The Costa Mesa City Council is currently seeking citizens to serve on the following committees and the Senior commission:

Access Building, Fire and Housing Board of Appeal: This committee advises on matters pertaining to building construction. The board meets and hears appeals on an as-needed basis. It has five regular member vacancies and two alternate member vacancies, all for four-year terms.

Minimum qualifications should include: Civil engineers, structural engineers, fire protection engineers, electrical/mechanical engineers, architects, Certified Access Specialists (CASp), and related state or federal licensed professionals, such as fire marshals. Residents or individuals that conduct business within the City are encouraged to apply.  For further information, please contact Interim Building Official Ron Beehler at (714) 754-5604.

Finance and Pension Advisory Committee: This newly merged committee, will meet monthly and provide advice to the City Council regarding events and issues which may affect the financial status of the City.  It will also evaluate annual and long-term pension and financial impacts from changes in CalPERS contribution rates and/or actuarial schedule changes.

It has 11 members with staggered terms: six two-year terms and five one-year terms.  Four of the members shall have pension knowledge. The other members shall be residents or individuals that conduct business within the City and have a background that includes experience in securities trading, financial planning, banking, auditing, accounting, or a closely related and relevant field.  For further information, please contact Executive Secretary Kathy Ulrich at (714) 754-5243.

Senior Commission: This Commission, which meets every other month, serves as an advisory body to the City Council in matters related to the operation of the Costa Mesa Senior Center. Currently, there is one vacancy with a term expiration of February 2019. Applicants must live in Costa Mesa.  For further information, please contact Recreation Manager Justin Martin at (714) 754-5065.

Application Process – Citizens who are interested in getting involved in local government are encouraged to complete a Committee/Commission Application Form from the City Clerk’s Office or from the City’s website (www.costamesaca.gov/apply).

The completed application may be submitted online; mailed to Costa Mesa City Clerk at Post Office Box 1200, Costa Mesa, California, 92628-1200; faxed to (714) 754-4942; emailed to cityclerk@costamesaca.gov; or hand-delivered to the City Clerk’s Office at City Hall, 77 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa.  The deadline is 5 p.m., Wednesday, March 22, 2017. Appointments are tentatively scheduled for the April 4, 2017 City Council meeting.

Mayor Katrina Foley relaunched the city’s Mayor’s Award on Tuesday March 7 and presented the honor to Paul Tomei, Managing Director of Costa Mesa’s renown South Coast Repertory theater.

Foley announced that the award will be presented quarterly with two in the month that the quarter falls in.

For the first awards, she is honoring women leaders as March is Women’s History Month.

“Paula’s love of the arts was fostered at a young age as a student of the Newport Mesa Unified School District and her career with SCR has been a dream come true,” Mayor Foley said of Tomei, who is a graduate of Estancia High School. “Paula has been instrumental in ensuring South Coast Repertory’s mission to advance the art of theatre in service of the community, and to extend that service through educational, intercultural, and community engagement programs.”

Tomei was presented with the Mayor’s Award as well as a Key to the City.

She thanked the mayor for what she called a “terrific honor” and credited her strong arts and education background at Estancia and UCI for her success.

“I am especially fortunate to have worked at SCR and in the City of Costa Mesa for almost 38 years,” she said.

The California Department of Transportation will close the Harbor Boulevard onramp to Northbound I-405 on Thursday, March 2, 2017 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 

The closure is necessary for crews to perform landscape work. 

Caltrans appreciates the public’s patience while it performs this work.

Detour signs will be posted to alert motorists of the closure. 

For more information, you may contact the District 12 Public Information Office at (657) 328-6000 or log on to the Caltrans website at www.dot.ca.gov/dist12.

City Manager Tom Hatch presented Costa Mesa Police employee Sandra Lozano with this month’s City Manager Leadership Award at the Thursday Feb. 23 Meet and Greet event at City Hall.

“Sandra exemplifies our commitment to provide the highest levels of service to the residents of Costa Mesa,” Hatch said. “She is a leader and dedicated employee not only amongst her peers in the Police Department but for the entire city organization.”

A Police Records and Evidence Administrator, she oversees the Records and Evidence Bureau, consisting of both the Records and the Property and Evidence units. These are two major areas of responsibility, which are critical to the Police Department’s daily operations.

Lozano’s leadership style is based on communication, regular interaction with staff and mentoring. She is also part of the department’s Peer Support Program, where she is regularly sought by individuals for her approachability, input, guidance, or council, Hatch noted. Additionally, her commitment and efforts put into matters behind the scenes is unmeasurable, he said.

