Costa Mesa council delays vote on extending Boys & Girls Club lease
The Costa Mesa City Council this week held off on extending a lease for city-owned land used by the Boys & Girls Club of the Harbor Area for its Lou Yantorn branch.
The nonprofit has rented the 2.5-acre lot at 2131 Tustin Ave., near Kaiser Elementary School, since 1966 for $1 a year. The lease is scheduled to expire in November.
The council, which unanimously agreed to postpone the matter Tuesday, will reexamine the lease on an unspecified date.
City Chief Executive Tom Hatch said staff asked the Boys & Girls Club to accept a 20- to 25-year extension but the club sought 48 years — an option it exercised from its original agreement.
Mayor Steve Mensinger and Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer said they had concerns about renewing the contract for 48 years, through November 2064, without getting more for the city from it. They also questioned the Lou Yantorn building’s condition.
Parks Commissioner Bob Graham, who spoke on the issue during public comments, said he recently visited the club and wasn’t impressed.
“It’s like going into the Westminster Mall. There’s obviously no money,” Graham said. “The whole place is almost defunct. Everything is old. It’s out of date.”
Councilman Gary Monahan asked city staff to examine the building, which is frequented by Eastside Costa Mesa children.
The Boys & Girls Club of the Harbor Area is in the midst of a merger study with the larger Boys & Girls Club of Santa Ana, which could lead to the Harbor Area club no longer operating as an independent nonprofit.
The club, founded in 1941, also has branches in Westside Costa Mesa, Irvine and Newport Beach.
