Report to the People - August 2018

This report covers the period from August 1 to 31. It represents the views of Mayor Gardner and does not reflect official City policy. These reports are produced monthly. Past copies are available on request.

ELECTION NEWS

This year we are switching to district elections and two districts are up for the vote. District 4 has Mark Tettemer running against me. District 2 has Sonny Morper running against a newcomer to the City. You can go to the City’s website to see what your district is and who’s running.

FWIW – my report will continue to focus on Lake Forest as a whole. Whether or not we are elected by districts, the welfare of the entire city must be our concern.

INVOLVING PEOPLE

One of my main concerns is to involve more people in our local government.

Office hours are every Tuesday from 4 pm to 6 pm. Inquire at the Clerk’s office. Occasionally things change, so be sure to check first.

Town Square – Lake Forest Town Square has over 750 members and growing, providing valuable input on issues facing the council as well as general issues. Your votes and opinions are used to guide my decisions. Please join.

Minute with the Mayor – Every week I produce a 1-minute video summary of what’s going on in the city. Check it out here.

Listen and Learn – To date I’ve met with over a dozen groups around the City. If you have a group and want to share your concerns, let’s get together.

Town Hall Meetings – Next meeting will be Oct 18 at the Lake 1 clubhouse at 7 pm.

The Patch – In case you were unaware, I post a column in the Lake Forest Patch, usually 3 to 5 times a week (to date there are over 1,000 up there), and you should feel free to comment there.

Pop-Up City Hall – We had our first Pop Up on April 14 at the Beach and Tennis Club and we’ve had several since. If your group or HOA would like a Pop-Up City Hall at your next event, contact me.

PROJECTS COMPLETED 2018

On April 11 I presented the “State of the City” and information about our completed projects is included in that report. Click Here. I updated that report on July 1 in a series of articles. Click Here.

PROJECTS UNDERWAY

• Village Pond Park renovation under way. Expected Fall 2018. I hope before November.
• Upgrading 10 parks in the City - Approved. Construction begins 2019.
• Mobile App 2.0. Beta version available Summer 2018. Release Winter 2018.
• Real Term limits - Approved 4/3. 2 term total recommended. On Ballot in Nov.
• Search for no-kill shelter options – Approved 2/20. Now looking.
• Homeless – I was the only Mayor to vote against locating a 400-bed shelter for homeless people in Silverado Canyon. Click here and here to view my positions. The Board of Supervisors agreed and voted against locating the shelter 5 miles from Lake Forest (Click Here). Here is an update on our current program. (Click Here)

CRIME

In 2015 major crimes were up nearly 30% but in 2016 they were down 16%. Last year (2017) they were up 5%. In 2018 (Jan to June) we are down 1%. The biggest increases in 2018 are in aggravated assault (+26%) and Robbery (+36%). In Jan-July 2018 there were 1 homicide, 10 rapes and 73 aggravated assaults in the City. To check it out for yourself, Click Here.

In a related matter, last year the Council voted to join with a dozen other cities to explore ways to provide police services and we expect the report by the end of the year. Councilman Nick and I proposed this study a few years ago, but we lost 3 to 2 and the study had to wait.

Concern with school shootings prompted me to meet with the SVUSD Supt. and our Chief of Police. I asked the Chief to address the Council and we produced a separate video to share (Click Here).

Meanwhile, on April 23 we started our first “advanced” Child Safety class. The “basic” class will be offered in the Fall. Stay tuned.

On another note, OCSD has now launched the crime mapping. Click here to see what’s happening in your neighborhood.

VOTING RECORDS

More than 90% of the votes by the Council are unanimous and relate to ordinary business of the City. In about 10% of the votes, the issues are more complex and there are not unanimous votes. Here are the results for 2018 for votes that were not unanimous –

• Approve EIR contract (1/16) – Gardner opposed
• Drone ordinance (1/16) – Basile abstained
• Voigts to be on TCA committee (1/16) – Gardner opposed
• Drone ordinance (2/6) – Basile opposed
• No raise for Council members (2/6) – Cagley, Robinson “yes”, Voigts abstained
• Put Council raise on ballot (2/6) Cagley abstain, Robinson opposed.
• Campaign contribution limits (2/6) – Robinson opposed, Voigts abstained
• Campaign contribution disclosures for RFPs (2/6) – Voigts abstained
• Grant consulting contract (2/20) – Voigts abstained
• Lease park lands to private non-profit to build clubhouse and parking lot (2/20) – Gardner opposed.
• Adopt drone ordinance (2/20) – Basile opposed.
• Spend $60,000 to study community choice aggregation (2/27) – Gardner opposed
• Spend $40,000 to study no-kill shelter feasibility (2/27) – Voigts abstained
• Purchase video equipment instead of using staff’s own equipment (2/27) – Voigts abstained
• Campaign finance reform (4/3) – Cagley, Robinson opposed. Voigts absent.
• Change comment time (4/17) – Voigts, Robinson, Basile in favor.
• Allow Traffic/Parking Commission more flexibility (5/1) – Gardner, Basile in favor.
• Discontinue unsuccessful $40,000 project (5/8) – Basile, Cagley opposed.
• Pass ethics policy with no teeth (5/15) – Gardner opposed
• Allow people to vote on district elections (6/5) – Robinson opposed
• Allow candidates for Council to increase statement from 200 to 400 words to give non-incumbents a better opportunity to inform the public (June 19) – Robinson opposed, Voigts abstained.
• Ask voters whether or not they want to return to city-wide elections (June 19) – Robinson opposed.
• Ask voters if they want to spend unlimited funds to switch to city-wide elections even though every lawsuit that has attempted this has been defeated (June 19) – Gardner opposed.
• Allow consulting company that knows nothing about Lake Forest to appoint people to the General Plan Advisory Committee (July 19) – Gardner opposed.
• Try to partner with neighboring cities for animal care services (Aug 7) – Voigts abstained
• Performance increase for City Manager (Aug 7) – Robinson opposed
• Allow permit parking to two areas impacted by Saddleback Apartments (Aug 7) – Robinson opposed, Voigts abstained
• Allow permit parking to two areas impacted by Saddleback Apartments (Aug 21) – Robinson opposed.

