Laguna Hills Watch Dog
Laguna Hills City Council Meeting - February 28, 2012

Features Directory

*Special Announcements - You can see and hear City Council Meetings on the City's Web Site, CONTACT LAGUNA HILLS CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS at - ccouncil@ci.laguna-hills.ca.us

**Citizen Alerts for future City Council Meetings will be listed on this blog site within 4 days prior to a meeting - Consider attending a meeting that interests you.

** Presentations and Proclamations - MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) 2011 Annual DEUCE AWARD presented to Laguna Hills Deputy Scott Watson** Public Comments - Mr. and Mrs Frey updated the issue of Toxic plants near Valencia Elem. School and possible air quality problems at the Valencia School Playground and the Community Center Sports Field and asked if any progress had been made.
** LHHS Student Liaison Report by Adam Wong - Updates on LHHS Accreditation, Sports and the Arts plus Win-Win-Wednesday. ** Consent Calendar - Warrant Register - $1,139,688.19** Items Pulled from the Warrant Register - none
** Items of interest in the Consent Calendar -  Authorization of $2,500 for 2012 "Every 15 Minutes"  for prevention of Drunk Driving at LHHS ** Items pulled from the Consent Calendar for discussion - none
** City Council Public Hearings - Administrative Reports -  Cox Communications opted to switch from their local Laguna Hills Video Franchise to a State of CA. Video Franchise - How will this affect Franchise Fees paid to the City and the City's Responsibility to Monitor and enforce Customer Service Standards?
** Matters Agendized and Presented by Council Members - none
** City Council Member Comments - Questions re.the Merger of the Santa Ana Fire Dept. with the Orange County Fire Authority;  Questions and Answers regarding Recent Reports of the County asking for preliminary funding sometime this Fall for proposed new Orange County Animal Shelter that, to date, has no definite plans or land;  Report on last SCAG Meeting, Thank you to Council Member Kogerman for representing the City at the High School during the Academy Awards.
** Closed Session - Conference with legal counsel re. Existing Litigation. Conference with Real Property Negotiators re. sale of City Property at the corner of Moulton Pkwy. and La Paz Rd.
* City Council Members Report Card - How did they score?
* Information, Comments, Questions, Concerns from LH Watch Dog Readers from the previous post including Win-Win-Wednesday - download restaurant flyers from LHHS web site for now + Comments on many subjects - Wide Spread Problem for residents with Cox Cable appears to be solved thanks to complaints to LH Watch Dog and Action from Council Member Kogerman.  * How to support our 3/5 Adopted Marines and Updates -
* News Stories and Blogs about Laguna Hills - find more in the OC Register online under "City-by-City News" - "Laguna Hills".  Updates on the Orange County Animal Shelter's Current overall kill rate of 53% and 74% for cats. This is the contract animal shelter for Laguna Hills.
* City Council Members Say the Darndest Things in Public
* Crime in your Neighborhood
* Instructions for Writing a letter to the Editor of the OC Register Newspaper

2012 Candidates for City Council - It is an election year again for 2 of Laguna Hills City Council Members - Allan Songstad and Joel Lautenschleter. If you are interested in running for either of these council seats go to the City Web Site at http://www.ci.laguna-hills.ca.us/ and click on "Interested in Running for City Council in 2012" on the Face Page for details.

Laguna Hills City Council Meeting - February 28, 2012
All council members were present
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Continue to see information for Win-Win -Wednesdays under - INFORMATION, COMMENTS QUESTIONS and CONCERNS from Watch Dog Readers, Contact Laguna Hills City Council Members at - ccouncil@ci.laguna-hills.ca.us

PRESENTATIONS and PROCLAMATIONS - MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) 2011 Annual DEUCE AWARD.  Renee Oaks from MADD presented the award to Deputy Scott Watson reminding everyone that Drunk Driving is not a victimless crime. She shared that when she was 13 years old both of her parents were killed in an auto accident by a drunk driver.  She and her brother were in the car with her parents but unharmed. Orange County Chapter of Mother's Against Drunk Driving recognized Deputy Scott Watson for his identification and apprehension of impaired drivers in Laguna Hills with 39 DUI Arrests in 2011. 

Deputy Watson has been assigned to Laguna Hills for 5 years and during that time he has consistently led Laguna Hills Patrol Deputies in DUI arrests.  He was commended for making the streets safer for citizens. Laguna Hills Police Chief, Lt. Tom Behrens spoke and mentioned that this is the 3rd time Deputy Watson has received this award.  He also noted that Deputy Watson had expressed that he was a little embarrassed that his numbers weren't as high this year as they were in the last 2 years. Lt. Behrens explained that the lower numbers this year were because Deputy Watson had done such a good job previously that he was taken out of patrol car and put him on a motorcycle working days instead of nights so he no longer has the opportunity to stop as many drunk drivers during the day.  Lt. Behrens added Deputy Watson, is a fine Deputy, a hard worker, he really cares and it's an honor and privilege to have him working with us in Laguna Hills. There was a lot of applause as Deputy Watson looked a bit uncomfortable with all the adulation, but smiled appreciatively.

