Laguna Hills Watch Dog
Laguna Hills City Council Meeting - November 13, 2012


** Special Announcements - The Vote Counting continues but Congratulations to Andrew Blount and Dr. Dore Gilbert, who appear to be our 2 new Laguna Hills City Council Members.


As of 11-16-12 the Vote count is:
Andrew Blount - 5,529 - 27.33%
Dr. Dore Gilbert - 4,857 - 24.01%
Bill Hunt - 4,719 - 23.33%
Dr. Raghu Mathur - 4,190 - 20.71%
AJ Djowharzdeh - 932 - 4.61%


We welcome the new Council Members. As those of you who read the Laguna Hills Watch Dog know, Dr. Gilbert was not our choice for City Council in Laguna Hills because after interviewing Dr. Gilbert we shared the same doubts as the OC Register Newspaper's Editorial Board, who said - "Mr. Gilbert decided to run for council only after Mr. Lautenschleger and Mr. Songstad, whom he counts as longtime friends, informed him they weren't running. We imagine some voters might wonder whether Mr. Gilbert would chart his own course on the council or follow a path set by his friends, the outgoing councilmen."  We, at the Laguna Hills Watch Dog, were also hoping for someone who had paid close attention to what was going on in the City Council for at least the last couple of years, and Dr. Gilbert was very honest with us in admitting that he had not done that, but we welcome Dr. Gilbert with open minds and will continue to watch and report on all the council members. We are confident that Dr. Gilbert has done his homework regarding the City Council by now and that his primary allegiance, as a council member, will be to the best interests of the citizens/residents he is serving.


FEATURES DIRECTORY


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


** See Special Report on what has come to be known as the last minute "Smear Campaign" against Dr. Raghu Mathur, 2012 Candidate for Laguna Hills City Council with many comments received from outraged citizens, plus accusations from Mayor Carruth and responses from Dr. Mathur. This Special Report is located just below the City Council Meeting Report.


** Presentations and Proclamations - None
Item 1.1 - LHHS Student Liaison Report - Adam Wong - alternate Amanda Jafee - None
** Public Comments - HAWK CHALLANGE - LHHS Major Fundraiser Report
** Consent Calendar - Warrant Register - $488,360.69
** Items of Interest from the Warrant Register - None
** Items Pulled from the Warrant Register- None
** Items of interest in the Consent Calendar -
Item 4.3 - Budget Amendment of $25,000 for tenant improvements for Suite 100 at City Hall
Item 4.4 - Waterline Easement for El Toro Water District at City Hall
Item 4.5 - Waterline Easement for El Toro Water District for Recycled Water for North Laguna Hills
Item 4.6 - Request for Grant Application for Recycling and Recovery for Rubberized Asphalt Concrete Funding
Item 4.7 - Request that City deny the bid protest by ARC Builders and ward bid to low bidder Nick Stavrianopoulos
** Items pulled from the Consent Calendar for discussion - None
** Planning Agency/City Council Public Hearings - Item OAKBROOK VILLAGE Redevelopment Project
**Administrative Reports - Item 7.2.1 - City Online Community Bulletin Board
** Matters Agendized and Presented by Council Members and Mayor- Drowning Prevention Program from Council Member Bressette
** City Council Member Comments - City Investments, Win-Win- Wednesdays and Pies for the 3/5 Marines adopted by the City.
** Closed Session -
Item 10.1 - Conference with Labor Negotiator - City Manager and Assist. City Manager with The Laguna Hills City Employees' Association
Item 10.2 - Conferance with Labor Negotiator for City Manager Channing re. Terms and Conditions of Employment
Item 10.3 - Annual Public Employee Performance Evaluation for City Manager Channing
** City Council Members Report Card - How did they score?
** Information, Comments, Questions, Concerns from LH Watch Dog Readers from the previous blog post - About: Link to Recent Video/Audio Interview with Laguna Hills City Manager Bruce Channing on Public CEO, COUNCIL MEMBERS, CANDIDATE BILL HUNT, GENERAL COMMENTS, and NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS
plus Win-Win-Wednesday's Schedule of Restaurants www.winwinwednesdays.com  You can place comments in the "COMMENTS" section at the bottom of the LHWD blog site report or send your comments to BlandMJ@aol.com Your name is never used in the comments section unless you give permission.
** How to support our 3/5 Adopted Marines and Updates - Team Dark Horse delivered your contributions for the Baby Shower for the 23 Marine Expectant Mothers - Please see the very nice thank you message to everyone from the 3/5 Marines' Commanding Officer's wife below and a 3/5 Marine received the 1st ever award of the "AIR MEDAL" for courageous service.
*** Team Dark Horse is Collecting Donations, and unwrapped toys and gifts now and Until December 6, for an Early Christmas Party for Gifts and Toys for the families of the Deployed Marines. Please see below for Collection Box locations.
** News Stories and Blogs about Laguna Hills - find more in the OC Register online under "City-by-City News" - "Laguna Hills" and in the OC Watchdog
**Crime in Your Neighborhood
** WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR of the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
** SPECIAL REPORT on the last minute "SMEAR CAMPAIGN" AGAINST DR. RAGHU MATHUR, 2012 Candidate for Laguna Hills City Council - Accusations from Mayor Carruth and responses from Dr. Mathur.


