The City of Costa Mesa and the Military Affairs Team have launched a Halloween candy collection drive for Marine families. 

The City will be collecting unopened individually wrapped candy to celebrate Halloween with the Marines of the First Battalion Fifth Marine Regiment and their families at Camp San Mateo for a trunk or treat event.

The collection point will be at the concierge desk in the Costa Mesa City Hall Lobby, 77 Fair Drive. 

Candy collection will last until Thursday Oct. 20. 

If individuals from the public are interested in participating or have questions about donations, please call Dan Baker at 714-754-5156 for additional information.

As campaign season heats up and political signs are prominent throughout the city, residents may not be aware that the City Council adopted a new ordinance this year governing the placement of campaign signs.

Under the new ordinance, political campaign signs are now considered “non-commercial portable signs” in the City of Costa Mesa.  Non-commercial portable signs are defined as: Any sign which can be moved from place to place which is not permanently affixed to the ground or to a building that is not used for commercial purposes.

Examples of non-commercial signs generally include, but are not limited to, signs that promote a political or religious viewpoint, and signs commenting on public officials(s) or matter(s) of public discourse.

Non-commercial portable signs may be displayed in Costa Mesa if they comply with Costa Mesa Municipal Code Section 13-123.

To learn more about non-commercial portable signs and commercial portable signs, here is the link to the Sign Code.

Below are answers to some Frequently Asked Questions about political signs and the new ordinance:

Q: When may non-commercial portable signs be posted?

A:   In the six weeks before the upcoming Nov. 8 election, non-commercial portable signs may remain in the public parkways without any weekday restrictions.  Non-commercial portable signs may also be placed on private properties, subject to the same time frames as those placed in public parkways — including the six-week extension before the election.  Commercial portable signs are still only allowed to be installed in the public rights-of-ways between 6 a.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Sunday.

Q: Where may the non-commercial portable signs be posted?

A: The signs may be posted on any landscaped parkway, or on private property with the consent of the property owner, lessee, or occupant.

Q: Where are non-commercial portable signs not allowed to be posted?

A: Signs may not be posted on:  Utility poles; roadway signs; traffic control boxes; bus shelters; in tree wells; center median islands; overhanging a curb, sidewalk, or driveway or anywhere that obstructs visibility of pedestrian or vehicular traffic; within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, intersection of an alley, street, or highway; or within 15 feet of a driveway.  Additionally, they may not be posted in front of public facilities such as libraries, schools, city hall, and parks and must be placed a minimum of 100 feet away from any polling place.

Q: What happens to non-commercial portable signs that are not legally posted?

A: City staff will remove signs posted in violation of the Municipal Code.  Signs will be stored for 10 days and then can be disposed of unless the owner of the seized sign contacts the City’s Code Enforcement Division within that 10-day period.

Q: When must non-commercial portable signs be removed?

A: Signs must be removed within 10 days after the election.

Q: How will a sign owner know whether the City or a vandal removed a sign?

A:  Signs removed by the City are tracked and stored as noted above.  The owner can contact the Code Enforcement Division at 714-754-5623.

Q: What are the size limits for non-commercial portable signs?

A: In public rights-of-ways, signs may not exceed 5 square feet in area with a maximum height of 3 feet above grade.  On private properties, non-commercial portable signs may not exceed 5 square feet in area with a maximum height of 6 feet above grade.

Q: Are there any restrictions regarding non-commercial banners?

A:  Since the Sign Code is currently silent as regards to non-commercial banners, they are subject to the same requirements as a commercial banner except that no permit is required.  They may be placed only on a building or freestanding sign; identification must be placed on signs; they may be installed up to 6 weeks before the applicable election; and they must be removed within 10 days after the election.

Q:  Does the City require a security bond to be posted to ensure removal of non-commercial portable signs following the election?

A:  No, the City does not require a security bond for non-commercial portable signs.  However, the owner of the signs must affix their name, address, and telephone number on the sign prior to installation.

Maximum area permitted for:

• Residential zones:  0.5 square feet per dwelling unit/100 square feet maximum per site
• All other zones:  0.5 square feet per lineal foot of building frontage facing the street; minimum 25 square feet per tenant with a maximum of 75 square feet per tenant.

If you have any further questions, please call Code Enforcement at 714-754-5623.

City officials plan to christen the new Harbor Boulevard Cornerstone Bike Trail on Saturday Oct. 8 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and bike parade that will begin on the new multipurpose trail and continue along for a 3.75-mile trek.

The event will take place between 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. near the intersection of Fair Drive and Harbor Boulevard.

Parking will be available in the Fairview Developmental Center parking lot.

At the event, a dedication plaque will be unveiled that contains the names of the City Council members, City CEO and City Engineer.

The mayor and members of the council are expected to be in attendance.

Immediately after the plaque unveiling, members of the public can take part in a free bike registration and a raffle for a new bike. In addition, the public is invited to participate in the bike parade.

