This week, the City of Costa Mesa received an energy rebate 0f $2,300 due to the City’s participation in the Orange County Energy Partnership.

Currently, the City of Costa Mesa, together with the Cities of Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Westminster, and Fountain Valley meet monthly with Southern California Edison representatives to evaluate energy efficiency projects at each respective partner city.

Costa Mesa’s rebate steams from the replacement of multiple 750 Watt Metal Halide light fixtures being replace at the old city yard facility in the mechanic’s area.

These “energy hog” fixtures were replaced with state-of-the-art LED lighting fixtures that utilize approximately half the energy of the old fixtures.

The end result is a brighter and safer working environment for the employees who use the facility on a daily basis.

The City detailed a multi-agency plan to control mosquito breeding in the vicinity of Fairview Park Wetlands.

Following is a status update on the plan:

• The City employed the services of McNabb Construction to clear the Fairview Wetland Ponds of bulrush and vegetation along its shores and cleared a 10-foot-wide area in the pond and along the shores to enhance the effectiveness of mosquito control efforts by the Orange County Vector Control District.
• Paths along the ponds have been cleared to allow the vector control to have continued access.
• Vector control will monitor and increase their efforts to control mosquito breeding.
• City crews flushed the storm drains and cleaned the catch basins twice in the lower bird tracts in the past two weeks.
• A contractor will perform a video inspection of the storm drain lines in the next two weeks to make sure that there are no breeding opportunities for mosquitos.
• City staff has been checking the Greenville-Banning supply line three times per week to make sure that the water flow has been maintained.

Members of the Costa Mesa city staff, including police and animal control officials, have stepped up efforts to improve conditions for pets in the city as well as pets who are lost and end up in the city’s animal shelter in Huntington Beach, run by the Orange County Humane Society.

Costa Mesa and Garden Grove contract with the humane society to support pets. To improve on conditions, the humane society is leasing a space on Hamilton Avenue in Huntington Beach where Costa Mesa and Garden Grove animals will be sheltered. The humane society is submitting plans to the city of Huntington Beach to make further modifications and improvements to the new leased space. In addition, Costa Mesa animal control officers under the guidance of Police Lt. Vic Bakkila are conducting daily inspections at the current facility. Also, the humane society is currently updating its website.

In addition to the shelter improvements, the city has formed a new staff Costa Mesa Pet Committee, which is focused on improving the lives of animals through the following:

• Increasing and enforcing pet licensing.
• Promoting adoption from our local shelters and rescue groups.
• Enhancing pet friendly facilities such as the Costa Mesa bark park.
• Encouraging the community to be responsible pet owners by providing them with information about the benefits of spaying, neutering and vaccinating their pets.

The pet committee is comprised of various staff from many departments. Staff includes, McKenna Ewing, Dan Baker, Kelly Shelton, Jennifer Christ and city CEO Tom Hatch, Animal Control Officer Anna Rodriguez, Mathew Schmelzle from the Finance Department, Cecily Renteria from Parks and Community Services, Julie Schall from Human Resources with Brad Long and Tony Dodero working on communication and public affairs.

Last week the City Clerk’s Office concluded work on an unprecedented eight measures for placement on the Nov. 8 ballot. In addition to the eight measures, the City Clerk’s Office also filed the appropriate paperwork for the seven City Council candidates who will be running for three seats in November.

The stacks of papers that include council resolutions and other legal documents were delivered to the Orange County Registrar of Voters by Friday Aug. 12, which was the deadline for cities, school districts, special districts, and other jurisdictions to decide if they wanted to place a measure or item on the ballot.

Preparing ballot measures is a detailed legal process that must follow both the election and government code. In this case, the process for the Costa Mesa City Clerk’s Office began in spring of 2014 when two medical marijuana petitions were filed and then two more citizen-led petitions filed in 2015 and 2016.

The ROV announced it had 33 measures, a record number for a general election. In comparison the state has only 17 propositions. It is believed that Costa Mesa’s eight measures may be a first and a record for the county.

Any member of the public who is interested in reading more details about the city measures or candidates is invited to visit the City Clerk’s Office on the first floor of City Hall or at the city website and City Election page here or by calling the office at 714-754-5225.

The City Clerk’s office also has voter registration forms available for those not yet registered to vote.

