Proposed sale does not add up to fair leaving

FLO MARTIN

Should the fairgrounds be moved to Irvine? On Tuesday, Costa Mesans

and their elected local leaders, the City Council, answered this

question with resounding unanimity: Thanks, but no thanks.

The California Performance Review stated in early August that we

taxpayers could save a huge chunk of change by selling off the

fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. At first glance, $240 million sounds

great. Go for it, says Gov. Schwarzenegger. “Blow up the boxes” of

government inefficiency. We see dollar signs. The governor’s promise

to reduce the huge deficit ($24 billion last year) will come true.

But, not so fast, people. We need to crunch some numbers here.

Reducing the budget sounds super. The big questions are: reduce by

how much and at what cost? Looking at the balance sheet, what’s the

bottom line?

The Daily Pilot (“State report proposes sale of fairgrounds,” Aug.

5) reported that the fair would relocate to the former El Toro air

station. Costs would include building a new 35-acre horse ranch to

the tune of $40 million. Considering what we know about cost

overruns, let’s just say $50 million. That cuts the profit of a

potential sale ideally to $200 million, or realistically to $190

million. This $190 million amounts to about two thousandths of one

percent of the annual California budget, last year a whopping $99

billion. Putting this fraction of one percent in perspective -- such

as this writer’s annual state tax bill -- we’re talking 2 cents a

year. Ridiculous! In the 1950s, we could buy two pieces of bubble gum

with two “coppers.” Today, we leave that kind of change in the dish

next to the cash register, right?

After some investigating as to whether or not the fair would save

or lose money by relocating and building new facilities at El Toro,

the fair board adopted a resolution at its August meeting that states

the Orange County fairground, at its current location, is not an

underused facility, as the California Performance Review findings

seem to indicate. The resolution states that the Orange County Fair &

Exposition Center “is an example of highly utilized state property

with an annual attendance of 4.3 million and an economic impact of

$185.2 million, as measured by KPMG [consulting firm] and should not

be considered surplus property for sale.”

Now, back to the issue of the city of Irvine’s efforts to grab

another Orange County gem. Would El Toro donate the 190 acres needed to transfer the fair? My guess? No! Would the state have to buy

acreage in the El Toro facility? My guess? Yes! What about real

estate prices in Orange County? Relocating to Idaho or Wisconsin

usually costs less. Relocating within Orange County involves spending

more. I can’t even afford to buy my own house, let alone property in

Irvine.

An online real estate agent has found me an acre of land on the

market as I write. The property, in the El Toro air station

neighborhood, is listed for $460,000. Let’s see, multiply that by 190

acres; that comes out to a fair (pun intended) market price of around

$87 million -- not exactly what one would call loose change. So, take

the $190 million profit from the Costa Mesa sale and subtract $87

million, and we taxpayers have $103 million left. My 2 cents is now

down by about half -- one penny.

The Costa Mesa City Council adopted its own resolution at

Tuesday’s council meeting to oppose the sale. The many speakers at

the meeting who support this resolution asked that the council keep

the property zoning at the fairgrounds as public open space and

institutional uses. This being the case, the state’s potential profit

from the fairgrounds sale would drop way below the projected $200

million. There’s more -- I mean, less, actually. We still have to

consider the $2.3 million in sales tax revenue that the city of Costa

Mesa would lose every year. We still have to consider the $185.2

million in annual personal income that local folks would lose. We

still have to figure in the loss of tourism dollars. Another

question: What about the Pacific Amphitheater? Does that stay or go?

Assemblyman John Campbell suggests that the fair remain on 50 acres

in Costa Mesa and that the equestrian, ranch and farm operations move

to the El Toro property. Does that mean my annual fair day would

entail walking to the fairgrounds, wandering around the visual arts

building for a few hours, then the industrial arts building for

another hour, then going on the rides for a while, then walking home,

jumping in my car, driving to El Toro for 30 minutes or more to see

the farm animals, and finally driving back to the Pacific

Amphitheater for the evening show? Egad! With the price of gas at $2

a gallon, my penny is gone! I’m in the red now.

Costa Mesa City Manager Allan Roeder says that Newport-Mesa has

very strong feelings for the fair. You’re darn tootin’, we do. On

Tuesday, the City Council chambers were full, and speakers addressed

the issue until almost midnight. The fairgrounds being moved to

Irvine’s Great Park, construction of new facilities there and the

sale of the property in Costa Mesa all add up to a huge minus-zero

for California taxpayers like me. Forget the proverbial plugged

nickel. This move isn’t even worth a red cent.

* FLO MARTIN is a Costa Mesa resident and faculty member at Cal

State Fullerton.