Report to the People - July 2018

This report covers the period from June 1 to 30. 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.

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. BTW – Mayor Pro Tem Basile has office hours on Monday from 10 am to 12 pm.

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 – Last meeting was May 17. Next meeting will be Aug 16 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.

Twitter – I now have a twitter account. Click Here. You can reach me @DrJimGardner.

Pop-Up City Hall – We had our first Pop Up on April 14 at the Beach and Tennis Club and 50 people came by. Our second one was in Portola Hills on May 6. 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.

PROJECTS UNDERWAY

• Village Pond Park renovation under way. Expected Fall 2018.
• Upgrading 10 parks in the City - Comes to Council Summer 2018. Construction 2019.
• Mobile App 2.0. Beta version available Summer 2018. Release Winter 2018.
• Ethics Committee – Approved 2/6. Expected Summer 2018.
• Real Term limits - Approved 4/3. 2 term total recommended. On Ballot in Nov.
• Traffic and Parking Commission – Approved 2/20. Expected to begin July 2018.
• Search for no-kill shelter options – Approved 2/20. Now looking.
• Revision to street sweeping – Underway. Mayor Pro Tem Basile and I are working with staff. Proposal expected in July.
• 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).

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 May) we are up 1%. The biggest increases in 2018 are in aggravated assault (+79%), stolen vehicles (+43%) and Robbery (+40%). In Jan-May 2018 there were 1 homicide, 8 rapes and 59 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.

NETWORKING

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

• Jun 2 and 3 – Dino Days (Gardner, Basile) PHOTO
• Jun 4 – Parade Committee (Gardner)
• Jun 5 – Homeless sub-committee meeting (Gardner)
• Jun 5 - Office Hours (Gardner)
• Jun 5 - City Council Meeting (All)
• Jun 6 – Chamber of Commerce Mixer (Gardner, Cagley, Robinson)
• Jun 8 – Tour of Herballife (Gardner, Basile)
• Jun 8 – Ribbon cutting Little Free Library (Gardner, Basile) PHOTO
• Jun 9 – Relay for Life (Gardner, Cagley)
• Jun 11 – Mobile App sub-committee (Basile)
• Jun 11 – Special Needs Sub-committee (Gardner)
• Jun 12 – Asian Business Council meeting (Gardner)
• Jun 12 - Office Hours (Gardner)
• Jun 12 – Mobile App sub-committee (Gardner)
• Jun 13 – Parade Participant Meeting 1 (Gardner)
• Jun 13 – General Plan workshop (Gardner)
• Jun 14 – Parade Participant Meeting 2 (Gardner)
• Jun 15 – Tour of progress on Veterans Park (Gardner) PHOTO
• Jun 15 – Ribbon cutting – Pediatric Dentistry (Basile, Voigts)
• Jun 19 – Office Hours (Gardner)
• Jun 19 - City Council Meeting (Gardner)
• Jun 20 – Special meeting in PH due to construction problems (Gardner, Basile) PHOTO
• Jun 20 – Ribbon cutting – My360 Massage (Basile, Cagley, Voigts)
• Jun 23 – First Responders Grab and Go (Gardner)
• Jun 25 - Parade Committee (Gardner)
• Jun 26 – Office Hours (Gardner)
• Jun 26 – Meeting with Bella Palermo homeowners (Gardner, Basile)
• Jun 28 – Economic Development sub-committee (Gardner, Robinson)
• Jun 29 – Career Workshop (Gardner) PHOTO
• Jun 30 – Pet Adoption Center (Gardner)

That’s a total of more than 20 events/meetings and more than 60 hours during the month of June 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.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• July 1 – Pet Adoption Center Open House (2:00)
• July 1 Pet Adoption Center Fund Raiser (5 pm – Lake 1 Clubhouse)
• July 2 – Parade Committee (6:00, Sports Park)
• July 3 - Office Hours (4:00, City Hall)
• July 4 – 5K Run/Walk (7:30 am, Lake Forest Drive and Serrano)
• July 4 – 4th of July Parade (10 am, Toledo Way)
• July 5 – Ribbon Cutting – City Cleaners (2pm, Trabuco Rd)
• July 10 - Office Hours (4:00, City Hall)
• July 11 - General Plan Visioning Workshop (6:30 - City Hall)
• July 14 – Grand opening Invitrix (3 pm -20503 Crescent Bay Dr)
• July 14 – Campout at the Sports Park (5 pm)
• July 17 – Office Hours (4:00, City Hall)
• July 17 - City Council Meeting (6:30, City Hall)
• July 24 – Office Hours (4:00, City Hall)
• July 27 - Lake Forest Day at OC Fair (12:30)
• July 28 – Special Needs Dance (7 pm, City Hall)
• July 29 – Concert in the Park (6 pm, Pittsford Park)
• July 31 - Office Hours (4:00, City Hall)

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.

CONTACT

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