The Buzz column, May 4

Several upset residents contacted blog staff members following the April 30 Planning Commission’s special meeting. All who commented complained about the lack of notice regarding the hearing to review the proposed draft of the Wireless Master Plan prepared by ATS Communications. The Buzz aired its own concerns months ago about the suspicious nature of the city contract with ATS and how it came about. Residents are alarmed ATS has identified 18 city-owned properties as cellular antenna sites. The person representing ATS receives a bonus each time a wireless service provider places a cell tower on city property. It’s now up to residents to defend themselves against such placement near homes, parks and schools.

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Who brought ATS into town? According to information given to The Buzz, it was Councilman Frank Ury. If that information alone doesn’t cause alarm among residents, they’re not paying attention to city politics. Ury not only brought ATS to the city trough, he pushed for the Wireless Master Plan. A city hall insider revealed that the initial presentation and the actual contract were two different stories. When residents hear the rest of the story, the first thing everyone mentions is the contractor’s conflict of interest – first, being paid to tell the city where cell towers should go and then getting a bonus for their placement.

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Capistrano Unified School District trustees on Mon., May 7, will discuss cutting millions of dollars from the budget at the board meeting. While CUSD’s $50-million Taj Mahal in San Juan Capistrano was being built, its mathematically challenged trustees said the new building would save money. CUSD formerly paid $500,000 a year to lease space for administrators. Apparently, the trustees never considered CUSD would have to pay interest – many times over any amount it “saved” on rent. The district recently released information congratulating itself for leasing out some of the space in its cavernous money pit. The purpose of a school district is not to use taxpayer dollars on an oversize facility and then enter the commercial real estate market as a landlord.

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Also being discussed at the May 7 CUSD board meeting, the district decided it needs Mission Viejo’s cooperation in using a park near Hankey School. In earlier talks, the district said no, no, no, it didn’t need the space. Mission Viejo could now use the request as leverage to persuade CUSD to upgrade and refurbish some of its other buildings – particularly Newhart Middle School. Instead, some parents are relentlessly pushing the city into giving permission to use the park for nothing in return. Other cities in CUSD have benefited from tax dollars collected in Mission Viejo while Mission Viejo parents have raised money with bake sales to fund their children’s schools.

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An irate blog reader emailed comments that began: “Have you seen the signs along Felipe that have all the council members’ names on them?” The reader was annoyed over the misuse of taxpayer dollars to pay for such signs. What the reader didn’t mention is that the signs are popping up all over town. Whatever the project is (road widening, slope upgrades, road repairs) is stated on a large, pricey sign AND it lists all five council members. The reader asked, “Didn’t voters throw the old council out of office for doing that?” The reader makes a good point. Five years ago, Sherry Butterfield and Bill Craycraft thought they should put their names on city facilities, and the voters disagreed. Isn’t it ironic that all five members of the current council are putting their names on city projects, city slopes and major thoroughfares?.