PUBLIC COMMENTS - William and Rebecca Frey - had spoken on February 14, 2012 and requested help from the City Council at that time regarding 3 issues:
1. Highly toxic Oleander bushes planted along the sidewalk where children walk and pick the pretty but toxic flowers on their way to Valencia Elementary School. 
2. Valencia School Playground that borders La Paz Rd. which is a very busy street blowing auto exhaust fumes onto the playground.
3. Sports Field at the Laguna Hills Community Center that borders another very busy street - Alicia Pkwy. where auto exhaust fumes are also blown onto the field.

The Freys thanked the Council for listening, noted that Council Member Kogerman had assisted them and said Ken Rosenfield, the Laguna Hills Director of Public Services did call them about the Oleander problem and said he had spoken with the Vista Firenze HOA about removing the Oleander that is around the perimeter of the school.  Mr. Frey asked if there was any additional information related to a timeline, for that, etc. (Ken Rosenfield was absent from this council meeting so unable to supply information.)  Mayor Carruth stated, "Why don't the two of you make your entire presentation, then we will try to answer some of your questions."  Mr. Frey noted the issue of the playground at the school and offered to help in any way they could. He noted how effective trees are at absorbing CO2 from cars and that protection is needed around the school and the sports field at the Community Center.

Mrs. Frey noted that when Valencia was built, La Paz Rd. was probably not nearly as busy as it is now.  She said she was especially concerned for children with allergies and asthma.  (Editor's Note - according to the school's office staff, Valencia Elem. School was built in 1969)  Mrs. Frey added that the Community Center is beautiful, she would just like to see more trees and bushes to protect the children on the sports field. The Freys thanked the Council again and offered their assistance.  Mayor Carruth responded, "Thank you both very much for being here this evening, as you know the property owner's have been contacted."  Mrs. Frey asked about progress so far and Mayor Carruth  responded, "We're working on it."  "The staff has been very responsive so thank you very much for being here."

LHHS STUDENT LIAISON REPORT by Adam Wong - Welcome to Adam, this was his first report.  Adam said LHHS is currently undergoing accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.  In the past the school has won the highest accreditation for 6 years and intends to do as well this year. The 1st semester honor roll was released for 2012 and almost 700 students (almost half the student body) qualified with a 3.5 or higher GPA.  This Thursday is the I Can Make a Difference Conference where over 100 students, chosen by the faculty of LHHS, meet to discuss problems of the world and to train to become the leaders of tomorrow. 

In Sports, Girls Basketball team is in the CIF finals (CIF Girls Division 3AA playing against Bishop Alemany High) this Wed. at 6:30 pm at the Anaheim Convention Center. This is their first time at the finals since 2007, they have qualified for the State Playoffs and if they win tomorrow, there will be a home game the following Wed. where they will have a chance to advance further in the League. LHHS has had a habit of winning wrestling tournaments and Wrestling has won their 8 consecutive CIF title, 12th overall.  They are on to State Playoffs Wednesday. Adam noted he believes that one of the wrestlers has won the 3rd best wrestler in the State of CA.

In the Arts - LHHS is putting on a play entitled A Child Shall Lead, directed by a Senior Student. This will be from Thurs. March 1 to Sat. March 3. This is a true story about children from Terezin, a Jewish Concentration Camp who played, studied, created poetry and art and wrote an underground newspaper under the peril of being executed.  Some of the work of the actual children who were in the camp is included in this play. Tickets are $8 with an ASB card and $10 without.  Sunday, March 11 is a Rock and Roll Concert from 5:00 to 8:00 pm put on by Laguna Hills Musicians.  Win Win Wednesday is tomorrow at TOGOs next to the Laguna Hills Mall and next Wed. at Pick Up Sticks on Oso Pkwy.

MINUTES - City Council Approves the Minutes of the previous City Council Meeting for publication on the city web site. The minutes from tonight's meeting will not be approved for publication until the next city council meeting so there is always a significant delay for the public related to timely documentation of information from the city.

