City Council Preview - Mar 20 (Part 2)

Previously (Click Here) we discussed the possible censure of Councilman Voigts based on the complaint from a resident. Other items on the agenda tonight include -

QUARTERLY REPORTS (Item 5)

One of the new initiatives we introduced this year is a reporting system whereby every person appointed to a committee or other board by the Council reports back to the people. We’ve had several complaints that we aren’t getting any information back, and this new system is a way to deal with that problem.

The agencies represented here include -

• · Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District (Bob Holtzclaw)
• · Orange County Fire Authority (Mayor Pro Tem Basile)
• · Transportation Corridor Agency (Councilman Voigts),
• · Upper Newport Bay and South Orange County Watershed Management Areas (Councilman Voigts)
• · Orange County Public Library Advisory Board (Col. Tom Cagley).

CDBG GRANTS (Item 6)

CDGB funds ($498,974) are proposed to be disbursed as follows –

• · $27,000 for the Neighborhood Pride Paint Program
• · $56,250 to 8 organizations serving Lake Forest residents (see below for more info)
• · $75,000 for administration
• · $117,724 to upgrade Heroes Park
• · $223,000 for Rehabilitation loans and grants

The staff proposes we provide $56,250 as follows –

• · AgeWell Senior Services - $6,050 – to help provide case management to 16 Lake Forest residents including Meals on Wheels coordination.
• · Alzheimer’s Orange County – $5,000 - to help provide Adult Day Care for 25 Lake Forest residents.
• · Camino Health Care – $11,450 - to help provide medical, dental, and behavioral health care to 1,400 unduplicated low income, underserved and uninsured Lake Forest residents.
• · Families Forward – $7,500 - to help serve approximately 14 Lake Forest residents through its Housing Program designed to assist families for a short period of time, averaging four to six months, as they regain independence and take steps toward stability.
• · Family Assistance Ministry - $6,750 - to fund program staff salaries for one case manager and a housing specialist and to provide rental assistance to rehouse homeless Lake Forest residents. It projects it will provide services to 25 unduplicated low to moderate-income Lake Forest residents.
• · SVUSD – $6,500 - to fund program staff salaries and benefits for before and after school care to 12 low-income Lake Forest children in the Learning Connection (TLC)
• · South County Outreach – $8,000 - to help defray rent costs for the Food Pantry used by 1300 Lake Forest residents.
• · Vocational Visions - $5,000 - fund program staff salaries and benefits to provide job training and development resources to 38 Lake Forest adult residents affected by intellectual or developmental disabilities.

TRAFFIC STUDY PALMWOOD (Item 7)

The city studied resident reported problems on Palmwood and made the following recommendations –

• · Install a short piece of centerline striping on the three “Wood” streets to divide the roadways in half and provide guidance to drivers.
• · Continue to provide parking enforcement on Palmwood as time and personnel permits.
• · Install alternate side/alternate day no parking signs for street sweeping on Palmwood.

OSTERMAN TRAFFIC REVIEW (Item 8)

The city studied resident reported problems on Osterman and made the following recommendations –

• • Install alternate side/alternate day no parking signs for street sweeping on Osterman Road from Pittsford Drive to Regency Lane.
• • Continue to provide parking enforcement on Osterman Road as time and personnel permits.
• · Continue graffiti patrols and abatement processes as necessary.
• · Continue to work with private property owners to properly maintain landscaping adjacent to sidewalks.

APPOINTING COMMISSIONERS (Item 12)

In the past political influences reached into our selection process. Commissioners were appointed because they were campaign workers or campaign contributors or fund raisers for Council members with little or no thought for their ability to fulfill the requirements of the Commission. Their performance on the Commissions often reflected their lack of suitability for the position. This new measure is an attempt to take the politics out of the appointment process by preventing a “Gang” from creating a Commission in their own image.

The proposed change is to move away from a majority vote (thus Gang dominance) to a system wherein each Council member gets the opportunity to appoint one member. This way, even if in the future there is a “Gang” that seeks to dominate a Commission, they are limited to how many of the replicants they can appoint.

The proposed system calls for –

• · The most recently elected Council members to have the first opportunities
• · Assent of one additional Council member to allow the appointment.
• · Removal by a majority vote of the Council.

The second step listed above is to prevent a completely unqualified person to be appointed with a single unchecked stroke. Some people have suggested that we require two assenting Council members to prevent a quid pro quo arrangement.

TRAFFIC COMMISSION

We are moving (slowly) to create the Traffic Commission and it requires amending the LFMC. Going through all the hoops as fast as we can, the new commission will be empowered by June.

COMMUNITY CHOICE AGGREGATION (Item 14)

According to the staff report, Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) was authorized by Assembly Bill 117 “to allow cities, counties and other authorized entities to aggregate electricity demand within their jurisdictions in order to purchase and/or generate alternative energy supplies for residents and businesses within their jurisdiction, while maintaining the existing electricity provider for transmission and distribution services. A potential goal of a CCA is to provide a higher percentage of renewable energy at competitive rates compared to Investor Owned Utilities (“IOU”), such as Southern California Edison.”

Hmmm. Read it over to be sure you understand what they’re talking about.

According to the staff report, “Cities in Orange County that are actively working on or exploring feasibility studies include the Cities of Irvine, Mission Viejo, Huntington Beach, and Laguna Beach. However, it is too early in the process to determine whether these cities could form viable CCAs and whether a JPA governance structure would be best suited for its implementation.”

So the staff and the Council want us to spend $60,000 doing our own feasibility study. Shouldn’t we wait until at least one other city has done a similar study?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest where he serves as Mayor. 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 Twitter handle is @DrJimGardner. 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 May 17 at 7 pm at the Lake 1 Clubhouse (Ridge Route).