The City of Costa Mesa invites residents to participate in public workshops intended to obtain input on the Open Space Master Plan of Parks and Recreation.

These workshops will be offered at two different locations to allow the greatest number of residents to attend and provide their input.

Additional, future public workshops are also being scheduled for later in the summer.

• Meeting 1A: The public workshop will be held on Wednesday, June 1 at the Costa Mesa Senior Center, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
• Meeting 1B: This public workshop will be held on Wednesday, June 8 at Lindbergh School, beginning at 6:30 p.m. 220 23rd St, Costa Mesa.
• RSVP to: cmparksupport@costamesaca.gov or (714) 754-5300.

Click here for more information.

The sound of music in the Costa Mesa High School Performing Arts Center is now many octaves improved with the addition of a Yamaha C6 Grand Piano donated through the efforts of a prominent alumni, a local family and the school’s foundation.

The piano was unveiled Tuesday night during a Costa Mesa High School Choir concert at the performing arts center.

Speaking to the concert crowd, Costa Mesa High School Foundation President and Councilmember Katrina Foley credited the school’s music director Jon Lindfors for asking the foundation to purchase the piano that was sorely needed to enhance the school’s musical performances.

“This year it is no surprise that the Costa Mesa High School Foundation awarded Mr. Lindfors with our first ever Visionary Award,” Foley said. “It’s through his vision that Costa Mesa High School breeds an environment of innovation, culture and creativity.”

In addition to the foundation donation, the piano was made possible by a $25,000 gift from Costa Mesa High class of 1992 alumnus Lane Merrifield and local residents Bob and Sue Denton.

Merrifield is notable for being the co-founder of Club Penguin, a hugely popular virtual online gaming site for children.

“My Costa Mesa High School music and drama experiences were so critical to me during my time there,” Merrifield told Lindfors in a written note. “I am confident that without the artistic outlet and foundation in my life that you and others provide, I would not have enjoyed the success I have today.”

Costa Mesa High Principal Jacob Haley thanked the donors for the gift to the school.

“A piano such as this is a once in-a-lifetime purchase and will serve students and audiences to come for many decades,” Haley said.

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As part of an agreement the city has reached with a voting rights advocate law firm, City Hall will be hosting three Meet the Expert meetings as it prepares for a voter district formation initiative headed for the November ballot.

The meetings to be held in Conference Room 1A are the first of many that will take place before the measure goes to vote.

The Meet the Expert meetings are designed to be small, face-to-face events with no more than two or three people at a time.  Members of the public will meet with a technical consultant, David Ely of Compass Demographics, who will give community members the opportunity to use geographic information system tools to better understand how boundaries are developed.

In order to participate in the Meet the Expert sessions please call the City Clerk office at 714-754-5225 to schedule an appointment.  The first meeting will be held this Friday, May 6, beginning at 10 a.m. The next two meetings are schedule for Thursday May 12, beginning at 10 a.m. and Saturday May 14, from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

There will also be two rounds of community meetings in the month of June and those dates will be forthcoming.

On Tuesday May 3, Mayor Steve Mensinger presented the Mayor’s Award to Tammy Guadagno, the operator of the Chick-Fil-A restaurant on Harbor Boulevard, citing the organization’s strong support for local schools and community groups.

“It’s exciting to see Tammy’s passion for our community and how she has ingrained that into her team of employees,” Mayor Mensinger said. “We are grateful for Chick-Fil-A’s investment in the Costa Mesa community and the positive impact they are having on the local economy.”

Guadagno thanked Costa Mesa and said she gives back so much because the community takes care of her and her employees. In turn, she wants to return the favor and take care of Costa Mesa in any way she can.

“It is one of the best communities I’ve ever been involved in,” she said. “I’ve lived in a lot of places and I’m not going anywhere. Costa Mesa is where I’m staying forever. It’s an amazing city.”

