And I’m relieved, because all open positions at City Hall were starting to worry me. So who are we bringing on board?
First the big one — Costa Mesa has hired Brian Gruner as its Parks and Community Services Director. It’s an interesting choice: Mr. Gruner is coming off a relatively short stint as the equivalent position for the city of Fairfield, CA, up in Solano County, and before that he was the Recreation and Special Events Director of Laguna Woods Village. This suggests an event-planning rather than capital-improvement background, and I think the city sorely needed the latter. Ah well. I’m rooting for him to do well all the same.
Up next is Patrick Bauer, who was tapped as the Deputy Director of Public Works. He will specifically oversee the City’s facilities, including its real estate and building holdings as well as its fleet of vehicles. Mr. Bauer is a returning member of the Costa Mesa family; he spent nine years as an associate engineer for the City, before serving for another nine years as the Construction and Facilities Manager for the OC Fire Authority. Seems like a great hire.
In the same announcement, the City also shared that it had hired Delcie Hynes as its Emergency Services Manager. Obviously following the harrowing experience that was COVID-19, as well as the torrential rain we experienced last year, it’s great to be filling this critical vacancy and to do so with an experienced hand.
And finally, the City has hired Mark Khou as its Finance Budget and Purchasing Manager, who as far as I can tell is a great poach from the city of Long Beach. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Khou at the last FIPAC meeting and I could tell that Finance Director Carol Molina was really thrilled with her new hire. He was softspoken but clearly knowledgeable and capable, so I look forward to seeing him more in this role.
Goat Hill Rodeo 
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