Laguna Hills City Council Meeting - November 13, 2012
All Council Members were present
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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 - None
Item 1.1 - LHHS Student Liaison Report - Adam Wong - alternate Amanda Jafee - No Report tonight.


PUBLIC COMMENTS -

Teresa Bonutto, Laguna Hills Resident reported on the HAWK CHALLANGE Fundraiser for Laguna Hills High School that took place in the afternoon and evening of 11-12-12. Teresa made everyone laugh by noting that she does recognize City Manager Channing now, with his suit on, (he looked quite different at the HAWK CHALLANGE in golf attire) she also noted that Council Member Bressette was there (as was new council member Andrew Blount).  She said it was a new concept to hold this event on Veterans Day and they honored the 3/5 Marine Battalion that was adopted by the City of Laguna Hills.  The 3/5s Family Readiness Officer, Kim Reese, attended with 4 Marines from the 3/5 Battalion, and one additional Marine who is her husband who had just returned from a deployment. Teresa added the event was very exciting for all the families and the principals and administrators who attended and the joint effort to benefit the school and our veterans was a wonderful combination.


Teresa announced that to support the troops she is also selling Polly's Pies for $15 per pie until Thursday the 15th and then will place an order at Polly's for however many pies were purchased and take the pies to the troops and their families in Camp Pendleton for Thanksgiving. In addition to helping the troops a percent of the purchase price of the pies for the Marines will go to Win-Win-Wednesday for Laguna Hills High School.
Also, If you go to www.winwinwednesdays.com and click on November 21 - Polly's Pies you can download a flyer to take to Polly's Pies so that when you eat there on Wed Nov. 21, 20% of the proceeds from your meal will go to the LHHS PTSA and Team Dark Horse.


CONSENT CALENDAR - Warrant Register - $488,360.69Items of interest from the Warrant Register - None


ITEMS of INTEREST from the CONSENT CALENDAR -


Item 4.3 - 2012-13 Budget Amendment - Recommendation that the City Council approve a $25,000 amendment to the 2012-13 Civic Center Budget - Staff is proposing an aggressive marketing campaign to lease Suite 100 (5,585 sq. ft.) in City Hall. They are asking for the $25,000 to prepare this space for their campaign to lease it by demolishing the interior tenant improvements including a large bank vault. Staff report states this space was a bank, then a Real Estate space until April 30, 2008 and since that time they have not been able to lease it. The report also states that after the demolition the City would be required to make a significant upfront capital investment to $334,838 to $358,240 to lease this space. It adds that their prediction that after this investment the City would make a small return on investment with an initial 5 year lease and better returns from subsequent 5 year leases. There is no explanation of why the City waited 4 1/2 years to decide upon a plan for this space.


