Pressure to Merge Stirs Political Animosity Between Rossmoor and Los Alamitos

Political relations between Rossmoor and Los Alamitos went from prickly to hostile Monday night as Los Alamitos city leaders debated the city’s next move in the brewing battle between Rossmoor and the county over the unincorporated community’s independence.

In the end, the Los Alamitos City Council voted 3-2 to send a letter to the Rossmoor Community Services District, asking it to halt a telephone survey aimed at finding out whether Rossmoor residents want to take authority over local police and animal control services from the county. The vote was largely moot because the telephone survey of 400 randomly selected Rossmoor residents is scheduled to begin tonight and be completed by Friday, said Rossmoor officials in the audience Monday night.

In asking Rossmoor to halt the survey, Los Alamitos council members plan to offer to work with the community to conduct surveys in Los Alamitos and Rossmoor to figure out whether residents would want to merge or share police and animal control services. However, the overture seems doomed as Rossmoor and Los Alamitos leaders accused one another of being unprofessional and duplicitous in their dealings Monday night.

The Rossmoor survey is likely to be biased in favor of the Rossmoor Community Services District grabbing police and animal control powers because it is being paid for by a $10,500 donation from the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs, said Los Alamitos City Councilman Troy Edgar. The sheriff’s union has made it clear that it wants Rossmoor to continue to contract with them rather than with the Los Alamitos Police Department for services, Edgar said.

Edgar said a union official called him, threatening that, “It would be in my best interests politically to make sure this comes to a halt… Stay off the corner issue. Stay off annexation,” said Edgar.

Edgar has said that Los Alamitos would like to annex Rossmoor’s one commercial center that includes the Fish Company at the corner of Los Alamitos Boulevard and Katella Avenue in exchange for providing animal control and planning department services to Rossmoor. Rossmoor officials are dead-set against such a move because the loss of their only commercial corner and its $250,000 in annual sales tax revenue would mean that Rossmoor couldn’t afford cityhood or to pay for its own police and animal control services. In an aggressive move to pressure Rossmoor to merge with Los Alamitos, Orange County Supervisor suggested giving the corner to Los Alamitos for providing services to Rossmoor and for its cooperation in merger efforts.

While offering to work with Rossmoor to explore future options for the two communities, Edgar also took a provocative stance with Rossmoor officials. Edgar and Councilwoman Marilynn Poe accused Rossmoor officials of setting an unprofessional and disrespectful tone in January when the two were invited to a Rossmoor workshop that tuned into an “inquisition” by 150 residents hostile to the concept of annexation by Los Alamitos.

Edgar described the Rossmoor Community Services District’s grab for latent police powers as a parks and recreations department as making a backdoor attempt to become a city without having to actually incorporate since the residents already rejected cityhood. Finally, he accused Rossmoor of using the Rossmoor Predator Management Team, a citizen group, to politicize the coyote issue and embarrass county officials.

He suggested that Rossmoor officials’ actions brought on the county pressure for Los Alamitos and Rossmoor to merge.

“I think the county is tired of dealing with you guys,” he said.

Edgar’s comments antagonized Rossmoor officials and residents. Several said they found it insulting and disrespectful to describe their January community workshop as an “inquisition.” Many in the community said they viewed it as an opportunity to get straightforward answers about Los Alamitos’ less-than-transparent plans to annex Rossmoor’s commercial center.

“They keep talking about how they want to work with Rossmoor, yet they are obviously trying to take our business corner,” said Rossmoor Community Services District Board of Directors President Jeffrey Rips.

Mark Nitikman, a member of the Rossmoor Advisory Committee described the community’s Predator Management Team as a grassroots effort to deal with the coyote problem when the county failed to do anything to help residents whose pets were being attacked. To describe their grassroots efforts as part of a larger political ploy to embarrass the county is disingenuous, he added.

Equally disingenuous was the city’s suggestion that Rossmoor halt its survey effort and request for latent powers, said Nitikman.

“We don’t have that luxury because, in the meantime, Mr. Moorlach is charging ahead with his agenda,” said Nitikman.

Moorlach’s agenda has more to do with settling scores against the sheriff’s union that opposed his reelection bid than doing what’s best for Rossmoor, added Nitikman.

Rossmoor Community Services District General Manager Henry Taboada described Los Alamitos as a willing pawn in a larger game of county politics.

“Everyone is trying to decided what’s best for Rossmoor,” Taboada said. “Rossmoor can decide for itself what is best for Rossmoor.”

Los Alamitos City Councilman Warren Kusumoto voted with Councilwoman Gerri Graham-Mejia against asking Rossmoor to halt its survey. While Mejia advocated for a resolution supporting Rossmoor in its efforts to acquire latent powers, Kusumoto dissented.

“I don’t think it is our place to have a policy or position on their latent powers,” he said.