The improvements to the trail, which spans the west side of Harbor Boulevard between Fair Drive and Merrimac Way, consisted of the removal of the old asphalt trail and concrete sidewalk, and construction of a 12-foot wide, colored concrete multipurpose trail.

Low-level lighting and a new irrigation system has been installed and the turf was replaced with drought tolerant shrubs, ground cover, boulders and mulch. Sixteen Queen Palms and 31 box trees have also been planted.

The OC Public Works department has begun work on the Lower Santa Ana River Sand Management project. The project involves removing up to 840,000 cubic yards of accumulated sand in the lowest 3.5 miles of the Santa Ana River to maintain design flood protection. Beach compatible sand will be taken to various beaches within Orange County for beach nourishment. This is a reoccurring maintenance project that was last done by the Army Corps of Engineers in 2004/05.

This current maintenance effort began late August/early September this year and will take about six months to complete. As part of the 2004/05 maintenance work and this current work, the county’s contractor needs to close off the east bike path between PCH and Victoria/Hamilton bridge to the public because the contractor will be using this reach of the bike path for access to adjacent staging areas and access to equipment within the river. The west side bike path/trail will remain open. The contractor will prepare and implement a bike/pedestrian detour plan.

A bike detour plan sign will be installed at various locations along the Santa Ana River east levee. The metal sign will be installed at both ends of the closure and three locations upstream for advance notification to trail users. The county will post this detour map on the OC Parks website and OC Public Works website to inform the public of the upcoming closure. This sign is in addition to the DETOUR and TRAIL CLOSURE signs installed at both ends of the closure.

Adopt a friend fur-life, like Mabel. She is a sweet 6 pound Chihuahua with a calm and quiet demeanor. She is the sort that would love to spend her days cuddled up on a lap or just hanging out.

Contact the Orange County Humane Society for more information and to schedule your visit with Mabel today.

Students and teachers at Mariners Christian School are not deterred in their goal to help their peers on the other side of the world.  As of June 2016, they had collected $25,000 for Christ the Center Ministries in Gulu, Uganda, to build two classrooms in their brand new middle school, as well as support their feeding program.  In year two, their goal is to help build a chapel and auditorium as part of the new school in Africa.

Middle School Principal Heather Harrison is encouraged that this service project is continuing in its second year – prompted by the students themselves. Mrs. Harrison had met with the United States Directors for Christ the Center Ministries based in Uganda, and learned of their vision to provide educational opportunities for the very least in a third world area and the powerful mission of their faith-based organization.  Harrison’s original vision for this effort did not include two consecutive years of partnership.

The enthusiasm is just as strong among students and staff at MCS in this second year.  To kick off the fundraising, MCS is hosted a “Lunch on the Lawn” event on Friday, September 23, where families were invited to join their students for lunch.  Proceeds from the event will directly benefit the school in Gulu.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to continue teaching our students to look beyond their current ‘world’ and see how Christ’s love through them can impact others,” commented Head of School Troy Moore.

 This year marks the 30^th Anniversary of the Community Emergency Response Team program and to celebrate, the Federal Emergency Management Agency partnered with California Volunteers, NBC Universal, and other CERT partners across nation to host a National CERT conference in Universal City earlier this month.

CERT Program Coordinators from Costa Mesa (Brenda Emrick), Newport Beach (Matt Brisbois), Huntington Beach (Brevyn Mettler) and Laguna Beach (Jordan Villwock) were an integral part of the National CERT Conference and have all played key roles in the success of CERT.

The recent CERT conference provided an opportunity to pay tribute to the contributions of the extraordinary community volunteers locally and across the globe, as well as an opportunity to recognize the leaders of the CERT programs they serve locally, and at the state and national levels.

“Brenda, Matt, Brevyn, and Jordan have individually and collectively gone well above and beyond to represent our respective agencies and the communities we serve in an exemplary manner,” Costa Mesa Fire Chief Dan Stefano said.  “We are extremely fortunate to have this talented foursome working together to train and develop our CERT volunteers to assist our first responders in making our communities and the entire region more actively prepared for any emergency or disaster.”

CERT program partners from throughout Orange County in fire and law enforcement have supported and taken part in state-sponsored instructor training courses and are assets in the development of citizen preparedness drills and exercises to improve and enhance the resiliency of the people in Orange County.

There are more than 28 Orange County city-sponsored CERT programs including Teen, Campus and Workplace programs registered on the National CERT website. Orange County CERT programs have been recognized nationally by FEMA for their training, best practices activities, and program organization.  For additional information on a CERT program near you, please contact your local fire department or law enforcement agency.

The city of Costa Mesa has launched an online interactive Road Condition Map for residents and commuters to lookup road conditions and future streets rehab schedules on City streets.

Click here for the map and a tutorial on how to use it.

The Road Condition Map application shows streets in different colors based on 2015-2016 road condition PCI (Pavement Condition Index).

The results rated from Very Good (blue) to Very Poor (red).

