We have a lot going on in the City. Here’s an update.
Veterans Park
Citizens began meeting this week to plan the Veterans Park. There will be a second meeting Sept 6 at 6:30 pm at the City Hall.
Parking Enforcement Officer (PEO)
Unfortunately efforts to recruit a new PEO from the existing list were unsuccessful. We should fill the position in the next few months once a new list is available. Meanwhile I’ve asked the Chief to prepare some performance indicators we can use to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. We will be adding $150,000 to our budget and I want to be sure we get our money's worth. This position is designed to help alleviate the parking problems we have in the City and I want to be sure that's what happens.
Find out what's happening in Lake Forestfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Remodeling 10 Parks
The RFP is being prepared and it will come to the Council shortly. We will be spending close to $10 million to update our parks according to the results of the meetings earlier this year.
Transitory Housing
After passing the ordinance a few months ago, several homes have been identified as violating the ordinance and they are now on a “hot list” and the City is proceeding to resolve the problem. If you are being bothered by a home that violates the transitory housing ordinance, contact the City’s code enforcement department.
Find out what's happening in Lake Forestfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Mobile app
Six companies responded to the RFP for the mobile app for the city and we are now evaluating them to come up with the best company. The staff’s recommendations will come to the Council soon. This is one of my highest priorities. I believe this app will dramatically improve city services and make life easier and better for our residents.
General Plan
We asked the staff to get us a plan that will be done more quickly and at a more reasonable price. They asked the companies who bid originally to re-bid based on this feedback and we are waiting for their responses.
Strategic Planning
We are having problems finding a date when all 5 Council members can meet. A lot of preparatory work has been done. Now we’re waiting to meet. It looks like the end of October will be the first chance.
Animal Adoption Center
The AAC is now open and already they are seeing events and adoptions. The Public Education Officer has already started working and we are looking forward to seeing what results have been achieved.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest. 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 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 mini town meeting every month. The next meeting will be on Sept 9 at 2 pm at the El Toro Public Library.
