The City of Costa Mesa plans to roll out a brand new alliance between action sports enthusiasts and artists at the upcoming Action Arts in the Park event at TeWinkle Park on Saturday May 14.

The City’s Cultural Arts Committee came up with the idea of fusing the city’s thriving arts community with the equally thriving action sports industry.

“We are excited to transform the traditional Arts in the Park event into something newer and fresher,” said Tracy Taber, a Cultural Arts Committee member. “We want it to be exciting, interactive and full of energy. That’s why we chose TeWinkle Park and the Costa Mesa Skate Park as the backdrop of the event.  We hope that families enjoy a day in the park while appreciating plenty of arts, culture, entertainment and skating.”

Element Skate Brand has signed on as the title sponsor of this unique event and other supporters include the Segerstrom Center for the Arts and Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers.

The free event that runs from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. will include live music from local bands and a DJ.

There will be skateboarding demonstrations, artist exhibits, a rock wall and a mechanical surfboard and interactive art stations.

Families can also visit a kids zone and there will be food trucks offering up a wide variety of cuisines.

The event will also include demonstrations by Costa Mesa-based Operation Clean Slate, which discourages youth from graffiti vandalism and instead involves young people with hands-on activities to channel their talents and improve their community through aerosol art inspired murals.

“Costa Mesa really is a melting pot for all types of art and culture,” said Justin Martin, the city’s Recreation Manager.  “There is something for everyone here and that is what makes the scene here so unique.  The goal of the Action Arts in the Park is to build on the uniqueness that is Costa Mesa art and really highlight why we are the City of the Arts in a whole new way.”

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.

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.”

The Costa Mesa Fire and Rescue Department would like to remind residents that May 1 through May 7 is National Arson Awareness Week.

Each year for National Arson Awareness Week, the U.S. Fire Administration gathers and shares information to raise awareness of arson or youth fire setting and provide individuals with strategies to combat these problems in their community.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, nationwide in 2013 there were 1,240,000 fires, resulting in 3,240 deaths, 15,925 injuries and $11.5 billion in property loss.

More than half a million wildfires are set by arsonists each year in the U.S., resulting in over $3 billion in damages, according to the fire administration.

This year’s National Arson Awareness Week theme is “Prevent Wildfire Arson – Spread the Facts Not the Fire.”

Click here for more information on how the public can protect itself and guard against wildfire arson.

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.”

After a string of dumpster and small brush fires throughout the weekend, Costa Mesa Fire and Police personnel conducted an arson investigation that led them to a 13-year old male Costa Mesa resident.

The boy was arrested for the related arson incidents and later booked at OC Juvenile Hall.

Click here to read the press release of the arrest.

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.

Progress continues in the preparation of the construction documents for the reconstruction of Fire Station No. 1.  The station was originally built in 1961 and is currently experiencing foundation settlement causing structural damage. The station is not built to current building codes and standards, and does not provide efficient multi-gender accommodations.

The Public Services Department in coordination with the Fire Department is working with WLC Architects to complete the construction documents for a state of the art Fire Station.

The new station will be equipped with a three-bay and double-deep apparatus room, ten fire fighter dorm rooms, administrative offices, kitchen, dining room, day room, physical training room, EMS training room, mechanic shop area, and emergency medical supply room within the 11,675 square foot building.  Additional site features include an emergency generator, fuel station, hose drying tower, and a City emergency supply storage unit.

The new station will provide direct access to Adams Avenue in an effort to minimize emergency response time and improve traffic safety. The floor plan is being designed and coordinated to ensure that usability and circulation are maximized.

The new station will achieve LEED Gold certification and exceed California Title 24 Energy Code requirements by at least 15%. The attached architectural concept was approved by the Planning Commission in January. It is anticipated that bidding on the project will begin in the summer of 2017 with award of the contract by the council in October of 2016. Construction is anticipated to begin in January 2017.

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.

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.