Item 4.4 - Request for Grant of a Waterline Easement to the El Toro Water District at the Laguna Hills Civic Center. The El Toro Water District is requesting an easement on the Civic Center property from the City for modifications to waterlines for purposes of fire protection and domestic use. Fiscal Impact - None. Staff is asking for a Resolution from the City Council to grant the easement.


Item 4.5 - Request for Grant of a Waterline Easement for a Recycled Waterline to the El Toro Water District at VEEH Ranch Park. Staff Report says the El Toro Water District plans to install recycled water lines for irrigation use in North Laguna Hills and Laguna Woods and upgrade the sewer treatment plant in Laguna Woods. Most of the work will be in the public streets but ETWD also needs to cross Veeh Ranch Park to serve it and Casa de Laguna Homeowners Association common areas. The main waterline will run along Ridge Route Dr. and Santa Vittoria Dr. and serve 3 city parks. Fiscal Impact - City will benefit from reliable and lower cost water and ETWD will pay the city $1,400 for easement rights. Staff is asking for a Resolution from the City Council to grant the easement.


Item 4.6 - Request for Authorization to file a Grant Application with the State Dept. of Resources, Recycling and Recovery for Rubberized Asphalt Concrete Funding in cooperation with the City of Laguna Woods for the use of rubberized asphalt concrete in upcoming pavement projects including El Toro Rd. and Ridge Route. Fiscal Impact - The Grant will provide up to $25 per ton toward the cost of the material and Laguna Hills funding is estimated to be about $50,000. Staff is asking for a Resolution from the City Council for authorization to apply for the Grant Funding.

Item 4.7 - Request that the City deny the bid protest by ACR Builders, Inc. and award the contract for the Community Center Building Refurbishment to the apparent low bidder Nick Stavrianopoulos Construction and Painting. Fiscal Impact the Project is funded in FY 2012-12 in the amount of $250,000.


Item 4.8 - Progress Payment # 19 for La Paz Widening at I-5 in the amount of $63,617.73


Items Pulled from the Consent Calendar for Discussion - NONE


VOTE - the Consent Calendar was passed unanimously


MINUTES - The 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 but you can now watch and listen to the City Council Meetings on the City's web site at www.ci.laguna-hills.ca.us


CITY COUNCIL/PLANNING AGENCY PUBLIC HEARING -


** For Information, Questions, Concerns and the 20 year LAGUNA HILLS GENERAL PLAN for LAND USE, MOBILITY/CIRCULATION, CONSERVATION and OPEN SPACE, COMMUNITY SERVICES and FACILITIES, SAFETY, NOISE, and HOUSING in the City - Click on http://www.ci.lagunahills.ca.us/documents/depts/commdev/Laguna_Hills_General_Plan.pdf


Item 6.3.1 - A request from Laguna Hills Investment Company to redevelop Oakbrook Village Shopping Center located at 24231-24391 Avenida de la Carlota. - Site Development permit/Master Sign Program/Conditional use Permit/Parking use Permit/Vesting tentative Tract Map/Precise Plan/Development Agreement


Staff Request that the Planning Agency/City Council consider the addendum to the City of Laguna Hills General Plan Update along with the City of Laguna Hills Environmental Impact Report and Find that No Additional Environmental Documentation is Required Under the CA. Environmental Quality Act and adopt a Resolution Approving the Development. Request that the City introduce an ordinance Approving and Adopting a Development Agreement between the City and the Laguna Hills Investment Company for the Oakbrook Village Shopping Center Redevelopment Project.


This item was presented by David Chantarangsu, City of Laguna Hills' Community Development Director. The following report is a combination of what Mr. Chantarangsu said and the staff report from the City web site. This Re-development Plan, on approximately 19 acres to be built in 2 phases, would include up to 489 residential units in multistory residential buildings. The Prado apartments located just behind these new rental units, consists of 360 rental units, so when the project is completed there would be a total of 849 rental units in this area.  A total of 148,530 sq. ft. of the existing commercial building area would be demolished to accommodate the new construction of 289 residential units and 23,974 sq. ft. of retail space, the retail space could be deferred to a future date, under Phase 1 which consists of about 6.5 acres. This amounts to a residential density of about 44 housing units per acre and the Urban Village now allows up to 50 units per acre. Phase 2 would include up to an additional 200 residential rental units on about 3 acres which amounts to 66.3 units per acre plus 58,500 feet of new retail space.


