Mission Viejo Buzz - 11/14/09

The Buzz

Support Fun With Chalk Festivals and the Creative Arts Productions Foundation by enjoying a meal at California Pizza Kitchen on Thurs., Nov. 19, from 11:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Print the coupon by following (this link), and present it to the server when ordering at the restaurant on Thursday. California Pizza Kitchen will donate 20 percent of the tab to Fun With Chalk Festivals and the Creative Arts Productions Foundation. The restaurant is located at 25513 Marguerite Pkwy in Mission Viejo.

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Does anyone remember when Councilman Lance MacLean insisted the city must have an electronic sign at La Paz and Marguerite? As a key reason for tearing down the manual board, the new sign allegedly would be invaluable in flashing emergency messages to residents. Council Members MacLean, Ury and Kelley (M-U-K) approved the $120,000 electric sign on April 16, 2007, with MacLean leading the way. When north Mission Viejo began experiencing what smelled like a gas leak two weeks ago, City Hall could have keyed in a timely message. Instead, the board continued to flash the city staff’s dead tree symbol and “Follow us on Twitter.”

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Will city staff members have time to take their own photographs for the “residents’ thankfulness display” on Crown Valley pillars before the thankfulness season runs out? Some staff members began showing desperation after postponing deadlines for residents to send in photos. The community doesn’t need a taxpayer-funded public awareness program to announce seasons. Christmas trees were already popping up between Halloween costumes at Target in October.

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What will city officials do next to inflate Councilman MacLean’s anti-recall campaign? The dog park hoax didn’t fly for much longer than the Balloon Boy. Councilwoman Kelley is bringing back the dog park during the Nov. 16 council meeting to rescind her vote for the Oso Viejo Park site. She’s proposing that funds budgeted for the make-believe dog park in Oso Viejo Park should be preserved for a make-believe dog park elsewhere.

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A dog park in Lower Curtis Park has been already been suggested several times by dog park advocates and rejected each time by city staff. In 2003, Mission Viejo activist Bo Klein was scouting Lower Curtis for a dog park when he discovered Dennis Wilberg’s stealth $200,000 grading project. Community watchdogs shined a light on the make-work project, and the city shut it down.

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In 2004, the Planning Commission reviewed a proposal from a businessman for RV storage in Lower Curtis. The city rejected the concept, even to lease out the space for a five-year contract. The RV facility proposal included building a $1M access road to the 9-acre parcel at no cost to taxpayers. All proposals for any practical use of Lower Curtis have been rejected. Various city staff members have publicly lamented the lack of a road, saying the parcel’s inaccessibility prevents its use as a dog park (or whatever use is mentioned). Such remarks should be viewed within the context that the city could have had a road to the parcel, but city staff seems to have its own plans for Lower Curtis.

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MacLean has only five council meetings before he will likely be removed in the Feb. 2 recall election. City administrators don’t have much time left to push their agenda while they still have three MUK votes lined up.

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Check out MacLean’s newest misstep, described in an incisive post on Brad Morton’s blog, http://missionviejodispatch.com/?p=12366 On the Nov. 16 council agenda, MacLean is attempting to push business registration in Mission Viejo. Superficially, he’s concerned about medical marijuana dispensaries. When he asked during a September council meeting about requiring businesses to register, City Attorney Bill Curley complimented MacLean in what was likely a scripted dialogue. Curley said, “You may be onto a goldmine.” The words imply revenue generation, taxes and/or fees, not protecting the community from marijuana outlets.

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MacLean’s Nov. 16 council agenda item states that the council directed staff to gather information on implementing a business registration program. Brad Morton points out on MissionViejoDispatch.com that the statement is false. Only MacLean pushed the idea, without a vote or discussion by the council. A reader commenting on Morton’s blog states MacLean’s pushing for business registration adds to reasons for recalling him.