Word of the Month is Waste
Staff editorial

Anyone who thinks Mission Viejo’s city government has improved since the 2002 voter revolt probably hasn’t seen its newest money pit: the expanded community and senior center. Tripling its projected cost, the expansion recently topped $15 million, and it’s not finished.

Along with news of the city’s spending spree on the expansion, residents received numerous fancy mailers announcing community events and non-events. The first mailer to arrive, “City of Mission Viejo Annual Report 2007,” looked like a corporate-image brochure with full-page pictures and text suitable for a puff-piece. The second mailer was the spring edition of the Mission Viejo Outlook. A blog reader reacted: “What’s with the plastic-coated paper for a government newsletter? It’s a huge waste of money for junk mail, and employees of the city seem confused about their purpose.”

Anyone who perused the Outlook might have noticed something was amiss – the schedule of recreation classes and other activities had been omitted. To compensate for the lack of useful information in the Outlook, the city sent out a third mailer about programs, plus a completely repetitive rundown of the weeklong city anniversary events.

Each mailer lately has been “branded” with The Mark of the Iron Tree, a staff-chosen clip-art logo promoted by a city administrator. The city staff’s cheesy-looking brand is popping up on every piece of paper, street sign or other taxpayer-funded medium around town.

The city staff’s focus has been the weeklong celebration of Mission Viejo’s 20th anniversary as a city. Those who attended the events or dropped by during the week noticed an absence of community members. Halls of the expanded community center were largely empty during the open house, and the cavernous meeting rooms were filled with rows of chairs but few people.

Taxpayers who toured the expanded center may have been astounded at the frivolous features and attention devoted to expensive detail. Those in city government apparently forgot that the expansion was supposed to respond to the demand for a larger space and more meeting rooms. Unrequested amenities include gardens for reading, furnished outdoor terraces, a great abundance of top-quality cushioned lounge chairs, elaborate playground equipment, decorative walls and water features. The city council approved all the unnecessary and inappropriate expense, almost uniformly with 5-0 votes.

Remarks appearing on other blogs question why the city of Mission Viejo would opt for the highest-quality furniture for the exterior of a public building. Someone charitably said the furnishings would last many years. A resident responded: “Unless paid employees stand guard, most of the outdoor stuff will be stolen long before it wears out. College students throughout Southern California will have apartments furnished with all-weather lounge chairs.”

The community and senior center is a government building, and it should be an example of responsible public spending. The purpose wasn’t to waste as much money as possible on another crown-jewel facility with furnishings reminiscent of former city manager Dan Joseph’s $6,000 desk.

In 2002, Mission Viejo voters removed two spendthrift councilwomen, Susan Withrow and Sherri Butterfield, who became obsessed with creating taxpayer-funded monuments. To the dismay of residents, policies promoted by the old queens continue to this day. Immune to the revolving door of politics, those who remain in city hall are the top-level city administrators who relentlessly sell their unpopular policies and ideas to gullible council members. The city staff continues to prevail over the will of residents who foot the bill. Given the opportunity, voters would have said no to a community center expansion that cost $15 million, but no one asked them.

Council members who approved the change orders and cost overruns for the community center expansion should now stop calling themselves fiscal conservatives.

Did Old-guard CUSD Trustees Conceal Information?
Reform Group Issues Statement

The four old-guard trustees from former Supt. James Fleming’s regime have violated the Brown Act so many times, it’s hard to keep track. No sooner had the Orange County D.A. issued a statement about their December 2007 violations when the four holdovers allegedly did it again on March 24. Following is a press release issued by the three reform trustees, Ellen Addonizio, Anna Bryson and Larry Christensen.

March 27, 2008
For Immediate Release

JOINT STATEMENT CONDEMNING NEW BROWN ACT VIOLATION
AND EFFORT TO CONCEAL FROM THE PUBLIC
CRITICAL INFORMATION

San Juan Capistrano, CA – We believe that during our most recent March 24th board meeting, the four Fleming-era Trustees (Marlene Draper, Sheila Benecke, Mike Darnold and Duane Stiff) violated the Brown Act – again. We believe the facts clearly demonstrate they did so with a specific intention to conceal from the public critical information they knew should have been made available to the public. As a result of this most recent flagrant violation (which continues a systematic pattern of illegal actions), we hereby call upon the Orange County District Attorney to immediately intercede. As a result of these illegal actions, we also will demand that the official agenda for our next board meeting on April 21, 2008, include an item calling upon CUSD to stop all expenditures and further action to construct the San Juan Hills High School Football Stadium Complex because all prior approvals for that project were obtained by presenting misleading and incomplete information to the Board of Trustees – and to the public.

