City Council Preview - May 15

At this week’s City Council meeting the following items will be discussed –

TRAFFIC AND PARKING COMMISSION (Item #13)

Our second reading of the ordinance will allow the project to go forward. We expect applications to start soon and the Commission to start operating by July. This is truly a big step forward and a long time coming. I have been advocating for this for years but was unable to get Council approval until now, when we got unanimous approval.

TREASURER’S REPORT (Item #14)

We are getting an average of 1.66% on our biggest fund (over $40 million), 1.39% on the second biggest ($30.8 million), and 1.84% on the third biggest ($23.1 million). All these rates are higher than last month and the highest in years. Total cash and investments is $140.7 million.

SHOP AND DINE PRINTING (Item #17)

A Lake Forest company bid on this project, but their bid ($36,427.35) was 8% higher than the bid from an Irvine company ($33,676.20). Staff recommends that we go with the lowest bid.

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (Item #20)

Since January 2010 the City has entered into annual agreements with the Chamber for general and specific business services which has proven effective in reinforcing the City’s business development and attraction goals and providing a wider range of business events and services. As part of the Agreement, the Chamber plans and implements cosponsored business events, actively promotes Lake Forest businesses, and provides staff with significant support relative to the logistical planning and staffing of the annual Taste of Lake Forest. Additionally, the Chamber promotes the City’s business resources on its website, via e-mails to members, and in business packets distributed to new and prospective members throughout the year. Click Here to read their annual report.

According to the staff report, the Chamber met or exceeded its obligations in the FY 2017-2018 Agreement, providing excellent service to the City and the business community in support of economic development efforts, including

• Staffed the Taste of Lake Forest and Conducted Outreach for Shop & Dine Lake Forest Week
• Collaborated with the City on a New Business Reception in January 2018
• Hosted "Look, Learn & Live in Lake Forest: Housing Forecast" held in February 2018
• Co-sponsored the State of the City/Meet the Mayor event held in April 2018
• Coordinated more than a dozen Ribbon-Cuttings and Anniversary Celebrations
• Co-sponsored the "Secrets and Strategies to Business Success" Expo held in May 2018
• Hosted nearly a dozen Lake Forest Business Mixers
• Hosting an Upcoming Career Workshop on June 29, 2018

Past stipends have been $15,000 but the Chamber is asking for $3000 more to meet the extra expenses.

MAYOR’S AWARD (Item #21)

A few weeks ago I recommended that we recognize outstanding achievement by staff, and Mayor Pro Tem Basile provided consensus to bring the item to the Council.

As proposed by staff, nominations for the Mayor’s Award should be presented to employees who have demonstrated excellence in one or more of these areas:

• Performance: Continued and repeated excellence in overall job performance, which exceeded job requirements and achieved outstanding results.
• Problem-solving: Solved an extraordinary problem or achieved a considerably difficult goal.
• Innovation: Successfully implemented an innovative idea where an outstanding result, such as significant cost savings or maximized program effectiveness, was identified.
• Outstanding Act: Achieved an outstanding act, which brings positive recognition to the City from the public or media.
• Customer Service: Provided exceptional support to a resident or City department, division, project, group or individual.
• Teamwork: Efforts created excellent teamwork, resulting in a significant accomplishment by the team.
• Community Contribution: Facilitating a positive change by contributing time, talent or leadership to one or more community organizations.

Nominations would be due by October 1, reviewed by Management who would narrow the field to 3 to 5 finalists to be reviewed by the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem with the announcement in December.

Tomorrow we’ll look at Ethics.

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).