Shortly after 7 p.m. on Thursday April 28, 2016, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump spoke to supporters and attendees at a rally held at the Pacific Amphitheatre, at the OC Fair and Event Center in Costa Mesa. The Amphitheatre filled to capacity, permitting 8,200 attendees into the venue. An additional 3,000 visitors wishing to attend the event were turned away from the Event Center. Numerous protestor groups organized outside the OC Fair and Event Center property along Fairview Road and Fair Drive.

During the rally, protestor groups crowded the intersection at Fair Drive and Fairview Road and several motorists at the intersection deliberately spun their car tires in a reckless manner, posing a hazard to nearby pedestrians. Due to the swelling crowds and aggressive activity, mutual aid assistance was requested, activating officers from numerous surrounding agencies to provide emergency assistance.

Costa Mesa Police officers coordinated primarily with  Orange County Sheriff’s deputies and CHP officers to suppress potential violence outside the OC Fair and Event Center. Costa Mesa Police officers declared the crowd an unlawful assembly and gave several dispersal orders before giving the crowd ample time to disperse.

Costa Mesa Police officers  in protective riot gear, alongside Orange County Sheriff’s mounted deputies, and CHP officers worked collectively to clear Fair Dr. and surrounding streets of unruly crowds, and to keep access to the 55 freeway clear.

Donald Trump exited the area by 9:30 p.m., and mutual aid police agencies’ officers successfully dispersed all crowds by 11 p.m.

A total of 17 adults were arrested by Costa Mesa Police officers for failing to disperse. Those individuals were booked at the Costa Mesa Police Department jail and later released on written promises to appear.

Kelly Shelton, a longtime employee and assistant to CEO Tom Hatch was the winner of this month’s CEO Leadership Award presented at the city’s monthly Meet and Greet Ceremony on Thursday April 28.

“Since coming to Costa Mesa, Kelly has demonstrated her leadership, initiative, positive attitude, and willingness to take on additional responsibilities as needed without even being asked to do so,” CEO Tom Hatch said as he presented her with the award. “She believes that she is a reflection of the City Council, City CEO and the organization as whole and may be the first and only time someone has contact with the City and wants the impression to be as pleasant and helpful as possible.”

Shelton began her career in local government with the City of Rancho Cucamonga as an Office Assistant 28 years ago.

She worked for the Cities of Rialto and West Covina before joining

She joined the City of Costa Mesa in August of 2004.

Providing support to the CEO is a job in itself, but for the last six months, Shelton has also been tasked with providing support to the City Council.

She also provides support for most special events to make sure a member of the City Council attends to present proclamations and at times, presents on the City’s behalf.

Shelton also serves as the City’s Liaison to the OC Fair & Event Center where she has been asked to assist on rating proposals and other events at the Fairgrounds while enhancing the communication and partnership between the City and Fairgrounds.

In addition to honoring Shelton, CEO Hatch welcomed nine new employees as well as two promoted employees at the City Hall event.

The City of Costa Mesa filed a public nuisance complaint against the New Harbor Inn, a rare civil abatement move that, if successful, will bring the blighted and crime-infested motel on Harbor Boulevard under court control.

“As we saw with a recent stabbing at a local motel, these establishments continue to be a detriment to our community and are havens for prostitutes, drug users and other criminal elements,” said Costa Mesa Mayor Steve Mensinger. “By taking this action against this public nuisance, the City Council is trying to eliminate the unlawful use of the property.”

Since 2010, the New Harbor Inn generated nearly 1,800 calls for service and it is a known locale for drug storage and sales and multiple narcotics arrests. The motel is the source for a disproportionate amount of police calls.

Click here to see a copy of the complaint.

In addition to the criminal activity, inspections at the New Harbor Inn have turned up multiple code violations over the years including substandard property maintenance and health, life and safety violations.

