Report to the People - July 2016

This report covers the period from June 1 to 30. It represents the views of Councilman Gardner and does not reflect official City policy. These reports are produced monthly. Past copies are available on request.

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 500 members and growing, providing valuable input on issues facing the council as well as general issues. Please join.

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

Mini Town Hall Meetings – Next meeting - Sat. Aug 13, 2 to 4 pm, at Foothill Ranch Library.

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). The City Attorney advised me not to respond to comments lest I inadvertently violate the Brown Act (some of my colleagues are known to comment using pseudonyms), but you should feel free to comment there.

SPECIFIC ISSUES

Budget – The Council approved a budget with anticipated revenues of $48 million and expenses of $46.3 million. The operating account had $20.5 million and we had $51.6 million in capital funds (most of that will be spent on the civic and senior centers) and $21.5 million in reserves. From a financial perspective we are in excellent shape. Earlier this year we paid off our pension liabilities and are one of the few public agencies with no unfunded pension liabilities.

Village Pond Park – We are still waiting for something to happen. The City is stalling, continuing to have unsightly and unsanitary conditions, and claiming that a lawsuit between Lake 1 HOA and the City is the reason. But there is no lawsuit between the City and the HOA about VPP. Meanwhile the City is not enforcing the feeding prohibition (only 3 citations have been issued in nearly a year) and there are many days that go by when the sidewalks are not being swept. I raised the issue but was unable to get any movement but I am continuing to try to get something done.

Crime – Here’s a link to my latest article on crime. Last year major crimes were up nearly 30% but this year from Jan to May we are down 9%. The biggest decreases are in robbery (-64%) and aggravated assault (-21%) but rapes (+75%) and burglaries (+17%) are up. To check it out for yourself, Click Here. BTW – the city approved the contract with OCSD. For more information, Click Here.

Civic/Senior Center –Click on the links for the latest story on the Civic Center and the Senior Center. These new projects are vital to our quality of life. If you haven’t been involved yet, it’s not too late. The next meeting is August 6.

Seniors – In another example of poor forward planning the City failed to let anyone know that the newly conceived Portola Park would be right next to a senior affordable housing project with 58 units. This wasn’t raised at any of the workshops and hence resources for seniors didn’t make it into the plans. I’ve asked the Parks Director to re-conceive the plans to accommodate the needs of the seniors who will live right next door.

BTW _ I'm still looking for some place in the City where Meals on Wheels can operate from. We need a room with storage space and a fridge, access to a PC and printer, and access to cars for dropping off and picking up the food. Busy from 11 to 1 from M to F.

Sober Living Homes – I got some good information about what we can do if there are problems with a sober living home in your neighborhood. Click Here to learn more.

Aliso Creek Cleanup – When Bob Holtzclaw and I were helping with the Aliso Creek cleanup this year we noticed a lot of debris so we decided to ask MV to help out since they border on the Creek. Bob went to their City Council and got verbal agreement for them to have their own yearly cleanup, so the creek will get cleaned up twice a year now.

Permit Parking – The Council turned down a request from Bennett Ranch to start permit parking on 4 of their streets, but Councilman Nick and I voted to put the matter on an upcoming agenda, along with a thorough review of the permit process. The City is getting more and more requests for permit parking, and as each area gets a permit, problems pop up in other areas as a result. We need to have a comprehensive plan and not simply do these projects one at a time with no thought for the impact on the rest of the City.

Animal Services – The “Gang of 3” (Voigts, Hamilton, Robinson) voted against having our own local animal shelter. Click Here for the sad details. Now we are only 1 of 2 cities in all of South OC that still sticks with the County’s infamous shelter. As predicted, our high costs (nearly $600,000 per year) are going to get even higher. We could have had better service, better care, less death, no killing of kittens and puppies, for less money and kept the bulk of our expenses in Lake Forest. Instead the Gang of 3 voted to stay with the County. I’m grateful for Councilman Nick’s support in this effort, but in the end, the Gang of 3 had the votes. If we recall the Voigts and Hamilton and/or if Councilman Robinson is defeated in November we will have one last chance to cancel the contract and develop our own local service.

Slurry Seal – The City is doing a slurry seal for more than half the city streets. You may see some patching being done in advance of the actual seal. Check the work. On my streets they did a poor job and there are lots of cracks in excess of 1/8 inch that did not get patched. Please notify Public Works if you see areas that need to be patched before the slurry seal takes place.

Alerts – Many of you have complained that when things happen (e.g., the recent fire in Laguna Wilderness) it is almost impossible to get the fact s. I discussed this problem with the City Manager and he said he will work to find a good way to keep people informed.

RECALL

The recall effort got more than 6,600 signatures to recall Council members Voigts, Robinson, and Hamilton, but they needed 7,882 (Click Here). Having come so close, the organizers have started again, but this time Robinson will not be included because he comes up for re-election in November. I will have more as the recall becomes official.

NETWORKING

Last month I attended the following meetings/events.

• · June 4 – Boys and Girls Club Fund Raiser
• · June 7 – Office Hours
• · June 7 - City Council Meeting
• · June 10 – Lake Forest Job Fair
• · June 12 – Dino Days
• · June 21 – Office Hours
• · June 21 - City Council Meeting
• · June 24 – South Orange County Economic Forum
• · June 26 – Summer Concert
• · June 28 – Office Hours

UPCOMING EVENTS

• · July 4 – 4th of July Parade (10 am to 12 pm)
• · July 4 – Lake 1 4th of July Celebrations (11 am to 3 pm)
• · July 5 – Office Hours (4 to 6 pm – City Hall)
• · July 5 - City Council Meeting (7 pm – City Hall)
• · July 7 – El Ranchito 50 year anniversary
• · July 12 – Office Hours (4 to 6 pm – City Hall)
• · July 14 - Planning Commission (7 pm)
• · July 15 – Band Night at the Skate park (6 to 10 pm)
• · July 16 – Family camp out at Sports Park (5:30 pm to 10 am)
• · July 17 – Family camp out at Sports Park (5:30 pm to 10 am)
• · July 19 – Office Hours (4 to 6 pm – City Hall)
• · July 19 - City Council Meeting (7 pm – City Hall)
• · July 21 - Parks and Recreation Commission (7 pm)
• · July 22 – Chili Cook off at Lake 2 (5:30 pm – 8 pm)
• · July 23 – City Golf Tournament (1 to 3 pm – Lake Forest Golf Center)
• · July 23 – Riverbed cleanup (5 to 8 pm – Skate Park)
• · July 23 – Family Movie Night (8:30 to 10 pm – Skate park)
• · July 24 – Music in the Park (5 to 7:30 pm – Pittsford Park)
• · July 26 – Office Hours (4 to 6 pm – City Hall)
• · July 30 – Relay for Life Lake Forest (10 am – Sports Park)
• · Aug 6 – Civic Center Workshop (10 am – City Hall)

Most of the events are FREE but some may charge admission. Be sure to check.

CONTACT

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

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