Top items on this week’s public meeting agendas include city manager rumors in Santa Ana, Costa Mesa approving an offer by top manager to increase their portion of pension contributions and the county’s appointment of a new public defender.
In Santa Ana, city officials will be discussing the appointment of a permanent city manager during closed session, which comes as a surprise to at least one council member.
Former City Manager Dave Ream retired last year, and the city has spent tens of thousands of dollars on a nationwide search for a replacement. People close to City Hall have speculated that Mayor Miguel Pulido and Councilwoman Claudia Alvarez are trying to appoint interim City Manager Paul Walters, who is also the city’s police chief, as permanent city manager.
Costa Mesa will also likely approve a request by top managers that their portion of yearly pension contributions be raised by an average of about $6,250. The city says this is the maximum amount allowed by the state pension agency. The move appears to set the stage for the city to request its rank-and-file employees to increase their pension contributions.
And the county Board of Supervisors is set to appoint Frank Ospino as Orange County’s permanent public defender. Ospino has served in the public defender’s office since 1985, other than two years as a private attorney in the early 1990s. He has been interim public defender since August.
Here’s a sampling of what else is on this week’s agendas:
OC Board of Supervisors, Tuesday, Feb. 7
• Appointments of Frank Ospino as public defender and Susan Novak as clerk of the Board of Supervisors.
• Approval of concept plan for a regional park at the former Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin.
• Agreement to exchange property at Tustin Legacy with the South Orange County Community College District.
• Amendment of agreement with Computer Deductions from $20,531 to $354,518 for sheriff-coroner mainframe computer hardware-software license, maintenance and support.
• Appointments to Emergency Medical Services Quality Assurance Board; Mental Health Board; Alcohol and Drug Advisory Board; Senior Citizens Advisory Council; Community Action Partnership; Veterans Advisory Council; and Public Financing Advisory Committee.
Closed Session:
• Property negotiations with Wild Rivers and Big League Dreams over county-owned land at the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro.
• Labor negotiations with Orange County Attorneys Association and Orange County Managers Association.
• Existing litigation: John Williams v. Orange County Board of Supervisors; County of Orange v. Asfour Family Corp.; Stueve Bros. Farms v. Orange County Flood Control District; Deanna Fogarty-Hardwick v. County of Orange et al.
Anaheim City Council, Tuesday, Feb. 7
• Developing a plan to consolidate, merge or contract for fire services among Anaheim, Fullerton and Orange.
• Amending the time limits for speakers at City Council meetings.
• Amending city zoning code to allow emergency shelters to be located in industrial areas, subject to development and performance standards.
Closed Session:
• Appointment of city manager.
• Anticipated litigation: City of Anaheim v. Richard B. Beck, Universal Solutions for Alternative Energy, Inc., Chris Curtis and John Yenser; and approximately 35 other potential cases.
Santa Ana City Council, Tuesday, Feb. 6
• Adoption of ordinance banning smoking in city parks.
• Purchase of a propane-powered sewer pipe truck for $142,800.
• Agreement with RBF Consulting for $164,631 to prepare an environmental impact report for a parking structure at Mater Dei High School, a private Catholic school.
Closed Session:
• Appointment of city attorney and city manager.
• Existing litigation: Steven Lodge v. City of Santa Ana.
• Labor negotiations with Santa Ana Police Officers Association, Santa Ana Police Management Association, Santa Ana Firemen’s Benevolent Association, Santa Ana Fire Management Association, Service Employees’ International Union, Confidential Association of Santa Ana, and Santa Ana Management Association.
Costa Mesa City Council, Tuesday, Feb. 7
• Approval of request by top city management to increase their portion of pension contributions from 31.5 percent to 39 percent.
• Beginning the formal process with the state pension agency to implement a 2 percent at 60 retirement formula for new hires, per an Oct. 2010 agreement with the Costa Mesa City Employees Association.
• Resolution opposing the proposed 19th Street-Banning Avenue bridge and requesting that the Orange County Transportation Authority begin removing the bridge from its highway master plan.
• Consideration of Councilwoman Wendy Leece’s request for a policy on electronic communication by City Council members during council meetings.
• Agreement with Hewlett Packard for software services totaling $329,442, plus purchases of $119,603 in the first year.
• Extending management assistance contract with Management Partners through the end of the year for $85,000.
• Approving increased fees for renting parcels at the Del Mar and Hamilton community gardens.
Closed Session:
• Existing litigation: Costa Mesa Employees Association v. City of Costa Mesa; Newport Mesa Patients’ Association and Tri-County Patients’ Association v. City of Costa Mesa.
• Newport Mesa Patients’ Association v. Colleen O’Donoghue
• Labor negotiations with Costa Mesa City Employee Association, Costa Mesa Firefighters Association, Costa Mesa Police Officers Association, Costa Mesa Police Management Association, Costa Mesa Fire Fighters Management Association, and Costa Mesa Division Managers Association.
Huntington Beach City Council, Monday, Feb. 6
• Adopt ordinance legalizing state-approved fireworks on Independence Day.
• Presentation by power plant operator AES on its plans to rebuild its plant along Pacific Coast Highway.
• Amending the zoning code to require a conditional use permit for all new wireless communication facilities, including carrier-operated cell phone antennas.
Closed Session:
• Litigation: Keith Bateman v. City of Huntington Beach; Municipal Derivatives Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 1950, Master Civil Action No. 08-2516 (S.D.N.Y.).