Kathy Bequette, who has been a resident of Costa Mesa since 1961, stood with other Costa Mesans for Responsible Government, who held a rally before the city council meeting, in front of City Hall on Fair Drive, in Costa Mesa this Tuesday.
DARNELL RENEE, FOR THE REGISTER
COSTA MESA – Mayor Jim Righeimer confronted critics during Tuesday’s City Council meeting, rejecting the notion that his lawsuit against the city’s police union is partially responsible for lackluster recruits.
The organization Costa Mesans for Responsible Government hosted a rally on Tuesday in support of Costa Mesa’s police and other safety employees. About 60 people lined both sides of Fair Drive, holding signs demanding resources for city safety, and were bolstered by constant honks from passersby, including police cars.
Righeimer, in return, demanded a plan on his desk next week, detailing the police department’s staffing and budget needs, and a meeting with the police chief, as well as anyone else necessary, to figure out how to fulfill those needs.
City Council members were in a closed session during the rally, from 5 to 6 p.m., but participants, some donning “Costa Mesans for Responsible Government” T-shirts, shared their largely negative feelings about Righeimer’s decision to sue the city’s police union. The lawsuit claims that in August 2012, a private investigator from a law firm that represents the union followed him home and called the police, saying he’d seen the then-councilman of driving drunk.
In a packed council chambers, Righeimer defended his decision to sue the police union, citing a need to ensure the safety of his children and prevent lawyers from crossing boundaries to affect contract negotiations.
“I’m going to be very clear about this,” he said during the meeting. “I will protect my family.”
Fairview Park
Children will get to ride around Fairview Park for another five years at least, after a surprise extension of Costa Mesa’s agreement with a group that provides free monthly train rides in the park.
This month marks the expiration of a 25-year agreement the city has with nonprofit organization Orange County Model Engineers, Inc., to run and maintain a five-mile train track on the east side of Fairview Park
The Parks and Recreation Commission recommended that the agreement be extended until December 2014, but speakers at Tuesday’s council meeting argued that maintaining an operation as extensive and historic as this one is not sustainable on a year-to-year basis, because of all of the work and planning involved.
More than 21,000 people rode the train in 2012 and members of the group donate more than 10,000 hours toward it annually, according to the city’s staff report.
“We touch the hearts of thousands of children, who long remember their first experience on the trains,” said Hank Castignetti, who is involved in the OCME.
Councilwoman Sandra Genis made a motion to extend the agreement for five years, which Councilwoman Wendy Leece quickly seconded.
The motion passed 3-2 when Councilman Gary Monahan voted with the women. The vote was followed by cheers from many of the 80 or so people sitting in the room, and surprise from a few.
Righeimer and Councilman Steve Mensinger voted against the motion because the Fairview Park Citizen’s Advisory Committee is currently examining additions and changes to the park.
“I was actually going to make a motion to go to 2016, because that’s when I’ll be off the council,” Monahan joked after the vote, to laughs from the room. “But I think five years is a nice compromise.”
Parking lot
Another 3-2 vote shaped a possible future of Fairview Park, though this time Monahan tipped the scale for Righeimer and Mensinger, and against public opinion.
The council held a second public hearing after Councilwoman Genis appealed a Parks and Recreation Commission approval of $2 million for 10 parking spaces, a playground and entryway in the southwest quadrant of the park.
The council approved Righeimer’s motion to scrap plans for a parking lot in that area, and instead ensure that there would be a turnaround at the end of the road, large enough for a small emergency vehicle. The playground and entryway were left as is in the plan.
Genis and Leece voted against Righeimer’s motion – they wanted to put the playground on the chopping block, too, because no one who spoke at the meeting was in favor of it.
Residents who spoke lamented the idea that what they consider their oasis could be ruined by added traffic and the disruptions to the natural landscape. Some talked about how much their children enjoyed the bluffs, while a few new homeowners said the reason they bought property by Fairview Park was because of its expansive nature, which would be ruined with a parking lot and playground, they said.
An archeologist also brought concerns that some of the new construction might be taking place over an archeological site.
Register staff reporter Antonie Boessenkool contributed to this story.
Source: www.ocregister.com
By SONALI KOHLI / ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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