Residents should make Westside committee decisions

Kathleen Eric

As a member of the Community Redevelopment Action Committee who

has attended every meeting since its inception, I’d like to clarify

and correct a few things for the writer of the Sept. 15 editorial

(“Improve the Westside committee’s efficiency”).

The committee has never had 80 people show up for a meeting. The

average attendance has been 45 members per meeting.

The Aug. 5 article (A Closer Look, “Redevelopment group faces

growth hurdles”) stated that the members of each table were chosen

“by facilitators to make sure a cross section of the community is

represented at every table.” Not exactly. After the second meeting, I

asked one of the facilitation crew members how they chose the makeup

of the groups. After checking with the facilitators, she reported

back to me: “Basically they just made sure that there was no one with

the same name sitting at the same table.”

I was more than a little curious as to just how this committee

would proceed. The word “proceed” denotes a certain expectation of

progress being made. I can’t really report any progress toward the

goal that we assembled for, but I can report that I am learning a lot

about the facilitation process as done by Civic Solutions.

Our facilitators are big on the term “trust me” and other

meant-to-be reassuring phrases. Those of us who have yet to have some

of our very basic questions answered, due to the consensus technique

that Civic Solutions is using for this committee, are feeling more

than a little puzzled, and a lot frustrated, and not quite as

trusting as when we began this exercise.

As can be seen from the roll call count, this committee has

already pared itself down. Maybe the key here isn’t the unwieldiness

of such a large group, but having a consistent number of the same

members participate at all of the meetings. It is my understanding

that it is not necessary to be a resident, or voting member of the

city of Costa Mesa, to be a member of this committee. You need only

be a “stakeholder.” I don’t know when the word “stakeholder” came

into usage in our city, nor do I know how many of the committee

members are “stakeholders,” nor how many are voting residents. The

interests of this group of stakeholders has been promoted both by our

city personnel and by our facilitator. Webster’s definition of a

stakeholder is: “A person entrusted with stakes of bettors.”

In the minutes from the Dec. 10 Redevelopment Agency meeting,

Councilwoman Libby Cowan stated that “stakeholders refer to people

who live and own businesses and property on the Westside who have a

stake in the final outcome.”

In actuality, a stakeholder seems to be just about anyone who has

some sort of interest in this city. Hmmm, that could be the problem

of Costa Mesa. I suggest that we can solve this problem. Here’s how:

We could have committee members who are voting members and others who

are advisory members, such as stakeholders -- or more correctly,

those who are “interested parties.” We certainly want to hear from,

and take into consideration, what these interested parties have to

say. But think, how do you feel about having the future of your city

being directed by “interested parties?” Those interested in Costa

Mesa for whatever reason can feel confident that their rights are

assured.

After all, the law is the law. As a voting resident of Costa Mesa,

I want the future of my city to be directed by other voting

residents, be they renters or homeowners, not those who have a

“stake” by virtue of owning a business, investment property or the

fact that their cousin lives here. If you want to have a say about

the future of Costa Mesa, move here and vote.

Yes, I do agree with the editorial on the wisdom of having our

City Council, acting as the Redevelopment Agency, take a more active

position in our committee. I think that should be accomplished by our

committee members being able to ask for the help that we need and

want when we want it. I think that our city government, in their

frustration at past failed redevelopment plans, chose this hands off

process because they were just as frustrated as we on the Westside

have been for many, many, too many years.

* KATHLEEN ERIC is a Costa Mesa resident.