The Buzz

Councilman Frank Ury announced in his campaign literature last August that the Crown Valley widening project was finished. With a whopper like that, Ury’s political career should have been finished. Instead, 16,928 residents voted to keep him in office in the November 2008 election. Last week, Saddleback Valley News gave an update on the Crown Valley PORKway project. Readers should conclude from the article that the city won’t meet its currently projected completion at the end of May. If a survey were taken, perhaps it would find that 16,928 residents still believe the road was finished last August.

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The April 17 SVN update about Crown Valley states that project manager Mark Chagnon “estimates the cost of the project may be $1 million to $2 million over budget.” Isn’t it interesting that the project is allegedly almost finished, and no one knows when it will be done or how much it will cost? The article ends with “The city may ask the contractor to do corrective work after inspection, which could lead to more work on the roadway.” What really needs to happen is for voters to do corrective work in City Hall.

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Supporters of the effort to Recall Councilman Lance MacLean report they’ve reached the one-third mark in the signature drive that began March 18. Approximately 9,300 valid signatures are needed by the Aug. 25 deadline to qualify for a recall election. Residents signing the petition often ask how a recall works. If the recall qualifies for the ballot, the election will have two parts. First, should MacLean be recalled (yes or no)? If the majority of those voting decide MacLean should be recalled, the second question on the same ballot determines his replacement. The second part is an open election for MacLean’s seat. Whoever gets the most votes wins, and MacLean cannot run as a candidate to replace himself.

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Thanks to Saddleback Republican Assembly for quickly putting together the April 15 anti-tax rally. SRA members said they decided to sponsor the event when no one else was hosting a TEA Party in South County. During the rally, many who attended said they’d never been involved in a protest before. Rally participants brought their families, including parents, grandparents, young children and teenagers. A parent who brought his children told an SRA member, “The rally was a good experience for us. We talked about government, history and economics.”

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City Manager Dennis Wilberg evidently couldn’t find much city biz to report in his April 17 weekly insider update, “The Week That Was.” Instead of covering City Hall, he reported on Lake Mission Viejo activities. The lake is privately owned and has its own directors. As usual, the city staff has a tough time distinguishing private ownership from public property, which would explain its meddling in shopping centers at La Paz and Marguerite. As a related matter, MUK majority members (MacLean, Ury and Kelley) are now making a big deal of saying “thanks but no thanks” to a study they commissioned recommending that the stores at La Paz and Marguerite be razed and rebuilt with apartments on top. The council never said “thanks but no thanks” to the study as they now claim. MUKsters made the statement only after the recall effort of MacLean picked up steam.

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Wilberg’s insider newsletter also included a description about “public outreach” to civic organizations. His report told of city staff members making presentations about the city’s storm water management efforts to two organizations. Wilberg tells of diverting Public Works Department employees to public relations when they should be working on infrastructure, slope maintenance and road repair. He states, “The department will continue to actively seek opportunities to share information with our community organizations.” His confusion over the function of city employees sheds light on why an 18-month road widening project is now into its fourth year and millions of dollars over budget.