Laguna Hills Watch Dog

HEADLINES/ ITEMS OF POSSIBLE INTEREST for the
Tuesday, September 25, 2012, Laguna Hills City Council Meeting - 7 PM at City Hall


** Consider Attending a Council Meeting to express your opinion on items of interest to you or just to observe.


** SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS - We are unable to bring you details of the Headlines and Items of Possible Interest in advance of the Sept. 25 City Council Meeting this time because for the frirst time ever in the years we have been following the City Council Meetings the only information posted on the City Web site, to date, for the Sept 25, 2012 City Council Meting Agenda is - ** "Due to technical difficulties, the Tuesday, September 11, 2012 City Council meeting is currently unavailable. For questions, contact the City Clerk's Department at (949) 707-2635."  This announcement does not mention that the Sept. 25th City Council Meeting Agenda is also unavailable but it has been unavailable on Friday, Sept. 21 and Sat. Sept. 22, so far.


We can tell you that the Major Issue listed on the Agenda we received for the Tuesday, Sept. 25 City Council Meeting is Item 8.1 - THE RESPONSE TO THE ORANGE COUNTY GRAND JURY FROM THE COUNCIL APPOINTED SUBCOMMITTEE, CONSISTING OF MAYOR MELODY CARRUTH AND MAYOR-PRO-TEM JOEL LAUTENSCHLEGER, TO THE RECENT ORANGE COUNTY GRAND JURY REPORT CITING LAGUNA HILLS CITY COUNCIL MEMBER ALLAN SONGSTAD FOR MISFEASANCE FOR INAPPROPTIATE USE OF GOVERNMENT INFLULENCE ON A PRIVATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION.


Another Major Agenda Item that is of significant interest to many residents is printed in a document at http://www.ci.laguna-hills.ca.us/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=3956  This item was reported to us from residents in 2 different areas of the city related to an item they saw printed in the OC Register newspaper.  The Document from the City of Laguna Hills web site entitled "CITY OF LAGUNA HILLS NOTICE OF JOINT PUBLIC HEARING OF THE PLANNING AGENCY AND CITY COUNCIL" states that on Sept. 25, 2012 the Planning Agency/City Council  will consider an application from the Fritz Duda Company to REDEVELOP the OAKBROOK VILLAGE  SHOPPING CENTER INCLUDING THE CONSTRUCTION OF 293 MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL UNITS.  IT STATES THE TIME AND DATE OF THE PUBLIC HEARING IS SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 -  AT 7 PM in the City Council Chamber ALL INTERESTED PERSONS WILL BE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT ON THIE ITEM IN THE PUBLIC HEARING.


This document also says the agenda report for this item will be available Friday afternoon, Sept. 21, 2012 and a copy may be obtained from the City Clerk's Dept.  For further information contact Julie Molloy, Senior Planner, at 949-707-2671.  Because the City web site was not functioning on Friday, Sept. 21 or on Sat. Sept. 22, this document was not available to the public in the online Agenda Report so we don't know if this will be an agenda item for the Tues. Sept. 25 City Council Meeting or not but we suggest you call Julie Molloy, Senior Planner, at 949-707-2671 to be sure, because this document from the City web site also states if this item is presented on Sept. 25 and you miss your chance to comment - If you wish to challenge this item in court the challenge will be limited only to those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing or in written correspondence delivered to the city clerk at or prior to the public hearing.


The Laguna Hills City Council Candidates we endorse in the 2012 November Election are:
Andrew Blount, www.blountforlagunahills.com Small Business owner
Raghu Mathur, Ph.D www.mathurforlagunahills.com University Administrator and Educator

** We encourage you to check the candidate's web sites for endorsements from current and previous long term Laguna Hills City Council members who have clear records of voting against transparency and accountability and we hope you will make a decision to Vote in Favor of Maximum Transparency and Accountability in our city.

