On Thursday, June 22 City Manager Tom Hatch named Daniel Inloes the winner of the June City Manager Leadership Award at the monthly Meet and Greet.

Inloes, a senior planner in the Development Services Department is responsible for processing development applications and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). He is also the Project Manager for the selection and implementation of the City’s new Land Management System.

Inloes is very involved in the City’s Economic Development Program which promotes the advantage of doing business and development opportunities in Costa Mesa.

In addition to his work with the City, Inloes is also an adjunct professor at Univerity of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy, where he teaches Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Prior to beginning his work at Costa Mesa, Inloes worked at the City of Camarillo as a planner, was a sole proprietor for a few years and also worked at SCAG as a Regional Planner.

In addition to honoring Inloes, City Manager Hatch welcomed a handful of new employees to the city, including Dylan Sickler and Larry Grihalva from Fire and Rescue.

Hatch also welcomed the newest members of the Parks and Community Services Department, Caleb Fleener, Josue Recinos, Mark Moreno and Nathan Zotea.

Amanda Del Prato, Iridyan Jimenez, Samantha Perez-Reyes, Jackie Rodriguez, Elizabeth Romo and Ana Villicana were introduced as the newest members of the Police Department.

Finally,  Amber Haston of the Public Services Department was also recognized.

Firefighters continue to prepare for what is predicted to be an active fire season.

As part of their training, firefighters are performing progressive hose lays (used when we have to travel long distances, sometimes over 1000’) and exercising their communications plan.

Additionally, each firefighter is required to deploy their fire shelter, which is a last resort if they find themselves in a burn over situation.

The Costa Mesa Police Department collaborated with the Orange County Probation Department last week to conduct compliance checks on offenders subject to Post-Release Community Supervision (PRCS), per the State Prison Realignment Assembly Bill 109.

These checks were designed to locate and audit the activity of local criminal offenders residing within the City of Costa Mesa who are under the supervision of OC Probation.

Officers completed 27 residential home checks of offenders and contacted 43 individuals, 23 of which were and classified as PRCS/Probation offenders and five of which were on formal probation with gang terms.

The compliance checks resulted in eight offenders being arrested for violations of the conditions of their probation and/or new criminal law violations, and two other individuals being cited for having an open container in public.

On Thursday, June 15 Mariners Christian School held it’s graduation ceremony for the Eighth Grade Graduating Class of 2017.  Eighth grade students, families, friends, and the entire MCS faculty and staff gathered in the beautiful sanctuary at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach to present diplomas, listen to music and keynote speakers, view a slideshow of middle school memories, and acknowledge key student accomplishments and leadership awards.

The program included:

• Student Welcome by John Herold, Student Council President
• Invocation by Graham Nelson, Student Council Vice President
• Special Message from Heather Harrison, Middle School Principal
• Worship music by MCS Student Worship Band
• Alumni Heritage College Scholarship presented by Chris Spurgin, Middle School Teacher
• Eighth Grade Speech by student Mia Collier
• Salutatorian Awards presented by Tami Thurston, Middle School Teacher
• Valedictorian Speech by student Grace Jones
• Bill Jones Leadership & Integrity Awards by John Hellriegel, Middle School Teacher
• Special Gift to 8^th Grade Class, Troy Moore, Head of School
• Commencement Address by Brian Darrow, Pastor of The W Church and MCS Dad
• Benediction by Carrie Olson, MCS Board Member and MCS Mom

Eighty-three eighth grade students received their diplomas while wearing formal white graduation gowns in the lovely setting of St. Andrews Church.

Every 10 years, the City has the opportunity to provide updated address and map data to the U.S. Census Bureau in preparation for the decennial U.S. Census.

The draft data for the 2020 Census will be distributed to planning staff for review.

The Local Update of Census Addresses, or LUCA, is the only opportunity offered to review and comment for our jurisdiction prior to the 2020 Census. The Census Bureau relies on a complete and accurate address list to reach every living quarters and associated population for inclusion in the census.

Since accurate address count is essential to ensure an accurate census count for Costa Mesa; city staff will be diligent to provide updated data. The data will be provided in form of Customized Geographic Information System (GIS) software, which will be easy to update and minimize inaccuracies.

Actively participating in the Census and providing accurate information is important since the Census count is the base for all population estimates for the next 10 years. The count determines the apportionment of political representation, and determines the distribution of federal and state dollars.

At a recent Energy Partnership meeting, the City of Costa Mesa received its award for reaching Silver Status within the partnership.

The Partnership, formed in 2010, currently consists of the cities of Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Newport Beach, Westminster, Santa Ana, Huntington Beach, and Irvine.

Staff representatives meet monthly to discuss long-range energy efficiency goals and projects that are relevant to each city.  Costa Mesa recently completed the direct install program sponsored by Southern California Edison.

The program allowed for all City facilities, with the exception of the City Hall campus, to receive lighting upgrades at no cost, thus saving Costa Mesa approximately $60,000 in onetime general fund expenditures.

