Huge USPS Facility Slips Under the Radar
Letter to the editor

I realize that very few citizens who typically read this blog have much concern, if any, about what goes on in the southern part of the city or in San Juan Capistrano. But for those of us who live here in south Mission Viejo and those who ever use Avery Parkway, be concerned – very concerned. 

The United States Postal Service plans to build a 9-acre under-roof mega-postal facility just south of our city limits, and it is a major cause of concern. Shown below are some comments and links of interest. (The term "Dispatch" in the following text refers to the Capistrano Dispatch, a daily email bulletin of local [to San Juan Capistrano] news.) Consider subscribing to the daily email "The Capistrano Dispatch" [newsletter@thecapistranodispatch.com]. It's free, and it often provides information on developments that can affect our city. It usually contains more data on items that may affect our city than you will ever get from our own city. 

As it happened, the Schuler's church at Rancho Capistrano, owner of the parcel being sold to the USPS, and the USPS never advised the local communities of the pending sale until two weeks into the escrow proceedings. None of the adjacent cities were notified or even aware of this disastrous turn of events until just this week.

Don Wilder
Mission Viejo

1) The Dispatch has received numerous requests to provide contact information for legislators to contact regarding the proposed United States Postal Service center in San Juan. Go to

http://www.sanjuancapistrano.org/Index.aspx?page=200

http://www.sanclementetimes.com/newsletter/link.php?M=1344&N=19&L=6

or cut and paste the address and you will be linked directly to the city's (SJC) listing of all the appropriate contacts. For those wishing to copy a form letter that you can send to the USPS with your comments, go to the Open Space navigation bar on the home page, then see the left-side navigation for the link to the USPS letter. Also, a new Web site has been created by a local SJC resident with a poll on the subject. That URL is

http://www.nopostzone.com

http://www.sanclementetimes.com/newsletter/link.php?M=1344&N=19&L=7

2) Public Comments Invited
The USPS is inviting public comments to be mailed to the following address: Emmy Andrews, United States Postal Service, 395 Oyster Point Blvd., Ste. 225, South San Francisco, CA 94080-0300. Letters must be postmarked by August 25. The SJC City Council also is asking residents to reach out to their legislative representatives. They are listed on the city's Web site at

http://www.sanjuancapistrano.org/Index.aspx?page=200

3) OPEN SPACE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS SJC COUNCIL OPPOSE PROPOSED PLAN FOR POSSIBLE POSTAL FACILITY
The City's (San Juan Capistrano) Open Space Committee on Monday unanimously voted to recommend that the SJC City Council oppose a proposed plan by the United States Postal Service to build a mail facility processing center on the south portion of the Schuler Ministries property (also known as Rancho Capistrano) - an area targeted by the committee for possible open space acquisition. The committee said the proposed project would be inconsistent with the character of the Northwest Open Space and entryway to San Juan Capistrano. The move comes after the Open Space Committee, chaired by Councilman Mark Nielsen, and about 50 residents heard an update from city staffers about the U. S. Postal Service's interest in purchasing 75 acres from Schuler Ministries to build a 15-acre mail processing facility. The property, at 29343 Camino Capistrano, is about 200 feet west of Camino Capistrano and 2,500 feet south of Avery Parkway. The Postal Service wants to construct a 418,000-square foot facility (nine acres under roof) with a 375-stall parking lot. The proposed facility would operate around the clock with 300 employees. Large trucks would access the 40-plus loading dock area 24/7, with at least 200 daily truck deliveries. The intent would be to gain access to the site from the "old" grade crossing on the south side of the Schuler property.

On Monday, committee members and the public expressed environmental, aesthetic, traffic and other concerns. They said the proposed project is not a good fit for the pristine property, which is highly visible driving along the San Diego (I-5) Freeway.

"Constructing what is probably Orange County's largest industrial building at the entrance to our historic town will destroy the rural character that we have fought so long to preserve," said SJC Councilman Mark Nielsen. "We already bear the burden of regional truck traffic for the landfill. Adding hundreds of trucks and a 9-acre building for the region's postal needs in such a sensitive location is just not right.”

When the proposed project was recently unveiled to the City of San Juan Capistrano, representatives from Schuler Ministries and the Postal Service stated that they are willing to work with the City on major impacts such a project would generate. However, it is unclear what - if any - authority the City has over this project. The Postal Service is still working through an array of issues associated with the project, especially at the train crossing. Regardless, though, Nielsen said the impacts would be profound. "Of particular concern is the Post Offices' stated goal to begin construction within 8 months," he said. "That means their environmental impact analysis will be cursory at best."

