City Hall – Who’s To Stop Them?

One of many publications resulting from an overstaffed city hall is “Mission Viejo Leisure Time.” Formerly printed on newsprint as a recreation timetable, it used to be inserted quarterly in another publication. Now, “Leisure Time” has a life of its own, growing to 28 pages as a pricey, full-color booklet. Will City Manager Dennis Wilberg need a new department head, Director of Public Words, to keep up the pace?

The winter edition of “Leisure Time” has a garish front cover that looks like an explosion in a paint factory. Its upper left is branded with the city staff’s dead tree symbol, ever-growing like the plant in “Little Shop of Horrors.”

What would possess a city manager (who is supposed to oversee essential city services) to venture into the publishing industry with more and bigger city productions? City hall has one of the fastest-growing staffs in town when the number of employees should have declined as the city was built out. Instead of scaling back, Wilberg is building an empire by turning city hall into a pseudo-hub of entertainment with programs too numerous to name and participants too few to count in an honest fashion.

Below are examples from city hall’s Bureau of Everything – babysitting, sightseeing and, incredibly, a new city-funded program to combat the “epidemic” of fatness. Some of the activities have nothing to do with the city, but how could a Director of Public Words otherwise produce 28 pages without a lot of empty space or borrowing from here and there?

Dec. 8 – 11: Children can get a “special call” from Santa. This is not a city program; it’s perpetrated by the Saddleback school district, and it’s “FREE.” Parents who wonder why schools are closing might ask why their cash-deficient district is playing Santa Claus.

Jan. 27: Get on a bus and go to the San Manuel Casino for $8. Make losing your mission.

Ongoing computer classes: with two school districts, outreach programs, a community college and private enterprise offering every computer class imaginable, the Mission Viejo library is piling on at taxpayers’ expense. Also “FREE” to residents and nonresidents alike, students can get the help of a tutor at the library. Wilberg has apparently become the Minister of Education as well as overseer of nonessential public services and Director of Everything.

On Jan. 2, go on a walking tour of Rose Parade floats for only $68. It’s called “Viewing the Day After.” (Wasn’t “The Day After” a disaster movie that was viewed in the ‘80s?)

For “in-home support,” the city is offering a Handyman Project Consultant. “Licensed contractors and handymen will evaluate home repair/maintenance needs and provide a written estimate for materials and labor.” A city that can’t widen a road in three years or keep a project within budget now wants to fix your house.

If anyone is still wondering how the Mission Viejo city staff has grown to 152.3 employees and still can’t do the job, the city is increasingly competing with the private sector and meddling in other areas where it doesn’t belong.

Float Designers Are Disputin’ Newton
Letter to the Editor

I've been thinking about Mission Viejo’s Rose Parade float. I'm no wizard when it comes to physics, but the numbers seem off. 

The pool on the Mission Viejo float contains 10 tons of water according to the folks at city hall. Ten tons of water is only sufficient to fill a pool that is 12 feet deep, 4.5 feet wide and 6 feet long. That doesn't seem large enough for a person to dive into safely. A pool that is 12 feet deep, 6 feet wide and 9 feet long would require more than 20 tons of water to fill. The Rose Parade proceeds at the rate of 2.5 mph. Considerable force must be applied to accelerate 20-plus tons to a speed of 2.5 mph. And that's just the water weight, not the total weight of the float. 

Applying Newton's Laws of Motion: 

Newton's First Law of Motion
I. Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.

Newton's Second Law of Motion
II. The relationship between an object's mass m, its acceleration a, and the applied force F is F = ma.

Newton's Third Law of Motion
III. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

I wonder what happens when the parade pauses.

Lisa De Paul-Snyder
Mission Viejo

Is CUSD Turning the Corner?
Letter to the Editor

With the Nov. 4 election, reform-minded parents completed their goal of removing all seven Fleming-era trustees. Not everyone at the Dec. 8 board meeting was happy with the outcome, as a segment of the audience had supported those who still had attachments to the old regime.

