Job Center nears its end

Costa Mesa’s site for employers, workers will close at month’s end; new facility in city yet to be found.COSTA MESA -- After 17 years of operation, one of Southern California’s oldest job centers has 28 days before it closes its doors permanently.

As the Costa Mesa Job Center prepares to be shuttered by order of the City Council, a group of community activists is still searching for a site to open a private job center that’s not on the city’s dime.

The Job Center, where day laborers connect with contractors who need short-term help, opened in 1988 to address the problem of workers loitering in Lions Park and swarming passing cars in the hope of snagging a few hours or days of work.

Over the years, various council members and residents lobbied to close the center, arguing that the city shouldn’t be in the employment business and that some who use Job Center are in the U.S. illegally.

But there were never enough votes on the council to close the center -- until this March. Longtime Councilman Gary Monahan, who previously hadn’t supported closing the center but had argued against the city paying for it, changed his position and proposed shutting down the Job Center. Mayor Allan Mansoor had campaigned on closing the center, and newly-elected Councilman Eric Bever tipped the balance.

Some workers and others in the community were dismayed, and a group of people representing churches, businesses and other organizations began working behind the scenes to open a new private center offering more extensive services than the city’s.

Led by Coast Mesa Chamber of Commerce President Ed Fawcett, the group is moving ahead with plans for what they’re calling the Center for Resources and Employment Opportunities. The center will start as a place for laborers and employers to connect and will eventually offer a range of classes and services -- English as a second language, job-skills training and help for people seeking permanent employment.

“Really what we want to do is provide a growth experience for these individuals, [so] that if they don’t choose to, they don’t have to live on day labor,” Fawcett said. “They can grow into a regular career, a regular trade. That’s the component that’s been missing in the past that’s kept these individuals frozen in place.”

The goal is to have a self-funding center paid for by fees charged to day laborers and employers, perhaps with help from private donations.

Local schools are interested in offering English classes, and some job-skills courses could be taught by laborers with expertise in carpentry, drywall, and other specializations, said Crissy Brooks, executive director of Mika Community Development Corp., a nonprofit, Christian, service group. Brooks has been closely involved with planning the new job center.

For all the group’s progress in planning, they’re still facing a major hurdle: a site for the center.

Supporters of the private job center have been looking all over town but haven’t yet found a place that meets all criteria, including size, price and parking, Fawcett said.

He said the trouble hasn’t been landlords’ apprehension about opening a controversial facility.

“I have not heard of anybody turning [us] away because of the ‘job center,’” Fawcett said. “I’ve been pleased by that. There’s probably some individuals that want to paint the picture that there’s not anybody out there that wants to cooperate with us, but that’s not been the case.”

Meanwhile, city employees have been packing things up at the Job Center and waiting for the end of the month, said Cristina Sanchez, one of two employees who run the center.

The holiday season is typically slower for workers and contractors, so the center has seen about the same number of workers it usually does, Sanchez said.

Workers are wondering where the new center will be -- and what they’ll do until it opens.

“I’ll be here till they close,” said Dennis Haifley, 61, who lives on the streets of Costa Mesa and has been using the Job Center for about two years.

Once the center is shut, Haifley said, he expects workers will still come there, or they’ll go to Home Depot stores to look for jobs.

“There’s always that, but I’d rather not because this is more organized,” Haifley said.

“These kids need organization.... That’s one of the reasons they built this.”

Some hope to end their job search. Costa Mesa resident Andres Toro, 42, said he’s already applied for a permanent job in a factory.

Translating from Spanish for some of his fellow job searchers, Toro said they will go to the new job center when it opens, but until then they’ll probably seek work at 7-Eleven stores or on city streets.

That’s exactly what some in the city fear. Costa Mesa Police Chief John Hensley has said he expects to have to shift his resources to address loitering problems. Others worry the situation will be a flashback to 1988, before the Job Center opened.

“As a Lions Park resident, that’s something else I’m very concerned about -- and the impact that closing the center will have on our park and on areas throughout the Westside,” said Bill Turpit, a longtime supporter of the Job Center . “I’m very hopeful that a replacement job center will be located and opened in the near future. Just because this one closes, it isn’t the end of the story.”

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