Send in the clowns

As we plan for tomorrow’s auction of the Orange County Fairgrounds, the word ‘oxymoron’ comes to mind.

Now, I want to be clear, I said oxymoron, not the shorter version of just moron or, as in a collective group, morons.

Specifically, I’m talking here about the fair board.

An oxymoron is described as “a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction.”

Should it really be called the ‘fair’ board?

Probably not.

‘Unfair board’ would seem to be more applicable.

Months back, the fair board got this itch to try and buy the fairgrounds from the cash-strapped state. They formed their own foundation, minus two members.

That same fair board hired former Republican senate leader Dick Ackerman to “lobby” for them in Sacramento to get the state to put up the site for sale.

That move was also very questionable in legal terms.

All of this appeared to create a huge conflict and, eventually, the attorney general’s office chimed in and agreed.

All but two of the members immediately resigned.

Fair or unfair?

The whole mess stunk.

Still, with what appeared to be a lot of backroom dealing, their ultimate goal was reached. The fairgrounds was, indeed, put on the block.

So tomorrow brings seven qualified bidders.

Several remain unidentified.

We know the city of Costa Mesa has joined with the county for a bid and Richard Julian, an apartment mogul, has publicly stated he’s in.

Oh, that’s interesting. Two story, three story or four story apartment building.

I’ve also heard rumblings of a Richard Dick bid. Dick has developed a number of local projects around town and throughout Southern California.

Here’s one project very familiar to me. He bought the old Daily Pilot offices and plant on Bay Street and turned it into a residential enclave.

I wonder how many homes he could squeeze into the fairgrounds site?

Several questions beg for answers on tomorrow’s auction.

First, it’ll be interesting to find out who the other bidders are. Is the foundation a bidder? Are former foundation members tied to other bidders?

Second, it’ll be interesting to see what formula is used to determine the winner. Is it simply the highest dollar amount or does the city/county connection mean anything, even if it’s not the highest bidder?

Then, of course, what happens next? Does the state legislature vote to kill the sale or does Arnold pull the plug?

And then, finally, in whose courtroom does this whole mess end up in.

The fair always promises great rides. This one should be a doozie.

Comments

[Geoff West]

You're right, Tom. This whole thing has reeked from the very beginning. After the dust of the auction settles someone should encourage the State Attorney General to take a little look into the Fair Board/Fair Foundation/Dick Ackerman situation. The Fair Foundation now consists - as far as has been acknowledged in public - of only Kristina Dodge and Mary Young. The other four Fair Board members who formed the foundation have bailed out. Something about rats and sinking ships seems appropriate.

I'm assuming (nasty word, that one) that any developer willing to bid on this property knows of the encumbrance being placed on it by the City of Costa Mesa. Their General Plan amendment restricts uses specifically to "Institutional and Recreational" uses, and the Planning Commission restricted it even more by specifically excluding certain uses that some might think would qualify at their meeting Monday night.

Your readers may view the proceedings via the State webcast beginning at 10 a.m. Here's the link: http://www.dgs.ca.gov/webcast. It's gonna be fun. We'll look forward to your blog entries as it progresses.