Assistant to the City Manager Dan Baker is the liaison to this committee and is always interested in projects that seek energy efficiency.

Assistant City Manager Rick Francis has accepted a new role with John Wayne Airport as the Assistant Airport Director.

Francis joined the City of Costa Mesa in 2012, as part of the City’s executive management team. While much of his responsibilities include working closely with City Council and Department Directors, Francis has most notably led the city’s efforts in finding solutions for homeless issue, working closely with the residential and business communities and the city’s Network for Homeless Solutions.

Prior to joining the City of Costa Mesa, Francis worked for the County of Orange in a number of capacities.  As Chief of Staff to Second District Supervisor John Moorlach, Francis was responsible for working with the Board of Supervisors, the County Executive Office and various County departments.  Importantly, he advised Supervisor Moorlach on JWA-related matters including the Settlement Agreement, budget and infrastructure development – including the construction of Terminal C.  Before joining Supervisor Moorlach’s office, Francis spent 13 years at the Probation Department where he was responsible for oversight of the Program Support and Research Division.

Francis holds a Bachelor’s degree in religion from Vanguard University and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from American Public University.  He is also a graduate of the County’s Leadership Academy and Enlightened Leadership programs.  He has broad ties to the community including membership in the Association of California Cities-Orange County Homelessness Task Force and the Mental Health Services Act Steering Committee.

The fields that the Los Angeles Chargers football team will use for Summer 2017 Training Camp are undergoing final preparation before lush sod can be laid at the site.

Phase I construction included extensive grounds preparation as a means to support the highest quality sports turf available.  The Chargers will be releasing an official Summer Training Camp schedule soon.

The camp, which will be free and open to the public for viewing is scheduled to begin in late July.

Veteran city planner Barry C. Curtis will become the new Economic and Development Services Director for the City of Costa Mesa beginning in July.

“We are extremely happy to welcome Barry Curtis to our Costa Mesa team,” City Manager Tom Hatch said. “His broad-ranging experience in planning and development services will be a great asset to our City Council, city staff and the business and residential community. We look forward to working with him in the months and years to come.”

Curtis has been a professional planner for 29 years and most recently served as the Manager of Planning Services for the City of Irvine’s Community Development Department. During his tenure with Irvine he has managed and completed many of that city’s large projects and was the Redevelopment/Community Development Project Leader for the Great Park and he also held the titles of Principal and Senior Planner.

“As a lifelong resident of Orange County, I’m excited by the challenge and opportunity to bring nearly 30 years of local planning experience to my new role with the City of Costa Mesa,” Curtis said. “I look forward to working with the City’s highly-regarded, professional staff, decision-makers and residents to implement the goals of a vibrant, world-class city.”

Prior to working in Irvine, Curtis served as an Associate Planner for the City of Seal Beach where he provided support to boards and commissions, performed daily oversight of the city’s plan review process, assisted building officials and administered the city’s CDBG and Code Enforcement programs.

Curtis is well-acquainted with the regional and local issues facing Costa Mesa and has extensive experience in local governance, staff management and development, public participation, conflict management and redevelopment.

Curtis will officially begin his tenure with the City of Costa Mesa on July 5, 2017. He will report to City Manager Hatch.

Recently more than 20 active gardeners from the Del Mar and Hamilton Community Gardens volunteered their time to clean-up the community garden common areas.

These regularly scheduled opportunities allow the gardeners to share tips and form relationships while sharing their passion for gardening

Mayor Katrina Foley officially accepted a $50,000 check last week from the Los Angeles Chargers that will go toward reviving the city’s Mobile Recreation Program and help pay for a new vehicle.

“We’re thrilled to receive this generous donation to the city,” Mayor Foley said. “The Chargers investment in this program is further proof of owner Dean Spanos’ vow to be partners with us and have his organization immerse itself in the Costa Mesa community. We look forward to many more great things to come.”

The Chargers announced in January that the team would be moving to Los Angeles and then subsequently announced that the team would move its headquarters to the Hive office complex in Costa Mesa.

In March, the team agreed to enter into a 10-year use agreement with the city to practice at the Jack Hammett Sports Complex during the NFL team’s Summer Training Camp. As part of this training camp agreement, the team will provide Costa Mesa with $150,000 a year to use the site for a potential $1.5 million over 10 years and also offered to give the $50,000 to be used for the Mobile Recreation Program.

The Public Services Department recently finished grinding of old deteriorated pavement and installation of new pavement on Bear Street between I-405 and the City limits north of Sunflower Avenue.

Prior to the paving operations, various concrete improvements including sidewalk, curb/gutter and wheel chair ramps were reconstructed. Traffic signal loops, final striping and adjustment of utilities will be completed over the next few days. The Bear Street project was approve by the City Council on Jan. 17, 2017, as part of a larger project that includes Bristol Street rehabilitation and median improvement project.

This project is funded by federal grant and Measure M2 revenues.