ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
The upcoming City Council meeting will take place on the 25th anniversary of the founding of the City and it will be the first item on our agenda. Come join us for a celebration of the past 25 years. We‘ve come a long way and we have a long way to go, but it always helps to stop and celebrate the past even while we get ready for the future.
TREASURER’S REPORT
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Looks like we have $108.3 million in the bank. That’s a good thing because we are going to spend $71 million + on our new Civic/Senior center and another $10 million + on our park upgrades. I met with our Finance Director and the Asst. City Manager last week and they assure me that we are able to meet these obligations and stay positive going forward.
INTERIM CITY MANAGER
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Talking about the Asst. City Manager, Debra Rose, she’s agreed to act as our Interim City Manager for the next few months as we seek a replacement for Bob Dunek who is retiring after 21 years. The terms of her contract are on the website. I’m glad Debra has stepped up and I’m looking forward to working with her. She will not only maintain the status quo, but she will also work with the City Council as we try to move forward and make City government more responsive to the residents’ needs.
VILLAGE POND PARK
I’m unhappy to learn that progress on Village Pond Park has been interrupted once again. The City set aside $2,004,533 for the upgrades (Click Here) but according to the staff none of the 22 firms who showed interest in the project submitted a satisfactory proposal. Indeed, staff claim that only 6 bids were submitted, and 4 of them had “several potential errors” and one bidder protested against two of the other bidders. What the heck is going on? My perceived conflict of interest prohibits me from saying any more about this.
NEW COUNCIL
Tuesday night we say goodbye to Councilman Nick and we welcome Leah Basile as our next City Councilwoman. Adam Nick was a controversial person during his 4 years, but no one ever questioned his sincere desire to improve the quality of life for everyone in the City. He sponsored open government, fought against corruption and collusion, opposed cronyism, and tried to make life better for seniors and for people with pets. He was a strong voice for better public safety measures and for fiscal responsibility.
With all the forces aligned against him, including labor unions, County officials, and even the Republican Party, Nick managed to come within 99 votes of winning a second term because he had popular support from the residents. I hope he continues to remain active in local politics.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest. You can check him out on LinkedIn and/or Facebook and you can share your thoughts about the City at Lake Forest Town Square on Facebook. His comments are not meant to reflect official City Policy.
Dr. Gardner has office hours every Tuesday from 4 pm to 6 pm at the City Hall. In addition, he holds a Town Hall meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be in January at the Foothill Ranch Public Library.