As a big difference from the past, the trustees on Dec. 8 engaged in debate of ideas and challenged each other in a productive way. They questioned the administrative staff. When answers didn’t emerge, agenda items were tabled instead of making decisions based on incomplete information. One trustee asked about the staff’s process of putting issues on the agenda – a very good question, as the trustees should set the agenda.

Voters on Nov. 4 overwhelmingly supported change, and the process has begun. School board candidates who didn’t win are right to remind those elected to keep their promises. I hope those with doubts about the new board will reserve judgment while waiting to see if these trustees will improve the process of education and represent their constituents. It was gratifying to hear nearly all of the public speakers say on Dec. 8 they want to get beyond turmoil and address the problems.

For five years, a handful of parents have practically dedicated their lives to reforming CUSD. Four of them spoke on Dec. 8 during public comments – Jennifer and Tony Beall and Michelle and Tom Russell. They are an inspiration for anyone who is willing to work hard to change a dismal situation.

Connie Lee
Mission Viejo

Parents Advocate League Update
by Julie Collier

It’s official: all the new Capo school district trustees were sworn in prior to the board meeting (you can view some pics at the Beyond the Blackboard, http://capistranoinsider.typepad.com/beyond_the_blackboard). The new trustees will have a big job on their shoulders as CUSD waits to find out if they will have to cut $30 million or more from the 2009-2010 budget as expected. The district will know more in January.

The board meeting had a very different atmosphere. Attention to detail seemed to be the theme of the night. It is clear the new trustees are not going to be the board of the past. The new trustees had many questions for several agenda items and asked to move items to next month's board meeting when the district staff could not provide answers. It is also important to note that the board did not vote the same on every agenda item as was predicted during the election. Many parents and teachers who attended the meeting felt hopeful for the future of CUSD.

Item 17: Purchase Orders Approved

     Trustee Sue Palazzo asked about the $1,348,516.88 payment to US Bank. The district staff explained it was the yearly COP payment on the district office.

Item 23: A.V. Property Sale

     Trustee Mike Winsten had concerns that the buyers might not be able to close escrow in time and might hold up other potential buyers. Mr. Lebs explained it is 90 percent certain escrow will close by June 30. The district staff and the attorney for the district regarding the contract were asked if the district could back out for other buyers and if the current buyers could back out at any time. The attorney stated there were fees charged to the buyers if they backed out. Other details could not be answered by the district staff, so this item was tabled until the January board meeting for more information.

Item 24: Consulting Firm for Cell Tower Sites

        The district is considering hiring a cell tower consultant to look for cell site locations on district property that can generate income from cell companies (approximately $2,500 per month per site). Two people spoke against this, including Cathy Schlicht, because of the high cost for consulting fees and the potential danger to children. This item was tabled until the January board meeting for more research and information.

        My husband Michael has done cell-site land acquisition and government zoning for hundreds of projects for several years. He believes cell sites (as long as they follow the FCC regulations) at some district locations would be a great way for CUSD to generate revenue as many other school districts do. You can find more information regarding exposure to cell sites at
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/rfexposure.html

"In the case of cellular and PCS cell site transmitters, the FCC’s RF exposure guidelines recommend a maximum permissible exposure level to the general public of approximately 580 microwatts per square centimeter. This limit is many times greater than RF levels typically found near the base of cellular or PCS cell site towers or in the vicinity of other, lower-powered cell site transmitters." – The FCC Regulation on cell site towers.

Item 40: Approval for First Budget Interim Report

        This was approved 7-0. The trustees took out the language that would allow cuts to the TLC program positions at the five school sites that have TLC and saved that program.

Item 48: Booster Club Revision

        This was the first reading and not up for a vote until the January board meeting. Supt. Carter wants the community to understand this policy revision prior to the vote in January.  It implies the control of the Booster Club presidents is limited. Please review Agenda Item 48 for more details

Item 52: High School Graduation Requirements

        This was approved 7-0 and requires reading skills development and reading assessments for 9th grade students in the district.