In March of 2014, 79 violations were found in 33 rooms and in August of 2012, the property received fire code violations after it was discovered that 30 rooms had no smoke detectors, there were improper exits, non-operational fire extinguishers and fire hazards caused by extension cords.

According to the complaint filed in Orange County Superior Court Central Division, the city is asking for myriad remedies enforceable by the court including but not limited to:

• Shutting down the hotel temporarily or permanently.
• Appointing a receiver or court officer to take over operations and assume management and control of the property.
• Requiring the property owner to comply with existing law and completely revamp its business procedures, hire armed security guards and improve lighting and other areas of concern.

Recently, the city and Costa Mesa law enforcement have had to increase enforcement efforts on motel operators whose properties have multiple calls for service and are the venue for criminal activity such as drug use and sales and prostitution.

In a unanimous vote, the city council voted in closed session to take this legal action against the New Harbor Inn. If the court grants the city’s request to shut down, or place a court-appointed receiver over  the New Harbor Inn, that would be a major victory for residents and business owners who regularly have to deal with the criminal activity.

“Costa Mesa works hard to encourage and support our local businesses and residents,” Mayor Mensinger said. “But this drastic intervention is necessary given the pattern and practice of bad business operations.”

SMART Camp, which is a collaborative program between the City of Costa Mesa and the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, will be back again this summer. The free summer camp will be held Monday through Thursday July 5 – Aug. 4 on the campus of Costa Mesa High School.

The Sports Camp will include: Aquatics, basketball, cheer, football, soccer, softball, tennis, track, volleyball and wrestling. The Music Camp will include jazz band and orchestra lessons and the Arts Camp will include two and three dimensional visual art projects and theatrical acting.

A new acting component has been added to the Arts Camp as well.

In an effort to increase participation, organization and registration, this year’s SMART Camp registration will be available online through the City’s ActiveNet registration software as well as in person at City Hall, Balearic Community Center, Neighborhood Community Center, and Downtown Recreation Center.

About 80 students from Costa Mesa, Estancia, Newport Harbor and Early College high schools took over City Hall on Wednesday morning April 20 to take part in the inaugural Youth in Government Day.

The students got a behind the scenes look into how city government works, spending time with public services, police, fire, city administration, parks and community services and finance teams to learn the intricacies of the job.

The students were welcomed to City Hall by Mayor Steve Mensinger, Councilwoman Katrina Foley and City CEO Tom Hatch.

Mayor Mensinger talked to them about the importance of being a leader and how the city needs more people to step up into leadership roles.

“You being here today makes you a part of that group,” he said. “We are looking forward to having you as future leaders.”

Councilwoman Foley told the group how important it is to vote and how much local government can change things.

“Costa Mesa City Hall is the place where you can effect the most change that you can see in your daily lives,” she said.

Next, CEO Hatch talked about the importance of local schools, which he called the “lifeblood of the community.” He also told the students how he was attracted to a career in government because it is a place where you can quickly solve problems.

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After the morning welcome session, the students split up and spent time in their assigned groups where they learned about finance, policing, fire service, city administration and parks and recreation.

After an afternoon lunch, which included a presentation by County Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley, the students filed into the council chambers to hold a mock City Council meeting.

The council members included Mayor Maraide Green, of Estancia High School, Mayor Pro Tem Andrew Ghobrial, of Costa Mesa High School, Council Members Jennifer Contreras, of Costa Mesa High School and Council Members Roman Giglio and David Coreas from Early College High School.

Also on the dais were City CEO Catherine Pimentel from Costa Mesa High and City Attorney Julia Paluch from Estancia. Estancia’s Abby Dunham played the part of City Clerk and Tia Gordon of Costa Mesa was a staff presenter. Andrew Garcia of Costa Mesa and Ulises Rodriguez from Early College were public commenters.

The mock council heard a presentation by Architect Steve Johnson of the firm Johnson Favaro regarding the plans for a new teen area in the city’s soon to be re-built Donald Dungan library. After hearing the presentation and asking great questions, the council approved the plan 5-0.