CONSENT CALENDAR - Warrant Register = $1,139,688.19
Items of interest from the Warrant Register - None

Items of interest from the Consent Calendar -
4.3 - Resolution authorizing Community Assistance $2,500 in funding for the 2012 Laguna Hills High School PTSA EVERY 15 MINUTES program for 2012.
4.4 - Progress Payment of $112,111.38 for Avenida de la Carlota Widening Project
4.5 - Progress Payment of $225,028.65 for La Paz widening at I-5 Project.
4.6 - Claim against the City, for an estimated amount of $52,899.54 by AFNI Insurance Services - Staff on behalf of a resident due to a tree from McKezie park that fell on the resident's property in 2010. Recommendation - Reject the claim and send a rejection letter.
Vote - the Consent Calendar was Passed 5 - 0 with no items pulled for discussion.

PLANNING AGENCY PUBLIC HEARINGS - None

CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARINGS -
Administrative Reports - Assistant City Manager 7.2.1 - Cox Communications opted to switch from their local Laguna Hills Video Franchise to a State of CA. Video Franchise - How will this affect Franchise Fees paid to the City and the City's Responsibility to Monitor and enforce Customer Service Standards?

The City Council Agenda title for this item is - Introduction of Ordinance implementing the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2001, Replacing the Cable Television Franchise Regulations -

This item was presented by Melissa Au-Yeung, Senior Management Analyst, who said that AT&T operates under the State of CA. Franchise as well. The Staff Report for this issue is lengthy and can be read online, but basically it reports that Cox Communication has announced that they have opted to switch to the State of CA. Cable Franchise rather than continuing with the local City of Laguna Hills Franchise.  However, it appears that under the new State Franchise (DIVCA - Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006) the City will retain the same powers and responsibility to monitor and enforce the State and Federal Customer Service Standards (to Safeguard the Public Interest) that it had previously and the City will continue to collect the same 5% franchise fee annually plus the City has the option of collecting an additional 1% PEG (Public, Educational and Govmt. Access, Facilities and Equipment fee) until Nov. of 2023 when the current contract between the City and Cox Communications expires. Providers like Cox must also make available to the City at least 3 of these PEG channels.

The only change noted was under Section 53088.2 of the Government Code - Staff Report states the City may no longer establish or enforce their own standards for Customer Service.  Additionally the Staff Report states that Franchise fees collected by the City can be used by the local entity for any lawful purpose and all these fees are pass through from the subscribers.
From City of Laguna Hills online Biennial Budget - FRANCHISE FEES (p. II-17)  Franchise Fees are imposed by the City on gas, electric, and cable television for the privilege of using public rights-of-ways. Each of these utility companies is assessed between 1 and 5 percent of gross receipts. Amounts received and expected for the future from Cable TV were reported in the FY 2100/12 - 2012/13 Total Budget to be - Utility Franchise Fees - Cable TV - Actual FY 09/10 = $481,669; Amended Budget FY 10/11 = $492,656; Year End Estimate - FY 10/11 $520,000; FY 11/12 = $530,400; FY 12/13 = $542,069

Click on http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=gov&group=53001-54000&file=53054-53056  to see Customer Service Standards for CA. State Government TV and Video referred to in the online staff report, and click on ftp://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/05-06/bill/asm/ab_1101-1150/ab_1104_bill_20050930_chaptered.pdf  for additional Government Service Standards for TV and Video Customers also referred to in the staff report.
Vote - The new ordinance implementing the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2001, Replacing the Cable Television Franchise Regulations - Passed 5 - 0

** Editor's Note -  Some good news for Cox Subscribers is that we checked the onscreen Cox Communications TV Guide that is used by subscribers to find and to record programs and it finally appears to be fixed!  We will continue to check this system in the future to be sure this problem has been solved.  This was a problem that persisted for many months, not hours or days and significantly interfered with subscribers use of the "record" feature and the "accurate listing of programs"  system for which they were paying.  Since this issue was addressed by Laguna Hills Watch Dog Readers in the COMMENTS Section of the Jan 24th and Feb. 14th blog postings, Council Member Barbara Kogerman addressed these issues directly with City Staff, and they have actually been fixed for Citizens.  Thank you to Council Member Kogerman from many LH Watch Dog Readers and other Laguna Hils Cox Subscribers who also had this problem.  Council Member Kogerman asked Melissa Au-Yeung, Senior Management Analyst, how many complaints the City has received about Cox and Melissa responded that there had only been one complaint in 10 years. The City is paid to be the protector of the public interest for customer service standards so be sure to let the City know if there is a problem with Cox Services that you are unable to resolve with Cox.

MATTERS AGENDIZED and PRESENTED by CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS **These Items are authored by Council Members. The council member who authors an item also does the research for that item - None

CITY COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS - 

Merger of Santa Ana Fire Dept. with OC Fire Authority. 

