The Buzz

Lower Curtis Park continues to be the city staff’s designated dumpsite. A community activist emailed other watchdogs on June 4, “A resident who lives near Curtis Park says the dumping activity at Lower Curtis has significantly accelerated. With the so-called completion of Crown Valley Porkway in May, where is the dirt now coming from according to city employees? Neighbors are annoyed at the disrespect for public property.”

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An early participant in Lower Curtis shenanigans, City Manager Dennis Wilberg created a make-work project for a city contractor in 2003. Back then, Wilberg was director of public works, and Granich Construction had a standard city contract with an “up to” amount. The contractor was idle, and taxpayer money was available. With no real work at hand, Granich was paid approximately $200,000 for moving dirt around in Lower Curtis. Community activist Bo Klein discovered the stealth project when he was looking for potential dog park sites, and Larry Gilbert and Joe Holtzman played key roles in exposing the project for what it was. Other watchdogs took the matter to the grand jury, which concluded a variety of illegal acts probably occurred. The grand jury didn’t pursue it because the council had approved payment, giving an appearance of approving the work.

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Why is a city contractor now using Lower Curtis as a storage area? The park is zoned for recreation, which doesn’t include a city yard for a contractor’s use. The city staff’s real attitude toward public property becomes apparent when residents remark about problems in their neighborhoods: deteriorating infrastructure, parks turned into dumpsites, poorly maintained slopes and the declining condition of open spaces. By contrast, a city staffer recently directed the planting of 400 trees and other vegetation (during a severe drought) on a strip of Crown Valley Porkway, and it is pursuing a $300,000 plan to exacerbate eyesores on a nature trail.

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A resident of an HOA adjacent to the Casta del Sol Golf Course asked a blog staff member if it’s true that a developer is back in the picture for housing on the golf course. The word is new to bloggers, and city hall has launched an extensive PR campaign to quash any hint of housing while Councilman Lance MacLean is the target of a recall.

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Don’t worry, be happy. The city staff’s spin machine doesn’t permit the publication of anything negative. While businesses are going under everywhere else, they are only opening in Mission Viejo. All other public agencies, organizations and entities are cutting back, but not Mission Viejo, which touts its $28 million in “reserves” (and never mind that the funds are already spent or encumbered, except for approximately $500,000). After the city was built out, the number of city staff members ballooned to an extraordinary level, 152. Rancho Santa Margarita, another contract city similar in nature to Mission Viejo, has fewer than 25 full-time employees.

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In the face of everyone else’s financial decline, Mission Viejo’s city staff is continuing its tradition of lavish parties, primarily for city employees and the extended “family” of council members, commissioners and other associates. The city spin machine pumped bilge about “hundreds” attending a bash last week: “More than 240 people on Wednesday celebrated the 20th anniversary of the City’s Norman P. Murray Community and Senior Center with poignant tales, reminiscing and a delectable lunch. … Attendees enjoyed an historical look back at the center’s evolution along with a Cordon Bleu lunch – complete with wild rice, creamed spinach, salad and chocolate eclair.” Photographers apparently had a difficult time taking group pictures that didn’t include staffers, commissioners, city council members and others associated with the city.