Commuters can highlight the street and click to see details on the road condition and future rehab schedule for that specific street segment they selected.

This application is created by city staff members from the Public Services Department and Information Technology Department.

Road condition information and future rehab schedule are part of the city’s over all Capital Improvement Projects (CIP).

All information will be updated annually or sooner when there is an update.

Costa Mesa Mayor Steve Mensinger presented the Mayor’s Award to Randy Barth, the founder of THINK Together’s Shalimar Learning Center on Costa Mesa’s Westside, which for 22 years has helped tutor and teach young students in this low income neighborhood.

“You made such a huge impact on so many people,” Mayor Mensinger said as he presented the award at the City Council meeting Tuesday Sept. 20. “We are grateful as a city to have people like you who make a difference. You are a true community partner and we are proud to have you in Costa Mesa.”

THINK Together, the largest nonprofit after school program in the state, began on Shalimar Drive back in 1994 in response to a gang shooting in the neighborhood where some of the local moms asked for a safe place for their kids to study afterschool.

Working with community moms, Catholic priest Jerome Karcher and members of the St. Andrews Presybyterian Church, Barth was able to secure a room in an apartment complex and THINK Together was born.

Today THINK Together serves several hundred thousand children in after school programs in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties as well as children in the Bay Area near San Jose. Barth announced Tuesday that his organization is beginning a capital campaign to build a new community center on Shalimar Drive.

“We appreciate the city’s partnership through the years,” Barth said. “It wasn’t an easy project to get off the ground, but it’s been, we think, mutually beneficial. We thank you for your leadership and support.”

Beginning Monday Sept. 26, Costa Mesa Sanitary District will conduct mostly night operations to install a new pressure sewer main (force main) from the west side of the Harbor/Wilson intersection to the east side of the intersection to increase reliability and life expectancy of the sanitary sewer system. The force main is a critical component of the infrastructure and the method of construction is the least disruptive of the available options for installation.

The project will last approximately four weeks and the majority of the work will be performed during night time hours in order to minimize disruptions. Sewer service will not be interrupted during the project, however, traffic impacts will occur and residents and businesses are encouraged to use the pre-arranged detours. The District and its contractor will attempt to minimize inconveniences and complete the work in an efficient and expedient manner. The District apologizes in advance for any noise and inconveniences that may occur.

A combination of sound fiscal policy and a thriving retail environment, along with expenditures lower than anticipated for a variety of factors, has resulted in a significant budget surplus of an estimated $11 million for the City of Costa Mesa.

At the end of the last fiscal year on June 30, 2016, the city’s revenues totaled more than $122.5 million while expenditures were $111.4 million. That surplus represents 9 percent of the total revenues.

 “We have made concerted efforts to keep our spending under control while still providing great customer service to our residents by rebuilding our older infrastructure, investing in new capital improvement projects and hiring top-level staffing in city departments,” said Mayor Steve Mensinger.

The mayor called this a proud moment for the City of Costa Mesa.

 “A significant amount of hard work, difficult decisions and favorable business conditions have resulted in this environment for success,” he said. “Many people deserve thanks for their contributions, especially my fellow council colleagues, commissioners, city staff, the business community and Costa Mesa residents.”

Indeed, the City Council now has the opportunity to determine where to allocate the surplus money and could follow its established policy of using surplus funds to increase reserves, reduce pension debt and increase expenditures on capital projects.

The process for the last two years has been for staff to bring a recommendation to the City Council’s Financial Advisory Committee around November or December and the City Council review the Committee’s recommendation as part of the council’s Mid-Year Budget Review in February.

Based on the City Council’s policy and based on prior budget discussions, staff will likely recommend that the committee increase the general fund reserves by $2.66 million, which will immediately allow the city to reach the Council’s $55 million reserve goal.

The council can also recommend a number of measures, including paying down pension debt and other debt obligations as well as funding projects and enhancing various community priorities.

Maintenance Division staff, in coordination with CleanStreets, recently performed pressure washing on 19th Street to clean up areas that were becoming increasingly dirty and unhealthful. And in recent weeks, the city has also worked Clear Channel to clean up some of the bus benches and shelters throughout the city, which had also become health hazards.

For the early morning pressure washing, City workers picked up all the debris left from the homeless prior to washing. Also, using two graffiti trucks, CleanStreets accomplished quite a bit in two hours prior to the start of rush hour.

They pressure washed the soup kitchen area, which was extremely filthy and covered in gum, and then pressure washed the entire length of west bound 19th from Meyer to Pomona, which included The Tower.

They then pressure washed the east bound sidewalk from the Senior Center all the way to McDonald’s. Most of the wash water was directed into the adjacent City shrub planters, with the sweeper picking up any water that went into the street in the areas without landscape. While the city did its best with the steam cleaner, it was only able to remove small amounts of the gum that had accumulated.

Everything was completed in two hours. Residents with street sweeping requests are encouraged to call 714-327-7471 or the Street Sweeping Hotline (Parking Enforcement): 714-754-5290.