CM PRESS # 138

BREAKING NEWS: The City of Costa Mesa has just sent a press release out to the media saying that late today the City has entered an exclusive negotiating agreement with Facilities Management West over the Fairgrounds.

It was not clear from the press release whether this information is different from what was said at the City Council meeting last night that seemed to indicate the City was involved in two "exclusive" negotiations or whether this new press release is indicating that the City is ONLY negotiating with Facilities Management West.
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LATINO ACTIVIST SAYS PEOPLE SHOULD EVACUATE COSTA MESA
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Santa Ana is just down the road and rents are lower. Adios.
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JEWISH GROUP TRIES TO MUZZLE PAT BUCHANAN
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They don't like Pat's free speech.
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RUDE MEXICAN PRESIDENT CRITICIZES ARIZONA FROM WHITE HOUSE LAWN AND WUSS IN CHIEF LETS HIM!
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UH OH, FAIRGROUNDS DEAL IS IN TROUBLE
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[This corrects the name to American Fairs and Festivals. The Daily Pilot shows it as American Fairs and Facilities.]

The big surprise at last night's City Council meeting was the revelation that the Council in closed session suddenly agreed to exclusively negotiate with Facilities Management West in addition to American Fairs and Festivals.

So now the Council is exclusively negotiating with American Fairs and Festivals and Facilities Management West.

How you "exclusively" negotiate with two parties is a bit of a mystery.

This is what happens when you have amateurs negotiating a deal when their backs are against the wall and the other side knows it.

Look folks, here's the main deal point that the City should be demanding:

A land lease with the City as the landlord and an outside party as the tenant. But, the lease should NOT be for 40 years. It should be a shorter lease with options to renew and with adequate out clauses.

Our guess about what's happening behind closed doors is that based on earlier loosey goosey conversations, the City agreed to a deal with American Fairs and Festivals, but then when things were put on paper, the deal didn't seem to be what the City had thought it would be.

So now, the City is trying to scare American Fairs and Festivals into changing things via this sudden ham handed insertion of Facilities Management West back into the deal.

Since the deadline with the State is this Friday, American Fairs and Festivals is probably counting on the fact that the City will have to accept its deal or it may end up with a deal with Facilities Management West in which FMW will buy the Fairgrounds outright instead of having the City owning the Fairgrounds and leasing it out.

What should the City do? The first thing it should do is buy time by laying out the problem with the folks in Sacramento and asking for an extension on the deadline. This is a reasonable request under the circumstances. We suspect the State may agree to this, because if this isn't done, then the State may have to go through the bidding process all over again.

Then, the City should bring in some folks who really know how to negotiate such deals, open the process up to a few more bidders, present the bidders with the deal already structured, allow no changes, and then go for a quick close.

And, forget this exclusive negotiating nonsense. This just gives the other side the advantage.

There are other things the City should do, but we'll keep those cards down for now.
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VOTERS BACK ANTI-D.C.--ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT CANDIDATES
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People getting fed up with phony politicians and their lies.

Say, Mansoor, Bever, Leece and Monahan, why are you continuing to fund non-profits that help illegal aliens?
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HERE'S THE DAILY PILOT'S REPORT ON THE RULE-OF-LAW RESOLUTION
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And, here's one from the OC REGISTER. LINK
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