Out of her many accomplishments, one of the more notable ones is her work as the department’s SunGard Administrator, responsible for the City’s Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and Records Management System (RMS). Lozano has been involved with the system since 2013 and has been critical to the system’s implementation and development since then.

A 12-year Costa Mesa employee, Lozano previously worked for the Whittier Police Department, where she served over 14 years and achieved the rank of Records Supervisor. She graduated with honors from the University of La Verne, where she received a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Management. She has also been the recipient of the Costa Mesa Police Department’s Civilian of the Year Award for 2008 and Supervisor of the Year Award for 2015.

In addition to honoring Lozano, City Manager Hatch welcomed several new employees and commended one for a promotion.

Joining the city in the Parks and Community Services Department is Jennifer Crisol – Recreation Leader II, Claude Garrett – Recreation Leader II, Sierra Grindstaff – Recreation Leader I, Tyler Hoang – Recreation Leader II, Gabriela Lopez – Recreation Leader II, Tyler Palmer – Recreation Leader II and Jodie Mccann the department’s new Management Analyst

From the Police Department, Hatch welcomed new Officer Erik Nippert, a recent Sheriff Academy graduate as well as Isai Flores Barrera, a Public Services intern.

He also congratulated Kelly Dalton on his recent promotion to Engineering Technician III.

All residents/businesses are encouraged to sign up for AlertOC.

AlertOC is a mass notification system designed to keep Costa Mesa and Orange County residents and businesses informed of emergencies and certain community events.

By registering with AlertOC, time-sensitive voice messages from the County or City in which you live or work may be sent to your home, cell or business phone.

Text messages may also be sent to cell phones, e-mail accounts and hearing impaired devices.

AlertOC is operated by the County of Orange in collaboration with local cities.

To register go to: www.alertoc.com

The Costa Mesa City Council is currently seeking residents to serve on the following city committees:

Bikeway & Walkability Committee: This committee, which meets monthly, assists with the review, update and implementation of the city’s Master Plan of Bikeways and pedestrian pathways in order to make recommendations for their improvement to the City Council. It has 15 regular member vacancies expiring March 31, 2017, all for two-year terms. For further information, please contact Public Services Director Raja Sethuraman at (714) 754-5032.

Cultural Arts Committee: This committee, which meets monthly, works to promote the city’s slogan, “Costa Mesa City of the Arts.” The committee maintains a youth gallery in City Hall and a directory of local artists. It has six regular member vacancies and one alternate member vacancy expiring March 31, 2017, all for two-year terms. For further information, please contact Recreation Supervisor Ashley Ocasio at (714) 754-5052.

Historical Preservation Committee: This committee, which meets monthly, serves to maintain, preserve, educate and promote the city’s historical resources. It has nine regular member vacancies and two alternate member vacancies expiring March 31, 2017, all for two-year terms. For further information, please contact Assistant Recreation Supervisor Cecily Renteria at (714) 754-5034.

Housing & Public Service Grants Committee: This committee, which meets on an as-needed basis, helps to promote community understanding of the community development process and activities funded by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD), and Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). It has nine regular member vacancies and one alternate member vacancy expiring March 31, 2017, all for two-year terms.  For further information, please contact CDBG Consultant Mike Linares at (714) 754-5678.

Traffic Impact Fee Ad Hoc Committee: This committee, which meets on an as-needed basis, assists staff on all aspects related to the updating and revision of traffic impact fees. It has four vacancies expiring March 31, 2017, all for four-year terms: two at-large positions representing Costa Mesa residents, one representing major developers, and one representing small developers. For further information, please contact Public Services Director Raja Sethuraman at (714) 754-5032.

Application Process: Residents who are interested in getting involved in local government are encouraged to complete a Committee Application Form from the City Clerk’s Office or from the City’s website (www.costamesaca.gov/apply).  The completed application may be submitted online; mailed to Costa Mesa City Clerk at Post Office Box 1200, Costa Mesa, California, 92628-1200; faxed to (714) 754-4942; emailed to cityclerk@costamesaca.gov; or hand-delivered to the City Clerk’s Office at City Hall, 77 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa.

The deadline is 5 p.m., Monday, March 13, 2017.  Appointments are tentatively scheduled for the April 4, 2017 City Council meeting.

City staff is urging residents to prep for a fierce winter storm that is expected to bring high winds and drench Costa Mesa and surrounding communities with as a much as two inches of rain.