CUSD Update, August 17
Editorial staff

With a unanimous vote of the CUSD board on Aug. 13, former administrators James Fleming and Susan McGill will pay their own criminal defense fees. The trustees decided not to reverse their March 2007 decision to stop paying legal fees for Fleming.

Behind closed doors at the Aug. 13 meeting, trustees apparently agreed to hire Woodrow Carter as the new interim superintendent. Was this announced following the closed session? The news wasn’t published until Aug. 18, which caused speculation and questions among constituents about the secrecy, as well as allegations of more Brown Act violations. According to the news release, Carter is expected to serve for nearly two years. His 27 years in the military preceded his work in education. He served as a deputy superintendent in Oakland and superintendent in Fairfield-Suisun USD.

The job of superintendent (with salary and perks exceeding $300,000 annually) shouldn’t be that hard to fill. Some CUSD constituents said they would like to see Kevin Murphy get the job. The leader of the 2005 recall effort, Murphy has a background in finance, which would come in handy in a district with a $500-million annual budget.

Those attending the Aug. 13 board meeting were encouraged with the outcome of the open session. In addition to the board denying Fleming and McGill’s fee request, no member of the public supported the old regime. A Mission Viejo resident sent the following comment:

“Five Mission Viejo residents were among 21 speakers who opposed paying the fees. No one during the meeting spoke favorably of Fleming or his corrupt administration. It was a breakthrough not to have endless shills crowing about how wonderful Fleming is.”

Another Mission Viejo resident remarked about public comments, “It was interesting to hear all the different reasons the district shouldn’t pay to defend Fleming and McGill. Many speakers said tax dollars for education should go to classrooms for students and teachers. Others mentioned the problems of deteriorating facilities, cuts in classified staff members and the increase in class size for lack of funds. The decline of school facilities in Mission Viejo should be brought up at every meeting.”

News at Capistrano Unified School District lately wouldn’t be complete without a court report. On Aug. 17, Fleming and McGill made another appearance in Superior Court in Santa Ana – another pre-trial hearing. The trial could take up to 16 days and cost more than $1 million.

Power Players Fight Other Battles
Staff editorial

To their credit, Mission Viejo residents are more concerned about soccer games and family gatherings than political warfare. While local residents keep a safe distance, some of the county’s biggest power players and money boys (and girls) are turning on each other.

Dana Point Mayor Diane Harkey is being recalled. Last November, she supported two of her friends for Dana Point City Council, who knocked out incumbents. As an aside, Jim Lacy, one of the deposed incumbents, was the prosecuting attorney when former council members Sherri Butterfield, Susan Withrow and Bill Craycraft were found guilty of Brown Act violations. Lacy is now involved in the effort to recall Harkey. Harkey’s backers include those associated with lobbyist John Lewis and his employees in the Orange County Republican hierarchy. Harkey is currently running for Mimi Walters’ state Assembly seat.

Assemblywoman Walters of Laguna Niguel is running against Anaheim Councilman Harry Sidhu for the 33rd State Senate District. Mission Viejo residents who have attended political fund-raisers hosted by Mimi say she has a really big house. She has a pile of money, and Sidhu has a pile of money. Some Mission Viejo residents received the first hit piece against Mimi in the mail last week.

Harald Martin was recently appointed as an Anaheim Union High School District trustee, and some political types are backing an effort to recall him. His detractors call him a racist, based on his statement that the cost of educating the children of illegal immigrants from Mexico should be billed to Mexico. He also said illegals should be deported. The contest would be of little interest outside Anaheim except for politicians taking sides.

SunCal vs. Disneyland: Mission Viejo residents have another reason to be thankful they don’t live in Anaheim. Lobbyist John Lewis works for developer SunCal, which is pushing for housing (including affordable housing) in an area zoned for resort use. Disney objects to housing and wants to preserve the resort zoning. As an interesting aside, Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle opposes the housing. This is the same person who acted as a consultant for UDR Pacific in Mission Viejo when it pushed for rezoning of the former Kmart property from commercial to high-density residential. Apparently, it’s OK to ruin someone else’s city with overcrowding, traffic congestion, preventing new business opportunity and curtailing job growth.

Nguyen vs. Nguyen: Janet Nguyen in 2006 won the tug-of-of war for the county’s First District supervisorial seat. She beat another candidate with the same last name, Trung Nguyen. Trung drew the support of Mike Schroeder (called OC GOP’s Darth Vader by Register columnist Martin Wisckol) and Janet has the support of Schroeder’s enemies. Janet and Trung are still slugging it out in court, and top players are still lined up behind them.

