Council could rethink decision

Alicia Robinson

The Costa Mesa City Council could revisit its decision to close the

Job Center, if at least two council members agree with Councilwoman

Katrina Foley that the issue needs more discussion.

Foley filed a document with the city on Tuesday requesting a

rehearing of the Job Center closure, which the council approved on

March 15 in a 3-2 vote, with Foley and Councilwoman Linda Dixon

dissenting.

“I hope that they will seriously reconsider because there are, I

think, serious community issues, especially as they relate to public

safety, that have not been addressed,” Foley said.

The Job Center connects workers with employers in need of

short-term labor. Since it opened in 1988, the center has been a

flashpoint in debates about the largely Latino day worker population

and illegal immigration concerns.

Any council member can request a rehearing on an issue within a

week of a council vote on the issue. According to Foley’s request,

the council should reopen the issue because no notice was given

before the meeting to laborers or employers who use the Job Center;

the description on the agenda was vague and therefore misleading; and

the council’s decision to close the Job Center was made despite

insufficient information about an alternative for workers.

A majority vote of the council is needed to set a rehearing on an

issue. Mayor Allan Mansoor did not want to address the merits of

Foley’s request because he had not seen it Tuesday.

“To me there has to be a very compelling reason to rehear

something,” he said. “I don’t know what her reasons are. I haven’t

seen them.”

Since the council’s decision, Mansoor said, the feedback he’s

gotten about closing the center has been largely positive.

“I think there is good support for it,” he said. “People realize

that there are viable options in the private sector.”

Mansoor has questioned whether public money should be spent on the

Job Center when its services are available through private employment

firms.

The residents who have been talking to Foley are apparently an

entirely different crop.

“I would say, overall, the feedback that I’m getting is that that

was a bad idea, and the reasons are varied, but they predominantly

relate to: There was no plan for dealing with the issue of labor on

the streets and in the parks,” Foley said.

The city opened the Job Center to address ongoing complaints with

day laborers loitering in Lions Park. Some residents as well as Costa

Mesa Police Chief John Hensley expect the loitering problem to return

if the center is closed.

Hensley said it’s hard to know how much more enforcement will be

needed, but he’ll begin to get an idea after April 15, when the Job Center will be open only to Costa Mesa residents.

While the public often complains about loitering, the laws that

govern it are difficult to enforce, he said.

“The majority of the time we advise people to go to the Job Center

instead of citing [them],” Hensley said.

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers government and politics. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4626 or by e-mail at alicia.robinson

@latimes.com.