Other Candidates are:
AJ Djowharzadeh, No candidate web site found, Small Business Owner.
Dore Gilbert, MD, http://www.doregilbert2012.com/index.html Dermatologist and Army Reservist
Bill Hunt, http://billhunt.org/ Private Investigator and former OC Sheriff's Deputy

We attended Meet the Candidates Night for SOC 912 on 9-21-12 at the Christian Mission Church at 27812 Forbes Rd., Ste. A in Laguna Niguel and heard candidates Andrew Blount, Bill Hunt and Raghu Mathur speak. We spoke with Dr. Gilbert and attended a scheduled meeting in Laguna Woods on August 13, 2012 to talk with Bill Hunt and hear him speak, but he did not show up and no one was able to contact him by phone. As we learn more about the candidates we will continue to let you know.


1. CONSENT CALENDAR Items of interest -
Item 4.2 - Approval of the Warrant Register in the amount of $2,214,770.16
Item 4.3 - Authorization for advertise for bids for the Community Center Building Refurbishment, Recommendation that the city counc approve the plans and specifications for the community center building refurbishment and authorize the direct purchase of wall caps from Quickcrete Corporation.
Item 4.4 - Progress Payment # 2 for Citywide Pavement Rehabilitation Project.

2. CITY COUNCIL/PLANNING AGENCY PUBLIC HEARINGS:
Item 5.4 - Conditional use permit request for H2O Partners, LLC to operate an indoor Trampoline Park ar 23251 Avenida de la Carlota. Staff Recommendation - Conduct a Public Hearing and approve the conditional use permit.

3. MATTERS AGENDIZED AND PRESENTED BY CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AND MAYOR
Item 8.1 - Recommendation that the city council receive a report from the council appointed sub-committee, authorize the mayor to sign the letter of response to the Grand Jury's July 5, 2012 report regarding the Use of Government Influence on a Private Educational Institution, and submit the response to the Presiding Judge of the Orange County Superior Court as required by State Law.

4. CLOSED SESSION
Item 10.1 - Another session re. the Public Employee Performance Evaluation of the City Manager.
Item 10.2 - Conference with Labor Negotiators Bruce Channing, City Manager, and Don White, Assist. City Manager with The Laguna Hills City Employees Association City Employee Organization. 

The 3/5 Marines adopted by the City of Laguna Hills received much needed office furniture - 9 desks, 3 file cabinets, and 2 conference tables to be used by the Family Readiness Officer and in the 3/5 offices. This office furniture was donated by Reliable Wholesale Lumber, Inc. Team Dark Horse, the 3/5 Support group in Laguna Hills are very grateful to Reliable for their generous donation and to all the supporters who have contributed over the years and most recently to the items for the next deployment of the 3/5 this month. Be sure to go to the Team Dark Horse web site at http://teamdarkhorse.org/ to see how all your donations are helping.


** Win-Win-Wednesday Schedule - Check the WWWednesday web site at www.winwinwednesdays.com/ to find the current hosts and download flyers.
September 26 - Corner Bakery (Laguna Niguel) click on Corner Bakery on La Paz Rd - all day
October 3 - Pic Up Stix click on Pick Up Stix - all day
October 10 - On the Border (Aliso Viejo) - all day
October 17, - Flamingo's Mexican Grill and Bar (Laguna Hills) click on Flamingo's Mexican - all day
October 24 - Chipotle (Laguna Niguel) - ** (Only 4 pm to 7 pm)
October 31 - Mountain Mike's Pizza (Laguna Hills) - all day
November 7 - Five Guys Burgers (Mission Viejo) - all day
November 14 - Wine Works For Everyone (Mission Viejo) - all day
November 21 - Polly's Pies (Laguna Woods) - all day ( + Pies for Marine Families in cooperation with Teen Darkhorse at LHHS.)
November 28 - El Pollo Loco (LH) - all day
December 5 - Ruby's (LH) - all day
December 12 - BJ's Brewhouse (LH) - all day
December 19, Cafe Rio (LF) - all day
December 26 - Golden Baked Ham (LH) - all day everyday!

BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO WIN-WIN-WEDNESDAY FOR THEIR SUCCESS - THEY ARE BOOKED THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR!!!  Way To Go Win-Win- Meg and all the others who worked to make this project such a success!  Huge Thank Yous also go out to all the participating eating establishments and to all the Supporters who Win-Win weekly by helping our schools and our businesses through enjoying delicious meals on Wednesdays!!