The usual lefty crackpots are already carping about this.
Look, folks, I used to attend these conventions. It is absolutely necessary for those involved in the shopping center industry to attend some of them, and if you're a city trying to attract new retail businesses you have to be represented.
In past years when I attended, I spoke with representatives from many cities eager to attract new business.
If you've never been in the biz, you have no idea of how important it is to have an elected city official or two coming up to you and telling you that his or her city is actively looking for new retail businesses and that the elected officials will do every legal thing possible to help you come to his or her city.
Most of the site selectors for national credit tenants are there and they're usually there because they're looking for places to open new units of their stores. Having a Councilmember or two meeting them and giving them the scoop on our demographics and the reason why Costa Mesa would be a good location for them can get things moving.
I'm especially thinking of retailers for the new Westside, and I hope Messrs. Righeimer and Mensinger are prepared to talk about that area of Costa Mesa and why it's a gem just ready to be polished.
Personal contacts are extremely important in the retail real estate world, and many deals are done based on those contacts. Once those initial contacts are made, major things often happen with a phone call.
It's not an overstatement to say that the ICSC conventions are the Holy Grail of the industry.
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This just in...
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Friends, please join us this Sunday!
Costa Mesa Precinct Headquarters Grand Opening
When: Sunday, May 6
12:30 - 4:40pm
Where: Skosh Monahan's (2000 Newport Blvd in Costa Mesa)
Featuring: Congressman Dana Rohrabacher
Assemblyman Allan Mansoor
Costa Mesa Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer
Costa Mesa Councilman Steve Mensinger
Costa Mesa Councilman Gary Monahan
RSVP to: CostaMesaPatriots@gmail.com
"Pints at the Pub" for precinct walkers immediately following!
See you there,
Colin McCarthy
President, Costa Mesa Taxpayers Association
Colin@CMTax.org
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TOO MUCH BUREAUCRACY IN COSTA MESA CITY GOVERNMENT?
Too many Unteruberunteruberunteruber Fuhrers?
In the old days, just a couple of years ago, the CM PRESS could email the City Manager and get a reply, usually within an hour, on something that needed fixing in Costa Mesa.
Last week, the CM PRESS emailed the City CEO's office about a problem in a neighborhood that the City should fix. We still haven't received a reply from the CEO's office.
Now, how can that be? In the old days, we had one guy--a City Manager--doing that job, and today we have a City CEO, an Assistant City CEO, and a Deputy City CEO, and not one of them bothered to reply to our concerns.
German speakers will sometimes make fun of too much bureaucracy by saying that a bureaucrat in the chain of command, who just slows down things and makes government more complicated than it has to be, is an Unteruberunteruberunteruber Fuhrer
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COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT SAYS GRAND JURY REPORT ISN'T ACCURATE
Then the district tries to spin things its way. For example, in the above linked article you'll read this from the CMSD:
"In regards to CMSD being efficient and accountable, our personnel cost is less than 20% out of a $10 million operating budget. I’m sure you are probably aware that the average local government in California consumes 54% (some much higher) of their total budgets on personnel costs."
Well, of course their personnel costs are "only" 20%--they farm most things out.
How many people does it take to sign a contract with a private trash hauling firm to pick up the trash from our homes each week in Costa Mesa? The answer is one (1).
Look folks, the CMSD should be rolled into the City's municipal government. Then, the City could assign one or two people to do the work of the district. And, the City Council might spend 20 minutes on its business every other meeting.
# # #HERE'S SOME GOOD ADVICE IN A COMMENT THAT FOLLOWS THE NORFOLK STORY
NEVER!…start a confrontation unless you are in a position of strength.
NEVER!…start a confrontation on a battlefield NOT of your choosing.
ALWAYS!…be prepared to protect yourself, and those that you love from the Jackals of this world.
NEVER!…count on the police. It is YOUR duty to protect yourself and those that depend on you.
NEVER!…start a confrontation on a battlefield NOT of your choosing.
ALWAYS!…be prepared to protect yourself, and those that you love from the Jackals of this world.
NEVER!…count on the police. It is YOUR duty to protect yourself and those that depend on you.
