The Buzz

Two community watchdogs toured Lower Curtis Park last week after hearing from a resident who lives near the sports fields off Olympiad. The resident had observed grading of the mountains of dirt dumped in the lower park. A year ago, City Manager Dennis Wilberg said trucks were unloading from the Crown Valley widening project, but very little was happening along Crown Valley. Wilberg said the dirt would later be used for other projects when needed, but the dirt has instead been spread out and pushed eastward. Note that Lower Curtis is a park, not a dump. For years, unidentified contractors have brought truckloads of dirt and debris to the area with the city’s quiet blessing. At one point, watchdogs discovered the project was a make-work activity for idle contractors, and one city contractor received $200,000 for rearranging the dirt.

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To view another example of what Wilberg says, check out Brad Morton’s blog, http://missionviejodispatch.com Wilberg attempts to distort facts when denying the blog’s revelations about city policy and temporary employees. The city manager apparently didn’t realize he was entering a No Spin Zone by posting on the blog.

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Residents who’d like to view Wilberg’s dirt-rearranging project in Lower Curtis should also walk by the storage bins located near the dumpsite. The bins formerly contained fossils, which were moved to Saddleback College. A landscape contractor has taken over the bins and created a fenced area for his equipment – an illegitimate use of park space. The bins have become the city’s newest “art gallery” with graffiti that rivals the Crown Valley pillar graphics in both artistic quality and tasteful subject matter.

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Constituents of the Capistrano school district can expect the tug-of-war to continue between the current board of trustees and a group of parents who supported the former board, which was largely hand-picked by then-Supt. James Fleming. The Oct. 4 OC Register carried a story about a potential change with voters electing a trustee for their area instead of voting on all seven trustees. A Mission Viejo resident commented about the old-regime supporters who are pushing for the change: “I see an increase in class size and the demise of Mission Viejo schools, and a pool and football stadium for SJHHS [in San Juan Capistrano] in our future. Until three years ago, MV did not have even one trustee from our city on the board. Our tax dollars will again be spent by those who do not have any interest in our children (this is how we got SJHHS, Arroyo Vista and the district office, all funded with MV tax dollars while our students ate lunch sitting on the locker-room and shower floor at Newhart, and Capo High ended up on the front page of an OC Register series). Talk about taxation without representation!”

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The city manager’s Oct. 2 insider report, “The Week That Was,” had only two topics. One was an announcement from Caltrans that a segment of the northbound onramp to the I-5 will be closed from Oct. 13 until Nov. 3. The second announcement was a state grant bestowing $15,000 to the city library and a three-day training session for two librarians. This blog is pleased to convey this summary of important activity directly from the city manager about the city’s 150-plus employees and their accomplishments for the week of Sept. 28 to Oct. 2.