On March 24th, we recessed into closed session for the stated purpose of participating in a conference with legal counsel related to potential litigation. Agenda Item 3A was entitled:

“A. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL – ANTICIPATED LITIGATION
Significant Exposure to Litigation: Two Cases…”

Before recessing into closed session, Trustee Darnold expanded upon the published agenda and confirmed in open session the stated reason for going into closed session, when he announced:

“We are going to go into closed session and discuss…for conference with legal counsel for anticipated litigation:
Potential Case #1 – Edge Development,
Potential Case #2 – Concorde Development…”

We discovered during the discussion relating to Concorde Development, there was no “anticipated litigation” or “significant exposure to litigation.” To the contrary, the entire discussion was focused upon a desire by the four Fleming-era trustees to purchase certain additional land adjacent to the CUSD San Juan Hills High School site. As a result, it was illegal to publish a misleading agenda and to exclude the public from hearing and participating in this discussion of critical importance to this highly controversial project.

At the conclusion of the closed session, the Board reconvened in open session and Trustee Darnold reported that:

“…I want to report out that in closed session the board approved to move into negotiations with [Concorde Development] by a vote of 4-3 … .” 

We were not given any prior notice about the substance of any threatened litigation and had no idea what litigation matters would be discussed and acted upon – and neither were our constituents. We objected and voted against the proposal to “enter into negotiations” with Concorde Development because the entire matter was improperly brought to us in closed session under the guise of potential litigation and because we believe these four trustees were trying to conceal from the public significant information that should have been made public.

The public has a right to know these facts:

CUSD does not own the land upon which the SJHHS football stadium complex would be constructed. 

In December 2007 (and later in February 2008), when the football stadium complex construction bid was agendized and approved by the four Fleming-era trustees on a 4-3 vote, at no time was it disclosed to us – or to the public – that CUSD does not own the land upon which the stadium complex would be built.

In order to actually construct the stadium complex, CUSD must now acquire additional real property adjacent to SJHHS – and that is why the four Fleming-era trustees voted to “enter into negotiations” with Concorde Development. 

We believe all of these facts and issues should have been agendized for and discussed in open session.

[Issued by Trustees Ellen Addonizio, Anna Bryson and Larry Christensen]

CUSD Update
Editorial staff

After breaking the law repeatedly, the four remaining Fleming-era trustees (Sheila Benecke, Mike Darnold, Marlene Draper and Duane Stiff) promised the Orange County District Attorney in October 2007 they wouldn’t violate the Brown Act again. Within two months, they committed another Brown Act violation at their December meeting.

A March 27 press release issued by the three CUSD reform trustees (posted on this week’s blog) reveals allegations of another Brown Act violation by the four Fleming holdovers during the March 24 board meeting. The latest allegations point either to the old-guard’s desperation or arrogance in trying to approve new projects without public notice.

The old-guard will likely lose two seats on June 24 when voters have an opportunity to recall Fleming loyalists Draper and Benecke. With less than three months before the special election, are the Fleming holdovers rushing to enact The Flem’s final wishes?

The action leading to the press release was a closed-session item on the March 24 agenda, which was publicly noticed as anticipated litigation. To the contrary, the three reform trustees reported that it was about purchasing additional land from Concorde Development for a football stadium at the $150-million new high school, San Juan Hills High School (SJHHS), in San Juan Capistrano. The methods used to push projects through at SJHHS are starting to smell stronger than the dump.

The principal at SJHHS abruptly resigned two months ago and gave no reason. Perhaps he knew the details of CUSD’s 2002-2003 real estate transaction with developer Dennis Gage of Whispering Hills LLC (also doing business as Concorde Development), owner of the dump-side property that became the SJHHS campus. After Gage couldn’t give the parcel away to the city of San Juan Capistrano, CUSD purchased it for a whopping $52 million. Now, the three reform-minded school board members say that CUSD doesn’t own the adjacent plot on which it plans to build the SJHHS football stadium – although ownership is still being claimed by those who deny anything is amiss.