What Mr. Chantarangsu was saying regarding the density of housing was that - if you combine the total acreage on which the housing is actually being built that equals 9.5 acres, and the total number of housing units potentially being built is 489 so the total housing density is 51.47 housing units per acre which slightly exceeds the maximum limit allowed of 50 housing units per acre, but if you take the 9.5 acres and round that number up to 10 acres you come up with 48 units (which is more accurately 48.9 units) per acre which will squeak just under the maximum density limit of 50 units per acre. Under phase 2 total retail space would be reduced to 125,000 sq ft. Council Member Kogerman asked, since we are going to be reducing the amount of retail space here how will that effect the city's budget. Mr. Chantaragnsu answered prior to the issuance of permits for the development of phase 2 the applicant would be providing us with 5 year increments of the retail loss impact fee, and at the conclusion of construction of phase 2 if that 125,000 sq. ft. minimum retail does not exist the City can claim that retail loss impact to offset the loss.


The buildings will be a Spanish Revival style architecture and the residential rental units with be 1 and 2 bedroom units ranging from 700 to 1,100 sq. ft. The residential building will be up to 5 stories high and include tower elements and a village green of nearly 1/2 acre to accommodate gatherings. This project will provide a swimming pool, a workout room and fitness classes, a movie theater room, a general purpose room, kitchen and dining facilities and outdoor open space areas including courtyards for barbeques and Jacuzzis, etc. There will be paseos for walking around the area and to connect with the Laguna Hills Mall. The existing retail buildings remaining at the center will be remodeled.


A development agreement between the City and the property owner is required to secure the development rights for the Phase 2 improvements, allowing them to be built over a period of up to 15 years. That 15 year right to build is conditional. Phase one would have to be built within the first 5 years and the developer would have to come back to the City for phase 2 to obtain zoning entitlements. The development agreement does require the property owner to provide 125,000 sq. ft. minimum of building retail area and if less than that is provided to the City the agreement includes retail loss impact fees to be paid to the City for up the equivalent of 20 years worth of retail sales tax.


Traffic and Environmental Impacts - The development intensity in the Laguna Hills Urban Village Specific Plan is regulated based upon "a trip budget" vehicle trip generation limits, not land use type or size of the project.  Additional peak hour vehicle trips generated by each new development or redevelopment project were estimated and the 2009 plan estimated that the city could accommodate up to 1,243 additional AM peak hour trips and 2,272 additional PM peak hour trips. Council Member Lautenschleger asked if he is correct that the Urban Village Plan allows for 1243 additional AM peak hour trips and at the end of phase 2 this project will take up 420 of that and in the PM hours will take up approx. 1000 of the 2,272 allowed and is that in the ball park of what we expect related to what the Laguna Hills Mall may use in the future? Mr. Chantaragnsu answered that Urban Village Specific plan estimated over 1/2 million sq. ft of retail development so even though this development takes away some of the AM PM Peak Hour trips there should be more than enough capacity to allow the mall to proceed with development.


The USVP was amended in 2011 and added new AM and PM peak hour trips that would be generated, established a minimum residential density standard of 30 units per acre and decreased the amount of residential open space from 30% to 10%. Mr. Chantaragnsu said the City did an environmental study with respect to the environment, CA. Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), including air quality and availability of water, etc. and the Council adopted and certified the new General Plan in 2009. He said this development was contemplated in 2009 and there are no new impacts. The staff report states that the Housing element of the City's General Plan had to be amended to establish a minimum residential density of 30 units per acre and reduce the high-density residential open space standards that discourage affordable housing from 30% to 10%.


