Wednesday, August 2, 2006
Lamenting Late Night Decisions
Lamenting Late Night Decisions
Once again, the Costa Mesa City Council demonstrated for us
that doing business after midnight is a bad idea.
One of the early "low-lights" was the debate of the Consent Calendar item involving paying ASCAP just under $1,000 per year for the use of their catalog of music at public events. Our young jailer/mayor, Allan Mansoor - a Deputy Sheriff, by the way - pulled this item for separate debate and vote because he wanted the City Attorney to give him an assessment of the risk if the city didn't pay the fee. Curious, to say the least, to have our mayor - a law enforcement officer - weighing the risk of breaking the law and thereby putting the city in jeopardy of legal action, particularly for such a relatively insignificant amount. I guess simply pinning a badge on someone doesn't instill in them a sense of right and wrong.
Last night, because the council squandered more than four hours on one issue - that could have and should have been completed in a quarter of that time - the meeting stretched until nearly 2 a.m. As a result, those folks who waited around to have their issues heard were given short shrift. In fact, the council's decision on one issue made after midnight may well result in yet another lawsuit for this city.
That would be the issue of the stealth mobile home that was surreptitiously placed on a lot on Elden Avenue after having been evicted from the now-defunct El Morro Mobile Home Park near Laguna Beach. After months of dialogue by the owner with city staff and the Planning Commission, the council decided to overturn the Planning Commission's recommendation and force the owners to remove the trailer, despite the fact that they planned to completely rehabilitate the unit to make it look like a regular "stick" home. The council ignored the fact that they met all the conditions imposed on them by the staff and Planning Commission, and that they may have been mislead by instructions from the staff. From what I heard, at least one council member just didn't like the way it would look! So, get ready, Ms. City Attorney - here comes another one!
The issue that delayed the proceedings was the hearing of the Lighthouse Coastal Community Church's proposal to add an afternoon pre-school session. The issue seemed simple enough - to allow the church to duplicate it's morning pre-school in an afternoon session - but it took over four hours of debate before the council, at 11:55 p.m., decided to make a bad situation worse. They approved a portion of what was requested - allowing only 30 students in the afternoon instead of the 60 requested - which will likely make the plan fiscally tenuous, at best. All this turmoil was due to the bad blood between long-time neighbors of the church and the congregation. One observer says it looks like Israel and the Hezbollah! No one will ever bring peace to this street. And, of course, the dumb decision by the council will only be an irritant to the situation.
I can hardly wait until November, when we have the opportunity to install reasonable, intelligent leaders.
***
There's a new batch of points to ponder on my Just Wondering... page. Just slide your cursor over, click and cogitate.
9:52 pm pdt
One of the early "low-lights" was the debate of the Consent Calendar item involving paying ASCAP just under $1,000 per year for the use of their catalog of music at public events. Our young jailer/mayor, Allan Mansoor - a Deputy Sheriff, by the way - pulled this item for separate debate and vote because he wanted the City Attorney to give him an assessment of the risk if the city didn't pay the fee. Curious, to say the least, to have our mayor - a law enforcement officer - weighing the risk of breaking the law and thereby putting the city in jeopardy of legal action, particularly for such a relatively insignificant amount. I guess simply pinning a badge on someone doesn't instill in them a sense of right and wrong.
Last night, because the council squandered more than four hours on one issue - that could have and should have been completed in a quarter of that time - the meeting stretched until nearly 2 a.m. As a result, those folks who waited around to have their issues heard were given short shrift. In fact, the council's decision on one issue made after midnight may well result in yet another lawsuit for this city.
That would be the issue of the stealth mobile home that was surreptitiously placed on a lot on Elden Avenue after having been evicted from the now-defunct El Morro Mobile Home Park near Laguna Beach. After months of dialogue by the owner with city staff and the Planning Commission, the council decided to overturn the Planning Commission's recommendation and force the owners to remove the trailer, despite the fact that they planned to completely rehabilitate the unit to make it look like a regular "stick" home. The council ignored the fact that they met all the conditions imposed on them by the staff and Planning Commission, and that they may have been mislead by instructions from the staff. From what I heard, at least one council member just didn't like the way it would look! So, get ready, Ms. City Attorney - here comes another one!
The issue that delayed the proceedings was the hearing of the Lighthouse Coastal Community Church's proposal to add an afternoon pre-school session. The issue seemed simple enough - to allow the church to duplicate it's morning pre-school in an afternoon session - but it took over four hours of debate before the council, at 11:55 p.m., decided to make a bad situation worse. They approved a portion of what was requested - allowing only 30 students in the afternoon instead of the 60 requested - which will likely make the plan fiscally tenuous, at best. All this turmoil was due to the bad blood between long-time neighbors of the church and the congregation. One observer says it looks like Israel and the Hezbollah! No one will ever bring peace to this street. And, of course, the dumb decision by the council will only be an irritant to the situation.
I can hardly wait until November, when we have the opportunity to install reasonable, intelligent leaders.
***
There's a new batch of points to ponder on my Just Wondering... page. Just slide your cursor over, click and cogitate.
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