“My biggest concern is the state is rushing the process too fast,” Bever said in an interview Friday. “I don’t support the process as it currently exits. The state is pushing such a short time frame. It’s making it very difficult for us.”
Bever said that the last straw for him was when he found out Thursday that the governor’s office had given Costa Mesa just 30 more days to produce an agreement with its prospective partners in a deal — the ones that the city would have to rely on to finance a $96-million purchase.
Costa Mesa met a previous 30-day deadline Wednesday, when city officials went to Sacramento to deliver Costa Mesa’s proposal to the governor’s office.
City Manager Allan Roeder, Councilwoman Katrina Foley and Councilman Gary Monahan handed the governor’s representatives a document promising that Costa Mesa would close the deal by the end of October.
In his open letter dated Friday, Bever said the purchase’s complexity demands more time.
“We are responsible for acting in the best interest of the 115,000 Costa Mesans who have entrusted us with their city’s future, and as such, we must be diligent and take the necessary time to do the job right,” Bever wrote. ”This is a 96 million dollar deal we are considering, not whether or not to remove a parkway tree.”
Bever said he still stands behind the upcoming June ballot, Measure C, which aims to lock down the fairgrounds’ use as a fair and exposition center.
“I’ve been frustrated because I’ve been making similar concerns in the meetings, but of course, the public doesn’t hear that because it’s in closed session,” he said in the interview. “I’ve done what I would do, and my hope is that the state starts dealing with us in a more workable time frame.”