Item 53: Trustee Stipends

        This item was pulled at the start of the board meeting. It was to consider the reinstatement for the trustees' monthly stipends to $750 from the current $325. The stipend was changed to $325 toward the end of the last school year.
 

Item 54: Citizen Request

        A citizen asked the board to consider ending CUSD's association with the Education Alliance. The Education Alliance was started by former Supt. Fleming and is a group of OC school districts that pool money to fight special needs litigation. Irvine School District, among others, does not participate in the Education Alliance.

The next board meeting will be January 12, 2009, at 7pm. Please review the following articles: Capo trustees approve cost-cutting budget, CUSD trustees select officers for 2009, and Beyond the Blackboard 

The Buzz

The forensic audit of San Juan Hills High School began on Dec. 11. For years, parents have asked how the cost of the school’s site, 50-plus acres next to a landfill, grew to $52 million. Total cost of the new school has exceeded $150 million. Revelations of other troubling issues at SJHHS can be found in an attorney’s eight-page letter to the state attorney general, posted on the Capistrano Dispatch’s Website,
http://thecapistranodispatch.com/uploads/pdfs/2008/News%20Documents/CUSD%20Signed%20AG%20Complaint%20letter%209.15.08.pdf
Parents who tried to find out why CUSD paid the developer to make improvements on his private property say he wrongly received between $6 million and $10 million as a gift of public funds.

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From the time the city’s electronic sign went up at La Paz and Marguerite, letters to Saddleback Valley News indicated that residents are unable to read the sign. Lately, residents may have noticed that messages on the sign are appearing in larger type with fewer words on the screen. An observer wrote, “I finally discovered why I can’t read any of the messages. It’s not a message board, it’s an eye chart. They finally have the type big enough that I can catch a letter or two as I drive by.”

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The city survey of 2008 in which residents were found to be completely happy about everything was often quoted by Councilman Frank Ury during his reelection campaign. Mission Viejo blogger Larry Gilbert recently wrote about the survey on a county blog, OrangeJuice: “True North survey of Mission Viejo residents, Where do we get our news?” Read on at
http://orangejuiceblog.com/2008/12/true-north-survey-of-mission-viejo-residents-where-do-we-get-our-news/#more-15173 The survey claimed that 39 percent of residents get their city-related information from the “City Outlook” magazine. Was it a multiple-choice survey? If not, how can anyone explain that residents get their “info” from a city publication that arrives in the mail only four times a year? According to the survey, the puff-piece City Outlook at 39 percent beat the Internet at 25 percent. If the city ever had any credibility, it should be gone with that one.

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When results of the city survey were released in June, the flaws were obvious. A quick review of the company itself, True North, revealed that every city it surveyed had exceedingly happy residents. It calls itself a “research” company, but it’s a P.R. company that gets paid to manufacture data for whatever its client wants to say. In Mission Viejo, residents can expect the council to fund such surveys during city election years and release spectacular results just before council incumbents print their campaign brochures.

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A resident who went to Santa’s Workshop in front of city hall said that Wednesday evening is apparently the best time to go. She emailed: “After reading that a crowd was there for Santa’s arrival on Nov. 30, I didn’t know what to expect. At 7 p.m. on Wed., Dec., 10, there were more volunteers and employees than children. There was no crowd. The parking lot was about like an average night with people going to the library.”

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The city will hold a strategic planning session on Mon., Dec. 15, in the Jacaranda Room of the community center beginning at noon and ending at 6:45 p.m. An online article in the Register
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/city-council-session-2255501-workshop-strategic said the council will work together “for a consensus on a vision, values and key strategies to implement in the next three to five years.” The cost of having a meeting facilitator conduct the workshop is $20,125, which includes a follow-up session. The meeting won’t be televised.