Residential Parking will consist of a ground level parking garage, enclosed garages and surface parking spaces along the southern boundary and consists of 1,297 parking spaces. 734 parking spaces are shared with retail use and 556 are strictly for residential use. 1.5 parking spaces were allowed for the 1 bedroom units and 2 parking spaces for the 2 bedroom units. The report states - "While the site is deficient in parking if each retail use is taken as a stand-alone business that requires it's own parking, the Code allows for shared use of parking facilities on sites with multiple uses such as the Oakbrook Village Project." The City sites an HDR Engineering study that determined there is enough parking stating that the demand in peak hours would result in the need for 727 spaces for retail uses versus a supply of 734 spaces. Council Member Songstad asked if there was any parking control mechanism built in to ensure that guests would use the designated guest parking and was told by Mr. Chantaragnsu that there was nothing specific and the property owner/management company will have to monitor this to make sure there is no poaching of parking from the retail center. As part of the building entitlement for phase 2 the applicant is required to go through another parking study to assure the City that the parking will be adequate.


Based upon the information that was delivered here and the fact that out of the 2+ hours of discussion of this project most of that time was spent discussing the nuances of the appearance of signage rather than the appropriateness of this level of housing density for the community and how increases in traffic may affect the community we felt it was not possible to make a decision in the best interest of the residents as a whole without additional information. Considering the prediction made here, that residents of these proposed rental units would be unlikely to get back in their cars after arriving home from work, it could be anticipated that the increased density of population in this area would be most likely to serve the best interests of the Laguna Hills Mall, if the Mall decides to step up to meet this opportunity. Council Member Kogerman basically defended the signage while Mayor Carruth opposed much of it and Council Member Bressette questioned some of it at length.


PUBLIC COMMENTS -


Mr. John Loper from the Development Company who spoke in May about this project spoke again stating that the developer had been working on this project with the City for 10 years. He stressed the need for the City to encourage the Laguna Hills Mall to work with them related to a connection between this development and the mall and noted this connection would encourage people to get to the mall. He noted that they have changed the surface of the Paseos from decomposed granite to solid surface and he said he believed that once people get home to there residences here they will not drive again until the next day. He referred to a letter from the Golden Rain Society in Laguna Woods that he said was received at 4 pm today. He said they would like to keep as many of their retail tenants as possible and are talking with them. He said he believed their parking ratios were sufficient and there is some ungated guest parking in addition to the shared parking. There was a discussion of Condition 51 dealing with when public art was to be installed in the project. Mr. Loper noted that he needed some flexibility here because he did not want to install art in areas where there was active construction. Public art is being installed her in lieu of paying into the City's public art fund. The City Attorney assisted with language that could work this out related to an inflexible municipal code regulating the timing of the installation of public art. There were more lengthy discussions of signage issues related to the size of lettering, size of signs, size of monuments and numbers of tenant signs, etc.


Mike Winter, a partner in the apartment rental area of the Oakbrook Village project, said his company has developed and built over 20,000 residential properties, and in excess of 46 million sq. feet of commercial and industrial space. etc, currently own and operate over 13,000 apartments and 15 million sq. feet of commercial and industrial space valued at more than $4 billion. He described the apartments again, as previously described above, he added that there will be a tennis facility. He said the renters will be young professionals and the rents will be $1,653 for a one bedroom and $2,109 for a 2 bedroom apt. Monthly income range required for a one bedroom would be $4,132 to $4,959 and for 2 bedrooms $5,272 to $6,327. He noted that Council Member Kogerman visited one of their other properties and observed the success of that. Small pets are allowed but it was pointed out that there is not pet potty area. He noted that there is recycling observed and provided for tenants and all the utilities in the apts. are individually metered.


Donna Varner from the Chair of the Orange County Regional Development and Economic Coalition stated their focus is on legislative advocacy and regional development. She spoke in praise of the project stating it was well thought out and planned and requested that it be moved forward.


Vicky Federman, Executive Director of the Orange County Regional Development and Economic Coalition said they support the Orange County business community and strongly support this project.


