EDITORIAL

Ever seen those running wheels that pet hamsters and mice play on? They

hop on the wheel and run, run, run, but they never get anywhere.

That’s kind of what’s happening with Fairview Park. Costa Mesa city

officials have been spinning their wheels for the past few months, but

they haven’t gotten anywhere. They are no closer to securing grant money

for the park than they were when they hired Bob Fisher to do the job 10

months ago.

Sure, a few things have happened -- the new restrooms and snack bar were

built. But credit for that goes to the Model Train Engineers for their

fund-raising and coordination efforts, and their doggedness in pushing

the city and Sanitary District to install the appropriate hardware. But

not a single grant application has been submitted so far -- and we’re not

so sure it’s Fisher’s fault.

In January, Fisher recommended that the city divide the park into zones

and hire consultants to draft specific plans for each area. Then in May,

while giving the City Council a progress report, he told the council that

he couldn’t begin seeking grant money until those zone plans were

completed. “What we have right now is a very general plan, and it isn’t

sufficient for the purpose of grant applications,” he warned the

council.Three months later, there are still no zone plans, and Fisher is

nearing the end of his one-year, $100-an-hour contract. Yet council

members were surprised and alarmed to learn last week that Fisher had yet

to secure funding from corporations, foundations or state agencies. They

asked why -- why didn’t he tell anyone?

He did. He told the Fairview Park Committee, and he told the City

Council. Wasn’t anyone listening?

What to do with Fairview Park -- the city’s “crown jewel,” as one council

member called it -- has been a subject of heated debate and serious

consideration for years. Some of the committee members have spent the

last 15 years working to preserve these last precious 208 acres of open

space in Costa Mesa. We’re not doubting their dedication and commitment.

But the city is at a critical point in the process, and the council and

city staff should be shepherding it along, making sure Fisher has the

appropriate plans and blessings to get the job done. And that just hasn’t

happened.

If a more clear definition of where Fisher’s responsibities end and the

committee’s begin is needed, then we urge the city to figure it out

quickly. If the project requires the full attention of a single staff

member, then assign the duty to someone.

Councilwoman Libby Cowan summed it up best last week: “The time has come

when we need to say, ‘We have the master plan. Where are we going, how

long is it going to take? It just seems to me we are dragging our feet at

every possible moment.”

It’s time for the city and the Fairview Park Committee to get off the

running wheel.