Below are the alphabetical designation and titles of the eight city measures:

• V Allow Operation of up to Eight Medical Marijuana (Cannabis) Businesses in the City of Costa Mesa
• W Allow Operation of up to Four Licensed Medical Marijuana Businesses in the City of Costa Mesa
• X The City of Costa Mesa Medical Marijuana Measure
• Y An Initiative To Require Voter Approval On Certain Development Projects
• Z Measure for Sensible Community Development and Development-Funded Open Space and Recreation
• AA An Initiative Requiring Changes in Use at Fairview Park be Subject to Voter Approval
• BB Costa Mesa Measure Prohibiting Athletic Fields at Fairview Park
• EE Voter Districts Formation

Below are the names and titles of the seven candidates in the order they will appear on the ballot:

• John Stephens- Attorney/Business Owner

• Lee Ramos- Commissioner/Retired Businessman

• Jay Humphrey- Retired Businessman

• Sandra L. “Sandy” Genis- Land Planner/Councilwoman

• Steve Mensinger- Mayor/Businessman

• Al Melone- Retired CPA

• Allan R. Mansoor- Retired Deputy Sheriff

Last week the Association of California Cities, Orange County, announced a new partnership with UC Irvine to study and quantify the costs of homelessness on cities in the county.

The study comes on the heels of a collaborative meeting Assistant CEO Rick Francis participated in with the ACC-OC Working Group on Homeless Issues in which he unveiled Five Pillars, including State Advocacy, Research and Data, Outreach and Sharing, Housing Options and Communications to Constituents, to combat the problem of homelessness. These Five Pillars were later shared with a countywide group of city leaders in May. Costa Mesa is viewed by many county leaders as a model approach in addressing the complexities of homelessness, and the city has already been using many facets of the Five Pillars.

The UCI study falls under the Research and Data pillar and will analyze a comprehensive set of costs and services provided to the homeless population by cities, agencies, and hospitals. This includes emergency health care services, public safety, administrative services, parks and recreation, mental health services, and a number of other elements along the continuum of care.

The study is expected to be completed by next year and will be a helpful tool in the effort to understand existing costs and that data can be used to better deploy public resources.

On Thursday Aug. 11, Costa Mesa Fire Chief Dan Stefano and Chief Rob Sharpnack participated in the Motor Home Madness Demolition Derby at the 2016 Orange County Fair.

The pair were also joined by Newport Beach Police Chief Jon Lewis. The money raised at the event goes to fund breast cancer awareness.

The first to enter the race was Chief Sharpnack.

Just after 8 p.m. Sharpnack, No. 44 (our department’s designated number) entered the arena in a painted black and white RV, with the words police and SWAT painted on the sides and with police lights mounted on the top.

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As the crowd cheered and began to get excited No. 51 Chief Stefano entered. Making his way around the arena, Stefano entered in a red and gold RV with flashing lights making a few laps round before parking on the opposite side of Sharpnack.

Before the event began all participants exited their RV’s and ran around the arena waving their arms and getting the crowd pumped up. Stefano ran around with two fire extinguishers, which set the crowd off.

Unfortunately, Sharpnack and Stefano got knocked out the first half, but it was an exciting event that offered a fun and light-hearted vibe drew in thousands of spectators.

The Costa Mesa Conference and Visitor Bureau announced this week that it has officially changed its name to Travel Costa Mesa, and the organization relocated to a new and updated office across the street from South Coast Plaza.

“We felt it was time to make our name more impactful and recognizable,” said Paulette Lombardi- Fries, President of Travel Costa Mesa. “We wanted to ensure that website visitors and readers who saw our name knew exactly what our purpose was, to inform about and encourage travel to the city of Costa Mesa.”

The official name now matches the website address, www.travelcostamesa.com.

“We’ve also added ‘California’ to our updated logo, to let prospective visitors seeing our marketing programs know we are the official City of the Arts, in the amazing state of California,” said Lombardi-Fries.

Travel Costa Mesa’s new and updated address is 940 South Coast Drive, Suite #265, Costa Mesa, California, 92626. The phone number remains unchanged – 888.588.9417.

Visitors to the city are welcome to visit the new office for additional information about attractions and activities in the city of Costa Mesa.

Once again, the City of Costa Mesa and the Costa Mesa Military Affairs team seek donations of “like new” prom dresses, ball gowns, cocktail dresses and accessories for the spouses of 1st Battalion, 5th Marines (1/5), the Camp Pendelton-based infantry battalion that the city has adopted.

The dresses will be worn at the annual Marine Ball, which takes place in October and celebrates the anniversary of the Marines Corps’ founding.

The collection point for the dresses will be the concierge desk in the lobby of City Hall at 77 Fair Drive. Donations will be accepted now through Sept. 10.

For further information, please contact Dan Baker at (714) 754-5156.

