Vacuum of leadership
Letter to the editor

There are many pressing issues for our city and a vacuum of leadership necessary to transcend the gap to a solution.

We have a citizens initiative sitting in the ad hoc committee of the City Council since Dec. 15, 2005. Our citizens deserve an up-or-down council vote on the initiative, which will allow our residents the opportunity to vote on zone changes from commercial to residential or mixed use. Such an important initiative deserves better than to gather dust in a council committee.

There are pressing issues of infrastructure renewal, including our slopes and streets that are neglected. Some slopes are practically barren without much groundcover, and our streets have potholes. Some slopes are overgrown, and residents have complained. Residents have said the trimming is inadequate on some streets, including the corners near La Paz, where a driver cannot see around the corner in order to exit safely.

The council recently voted to spend $20,000 to ask residents certain questions through a survey to find out what our residents think. Most of the answers could probably be obtained in front of the local grocery store. There must be some benefit to having an official answer. Obviously, a debit to the budget doesn’t need an explanation!

Our city has large unfunded liabilities with our pension and health plans for the city employees. The council voted on the pension plan to defer the unfunded liability for 15 years and make a small contribution this year. As each year passes, the debt is only stretched out for another year. The only way the city can reduce the debt is either to make a large payment or hope for some investment return to reduce the liability. The health plan is still unfunded and not capped so that the city’s liabilities are only increasing.

The city has approximately $34 million to $36 million in encumbered reserves with $6 million to $8 million in unfunded pension and health-plan liabilities. The balance sheet needs work, and all residents should ask the question of when these issues will be resolved, not how much money can be spent on a futuristic project.

James Edward Woodin
Mission Viejo

Getting odder while trying to get even
Editorial comment, April 24

The council’s call for audits of city franchises led to comments from those who watched the April 17 council meeting. Earlier this year, Cox Communications’ internal audit found a miscalculation in advertising revenue, resulting in a $157,000 payment to the city. It may have set off a chain reaction with city staffers talking about other franchises.

No one knows for certain why Councilman Frank Ury on April 17 asked for audits of Southern California Edison, Cox Communications and Waste Management. A few guesses, however, make sense. Ury in 2004 made promises he couldn’t keep about “forcing SCE to bury its lines.” As mentioned in prior editions of The Buzz, SCE’s project had already begun before Ury mailed his campaign flyers. Ury is now in office, and he doesn’t appear to care what anyone thinks. However, a timely announcement mid-summer could benefit Ury if SCE owes the city as much as 10 cents.

As an underlying matter, Ury has been unable to push his agenda to help his out-of-town buddies. He often can’t get a second for his “important” agenda items. Maybe it’s a result of his public trashing of other council members, or maybe they don’t share his devotion to his campaign donors. To get a reliable majority, Ury needs residents to put two of “his people” on the council this November.

Diane Greenwood, a Ury supporter in 2004, recently announced her intention to run for city council. When she makes public comments at council meetings, she speaks angrily about SCE. Greenwood talks about electromagnetic field (EMF) dangers, and she compared herself in a press release with Erin Brockovich. If Brockovich comes to Mission Viejo, she should investigate the city council, not EMF.

Diane “Brockovich” Greenwood apparently renounced her Democrat roots in 2005 so she could run for office in 2006 as a Republican. Such a candidate is called a RINO-DIP – Republican In Name Only, Democrat In Practice. Beyond wanting to protect Mission Viejo residents from EMF, “RINO-DIP Brockovich” allegedly wants affordable apartments on top of retail stores at La Paz and Marguerite. Former Councilwomen Susan Withrow and Sherri Butterfield look downright reasonable by comparison.

People who are concerned about EMF don’t buy homes under power lines. Those who want affordable apartments on top of retail stores don’t live in Mission Viejo. And residents who have been watching Ury’s maneuvering on the council aren’t going to empower him by electing one of his diehard fans.

The attraction between Ury and Greenwood is that both want SCE run out of town. Ury’s campaign donors include California Power Corporation, which gave Ury’s campaign $8,250 and probably expects payback. Greenwood appears to want revenge against SCE for adding power lines in Mission Viejo that serve other areas. Never mind that lines serving Mission Viejo cut through other communities – someone must be punished for man’s insatiable need for electricity.

The information Ury requested from SCE isn’t much of an audit. He asked for the number of customers and the amount of power used during a seven-year period. He said he wants a spreadsheet, which will give him the information he needs. Does anyone not anticipate the biggest smear campaign in history? The requested information is due in 90 to 100 days after the April 17 council meeting. With campaigns gearing up mid-July, Ury’s “calculations” of SCE’s cheating the city could emerge at about the same time.

For anyone who can’t tell the difference between the real Erin Brockovich and a contrived campaign of tinfoil mad hatters, a demonstration is likely in store.

At last, the “potty party park” study is complete
Letter to the editor

What you need to know – all 33 Mission Viejo parks are included in this report. The cost is only $500,000 per facility, plus just $20,000 per year for maintenance for each “state of the art” facility. It is uncertain whether bidets are included.

Before final approval, the city council should consider portable potties, thereby eliminating maintenance and janitors! Five-cent pay slots are outdated; however, for a $1.00 fee, we can include in the slot machine a jackpot wherein you could win a lifetime entry card.

I have yet to find out whether these facilities would be open 24 hours a day or whether someone runs around to inspect the inside daily before a 5 p.m. lock up and then open them up at 6 a.m. every day for the Tai Chi group. As another issue, it is uncertain if the committee studying the plan and the present city council will require personal IDs for everyone including all ages for all residents only!

There is more I won’t mention, such as the scary part to consider, other than the expense.

Bill Cruse
Mission Viejo

We need a foundation update
Letter to the editor

What’s happening with the Mission Viejo Community Foundation? During a council meeting late last year, a report indicated the city would receive financial information. I was expecting to see a balance sheet that would clarify salaries, expenses and progress on getting donations.

The foundation has received startup payments from the city. I would like to see a report on how much the city is paying and how the money is being used. When will this information become available?

Elizabeth Mimm
Mission Viejo

Trustees depart from the script
Letter to the editor

The Capistrano Unified School District board meetings I’ve attended seem contrived. Decisions appear to be made prior to meetings, and the unanimous votes and happy talk in front of the public seem unreal. The April 24 meeting was different when three trustees dared to criticize facilities.

Trustees Sheila Henness, Sheila Benecke and Crystal Kochendorfer admitted in varying degrees the facilities at Newhart Middle School are a mess. Henness said the proposed repairs and upgrades are inadequate. Supt. James Fleming immediately glossed over the problems, but it was too late – the moment of truth was part of the record. It was no surprise when the trustees voted 7-0 to spend $12 million to repair and upgrade schools, including Hankey Elementary, Newhart Middle School and Capo High. Following the threat of a recall last year and with three trustees up for reelection, the pretense cannot continue there’s nothing wrong with facilities in Mission Viejo.

Trustee Marlene Draper announced the district would gladly provide information for the Mission Viejo City Council’s request for an audit of tax dollars. She added, “Everything we’ve done has been done correctly.” Rather than accusing CUSD of crimes, I believe our residents want to know why an astronomical amount of our tax dollars are funding schools in Aliso Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita while our own rundown schools have been neglected.

Connie Lee
Mission Viejo

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.