Council Member Bressette introduced Battalion Chief Chris Concepcion from the Orange County Fire Authority to assist in bringing the Council up to date regarding the merger of the Santa Ana Fire Dept. with the Orange County Fire Authority.  Bressette said the Santa Ana City Council voted on Feb. 21, 2012 to outsource their fire fighting services to the OC Fire Authority after 128 years of having it in house. The City of Santa Ana reported saved about $10 to $12 million.  All 10 of Santa Ana's fire stations will remain open and become the property of the OC Fire Authority. 192 fire fighters and 12 non sworn personnel were all absorbed by the OC Fire Authority. OC Fire Authority takes over servicing Santa Ana on April 20, 2012.

There have been questions related to any advantages to existing member cities related to this move by the City of Santa Ana and the OC Fire Authority. Bressette said he believes this is mutually beneficial because it provides additional opportunity to streamline our overhead, decreases our expenses and increases the effectiveness of our entire regional protection system.  Gives OC Fire Authority direct control of additional emergency response assets from the center of OC that can be moved throughout the region to maintain short response times. Santa Ana's firefighters bring a high level of expertise, experience and professionalism to the Fire Authority, and improve expertise in specialty areas such as Arson Investigation, Planning Review and High Rise Inspection.  Another advantage is the high number of bilingual fire fighters especially in Spanish and Korean, they bring. They will stay in Santa Ana but will be available for emergency situations.  Battalion Chief Chris Concepcion added this merger also increases the safety of the responders in that it helps standardize the operating procedure.

Council Member Kogerman said she heard some of the board members express concerns about how Santa Ana would be held accountable if they can't pay their bills, etc.   Bressette responded, it's his opinion that the City Council of Santa Ana knows and understands their responsibilities. This merger is a great opportunity for them to improve their budget and maintain and improve their fire fighting capabilities for their residents. He said the Santa Ana firefighters merged into the Fire Authority at their own level of seniority and if Santa Ana did default and the merger didn't last our fire fighters might be in some jeopardy for their jobs but all the unions have agreed to the deal.  He said he can't image that Santa would default but we do have some contingencies for that. Council Member Songstad asked what contingencies do we have and how is Santa Ana, as a contract City, going to effect the Equity issue with member cities? 

Battalion Chief Chris Concepcion clarified that Santa Ana is going to be a contract city with the OCFA.  He said there are 7 contract cities in the OCFA now that pay for their services 3 months in arrears.  Santa Ana will be paying a month in advance and will have a maturity bond of an additional month. The equity issue was brought up at the last OCFA Board Meeting and staff was directed to report on it at the next board meeting in March. Bressette interjected that the equity issue report was from a many years old report and will be updated at the request of the City of Irvine and part of that update will address whether a City can reduce it's amount of service to save money.  In Sept. Santa Ana needs to have a bond equal to the amount of 2 months payment or an equivalent amount of money in the bank guaranteed for OCFA. Bressette noted that this is thin and sketchy but we need to have some confidence in the City of Santa Ana.

Questions and Answers re. Reports of County asking for preliminary funding for the proposed new Orange County Animal Shelter.

Council Member Kogerman stated she asked questions of staff and was directed to bring her concerns to the City Council about recent reports of the County asking for preliminary funding sometime this Fall for the proposed new Orange County Animal Shelter. She said that we need to be sure that many issues are resolved before we start paying money. Some of those issues are: Governance not giving the County uncontrolled authority for decisions related to standard of performance, care of the animals, issues of costs and uncertainty related to paying for a project with uncertain plans, and uncertain dates, etc.

Questions are: Is there a timeline from the County for funding? When is preliminary funding expected? What is the estimate for the total cost? What will the annual fees be? City payments documents show that the City paid about $68,000 or about 1.2% of the County's $5.7 million cost. If the new shelter costs $25 million, 1.25% would be $300,000 a year. In 2008 Assist City Manager Don White said a new county shelter would cost Laguna Hills about $450,000. Where will the funds come from? Where is the money budgeted, not in the 6 year Capital improvement Projects, nor in the Public Safety budget (where Animal Shelter is normally budgeted) in the General Fund? Will we have performance guarantees? If we start funding a new shelter will we be tied to it forever or will our financial obligation be on a year to year basis to enable us to opt out for a better opportunity? Once a shelter is built will our fees increase?  Do we have any leverage to demand significantly improved services? Will there be any change in philosophy including change in the high kill rate? A Grand Jury report said animals were euthanized for space despite laws forbidding that. Recent shelter updates in the News show an overall euthanasia rate of 53% and 74% for cats. (see below under News Stories about Laguna Hills). Will the old shelter be preserved as back up?

Kogerman suggested that the City must be Proactive in our demands related to seeing a site that is free and clear and owned by the County and the completed plans for the shelter, an opt out agreement, a refund for failure to perform and guarantees for standards of care and service, for neuter and spay programs, for Trap, Neuter and Release for Cats, etc. Failure to obtain guarantees would be a breach of our fiduciary responsibility to our taxpayers. We can't pay based upon vague concepts and dates, no alternatives, etc.