Tony Douer from Laguna Woods Village disagreed with the OC Regional Development and Economic Coalition and said this project was not well planned and thought out because neighbors who lost their views were not considered. He noted the San Sebastian Housing Project that is in the same area that was foisted upon them in 2006. Toni asked why the buildings needed to be 5 stories high and noted the actual height of the building had not been stated. He said there are people who now have a view of the Saddleback Mountains and will lose those views. He added there might be a boycott of Laguna Hills businesses related to this. He asked that they not change one of the streets to 3 lanes for more traffic flow and noted that developers get paid for building stuff and city councils want a higher tax bases by getting stuff knocked down and built again.


Cora Lee Newman with Government Solutions, Reps. for the Golden Rain Foundation of Laguna Woods said they submitted at letter at 4 PM today because they were not given proper notification about this project and the Laguna Hills web site had problems so they were not able to access the information they needed there for the meeting tonight. She said they received no phone call, no community outreach for this very large project and she noted that Laguna Woods is the largest residential community that is across the street from this very large project.  At this point Ms. Newman was asked by Mayor Carruth to wrap up her comments.


Robert Hawkins, CEQA Attorney for the Golden Rain Foundation said he represents 4 mutual corporations in Laguna Woods and said he wanted to respond in connection to the comments that will be made regarding the Golden Rain Foundation's comment letter.  He stressed that this will not be a fair Public Hearing if they don't have the opportunity to respond. He advised the council they could keep the record open for an additional time to give us the continuance Ms. Newman was requesting. He noted that the General Plan EIR (Environmental Impact Report) was only recently made available and put online this afternoon, "and that is what you are putting this addendum to. The addendum is to the program EIR," so without that being available neither the public nor you, has an opportunity to see how this addendum fits.  He questioned how this is not a General Plan Amendment when the residential component in the entire Laguna Hills General Plan has 450 dwelling units, and this project sucks up all of that entitlement and more. He said, you can't do that with an addendum to this EIR.  He also noted that, all this discussion about signage in a residential project means you have land use conflict. Phase 1 will give you almost 300 dwelling units creating an isolated urban neighborhood in the middle of a shopping center surrounded by a sea of cars in the parking lot. That is a land use that has not been analyzed and will not be mitigated. He said  the response to their comments in the General Plan in the EIR say, "No, no, we're not talking about 400 dwelling units at this site," but that is actually what we are talking about".  He advised the council that they also need to look at the public benefit of the Village Green in the development agreement because phasing in of the Village Green is at the end of this project.  Only when you have the issuance of the final certificate of occupancy for the last units does the Village Green get going.  At this point Mr. Hawkins asked if he could go on and Mayor Carruth did not allow him to continue.


Dr. Dore Gilbert, newly elected City Council Member, said this is an awesome project and asked why the retail loss impact fee was for 20 years in not in perpetuity. Mayor Carruth responded we will have that answer for you momentarily. (**Editor's Note - After this question was asked, City Manager Channing and Assistant City Manager Don White walked to the back of the dais and had a conference. Also Mayor Carruth asked the City Attorney and Mr. Chantaragnsu if they had any comments to add and they both responded that they did not.)


John Loper spoke again, saying he was responding to comments in the letter received today from the Golden Rain Foundation.  He said the noise impacts were addressed in the addendum, and are also addressed in the General Plan. He said the noise was studied at the intersections of El Toro and Moulton and at Avenida Sevilla and El Toro and this has been on the web site for about 2 weeks with the addendum.  He continued that he talked with his traffic engineer and said less there will be about 10 cars in the AM Peak Hours and about 19 in the PM peak hours so less than 20 cars will be added to the intersection of Moulton and El Toro in the peak times when according to Mr. Loper there are usually about 2000 cars. (**Editor's Note - Mr. Loper's math is questionable here but Mr. Loper's worst case scenario estimate appears to be a total of 29 car trips added to peak hours at this intersection daily with 10 in the AM and 19 in the PM )  Mr. Loper stated this was insignificant.