If you do not know how to fight…LEARN.
If you do not have a firearm…GET ONE…and master it.
If you do not want to be a casualty of the dark times that are coming..PREPARE! It is your Duty.
If you do not have a firearm…GET ONE…and master it.
If you do not want to be a casualty of the dark times that are coming..PREPARE! It is your Duty.
The Long Night is Coming
RANGER
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NORFOLK: MORE ON THE BEATING OF THE WHITE GUY BY A BLACK MOB
It turns out that not only is the media ignoring this race-hate attack on Whites, but the man who was attacked, and also the woman he was with, are reporters, and their own newspaper is trying to keep the attack low key.
But, because the two are reporters, the lid is coming off this hate crime and we're getting more infuriating details about this attack; such as the fact that the cops who responded didn't take names of witnesses or try to get the main perps.
You know what I'm going to say now: Reverse the races and this would be world wide news and we'd have the usual scumbag Good Whites marching down the sidewalk with candles in their hands and tears in their eyes as they cry about White racism.
It's been open season on Whites by Blacks for several years now, and even though the media try to hide this, more and more Whites are starting to see the reality that is modern day America.
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CITY NEEDS TO FIND MONEY TO FIX WESTSIDE STREETS THAT FLOOD
At last night's City Council meeting, the Council asked City CEO Tom Hatch to find money to fix some streets on the Westside that flood when it rains.
Here's where some of that money can be found, Mr. Hatch: Use every single penny of the CDBG funds to fix the streets and other infrastructure on the Westside instead of giving the money to the charities--many of which help keep the Westside as a skid row.
Councilmember Mensinger said that he was surprised to learn that parts of Wallace Ave. have been flooding for many years and that nothing has been done about it. He also suggested that if streets in front of the Fire Chief's home or the Police Chief's home flooded like this, that this would have been fixed years ago.
We'll say it again: The Westside is Costa Mesa's broken window. Fix it, and many of the problems we see in our city will also be fixed.
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to be fair, the sanitary district does more than sign a trash hauling contract. i think sewers figure in their workload also. but we do need a couple new faces on the Board this election since this district is not going away based on some error filled grand jury report. yhis will be up to LAFCO, the professionals.
ReplyDeleteThey don't even work on all of our sewers. For example, the sewer line at Baker and Fairview is a county line.
ReplyDeleteNewport and many other cities don't have these mini governments and they have their own employees take care of these chores. This eliminates a five member board, and all their trips to trash conventions, etc.and saves money.
but they do more than trash, correct? newport has a lot of staff devoted to water and sanitary. why do you care who employs the same people? five member boards cost you a buck a year to have five more knowledgable people making decisions saving you thousands of dollars. Do you even know how political water and sewer/trash is? There are attempts monthly by the State to either jack up your rates for other things or use water as a social control mechanism. Council could not address this with any less staff, consultants, or lobbyists, not to mention they would not have the time to be as good at it. can't get an answer from City Hall now? Hope your sewer line doesn't bust when they run the show! Many cities without these mini governments do a poor job on water, sewer, and infrastructure btw. Just make sure the special districts are well run, efficient, and accountable. a 5 member board and a conference here and there for the board is a rounding error financially. Think big.
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous 11:03: Economy of scale. The CMSD has their own office bldg. Could be run out of a single office in City Hall. They have staff to answer phones, etc. Ditto City Hall. Nope, your argument doesn't wash. It's a waste of our money. Also, what about those no bid contracts and expensive trash containers that we wrote about several years ago? And, if City employees were to take over, they could be transferred between departments when needed.
ReplyDeleteSpecial districts answer their phones, city does not. i am all for bidding out the trash, same as city is bidding out street sweeping. i say sell the new building on fairview or the one on 19th. How transferable do you think the city crews are able to be? Can they replace a valve and trim trees and then go change the oil on the vehicle? You won't be able to cut many jobs, just a board of directors. what makes you think the city employees and management is so great compared to special districts? who is in better shape? who is getting sued? who has better negotiated pensions for employees? who is most efficient?
ReplyDelete