She noted that Assistant City Manager Don White reported on March 11, 2008 that we rejected an opportunity to join the Mission Viejo Animal Shelter in 2005 because of increased expenses and "unknown and serious contractual problems that exposed the City's budget to unknown and uncontrollable cost increases and expenditures."  Then Allan Songstad, as Mayor, wrote a letter in 2008, after 500 Laguna Hills Citizens had submitted an informal petition urging the City to negotiate with Mission Viejo, stating that Mission Viejo's final offer would cost Laguna Hills $1 million in additional costs over the first 5 years of the contract, he wrote that the worst problem was that the proposed contract gave Mission Viejo uncontrolled authority to increase costs of services and pass them along to Laguna Hills.  He wrote that this was a threat to the General Fund and a breach of fiduciary responsibility to residents of Laguna Hills.  It turned out to be a sort of catastrophic worst case exposure scenario, not an actual costs, and neither Laguna Niguel not Aliso Viejo have experience any increases like that. (Laguna Niguel and Aliso Viejo both share the Mission Viejo Animal Shelter).  Despite the lack of Governance or abrogation of authority perceived by the Council at that time, do we as a council propose to move into an extensive relationship with the County without answers to the questions raised here? She concluded with a request for support from the council to get a report and answers to these questions.

City Manager Channing opted for some "short answers" from Assistant City Manager Don White from information that is available at this time. He stated that, "Most of those questions are probably unanswerable."  Don White stated, there are no plans for funding in this calendar year for expenses to build the new animal shelter. He also said that the old shelter will be closed when the new one is constructed. Once the Navy makes a decision on the land, the construction plans can be drawn. The estimate for the new shelter is between $25 and $30 million.  Regarding where that estimated expense is located in the budget he said, he thinks they had identified it in 2014-15 that the annual operating expense would go up about $25,000 a year over 10 to 12 years to pay for our part. If you take a look at our percentage of our use of the shelter, not field services, our part would be about 1% or $250,000.  The $250,000 would be a one time expense. County is looking a financing this but no details have been worked out.  He continued that our operating expenses are going down now due to the canvassing operation and increased licensing and he doesn't expect them to go up with the new shelter. There will be a discussion this year with the other contract cities related to developing a Memorandum of Understanding regarding a commitment and most of these questions will come up then but there is no additional information at this time. He said he doesn't think there will be any funding commitments at least for a few years.

Council Member Kogerman asked again for verification that there is no chance that we will be asked for funding for the County Shelter this year and Don White responded, "No, that is not in the cards at all. The County has a lot of money in the bank right now that they can use for all the start up costs." He also said the answers to Council Member Kogerman's questions will happen at the appropriate time.

Mayor Pro-Tem Lautenschleger - Reported that he attended the last SCAG (Southern CA. Assoc. of Governments)  Meeting in Los Angeles. Talked about the Regional Transportation Plan. SCAG was accused of being too strident and intrusive related to the cities with some of their comments so they are trying to correct that through revision of some of their statements. Parameters of Clean Air Standards were discussed.

Mayor Carruth thanked Council Member Kogerman for attending and representing the City at the WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) meeting at Laguna Hills High School on Sunday Feb. 26 at 4:30 during the Academy Awards Presentation.

CLOSED SESSION – Conference with legal counsel re. Existing Litigation.  Conference with Real Property Negotiators re. the sale of City Property at the corner of Moulton Pkwy. and La Paz Rd.

The Next regular City Council Meeting is Tuesday, March 13, 7 pm, at City Hall. Contact Laguna Hills City Council Members at ccouncil@ci.laguna-hills.ca.us
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CITY COUNCIL and CITY MANAGER REPORT CARD - Categories - (T) Transparency for Citizens, (A) Accountability to Citizens, (CI) Championing Citizen Related Issue, (AG) Achieving Citizen Related Goal Grades - (P) Pass, (A) for Authoring a Citizen Friendly Item, (F) Fail, (A+) Extra Credit. City Manager will be scored related to online and agendized Staff Reports and Requests.

Bressette - P - voted for Consent Calendar Item 4.3 - Resolution authorizing Community Assistance $2,500 in funding for the 2012 Laguna Hills High School PTSA EVERY 15 MINUTES program for 2012 to assist in preventing Drunk Driving. 

Carruth - P - voted for Consent Calendar Item 4.3 - Resolution authorizing Community Assistance $2,500 in funding for the 2012 Laguna Hills High School PTSA EVERY 15 MINUTES program for 2012 to assist in preventing Drunk Driving.  