Joe Molinero, who did a traffic study was difficult to understand but appeared to refer people to  "trip budget" tables with addition and subtraction trips in the General Plan for existing conditions in 2008  and some charts with trip generation site rates determined by the Institute of Transportation Engineers.  He also referred to the 146 trips in the AM and 177 in the PM Peak Hours noted above. He also noted a misunderstanding on another table.  (** Editor's Note - This speaker's information, as presented, was generally not useful to us and probably not to the general public unless you happen to be a traffic engineer, but you can hear him on the City web site.)


Assistant City Manager Don White stated the Developer needs to go through another developmental approval for phase 2. White said - By the earlier of 5 years or the expiration of the development agreement in 15 years, if they do not provide the required minimum retail development of 125,000 sq. ft of retail they would forfeit money for 20 years of sales tax revenue for whatever the retail deficit is.


In response to Dr. Gilbert's question, Don White answered, the long answer is, "The reason why we limited it to 20 years is that we actually think that even though the project, theoretically at the end of that time, would not have 125,000 sq ft of retail, it can still accommodate 125,000 sq. ft. of retail, and we believe that over a 20 year period, which we think actually gives the city plenty of room, that an inter-owner or even the current developer, whoever owned it at that time, would come out and they would build out the site to the 125,000 sq. ft. of retail."  White added that after the end of the development agreement, if we don't have the 125,000 sq ft of retail the City cashes in on the 20 years of lost retail, 5 years later they come in they build out the retail, the city still keeps the money but has the revenue from the security the retail deficit philosophy was based on. He added that after 15 years the development agreement is no longer there. White concluded with - the short answer is that the agreement was a negotiated term with the owner. (**Editor's Note - Good question from Dr. Dore Gilbert, and the short answer from Assistant City Manger White appears to be the more logical one, because the long answer admits that the City actually thinks theoretically there will not be the 125,000 sq ft. of retail at the end of 20 years which leaves the City on the hook for 20 years waiting to collect lost retail tax revenue while supporting 489 residential units with only a small amount of retail which is 66,000 sq ft less than currently exists, and the prospects for the building of additional retail on the site, after 20 years, are very speculative.)


Council Member Comments re. this project -


Council Member Kogerman said we lost 10% of our population in our last census, this will be an exciting place for young professionals to be.  Council Member Bressette said Oakbrook Village as presented is probably the most interesting and exciting project we have had since incorporating. Council Member Lautenschleger said this is the kind of project that is sorely needed in all areas of Southern California.  Council Member Songstad complained about the comments made by the representatives from the Golden Rain Foundation regarding issues not being adequately addressed. Mayor Carruth said this was the full implementation of their vision for the Village Specific Plan.  There was another lengthy discussion of signage and finally a vote.  (**Editor's Note - After listening to an especially lengthy discussion of the height and width of a monument sign including Mayor Carruth's multiple sign objections, an amazingly, still alert resident, added some much appreciated humor by whispering to me that Mayor Carruth actually said the monument sign for this project was "Too Monumental" and added it was a good thing she was not the Mayor of Washington DC because if she was, the Washington Monument would only be about 4 feet tall.)


VOTE - the project was approved 5 - 0 as staff requested. 


ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS -


Item 7.2.1 - Web site Community Bulletin Board - Staff recommendation that the city council authorize staff to develop a community bulletin board on the City's web site for the posting of non-commercial messages to promote community events and activities in accordance with administrative policies. Staff recommendation specifies a limited public forum to promote educational, philanthropic, civic, charitable, cultural or recreational activities similar to the Community Bulletin Board Policy. Personal, Religious and political postings are prohibited. Fiscal Impact - none except to create the web pages for the site.  This issue was presented by David Reynolds, Director of Community Services who said this is an effort to establish links on the City web site to promote High School and local school and other community events. He said with your approval we could have this online very quickly.  In answer to a question from Council Member Kogerman he said the links on the City web site do not appear on iPad applications and this is something to take a look at in the future but is a problem with what the iPad accept rather than a problem with the City web site. Mr. Reynolds also noted that there was an outage on the City web site on Monday that affected the posted agenda for the City Council Meeting.  Council Member Bressette noted that the City web site outages were embarrassing to him as a member of the City Council and need some action and are unacceptable. Bressette added he is excited about this. The City Online Billboard has been a long time coming (21 years) and says this is our community and Ms.Gorham from Win-Win-Wednesday and the schools will be excited about it and this makes the City a better Community Partner.


