Update on Traffic Advisory Group

After much controversy and delay and years of broken promises, the long anticipated Traffic Advisory Group is coming to fruition. Nine residents applied for a spot on the 7-person panel. Another 4 sent in their applications after the deadline. I only reviewed the first 9 and here is a summary of who wants to help the City solve one of our major challenges –

MARK ARMANDO is a retired Police officer and has lived here for 31 years. He’s active in his HOA and has a BA in Vocational Education from Golden West College.

BUD CARBONARO is an Engineering Consultant and a former Army Engineer. He has an MBA from Farleigh Dickinson and has lived here for 5 years.

SCOTT DRAPKIN has been a City Planner for 20 years. He’s lived in Lake Forest for 15 years and is active in AYSO.

GRADY GLOVER works as a Paralegal and was a volunteer Fire Fighter. He’s a 20 year resident of the city

ROGER GREGSTON is a 21 year resident of the City. He’s a past President of ETHS Instrumental Music Boosters and the Girl’s Soccer Boosters.

JOHN IRISH is a former Parks and Recreation Commissioner and Head, and long-time Head of the 4th of July Parade Committee. He’s active in the Kiwanis and with the Boys and Girls Club of Lake Forest. An Engineer by profession he has lived here for 39 years.

JIM RICHERT is the one name that will be most familiar. For as long as I can recall, Jim has been making suggestions as to how to solve the traffic problems in the City. He’s a 26 year resident of the City, former member of several HOAs, and actively involved in local affairs.

DENNIS WALSH serves on the Saddleback Unified School District. A 20 year resident, Dennis has an MBA from UCI and is self-employed as a tax preparer and accountant.

DEREK WIESKE is a licensed Civil Engineer and a former employee of Lake Forest. Right now he works for the City of Long Beach where he manages their Transportation Division. He’s a 20 year resident.

Looks like we have a talented and diverse bunch of people to select from.

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 3 pm to 5 pm at the City Hall. In addition, he holds a mini town meeting every month. The next meeting will be on August 15 at 2 pm at the El Toro Public Library.