Kogerman - P - voted for Consent Calendar Item 4.3 - Resolution authorizing Community Assistance $2,500 in funding for the 2012 Laguna Hills High School PTSA EVERY 15 MINUTES program for 2012 to assist in preventing Drunk Driving.  A - took the wide-spread problem for residents with Cox Cable to the City for action and the problem is now corrected.

Lautenschleger - P - voted for Consent Calendar Item 4.3 - Resolution authorizing Community Assistance $2,500 in funding for the 2012 Laguna Hills High School PTSA EVERY 15 MINUTES program for 2012 to assist in preventing Drunk Driving. 

Songstad - P - voted for Consent Calendar Item 4.3 - Resolution authorizing Community Assistance $2,500 in funding for the 2012 Laguna Hills High School PTSA EVERY 15 MINUTES program for 2012 to assist in preventing Drunk Driving. 

City Manager - Nothing


INFORMATION, COMMENTS QUESTIONS and CONCERNS from Watch Dog Readers:

Anonymous said...
Hey Watch Dog, the wind direction blowing from the East to the West you detected at the Community Center is due to Santa Ana Winds which are very common in CA.
See http://www.atmos.ucla.edu/~fovell/ASother/mm5/SantaAna/winds.html   The Santa Ana Winds - Named after Southern California's Santa Ana Canyon and a fixture of local legend and literature, the Santa Ana is a blustery, dry and warm (often hot) wind that blows out of the desert. The Santa Anas develop when the desert is relatively cold, and are thus most common during the cool season stretching from October through March. If Lautenschleger has been on that Soccer Field regularly over the past 8 years, he has experienced Santa Ana Wind conditions many times so who knows why he is saying the wind always blows the other way?

Anonymous said...
Please see the links below regarding the dangers of the Oleander bushes. Thank you for your time on this.http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/poison/oleander/news-and-features.html  http://oleander.org/toxic.html
http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/top-5-poisonous-plants10.html
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/lawn_garden/poison/poison.html
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002884.html  http://library.thinkquest.org/C007974/1_1ole.html
http://www.ehow.com/info_7753722_toxic-oleander-humans.html  

Anonymous said...
The Santa Ana Winds blow from the East to the West frequently in California and everyone in CA. and everyone who lives here should know that including Councilmember Lautenschleger. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Ana_winds  - this high altitude air mass spills out of the Great Basin and is propelled gravitationally towards the southern California coastline, generally as a northeasterly wind.

Anonymous said...
The grandparents who were concerned with exhaust fumes on the Community Center sports field should have been referred to the Parks and Recreation Commission for Laguna Hills. This Commission meets Bimonthly the First Wednesday of February, April, June, August, October, December at 7:00pm. at Laguna Hills City Hall Council Chamber, 24035 El Toro Rd. This kind of concern is what the Parks and Recreation Commission is for. They are concerned citizens and will do the fact finding.

Anonymous said...
Oleander should never be planted in any public areas, along horse trails or in any area where it could extend into the yards of neighboring homes. It is deadly to humans, horses and other animals. There are so many other plant choices that this one should not even be considered. Cities and HOAs need to made aware of this and should be warning their citizens about it.

Anonymous said...
The bridge in Laguna Hills that allows citizens to cross over Aliso Creek adjacent to the freeway has been washed out for some time. Citizens may not be aware that the creek area is maintained by the county.
Pictured is equipment moving (very slowly) down the bike path to be used to remove the debris from the washed out bridge. In talking to one of the workers, they related that a private company has been contracted to do this initial work. I warned them to be very careful because the side of the hill that the equipment is moving along has eroded away. Several years ago the county rerouted the creek from the center of the canyon and sent it towards the embankment on the bike path. So over the years since, the hill is literally losing ground.

Anonymous said...
"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors." Plato

WIN WIN Wednesdays!! is an ongoing series of restaurant fundraisers, a project of the Laguna Hills High School PTSA. Students, their families and members of the general community dine out for a great meals, and in return the restaurants donate a percentage of their proceeds to the LHHS PTSA. It's good for us AND it's good for local restaurants, hence the concept of WIN-WIN.

Year long fundraising projects like Win-Win Wednesdays allow the PTSA to fund many worthwhile programs such as "Every 15 Minutes" (a vividly realistic drunk driving prevention presentation), the Award Winning "I Can Make a Difference" program and the Safe and Sober all night "Grad Night" party that Keeps our kids not only safe but in Laguna Hills and on campus continuing a 23 year tradition that makes us HAWK Proud! **
For Weekly Flyers & Schedule: www.WinWinWednesdays.com

** Bring the WWW!! flyer to these participating restaurants on these dates and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the LHHS PTSA March 7 - Pick Up Stix - Laguna Niguel-Alicia Parkway @ Pacific Park -11 am to 9 pm
March 14 - Don Jose's - Laguna Hills - 11 am to 9 pm
March 21 - Ted's Place - Laguna Niguel - 6 am to 9 pm
March 28 - Villa Roma - Laguna Hills - 11 am to 9 pm
April 4 - CA. Pizza Kitchen - Laguna Hills Mall 11 am to 9 pm

** Be sure to "LIKE"  Win-Win-Wednesday on Facebook to help spread the word and Don't forget our "WWW Everyday" Partners like Its a Grind Coffee House, Alpha Cleaners and Golden Baked Hams. Bring the flyers for these everyday partners and Support the businesses that support us!

