Possibly because of an oversight on the part of the city staff and city attorney, the joint-use gymnasium reappeared on the Nov. 7 council agenda. The gym had already been voted down by a 3-2 vote (Reavis, Ury, Ledesma against; Kelley and MacLean for) on Oct. 17, which should have ended the discussion of a joint venture between the city and the Capistrano Unified School District. Only those on the prevailing side (Reavis, Ury and/or Ledesma) could have brought back the joint-use gym for reconsideration, and the deadline for such a reversal was Mon., Oct. 31. The deadline had passed uneventfully.

The joint-use agreement or contract between the city and the school district should also have ended on Oct. 17 when the council majority voted not to allocate $1.5 million in city funds for half of the cost after the city failed to get a $1-million state grant. The city staff and city attorney were apparently not prepared on Oct. 17 for the majority decision not to fund the gym, and they neglected to ask the council to end the agreement as an administrative housekeeping matter. As a result, the city had not officially ended its obligation to fund half the gym. Despite MacLean not being on the prevailing side, he included the matter as part of his Nov. 7 agenda item:
1) Terminate Supplemental Joint Facilities Use Agreement No. 3 between the City of Mission Viejo and the Capistrano Unified School District for a Joint-use Gymnasium at Newhart Middle School; 2) withdraw the City of Mission Viejo’s grant application submitted to the state for construction of the joint-use gymnasium; and 3) approve a budget of $5 million to design and construct a community gymnasium on city property adjacent to the Murray Community & Senior Center.

The administrative matter of parts 1 and 2 appeared to go over the heads of many of those speaking in favor of a joint-use gym. Numerous speakers favoring a gym continued to ask on Nov. 7 for a “reconsideration” of the joint-use agreement or argue that the gym should be at Newhart. Such topics were not on the agenda nor could they legally be discussed by council members. Despite the legal limitations, Councilwoman Trish Kelley opened her remarks by asking the three council members who on Oct. 17 voted against joint-use to “reconsider” the joint-use agreement on Nov. 7. Councilwoman Gail Reavis responded by asking the City Attorney Bill Curley if the council could legally reconsider the joint-use agreement. Curley responded that it could not.

A question goes unanswered regarding how so many people connected with Newhart, Reilly and Hankey schools were operating on false information that Newhart was still in the picture for reconsideration of a joint-use facility.

The remainder of the council discussion about the gymnasium was somewhat a rehash of the Oct. 17 meeting when Reavis, Ury and Ledesma voted against and MacLean and Kelley voted for paying half the costs with city funds. Mission Viejo resident Matt Corrigan spoke during public comments on Nov. 7, saying nothing had changed since the council’s Oct. 17 decision. Despite a larger and, apparently, misinformed group of parents and their children, Corrigan’s assessment was accurate. The council on Nov. 7 voted 3-2 (Reavis, Ury and Ledesma for, MacLean and Kelley against) to end the city’s agreement with CUSD to pursue a joint-use gym.

The third step of MacLean’s item, budgeting $5 million for a city gymnasium, was similarly disposed of. Reavis commented that the council had just voted against spending $1.5 million of city money for a gymnasium, and spending $5 million would fall into the same category. MacLean and Kelley continued speaking in favor of a gym, with MacLean saying he wouldn’t give up on the idea. The vote was 3-2 against the $5 million expenditure (Reavis, Ury, Ledesma against, and MacLean and Kelley for).

The gymnasium topic began during public comments at approximately 7 p.m., and the vote ending the discussion came at around 10:30. By that time, only a handful of gymnasium proponents remained. Just as the proponents had begun at 7 p.m. by revealing their misunderstanding about a joint-use agreement being on the agenda, they appeared equally confused by the vote, as they applauded the gymnasium’s defeat.

As other city business on the agenda, the council voted unanimously to construct additional protective measures to stabilize the failed slope at Ferrocarril and Encorvado Lane. The council authorized contracts of up to $1.4 million for related emergency work. The city staff reported the slope is continuing to move at a rate of 1/8-inch daily.