COSTA MESA : Police Services Cut for One Day of Fair

The City Council this week agreed to curtail police services for one night during the Orange County Fair to accommodate a pop music concert scheduled for the Pacific Amphitheatre.

The council’s action arose from a disagreement among officials of the city, the theater and the fair over a July 19 concert by pop singer Gloria Estefan at Pacific Amphitheatre. This year’s county fair runs from July 17 to 28.

The concert is scheduled for a Friday, a day on which the fair attracts an average of 50,000 to 55,000 people, according to Orange County Fair spokeswoman Jill Lloyd. The amphitheater holds another 18,765 patrons.

City Manager Allan L. Roeder had sought to reschedule the concert to avoid a repeat of massive traffic snarls that occurred when the Pacific Amphitheatre held a Beach Boys concert in 1986 during the fair’s run.

In a compromise approved by the council Monday, the city will discontinue all police contract services to the fairgrounds, with the exception of off-site traffic and parking control.

The city will also negotiate with the fairgrounds for an annual “guaranteed minimum” police services contract for next year that will enable it to hire additional security personnel, possibly funded by charging the fairgrounds a fee for fire and paramedic services.

City officials said they also plan to send a letter of protest about the excessive costs of security during the fair to officials of the fairgrounds and the amphitheater and to state legislators, the state director of agriculture and Gov. Pete Wilson.

Council members were concerned that the extra police officers required to provide security at the fair would be taken from regular patrol duties.