City Council Review - Feb 6

Tuesday night was a very busy night and a very productive one.

CHANGES TO MEETING

• We now have a greeter who meets people at the door and orients them. This is especially helpful for newbies.
• Starting at 6 pm and continuing until the meeting starts at 6:30 we have a 30 slide show presentation about the city, recent accomplishments, upcoming projects, and future events, especially ribbon cuttings.
• At the end of the meeting we have a take-away list of events.
• During the meeting, a staff member uses the CCTV system to display agenda material which otherwise seems incomprehensible to people attending the meeting.
• At the start of the meeting, the agenda items are re-ordered to reflect the interests of the people attending, as well as guest speakers who may be on hand.

TRAFFIC STUDY

Staff studied traffic on Normandale and Regency. These are their recommendations -

• Install white edge line striping to reduce speeds
• Install double yellow centerline on Normandale
• Install pavement legends
• Increase use of radar trailers
• Install no parking signs on Normandale between El Toro Rd and Regency Lane to improve sight distance.
• Install a T-intersection warning sign for southbound Regency Lane.

The Council approved all these changes and asked that in the future we be more proactive. It was suggested that the City (finally) produce a list of accidents in the city as a possible clue as to where we can be more proactive. It was also suggested that the upcoming HOA Roundtable address this question.

CITY COUNCIL

Compensation - Current compensation is $704 per month which is among the lowest in the County. State law allows an increase to $1056 per month, which would still be among the lowest in the county. Council voted to put the issue on the ballot.

Selection of Mayor - Each year, the Council member with the most seniority who has not yet served as Mayor would get the opportunity of serving. If everyone has served, a Mayor may be appointed for a second term.

Limiting Campaign Contributions - There are several options approved.

• Limits on campaign contributions $250 per year
• Disclosure requirements - Require "real-time" disclosures that accompany RFP submissions and require a public statement from the Council member when the issue comes before the Council.

Code of Ethics - created a committee (Mayor Pro Tem Leah Basile, Councilman Tom Cagley, City Attorney) to

• Review and update current code
• Create a complaint process
• Develop appropriate penalties
• Identify independent person to provide expert advice

Appointment of Commissioners - Each Council member appoints a Commissioner. In this manner, even if a majority of 3 exists, at least 2 commissioners will not be appointed by the majority.

NO-KILL ANIMAL SHELTER

This topic was tabled since it was 10 pm before we got to it. The issue will come up Feb 20.

DISTRICT ELECTIONS

The Council gave consensus to re-consider the district maps.

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 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 Thursday Feb 15 at 7 pm at the Beach and Tennis Club on Ridge Rte.