Some interesting observations from the data –

• Scott Voigts abstains more than every other Council person combined.
• The highest agreement is between Robinson and Voigts (72%), followed by Cagley/Robinson (67%), Basile/Gardner (56%) and Cagley/Gardner (52%).

NETWORKING

I attended the following meetings/events (along with fellow Council members)

• Aug 5 – Women’s Club Baby Shower for US Marines (Gardner, Basile, Cagley) PHOTO
• Aug 6 – Homeless seminar (Gardner, Voigts)
• Aug 7 - Office Hours (Gardner)
• Aug 7 - City Council Meeting (All)
• Aug 7 – National Night Out (All)
• Aug 10 – Ribbon Cutting South Ocean Dental (Gardner, Cagley) PHOTO
• Aug 13 – Special Needs Committee (Gardner)
• Aug 14 - Office Hours (Gardner)
• Aug 14 – Homeless subcommittee (Gardner, Robinson)
• Aug 16 – Town Hall Meeting (Gardner)
• Aug 17 –Homecoming ETHS Pop-Up City Hall (Gardner)
• Aug 18 – Grab and Go Lunch (Gardner)
• Aug 21 – Office Hours (Gardner)
• Aug 21 - City Council Meeting (All)
• Aug 22 – Chamber of Commerce Mixer (Gardner, Basile, Voigts, Robinson) PHOTO
• Aug 23 – Animal Welfare Committee (Gardner)
• Aug 23 - Traffic and Planning Commission (Gardner)
• Aug 24 – Ribbon Cutting Infinity Kids (Gardner, Basile, Cagley)
• Aug 24 – Opening of “STEAM” school in Lake Forest (Gardner, Basile)
• Aug 24 – Boys and Girls Club Fund Raiser (Gardner, Basile, Robinson)
• Aug 25 – Health and Fitness Expo (Gardner) PHOTO
• Aug 25 – Lake 1 50th Anniversary (Gardner) PHOTO
• Aug 28 – Office Hours (Gardner)
• Aug 29 - Commercial Broker Workshop (Gardner)
• Aug 29 - Bennett Ranch HOA meeting (Gardner)

That’s nearly 20 events/meetings and more than 40 hours during the month of August just attending meetings/events. This doesn’t include any preparation and/or follow-up as a result of the meetings/events, nor the meetings with staff nor the Mayor’s Minutes, nor office hours and Council meetings. This month, as with many other months I’ve attended more events on behalf of the City than the rest of the Council combined.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Sept 4 - Office Hours (4:00, City Hall)
• Sept 4 - City Council Meeting (6:30, City Hall)
• Sept 5 – Leadership Academy Begins (6 pm, City Hall)
• Sept 6 – General Plan Advisory Committee (6:30, City Hall)
• Sept 9 – Heroes Day (10 am, Heroes Park)
• Sept 10 – Get Safe Academy (6:00 to 7:30, City Hall)
• Sept 11 - Office Hours (4:00, City Hall)
• Sept 12 – Back to School Night – SVUSD Elementary Schools (6 pm)
• Sept 18 – Office Hours (4:00, City Hall)
• Sept 18 - City Council Meeting (6:30, City Hall)
• Sept 18 – Lake 2 Women’s Club Wine and Cheese (6 pm, Lake 2)
• Sept 19 – Senior Resource Fair (10 am, City Hall)
• Sept 19 – Chamber of Commerce Mixer (5:30 to 7:30, Y-Tel)
• Sept 20 – Asian Business Council (9 am to 1 pm, Disneyland Paradise Hotel)
• Sept 25 – Office Hours (4:00, City Hall)
• Sept 29 – Taste of Lake Forest (12 to 4, Towne Center)

Most of the events are FREE but some may charge admission. Be sure to check. I plan to be at most of these events so please come by and say hello. This is a great chance for me to learn.

CONTACT

You can discuss issues at the Facebook page Lake Forest Town Square.