UPDATE: Costa Mesa Police Department has found 11-year-old Diego Garcia.

The Costa Mesa Police Department is searching for an 11-year old autistic boy.

Monday August 1, 2016, an 11-year old autistic boy named Diego Garcia was reported missing by his parents in Costa Mesa. Earlier this morning, Garcia’s parents reported to police they noticed him missing from their apartment, located at 1250 Adams Avenue, shortly before 7 a.m.

Garcia  is autistic, however, he has limited communication skills and answers by his first name “Diego.” Garcia is not fearful of police or others.

Garcia has no known history of running away, and there is no indication of suspicious circumstances at this time. Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s helicopter crew, aboard “Duke”, assisted with making public address announcements in the surrounding vicinity to attempt to locate the child.

OCSD’s bloodhound search team also assisted officers on scene at the location.

Diego Garcia is 4 foot 11 inches tall, weighs about 110 pounds and has long brown hair. He was last seen wearing a green shirt, black shorts and red sandals.

He has no immediate means of accessing transportation. CMPD officers and detectives are actively seeking the public’s assistance to help immediately locate Garcia.

Anyone with possible information should contact CMPD Dispatch at 714-754-5252.

Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckus told a Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce breakfast crowd that state laws that make it harder for law enforcement to put criminals in jail are bad news for communities where crime is now on the rise and he warned that similar laws could be passed in November.

Speaking to chamber members gathered at the Costa Mesa Country Club, Rackauckus decried the passage of AB 109, which allows early release of those convicted of so-called victimless crimes and Proposition 47, a statewide measure that reclassified a whole list of felonies to misdemeanors.

“It’s a big problem and it’s a growing problem,” Rackauckus said of the spike in the number of offenders who are either back on the street or getting slaps on the wrists for burglary and robbery. “Crime is on the increase.”

The district attorney said tougher laws passed in the 1990s, like the Three Strikes law that sent criminals to jail for life after three major offenses, had brought the crime rate down to historic lows. But he said the latest measures are making it harder for law enforcement to do its job and reversing those years of progress.

“The Three Strikes law was great and put a lot of career criminals in prison,” he said. “It was part of a national wave to reduce crime.”

Rackauckus told the crowd that in 2015 his staff of 800 prosecutors and investigators reviewed 70,000 cases. Of those cases, 58,000 charges were filed with a 92% felony conviction rate. 

He also said he has worked with other DAs to get a measure on the ballot, Proposition 66, that would make the death penalty more efficient.

But he warned of a competing measure, Proposition 62, that would eliminate the death penalty and Propositon 57, which if passed would make parole hearings easier to get for those behind bars.

That measure would potentially make 35,000 to 45,000 criminals eligible for parole. 

Costa Mesa Police Officer Lance Healey was the recipient of June’s CEO Leadership Award.

Our video team spent some time with Healey, who helps run the Police Department’s highly successful Pre-Academy, to get an idea of what his workday is like. Click on the video below for more:

Alley reconstruction, street rehabilitation and slurry seal projects awarded by the City Council are currently under construction. Work has begun and this month is going to be a busy one for Public Services staff.

These projects will construct 800 cubic yards of concrete alleyway, repair 573,700 square feet of roadway utilizing 17,500 tons of new asphalt concrete and apply 1,200 extra-long tons of slurry seal. Work also involves adjustment of utility manholes and valves to new grade, replacement of traffic signal loop detectors, lane markings, striping and new pavement legends.

The following areas are scheduled for improvements:

• Flower Street Alley (Alley No. 81) located between Flower Street and Broadway, from Tustin Avenue to Irvine Avenue and 18th Street Alley (Alley No. 96) located between 18th Street and Abbie Way, from 18th Street to Irvine Avenue will be reconstructed.

In addition, 36 streets located within the following neighborhoods will be rehabilitated:

• Freedom Homes Neighborhood bounded by Victoria Street to the North, 19th Street to the South, Aviemore Terrace to the West, and Placentia Avenue to the East.
• Eastside Neighborhood bounded by Santa Isabel Avenue to the North, 21st Street to the South, Newport Boulevard to the West, and Tustin Avenue to the East.
• Bristol East Neighborhood bounded by I-405 Freeway to the North, Baker Street to the South, Bristol Street to the West, and SR-55 Freeway to the East.
• Halecrest Neighborhood bounded by I-405 Freeway to the North, Adams Avenue to the South, Harbor Boulevard to the West, and Fairview Road to the East.

Work on these projects is expected to be completed over the next four to six weeks.