The new recall effort in Capistrano Unified School District barely gets noticed outside South County. One thing to watch is money coming from outside the district. One should also look at politicians putting their names on the new recall effort. They include Mission Viejo council members who had nothing to do with the first recall and little interest in CUSD’s problems. Last year, Councilmen Lance MacLean and Frank Ury disavowed meddling in school district business when parents asked for help.

Another aspect deserves mention. Councilwoman Trish Kelley was an ardent supporter of former superintendent James Fleming and former deputy superintendent Dave Doomey (DO-me). During the first recall, she was fawning over Trustee Marlene Draper, who attended a Mission Viejo council meeting. After Kelley’s display of support of Draper, Fleming and DO-me from the dais, she had the nerve to claim she was neutral in the recall. Prior to her 2002 election, Kelley as a PTA member and self-proclaimed school leader promoted Measure A and never caught on that CUSD was diverting Mission Viejo tax dollars (Mello-Roos, Measure A and redevelopment funds) to other cities. Kelley continued batting her eyes at Fleming and DO-me and shaking down Mission Viejo residents to donate cash for CUSD schools while tax dollars disappeared.

Ury was a whole other story. After CUSD parents in 2006 pleaded with the Mission Viejo council to launch an investigation to track where CUSD tax dollars went that were collected in Mission Viejo, Ury and MacLean argued against the request. MacLean said he visited Newhart Middle School and found it to be in satisfactory condition. The parents, evidently, are hallucinating. Both Ury and MacLean voted against the investigation, which passed 3-2. The resulting audit revealed Mission Viejo dollars went toward the $50-million administration center in San Juan Capistrano – a fact repeatedly denied by CUSD officials.

Only Councilman John Paul Ledesma challenged CUSD’s liar-in-chief James Fleming's false claims Measure A bond money couldn’t be used at Newhart school.

These examples are just the tip of the iceberg. As good news, the county’s power players are heavily involved in much larger storms elsewhere. Perhaps Mission Viejo won’t get their attention until the next city election.

The Buzz column, August 17

When the OC/Register-Saddleback Valley News hosted a get-together on July 26, a dozen residents provided input about community news. Several attendees asked for investigative reporting in Mission Viejo, and nearly everyone suggested more local coverage of city news and events. Apparently, the newspaper staff thought everyone asked for more puff pieces, such as the Aug. 17 article showcasing a dressed-up dog. As long as OCR/SVN continues to focus on fluff, the community will lack newspaper coverage.

***

Why did the Capo school district take five days to issue a press release about hiring a new interim superintendent? The trustees apparently made a decision on Aug. 13 during their closed-session meeting. The delay of any word caused suspicion and fueled rumors. In a district where distrust and suspicion abound, CUSD’s public relations department adds to the problem by sitting on news.

***

Reader reaction: “Do you find it amusing that the city of Mission Viejo has now joined with the residents of San Juan Capistrano to challenge the proposed US Postal Service depot because of the traffic impact on Avery? While I agree the location is wrong for the project, isn’t this the same Mission Viejo City Council that rejected a $35-million Avery road improvement project from Caltrans in order to allow a car dealership to open? I wonder if the Jag (and now-closed Rover) dealership has contributed anywhere near the $35 million in road-improvement sales taxes. And isn't it still illegal for these dealers to offload cars from their carriers onto Avery? They still do it, despite the law against it.”

***

More reader reaction: “I’m reading in the news that Joan Irvine Smith has joined the city of San Juan Capistrano by hiring her own attorney, as the city of San Juan has, to resist widening of Ortega. Her case states it would impact the local serenity. This proposed widening was previously favored by San Juan Capistrano because it allowed traffic to flow up and into Mission Viejo and not through their town. Part of the Ranch plan traffic studies required both the Ortega road widening and toll road expansion. Look whose back yard now has the sandbox with fleas.”

***

What should Mission Viejo residents do in the event of a disaster? Don’t bother calling city hall. The city’s disaster plan is a disaster. The following conversation was witnessed when staffers were discussing their own need for food in an emergency situation. With Ralphs grocery store across the street, one of the staffers said it would be no problem – just break into Ralphs if necessary. Wait – isn’t a disaster plan supposed to prevent things like looting of stores? By the way, the survival plan at city hall is only for city hall employees.

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The three council members who voted for the electronic message board (Lance MacLean, Trish Kelley and Frank Ury) made laughable comments during the July 2 discussion. Among other claims, the message board will flash emergency information in case of a disaster. In the event of an earthquake or other emergency, 100,000 residents could pile into their cars and drive down to the message board to see what’s happening.