To help with potential flooding, the city is providing sandbags to residents only and not for commercial use. Also, sandbags are limited to 15 per resident.

The city offers a pre-filled sandbag station at the Southeast corner of the City Hall parking lot at at 77 Fair Drive while supplies last. There are signs on Fair Drive that will direct residents to the location.

Residents can also fill up sandbags at Fire Station No. 4 located at 2300 Placentia Ave. Bags and sand will be available for free, but please bring ID to show to City staff before picking up the bags.

Click here for information on how to prepare sand bags.

Further, the city has added additional maintenance crews for Friday and Saturday to assist with emergencies.

Residents are urged to drive safely, watch for downed trees and power lines and be prepared for potential flooding. Residents who are in need of assistance are encouraged to call the city’s non-emergency line at 714-754-5252.

As always, in the case of emergencies, downed power lines or other life threatening issues, please dial 9-1-1.

In anticipation of the storm, County officials have issued a Flash Flood Watch and High Wind Watch for both Coastal and Inland Orange County.  Please click on the links below for further information on these alerts:

High Wind Watch in effect from February 17, 07:00 AM PST until February 18, 07:00 AM PST

Flash Flood Watch in effect from February 17, 12:00 PM PST until February 18, 04:00 PM PST

Click here to see how to contact Southern California Edison  or call 1-800-611-1911 to report power outages.

The agency “211 OC” is also poised to help coordinate assistance. 211 OC has an around the clock phone line to help with all types of emergencies and provides regional connection to resources for disasters victims, the homeless, and others needing health and human services.

Information about 211 OC can be found at www.211OC.org or by simply calling 2-1-1.

The Los Angeles Chargers invited civic and business leaders to a welcome luncheon Monday Feb. 13 at the Center Club, where team Owner Dean Spanos, General Manager Tom Telesco and Head Coach Anthony Lynn spoke glowingly about the team’s future new home in Costa Mesa.

“There are two things that we put a priority on,” Spanos said. “The first is to put a winning team on the field, and the second, equally, is to be a part of the community.”

That message resonated well with Costa Mesa leaders who welcomed the team with open arms and presented Spanos with a key to the city and a Costa Mesa baseball cap in the color of the team’s iconic light blue jerseys.

In addition to members of the Chargers front office staff, two players from the team were also in attendance, running back Branden Oliver and fullback Derek Watt.

“I’m a football mom and I know what football brings to families,” Mayor Katrina Foley said. “We are here to support you and make you feel at home. We are so thrilled to have the Charger family join our Costa Mesa family.”

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Joining Mayor Foley at the luncheon were Mayor Pro Tem Sandy Genis and Council Members John Stephens, Jim Righeimer, City Manager Tom Hatch and Several members of the city staff.

The Chargers’ new headquarters will be a leased building in the Hive office complex in north Costa Mesa on Susan Street. The team also plans to create a training facility on a 3.2 acre property next to the site.

General Manager Telesco said the team and the team’s front office employees will become integral parts of the Costa Mesa community, getting involved with city events and even having family members take part in youth sports.

“Every day but game day, we’ll be in Costa Mesa,” Telesco said.

And Lynn, who was recently named head coach, echoed that.

“I believe in being part of the community,” Lynn said.

Charger announcer Josh Lewin, the emcee of the event, said it was no mistake that the team made Costa Mesa its new home.

“They didn’t just leave and happen to land in Costa Mesa,” he said. “They scouted Costa Mesa, they met with Costa Mesa city leaders and it was only then that they decided to call this town home.”

The City of Costa Mesa received its first round of school board approved athletic facility grant requests from the school district last week.

Some of the improvements at Estancia High include new bleachers for the multipurpose fields, various sports training equipment and all new outdoor basketball rims and nets for the exterior courts.

Newport Harbor is requesting a new scoreboard for their Varsity Baseball field.

More grants are slated later in the year for Costa Mesa High School

City of Costa Mesa Principal Planner Minoo Ashabi attended the FAA on John Wayne Airport flight changes meeting on Wednesday Feb. 1 that was held at Newport Beach Oasis Senior Center.

The meeting was well attended and set up as an open house. There were  two stations where residents could get the noise readings at their properties using this Google Earth application. 

The arrival and departure routes have been published and will be fully implemented by April of this year.

As far as noise impacts to east Cost Mesa, there seems to be a pattern of slight decrease (0.1 dB variations); this is based on their noise model and assumptions of full compliance with the latest arrival and departure patterns.