Ginger, a 6-year old Boxer mix is smart, outgoing, energetic and looking for her forever home.

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.

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.

One of the main focuses of the City’s new Pet Committee is engaging the Humane Society on a regular basis to continue to build our relationship and ensure a safe home for Costa Mesa’s temporarily homeless animals. One way we are working to accomplish this is the relaunching of the Pet of the Week Program. On Thursday staff visited the shelter and selected its first star.

Cleo short for “Cleopatra” is a 5-year-old lab mix. She has smooth black fur and amber eyes that dazzle just about everyone she meets. Cleo is very polite, walks well on a leash and knows her basic commands. Despite being at the Humane Society for far too long, Cleo has kept her spunk and always has a smile on her face. She is spayed and ready to move into her Fur-ever home.

Come visit with Cleo today. For more information on Cleo or other available pets for adoption please visit the Orange County Humane Society located at 21632 Newland Street in Huntington Beach or call (714) 536-8480 or visit the website at www.ochumanesociety.com.

On July 1, Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law the No Place Like Home program (AB 1618, Chapter 43, Statutes of 2016). This program will distribute $2 billion among counties as deferred payment loans to finance capital costs of permanent supportive housing for persons who are eligible for services under Proposition 63 (2004) and are homeless, chronically homeless, or at risk of chronic homelessness.

The Legislature intends that that the loans will not have to be repaid. This funding program is critical to aid in the effort to end homelessness. California has an estimated affordable housing shortage of more than one million homes. Funding provided by the State for the development and preservation of affordable homes dropped by 79 percent, from approximately $1.7 billion annually to nearly nothing today.

The No Place Like Home program marks the State’s first effort to reinvest dollars into housing for the homeless in recent history. The Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) will administer the program in consultation with an advisory committee. This committee comprises directors of various state departments including HCD and Health Care Services Department as well as county administrative officers, a representative of an affordable housing organization and an administrative officer of a city.

At a recent City Council meeting, Charlene Kass, a resident of The Master’s Circle in Eastside Costa Mesa, alerted the city about construction related issues she and her neighbors were experiencing from the construction taking place at the Santa Ana Country Club.

Kass said the residents of her neighborhood were dealing with dust, dirt on the roadways, a large dead tree that they felt should be removed and other construction related concerns.

Members of the Development Services team reached out to the Joseph Wagner, general manager of the country club to address the issue.

Wagner met with Kass, gave her a tour of the course and an update on the construction, which is now complete.

He reported to Development Services that the issues have been resolved and that Ms. Kass was glad to see the tree that appeared dead was now growing leaves and it will be saved.

Officers from the Costa Mesa Police Department and members of the Orange County Probation Department arrested seven offenders on Thursday Aug. 25 for outstanding arrest warrants, violations of probation, and/or new criminal law violations.

The two agencies conducted the compliance checks on offenders who are subject to Post-Release Community Supervision as well as subjects with probation gang terms. These checks were designed to locate and audit the activity of local criminal offenders residing within Costa Mesa who are under the supervision of the Orange County Probation Department. Officers attempted 19 residential home checks of offenders and contacted 33 offenders, 10 of which were classified as PRCS/Probation offenders living in Costa Mesa.

Summary of those arrested (names withheld):

Male, 15 years old, Costa Mesa

Location of arrest: 1800 block of Park Drive

Supervision status: None

Charges: Armed Robbery (warrant obtained/served on Costa Mesa open case)

Female, 33 years old, Costa Mesa

Location of arrest: 3000 block of Fillmore Way

Supervision: Probation – PRCS

Charges: Probation Violation

Male, 49 years old, Costa Mesa

Location of arrest: 300 block of Princeton Street

Supervision: Mandatory Supervision

Charges: Probation Violation

Male, 40 years old, Costa Mesa

Location of arrest: 500 block of Traverse Street

Supervision: None

Charges: Misdemeanor Warrant arrest

Female, 28 years old, of Mission Viejo

Location of arrest: 700 block of Wilson Street

Supervision: None

Charges: Possession of Paraphernalia

Male, 54 years old, of Costa Mesa

Location of arrest: 700 block of Wilson Street

Supervision: None

Charges: Possession of Paraphernalia

Male, 48 years old, Costa Mesa

Location of arrest: 700 block of Wilson Street

Supervision: None

Charges: Misdemeanor Arrest Warrant

The Costa Mesa Police Department will continue to collaborate with the Orange County Probation Department to conduct similar, future compliance checks of PRCS offenders living in the Costa Mesa community.

On Tuesday August 16, Costa Mesa Transportation Services Manager Raja Sethuraman fielded questions from members of the public during a discussion about a planned median project on Harbor Boulevard between Wilson and 19th Streets.

The event at the Neighborhood Community Center was attended by about 30 people, and included some business owners along that stretch of Harbor Boulevard. Community members expressed concern regarding the proposed improvements and offered several comments.

Sethuraman addressed community’s concerns during the meeting and offered to collect more information to refine the plan over the next few months. While some in the audience had expressed concerns, many of the larger business owners contacted during outreach efforts were generally supportive of the project.

The $1 million worth of improvements, half of which will be paid for by grants, will add a center median with drought tolerant landscape. Sethuraman pointed out to the crowd that in addition to its aesthetic value, the median should help control traffic and reduce accidents on the stretch of road that has seen more than 80 collisions during a five-year period. The city will present the revised plan to the community and Parks and Recreation Commission in the coming months.

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