HOW TO SUPPORT THE 3rd BATTALION, 5th MARINE DIVISION - Adopted by the City of Laguna Hills - Donation checks can be made specifically to "Laguna Hills Team Dark Horse" and mailed to - Team Dark Horse, 27251 Lost Colt Dr., Laguna Hills, CA. 92653. The Non-profit Corporation 501 (C) (3) status has been approved so all donations are tax deductible. E-mail Mike Bland at 35bland@gmail.com with questions, suggestions, etc. The city's e-mail for the 3/5 is 3/5-support@ci.laguna-hills.ca.us City Clerk Peggy Johns is the City Liaison to the 3/5 Support Committee. Go to the City web site by clicking on this link - http://www.ci.laguna-hills.ca.us/

Please see the Laguna Hills 3/5 Adopted Marines Facebook page by clicking on this link - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Laguna-Hills-Team-Darkhorse/132765660119128 and share it with your friends!!
** Don't miss the very compelling Stories from Jane Wayne Day - Local Citizens Living as Marines for a day at Camp Pendleton, by Karen Robbins at http://www.benzinga.com/users/karenrobbins

NEWS STORIES AND BLOGS ABOUT LAGUNA HILLS: Click on the links below to see the stories.

New Reports including 2011 Statistics for the 70 year old Orange County Animal Shelter that Laguna Hills still uses for it's citizens
Fewer Animals Killed at OC animal shelter in 2011http://www.ocregister.com/articles/fewer-338291-killed-shelter.html?pic=1

Total euthanasia rate of 53%. Fewer were killed in 2011 because fewer were impounded at the County Animal Shelter in 2011. January 31, 2012 Teri Sfzora
Three out of four cats still don't leave shelter alivehttp://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2012/02/16/three-out-of-four-cats-still-dont-leave-shelter-alive/148403/ Teri Sforza OC Watchdog

Kill Rate for Cats at the OC Animal Shelter in 2011 was 74% and only 17% adopted, down from 19% in 2010
Euthanasia Rate Stuck at Nearly 50% at O.C. Animal Carehttp://ranchosantamargarita.patch.com/articles/shelter-euthanizes-fewer-animals-in-2011 County Shelter finally admits killing animal for space in this story.

Fred Smoller,The Brandman University Professor of Public Administration, "who offended the power elite" when his Master's Degree students won awards assisting Council Member Kogerman to research the total compensation of City Managers in Orange County has just resigned from his post. Why did this happen? - Click on http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/10/12/professor-who-offended-power-elite-resigns-post/109833/

LAGUNA HILLS CITY WORKERS: 12 PERCENT UNDERPAID?http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/09/01/laguna-hills-city-workers-12-percent-underpaid/95765/

Which city council makes the most money? http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/07/11/which-city-council-makes-the-most-money/88311/#comment-169311

LA Times: Laguna Hills City Manager Salary http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-oc-salaries-20110621,0,1126677.story

In O.C., city pay can be steep, but it’s not ‘abusive’ June 20th, 2011 http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/06/20/in-o-c-city-pay-can-be-excessive-but-its-not-abusive/85631/#comment-165059

June 9, 2011 ORANGE COUNTY GRAND JURY REPORT - Compensation Study of Orange County Cities http://www.ocgrandjury.org/pdfs/comp-study-oc-cities/Compensation-Study-of-Orange-County-Cities.pdf

City manager says compensation is fair http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-303264-channing-compensation.html

Political rebel faces an uphill battle http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-303262-kogerman-channing.html

Councilwoman: Public pay report inaccurate, self serving http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-299908-report-council.html

OC Watchdog Lavish health benefits slashed in Laguna Hills, Tustin http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/05/12/lavish-health-benefits-slashed-in-laguna-hills-tustin/82833/

After attacks, city-manager-compensation sleuths win state award March 21st, 2011, posted by Teri Sforza, Register staff writerhttp://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/03/21/after-attacks-city-manager-compensation-sleuths-win-state-award/78545/#comment-139633
Click on http://www.publicceo.com/ for more of this story.

