The Buzz column, April 25

The 1980s legend of the Defense Department paying $600 for a hammer has been upstaged. A toilet in Mission Viejo costs $500,000. What began as a reasonable request, restroom facilities at Melinda Park, has become a convoluted toilet master plan. Councilwoman Gail Reavis proposed that a developer, UDR/Pacific, should pay for a restroom at Melinda Park. Instead of approving the project, the council majority decided to study the entire park scheme (33 toilet-less parks in the city, estimating $500,000 per restroom). The council should plant more bushes in Melinda Park during the years it will take to unclog the bureaucratic plumbing.

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What do Councilman Frank Ury’s promoters have in common? They’re all connected to his campaign consultant, John Lewis, and none of them live in Mission Viejo. This includes an Orange County blogger who posts smarmy notes about Ury. What’s the object of this love-fest? Ury makes no secret of his disdain for the Mission Viejo council and the city’s other 98,000 residents. Reports about Ury’s political ambition indicate he wants to become an Orange County Supervisor. Friends of Lewis relentlessly promote Ury to those who have obviously never seen a Mission Viejo council meeting.

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A Mission Viejo resident commented about the scuttled parking structure at Trabuco Hills High School. In a letter to the Orange County Register, the resident asked how the estimated cost could rise so quickly from $4 million to $14 million. The possible answers include: a) incompetence at estimating construction costs, b) deliberate low-balling to sell a $180 bond to the public with an unrealistic wish list, c) gouging by contractors, d) bait-and-switch from a needed project to more desirable use of funds.

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The Capistrano Unified School District on April 24 unanimously approved spending $12 million on four schools, including three in Mission Viejo. Hankey Elementary, Newhart Middle School and Capo Valley High School will get upgrades and repairs. Following the threat of a recall and with three trustees up for reelection, the unanimous vote was preceded by discussion that “the projects had been planned for more than a year.” The plans were certainly a well-kept secret for 11 months.

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Regarding the cell tower issue discussed by the Planning Commission on April 17, did the council not approve hiring a cellular telecommunications master plan consultant to provide advice? Why are commissioners facing decisions without the benefit of the city’s high-priced consultant? Fortunately, Commissioner Brad Morton made a motion at the April 17 meeting to defer a decision about a cell tower until May 8 to give residents more time to gather information. The consultant, Tony Ingegneri, will be at the May 8 meeting. The motion to defer the decision passed 3-2 with Morton, Lonsinger and Schweinberg voting in favor and Krout and Sandzimier against.

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If you build it, they will leave. A blog reader who lives close to Unisys said she’s putting her home on the market following the council’s 5-0 approval of Steadfast’s housing plan at Jeronimo and Los Alisos Blvd. Two other homeowners report they’re selling their condos for the same reason – concern about further decline of their neighborhood, which is near the project.

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Santa Ana attorney Mark Rosen says he expects an Orange County Superior Court judge to rule in May on a Capistrano USD recall issue. A judge could order an election or demand that the Registrar of Voters recount the 177,000 signatures gathered against all seven CUSD trustees. A group of residents formed Capo for Better Representation and hired Rosen to contest 65,000 signatures thrown out by the RoV. Among reasons for the disqualification, those gathering signatures filled in some of the addresses for voters who signed all seven petitions. The RoV claimed the voter must fill in all information. Rosen said a recent state Supreme Court ruling mandates that voters' intent supersedes technical errors in the law. If voters intended for their signatures to count, they should count, regardless of who filled in the address.

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CUSD Supt. James Fleming on April 24 said of the administration, “We’ve done a great job” regarding facilities. Mission Viejo residents should tour Newhart Middle School and decide for themselves. This neglected school has aging portables that are falling apart. Those touring bathrooms need a clothespin for their nose. Fleming on April 24 continued to misstate that a school must be at least 25 years old to receive modernization funding. Councilman John Paul Ledesma challenged this misrepresentation at the April 3 council meeting, but the smokescreen continues.