Original text dated August 11, 2000
Edited and published in the OC Register, as "Solving the county's 'Maestre memos mystery'" - August 20, 2000

Facing Reality – El Toro Deception Did Exist

The El Toro Master Development Program office, under the leadership of our former CEO, should have paid close attention to the mistakes of President Clinton: the end, lying only makes it worse.  Ladies and gentlemen, the dominos continue to fall in the long trail of deception that will continue to surface as we dig deeper into our new “open planning process.”

So, why now?  With leaders like Rob Richardson, the interim-director of the Local Redevelopment Authority (LRA), who is on record committing himself and his staff to turn over EVERYTHING he uncovers in his search for honesty and integrity, we will undoubtedly reveal more elements of lies, deception and misinformation that our former staff initiated and, quite frankly, encouraged.  So far, Richardson and his staff have done just that.  But we must not forget what has happened in the past and continue to move forward from there.

Just last week, after lengthy litigation initiated against the “old regime,” the County was forced to release 95 of the 100 infamous “Mestre Memo’s,” which confirm my original observations relating to the flight demonstration and noise monitoring tests at the former MCAS El Toro.  As you’ll recall, in June of last year, the County held flight demonstrations designed to monitor the noise levels in the surrounding communities of the proposed airport at El Toro.

During these tests, I was moved by the heavy and deliberate noise of the large aircraft departing on runway 34, which headed north towards Orange and Anaheim Hills.  Standing just off of runway 7 in Foothill Ranch, I witnessed intense noise as jets departed from runway 34.  This noise echoed off the mountains and traveled south penetrating much of the Saddleback Valley.  Yet when I reviewed the County's report comparing their findings with the field data recorded by technicians in the monitoring logs, there was no written record of these departures.

Shortly thereafter, Mr. Vince Mestre, the contractor hired to design and administer the noise monitoring, was scheduled to present his findings to the Board.  Supervisor Wilson and I made it very clear before the meeting that we had serious questions about the flight demonstration.  On the day of the meeting, however, Mr. Mestre failed to show up and be accountable for his study.  It was then when the “Mestre Mystery” began.  Like all good mysteries, the answers to his absence were sure to come.

After carefully reviewing recently released documents, I have finally discovered why he was told to not show up.  The startling revelation…The information in Mestre’s report had been altered by County staff to support the pro-airport position and was purposely manipulated to help them advocate for an airport and downplay significant recorded noise impacts.

The County intentionally manipulated this report to avoid having to pay for noise mitigation and home-noise insulation to the surrounding residents.  On average, the cost to insulate an average-sized home is about $33,000.  Since the cumulative noise level (CNEL) must be under 65 decibels, on average, in any 24-hour period, the County had to manipulate its findings in the high impact zones to deflect potential costs to the County.  Unfortunately, this will ultimately cost the County more in the long run, despite early promises that airports “pay for themselves.”

I vividly remember staff making the claim, when the Environmental Impact Report was released, that traffic would decrease if they built and airport as well.  These pie-in-the-sky comments could be justified since the information they relied upon was false.  After all of this manipulation, staff’s final conclusion could have just as easily been, “Having an airport at El Toro would actually decrease the impacts of noise, traffic and pollution around the surrounding communities.”

This is another, in a long series of examples, of how the former process, spearheaded by County staff who have now been removed or terminated from the EL Toro team, was polluted with corruption, deception and lies.

The ultimate cost of these lies falls on the shoulders of all Orange County taxpayers.  Until all the skeletons in our El Toro closet are completely uncovered, the process will continue to be paralyzed with reminders of how a brazen, ego-driven planning process lead the Board to squander the public's confidence.

To date, the Board majority has spent more than $30 million traveling this road to nowhere.  Unfortunately, even the pro-airport Supervisors have been deceived and kept in the dark.  We now all realize that whenever expensive data is deafened to integrity, truth and accuracy, the end result will always produce another expensive tool of deception, funded by both Orange County taxpayers and a significantly dwindling John Wayne Airport enterprise fund.

I will not stop until all of the facts are revealed and all of the truths exposed.  It is my obligation as a county resident, a taxpayer and my oath of office.

TODD SPITZER
Supervisor, Third District