A CUSD parent mentioned that a large, high-pressure fuel pipeline runs underground in the vicinity of the planned football stadium, which may have prevented the acreage from being included in the original purchase. However, considering that SJHHS is adjacent to a dump, near a green-waste burning facility and under power lines, a pipeline that could blow it off the map may have been no big deal.

One question being asked is who created and/or approved the illegal March 24 agenda. Old-guard Trustees Mike Darnold and Sheila Benecke serve as president and clerk, respectively, of the school board. While Supt. Woodrow Carter may have approved or worked on the agenda, he cannot be guilty of a Brown Act violation because he’s not an elected official. He should have, however, stopped the illegal agenda item from moving forward.

The long string of illegal acts at CUSD has constituents asking why the D.A. hasn’t been more aggressive in going after the Flemingite trustees. As a possible scenario, one should keep in mind that Mike Carona was indicted by the feds, not the county D.A. It has caused speculation on whether the D.A. himself is being investigated. The D.A.’s history of selective prosecution is well known, and the feds are investigating various high-profile officials in Orange County. The point is that the feds may have taken over the CUSD investigation because they don’t trust the D.A. to follow through on crimes more serious than Brown Act violations and lies about enemies lists.

The D.A.’s most recent warning to the old-guard majority for their ongoing Brown Act violations can be read here: http://www.cusdrecall.com/page68/page47/page224/files/08-0313%20DA%20Ltr.pdf

Carter responded to the reform trustees’ statement, condemning their March 27 allegations of Brown Act violations. His response was printed in the March 29 Orange County Register. For anyone who hasn’t previously noticed that Carter will be on the outs if a new majority takes form after the June 24 recall election, his public remarks to the newspaper should denote one thing: his days are numbered.

The Buzz

Will council incumbents keep their seats this fall after approving $10 million in change orders over a $5-million project? While trolling for the votes of senior citizens, council members might have become confused with the sheer number of cost overruns at the community and senior center expansion. Perhaps grateful seniors will hold the incumbents’ banners on street corners during the election this fall.

***

As a trend in city elections, incumbents have experienced diminishing supporters willing to campaign for them. Councilman Lance MacLean may have set a record in his 2006 reelection campaign. Beyond his immediately family, MacLean had zero supporters holding up his signs.

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City hall officials publicly explained the $10-million overrun for the expansion project as due largely to inflation and the rising cost of building materials. As a basis for comparison, look at a similar project that ran parallel to Mission Viejo’s community and senior center expansion. The Coto de Caza Golf & Racquet Club recently completed the $7-million expansion of its complex. According to a spokesperson at the club, the expansion was projected at $7 million and completed at $7 million. Apparently, the skyrocketing inflation that hit Mission Viejo didn’t similarly throw the Coto project for a loop.

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A blog contributor did double-duty on March 29, covering the events of two cities. He first stopped by Mission Viejo’s all-day event at the community center, featuring such exciting exhibits as “green living.” His report: “Mission Viejo’s event was dead. The onsite radio broadcast from Saddleback College KSBR didn’t help, as you could hear it in their voices.” He next went to Swallows Day in San Juan Capistrano, which had 45,000 people in attendance. That’s pretty good for a city with a population of 35,000.

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Parents, teachers, children and other community members rallied at the corner of La Paz and Marguerite as a show of support for school funding on the afternoon of March 28. Approximately 30 participants held signs that read “No teacher left behind,” “Cut from the top,” and “Save our schools,” plus hand-lettered signs made by children. Parents organized the rally to protest such budget cuts as laying off teachers and raising the number of students per classroom. Those taking part said the rally drew a positive reaction from passersby.

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The Parents Advocate League, a school-support group, is suggesting that everyone wear black on April 1 to show support for teachers and students. The idea came from a parent at Don Juan Elementary in Aliso Viejo as an activity for the Capistrano district. The word spread, and supporters throughout other districts are joining in.