County mulls fairgrounds buy

The Orange County Board of Supervisors announced Tuesday that the county will explore the prospect of buying the Orange County Fairgrounds.

In a closed session Tuesday, the supervisors established an ad hoc committee to look at a purchase, Supervisor John Moorlach said.

He and fellow Supervisor Bill Campbell will comprise the committee, said Moorlach, whose 2nd District covers Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and Huntington Beach.

The state announced earlier this month that it is putting the 150-acre fairgrounds in Costa Mesa up for sale. The deadline for potential buyers to submit bids is Jan. 8.

Meanwhile, the Costa Mesa City Council wants the newly formed Orange County Fair and Event Center Foundation, a nonprofit looking to raise money to buy the fairgrounds, to provide paperwork and more details on its activities before the city can appoint two non-elected citizens to the foundation’s board.

In an Oct. 20 letter, the city asked the foundation to provide it with at least five documents, including bylaws and articles of incorporation, as well as any plans to do with financial planning for acquiring the fairgrounds, and any changes to the site’s proposed operation. In addition, the city is asking the foundation to hand over copies of agreements and contracts into which it has entered since its establishment.

“...As a government entity, the city of Costa Mesa has an obligation to the public to insure that our participation in the foundation is completely transparent and fully compliant with applicable state and federal law,” states the letter from Mayor Allan Mansoor. “As a matter of public policy, our participation is the public’s participation, and as a consequence, we must act in an informed, open fashion.”

The foundation’s board has yet to respond to the letter, but foundation board Chairwoman Kristina Dodge said the trustees are working on a response.

“Everything they asked for was very standard, and we have that stuff readily available and we will be responding,” she said.

Dodge, who is also the chairwoman for the O.C. Fair and Event Center Board of Directors, noted that the foundation has yet to enter into any agreements.

The foundation’s board comprises six members who were also appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to serve on the Orange County Fair & Event Center Board of Directors, the fairgrounds’ governing body.

A private meeting among the board members to talk about the foundation has raised questions about whether they violated the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, a provision in the California Constitution that requires members of a state board to notify the public about any of its meetings.

The foundation, which officially formed Oct. 7, has asked Costa Mesa and Orange County to each appoint two people to serve on the foundation’s board.

The 10 members then are expected to appoint an 11th member.

Mansoor’s letter, which was addressed to Dodge, also seeks clarity on some questions, including how exactly most of the foundation’s board members will be selected, and why elected city officials would be blocked from being appointed.

“It would be helpful to understand why elected officials were singled out for exclusion from participation on the board,” Mansoor wrote.

“I personally do not have any predisposition regarding these appointments, but asking the City Council to make two appointments to represent the city yet exclude elected officials needs clarification.”