Officials headed to state Capitol

Four Costa Mesa officials are scheduled to meet Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday to discuss canceling the sale of the Orange County Fairgrounds, a councilwoman said Wednesday.

Mayor Allan Mansoor, Mayor Pro Tem Wendy Leece, Councilwoman Katrina Foley and City Manager Allan Roeder will sit down with Schwarzenegger in his office from 11:30 a.m. to noon, Foley said.

Because three of the City Council’s five members will be meeting with the governor, it will be viewed as a special closed-session City Council meeting, Foley said.

“I’m encouraged that after months of requesting to meet, the governor finally recognizes that Costa Mesans count,” she said. “Our hope is that he takes our concerns seriously and recognizes the dramatic negative impacts the sale will have on families and small businesses.”

The fairgrounds were put up for sale in October as part of a plan to help narrow the state’s budget deficit. Although Schwarzenegger proposed selling several high-valued properties, the 150-acre property in Costa Mesa was the only one put on the market.

Foley is scheduled to testify before the Assembly’s Business Professions Committee in favor of AB 1590, which aims to rescind the July bill that authorized the sale.

AB 1590, introduced by Assemblyman Jose Solorio, goes before the committee Jan. 12.

The city and the county are expected to place a joint bid for the purchase if the governor does not stop the sale.

Bids on the fairgrounds are due to the state Jan. 8, and a floor auction is scheduled for Jan. 14. State officials hope to fetch between $90 million and $180 million for the property.

The Orange County Fair and Events Center Foundation, formed by members from the state fair board, also intends to bid for the fairgrounds and run it as a nonprofit organization, like the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona.

Richard Julian, one of two partners at Lake Forest-based Advanced Real Estate Services, is also placing a bid, said Patty Hoffman, director of asset operations at Julian’s company.

Julian, who is out of the country, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Julian and partner Frank Holloway are in the business of buying apartments and refurbishing them for rent.

Julian is behind the Aerie project in Corona del Mar, which the Newport Beach City Council approved in a 4-2 vote in July.