No more $60,000 SUVs for city manager? http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/02/09/no-more-60000-suvs-for-city-manager/75030/

Gold-plated benefits? New councilwoman just says ‘no’ http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/01/18/gold-plated-benefits-new-councilwoman-just-says-no/72532/

OCREGISTER: Laguna Hills councilwoman says no to health benefits http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-282972-benefits-council.html

O.C. cities lavished health benefits on council members http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2010/12/06/oc-cities-lavished-health-benefits-on-council-members/69544/

Who has the best-paid city council in California? (updated) http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2010/12/02/who-has-the-best-paid-city-council-incalifornia/69418/ In Laguna Hills the Taxpayers pay the entire cost of heath care premiums for the elected part time city council members and their families. In addition, the City Manager's contract states "To the extent that payment of all or any portion of the dependent rate of premium, is not approved by the city council for all city employees, Channing shall be entitled to a salary increase or cash payment sufficient to cover the amount of premium or rate for dependent coverage not provided by the City plus applicable income taxes on that amount."

OCREGISTER: Chris Norby: Local officials susceptible to 'Bell syndrome http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/elected-276253-city-syndrome.html "Bell syndrome thrives where elected boards vote in lockstep, where groupthink is elevated, and skeptics are ostracized, and where top staff are seen as irreplaceable experts – with rubber-stamped salaries to prove it. Bell syndrome thrives when self-congratulation trumps self-examination."

CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS SAY the DARNDEST THINGS IN PUBLIC! - Memorable and surprising Public Quotes from City Council Members

February 14, 2012 - Mayor Pro-Tem Joel Lautenschleger said, about concerns from grandparents regarding exhaust fumes from Alicia Pkwy. blowing onto the sports field at the Community Center - "The prevailing wind is always off the ocean blowing East so it's blowing from the soccer fields onto Alicia and across that way."

Another fact checking problem. The Santa Ana Winds which are most common from October through March blow from the East to the West - from Alicia Pkwy. and Paseo de Valencia right on to that sports field.

November 27, 2011 - Regarding the ordinance establishing parks as “Child Safety Zones, Council Member Joel Lautenschleger stated, “Let's make one thing perfectly clear, there have been no sex crimes against children in the City since we incorporated."

Should have done some fact checking before speaking so boldly, Mr. Lautenschleger. According to information from the OC Sheriff's Dept. there have been 32 child molests in Laguna Hills in the past 11 years. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but not their own facts.

January 10, 2012 - Council Member Songstad said, "I find it interesting that we are in a discussion where we are being asked to provide less information rather than more information, I thought transparency was all about providing more information."

To clarify for Council Member Songstad "Transparency" is not simply an amount of information - Merriam-Webster Dictionary (Transparency) - free from pretense or deceit, easily detected or seen through, obvious, readily understood, characterized by visibility or accessibility of information. Wikipedia (Transparency Behavior) - Transparency is operating in such a way that it is easy for others to see what actions are performed. All organizations have a transparency culture, but few have a culture of transparency, i.e., a culture of being aware of transparency and incorporating it routinely into how things are done.
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October 11, 2011 - Regarding Intent to Vacate Public Service Easements (Tree Pockets) along Paseo de Valencia and between Alicia and La Paz.  Mayor Songstad concluded with, "Alright its been moved and seconded. Everybody understand what the action is here? We're setting a public hearing, blah, blah, blah. All in favor"

June 10, 2008- Mayor Allan Songstad said "We have to go through a bidding process and sometimes the low bidder is not always the best contractor, but sometimes that's what we're stuck with."

Thank you Mayor Songstad, that is exactly what we have been trying to tell you about the Laguna Hills City Council "sticking " the residents with the same bad vendor - The Orange County Animal Shelter for the past 20 years.

October 25, 2005 - Mayor Allan Songstad, speaking about the Laguna Hills City Council said, "When you've been doing business in a certain way for 13 years you're not likely to change that."

So true, Allan, so unfortunately true unless you change members of the city council.

August 19, 1994 - LHCC Member Allan Songstad - From the Los Angeles Times Newspaper Article Collections - Orange County Focus - August 19, 1994 LYNN FRANEY - Laguna Hills Councilman Declines to Run for Reelection With Councilman L. Allan Songstad Jr. declining to run for reelection, at least one newcomer will gain a seat on the City Council this fall. Songstad said he never intended to run for a second council term and that he is not a "career politician." That leaves space for at least one of the challengers, Cindy Greengold, Saeid Hariri, Grant R. Marcus or Charmane Riggs.

Now, in 2012 with 19 years on the Laguna Hills City Council we are guessing Council Member Songstad has changed his mind about being not being a "career politician."

CRIME IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
For a roundup of Laguna Hills police calls check the Saddleback Valley News every Friday or click on - www.ocregister.com/news/saddleback

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