The Costa Mesa City Council is accepting applications to fill one vacancy on the Parks and Recreation Commission.

Applicants must live in Costa Mesa and be registered to vote.

This Parks and Recreation Commission assists the City Council and various City departments with issues related to parks and parkways.

There is one vacancy with a term expiration of February 2017. For further information, please contact Acting Parks and Community Services Manager Justin Martin at (714) 754-5065. Those interested must complete a Commission Application Form from the City Clerk’s Office or from the City’s website.

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; or hand-delivered to the City Clerk’s Office at City Hall, 77 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa.

The deadline to apply is 5 p.m., Friday, May 13, 2016. Appointments are tentatively scheduled for the June 7, 2016 City Council meeting. For further information, please contact the City Clerk’s office at (714) 754-5225 or cityclerk@costamesaca.gov.

On April 30, please join Costa Mesa Mayor Stephen Mensinger along with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Christ Lutheran and Palm Harvest Churches for the second annual Neighbors Helping Neighbors event to assist homes throughout the Costa Mesa community in need of some TLC.

“I’m looking forward to joining my fellow Costa Mesans as we help out our neighbors in times of need,” Mayor Mensinger said. “It’s always impressive how many volunteers answer the call when we ask for help. And this year is no different.”

Once again, no City funds will be used, just good old fashioned community elbow grease and donations.

Last year, Neighbors Helping Neighbors successfully cleaned up two homes, much to the appreciation of the owners. This year, church organizers have identified a number of properties in the community that are in need of assistance and have begun the prep work for painting.

Funds and additional volunteers are still in need for the prepping, painting and clean-up and materials to ensure success.

Those interested in donating and keeping COSTA MESA COOL can email or call cm.cool@costamesaca.gov or 714-754-5156 to sign up.

Donors so far for this year’s event include:

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Christ Lutheran Church
• Palm Harvest Church
• Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer
• Council Member Gary Monahan
• Preface Group
• Estancia Sports Boosters
• Skosh M0nahan’s
• The Harbor Center
• Vista Paint
• CR&R

Larry’s Building Supply

At the Mesa Water District’s Board of Directors regular meeting on Thursday April 14, the City of Costa Mesa was recognized for its water conservation efforts and presented with the “Mega” Mesa Water Saver award.

Through the city’s efforts, along with other local agencies, businesses, schools and residents, the water district has reached and exceeded the state’s 20 percent conservation mandate with over 21 percent reduction in water use from June 2015 through February 2016.

“The 10 Mesa Water customers we’re recognizing today include property owners and managers with varying responsibilities, who are clearly dedicated to doing the right thing and engaging in activities that achieve higher-than-average water savings during this extended drought,” said Mesa Water Board President Shawn Dewane. “We’re proud to be part of a community so dedicated to water efficiency.”

The water district focused on outdoor watering, reducing water waste at residential, multi-family, business and government properties.

Customers who increased water efficiency beyond expectations were responsible for higher-than-average water savings ranging from 31 percent to 56 percent.

Businesses and Homeowners’ Associations amended their outdoor watering for larger landscapes to comply with Mesa Water’s watering schedules that changed with seasonal temperatures and weather.

Single-family homeowners and local government agencies implemented additional water-saving techniques, including installing a pool cover, replacing thirsty turf with water-wise landscaping, updating old irrigation with drip irrigation, reducing sprinkler times, installing smart-timers, and decreasing off-peak utility use.

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The following were recognized at Thursday’s event by Mesa Water’s Board of Directors as “Mega” Mesa Water Savers:

• Janice and Steven Frates
• Susan and Geoff West
• Brookview Homeowners’ Association
• Harbor Village Apartments
• C.J. Segerstrom & Sons
• Mariners Christian School
• Vanguard University
• City of Costa Mesa
• John Wayne Airport
• Newport Mesa Unified School District