and the arts experience in Costa Mesa.

This service transports riders on 30-passenger (CNG) Compressed Natural Gas ART vehicles along nine fixed-route stops covering South Bristol Street between South Coast Metro’s business and residential areas, South Coast Plaza, The LAB, The Camp, and Costa Mesa’s cultural arts centers.

A mosquito infected with West Nile virus has been found in Fairview Park, according to an announcement last week by the Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District.

The mosquito with West Nile virus was discovered in a Vector Control mosquito trap in a drainage ditch at the south end of Fairview park, officials confirmed. The area has already been treated for mosquitos and inspectors will be closely monitoring the area for any additional findings.

Mayor Pro Tem Sandra Genis, who is also a Vector Control District trustee, said residents can take simple precautions to avoid mosquito interaction.

“Remember even the smallest amounts of standing water can allow mosquitoes to breed,” she said. “So please, check your yards and property for any sign of standing water and dump it or drain it.”

According to Vector Control, West Nile virus is a mosquito-borne disease that was originally found in Africa. In 1999, it was detected in the eastern United States; since then the virus has spread throughout the United States and is well established in most states, including California.

Most often, West Nile virus is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. Click here to learn more about the virus.

The best way to avoid West Nile virus is to avoid being bitten by a mosquito. Vector Control recommends taking these precautions:

• Eliminate any standing water around your house.
• Make sure all window and door screens on your house are in good repair.
• Wear a repellent containing DEET®, Picaridin, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus, or IR 3535.
• Contact the Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District to report dead birds or neglected pools.

Click here to watch a video about eliminating opportunities for mosquitos to breed.

Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue’s Fire Prevention Specialist Brenda Emrick recently returned from a week long trip to China.

The recent trip included eight days of instructor development to provide U.S. representatives the expertise needed to observe and support previously trained CERT China instructors in delivering a basic CERT course to a Beijing audience

The latest utility box artwork pieces were recently installed and features both historic Costa Mesa photography as well as a funky artwork named ‘blue men’.

The boxes are located at the intersection of 19th St. and Harbor and at 17th St. and Santa Ana.

These vibrant pieces of art come from images secured by the City’s Historical Preservation Committee as well as local artist Ben Brough.

The reconstruction of Fire Station No. 1  continues to make progress.

Demolition of the original station was completed in March and hazardous material abatement, site grading, and foundation compaction is now complete.

The building foundation has been constructed using one inch diameter steel bars and 3,750 psi concrete containing up to 1.5” aggregate rock.

Construction of masonry block walls for interior and exterior partitions has begun, and reinforced steel bars are in place. Grout for the block walls is scheduled for sometime this week.

The steel reinforced concrete floor slab is next to be constructed and the building will continue to go vertical from there.

Construction is tentatively scheduled for completion in Spring of 2018.

The Costa Mesa Police Department has been conducting undercover operations throughout the month to deter the sale, purchase, and use of illegal fireworks in the City of Costa Mesa. To date, over 600 lbs. of illegal fireworks have been seized with multiple arrests. Illegal firework enforcement will continue through the 4th of July.

Fireworks without the Safe & Sane logo are illegal and it is a crime to sell, purchase and possess illegal fireworks. Possession of just one illegal firework is a misdemeanor and punishable by a first time offense of a $1,000 fine and/or imprisonment. To report illegal fireworks use and suspicious activity please call (714) 754-5252.

On Thursday, June 22 City Manager Tom Hatch named Daniel Inloes the winner of the June City Manager Leadership Award at the monthly Meet and Greet.

Inloes, a senior planner in the Development Services Department is responsible for processing development applications and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). He is also the Project Manager for the selection and implementation of the City’s new Land Management System.

Inloes is very involved in the City’s Economic Development Program which promotes the advantage of doing business and development opportunities in Costa Mesa.

In addition to his work with the City, Inloes is also an adjunct professor at Univerity of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy, where he teaches Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Prior to beginning his work at Costa Mesa, Inloes worked at the City of Camarillo as a planner, was a sole proprietor for a few years and also worked at SCAG as a Regional Planner.

In addition to honoring Inloes, City Manager Hatch welcomed a handful of new employees to the city, including Dylan Sickler and Larry Grihalva from Fire and Rescue.

Hatch also welcomed the newest members of the Parks and Community Services Department, Caleb Fleener, Josue Recinos, Mark Moreno and Nathan Zotea.

Amanda Del Prato, Iridyan Jimenez, Samantha Perez-Reyes, Jackie Rodriguez, Elizabeth Romo and Ana Villicana were introduced as the newest members of the Police Department.

Finally,  Amber Haston of the Public Services Department was also recognized.

Firefighters continue to prepare for what is predicted to be an active fire season.

As part of their training, firefighters are performing progressive hose lays (used when we have to travel long distances, sometimes over 1000’) and exercising their communications plan.

Additionally, each firefighter is required to deploy their fire shelter, which is a last resort if they find themselves in a burn over situation.

The Costa Mesa Police Department collaborated with the Orange County Probation Department last week to conduct compliance checks on offenders subject to Post-Release Community Supervision (PRCS), per the State Prison Realignment Assembly Bill 109.

These checks were designed to locate and audit the activity of local criminal offenders residing within the City of Costa Mesa who are under the supervision of OC Probation.

Officers completed 27 residential home checks of offenders and contacted 43 individuals, 23 of which were and classified as PRCS/Probation offenders and five of which were on formal probation with gang terms.

The compliance checks resulted in eight offenders being arrested for violations of the conditions of their probation and/or new criminal law violations, and two other individuals being cited for having an open container in public.

On Thursday, June 15 Mariners Christian School held it’s graduation ceremony for the Eighth Grade Graduating Class of 2017.  Eighth grade students, families, friends, and the entire MCS faculty and staff gathered in the beautiful sanctuary at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach to present diplomas, listen to music and keynote speakers, view a slideshow of middle school memories, and acknowledge key student accomplishments and leadership awards.

The program included:

• Student Welcome by John Herold, Student Council President
• Invocation by Graham Nelson, Student Council Vice President
• Special Message from Heather Harrison, Middle School Principal
• Worship music by MCS Student Worship Band
• Alumni Heritage College Scholarship presented by Chris Spurgin, Middle School Teacher
• Eighth Grade Speech by student Mia Collier
• Salutatorian Awards presented by Tami Thurston, Middle School Teacher
• Valedictorian Speech by student Grace Jones
• Bill Jones Leadership & Integrity Awards by John Hellriegel, Middle School Teacher
• Special Gift to 8^th Grade Class, Troy Moore, Head of School
• Commencement Address by Brian Darrow, Pastor of The W Church and MCS Dad
• Benediction by Carrie Olson, MCS Board Member and MCS Mom

Eighty-three eighth grade students received their diplomas while wearing formal white graduation gowns in the lovely setting of St. Andrews Church.