VOTE - The Online Community Billboard passed 5 - 0


MATTERS AGENDIZED AND PRESENTED BY CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AND MAYOR -


Item 8.1.1 - From Council Member Bressette - Drowning Prevention Information Program - Recommendation that the City Council direct staff to work with the OC Fire Authority in developing a pilot program to ensure that all property owners and residents are provided with pool safety and drowning prevention educational information coincident with the construction of a swimming pool.
Council Member Bressette told the story of a Laguna Hills child who drowned in a hot tub near a swimming pool at an apartment building and was not noticed although there were 60 people in the area at the time. The little girl had a life preserver on initially but managed to unhook it.  Bressette said the lesson there was don't trust life preservers or other equipment to do the job alone, you must never take your eyes off of a child near a pool or a hot tub, etc.  Bressette admitted that this measure is only a 1st step in increasing awareness and a lot more needs to be done in the future for all pool owners and users including apartments and HOAs. The OC Fire Authority has an online educational program re. pool safety and according to Bressette the OCFA is willing to send an OCFA truck to new pool owners to impress upon them the importance of pool safety because they all feel so strongly about this.


VOTE - this passed 5 - 0


CITY COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS - 


Council Member Bressette reported he attended the Local Agency Investment Fund Conference and the City's $5.8 million assets are being conservatively managed by the State Treasurer's Office with the primary objective of conservation of capital.  55.3% percent of the money is in treasuries currently earning an average of 0.373% interest.


Bressette also reported that Teresa Bonutto and Meg Gorham have brought a synergy to Win-Win-Wednesday that we have not seen before. The schools get back a percentage from the revenues from people who eat at designated places on Wednesdays and take flyers for the eating establishments that can be downloaded from www.winwinwednesdays.com or take their Win-Win-Wed. Fan/Supporter Club Card. The designated eating establishments for each Wednesday can also be found by clicking on www.winwinwednesdays.com and you can see them listed in this blog below under Information, Comments, Questions, Concerns from LH Watch Dog Readers.


Also the 3/5 Marines Support Committee collected $15 donations for pies for the Marines last night at the HAWK CHALLANGE in Mission Viejo. They are trying to collect up to $600  for pies before the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving so they can get pies for the deployed Marines families for Thanksgiving plus a percent of that money spent for pies will go to the schools. He encouraged people to buy pies.


CLOSED SESSIONS –


Item 10.1 - Conference with Labor Negotiator - City Manager Channing and Assist. City Manager White with the Employee Organization - Laguna Hills City Employees Association.


Item 10.2 - Conference with Labor Negotiator - Agency Negotiator John Goss, Labot Representative for unrepresented employee - City Manager Channing regarding Terms and Condidtions of Employment.


Item 10.3 - Public Employee Performance Evaluation - Regarding the Annual Performance Evaluation of City Manager Channing.


Council must reconvene in regular session in the City Council Chamber after these Closed Sessions to report any reportable action taken during closed sessions.


(** Editor's Note because all of this city council's closed sessions are conducted after regular city council meetings that begin at 7 pm there is no one left in the council chambers to hear the report of any action taken so residents must sign up to be contacted by someone at City Hall to let them know of any actions taken. - We signed up to be called to be notified of any reportable action was taken and we were contacted by our City Clerk and told - There was Nothing To Report in Closed Session.)


The Next regular City Council Meeting is Tuesday, November 27, 2012 7 pm, at City Hall. Contact Laguna Hills City Council Members at ccouncil@ci.laguna-hills.ca.us
================================

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 -
F - for the Vote to pass the Oakbrook Village high density residential units without sufficient explanation to the surrounding community of how the additional high density population and additional traffic will impact them.
P - for the Vote for the Online Community Bulletin Board
A  - for Authoring a Citizen friendly item - Swimming Pool Safety.
A+ - for getting the Citizen Friendly item passed.


Carruth -
F - for the Vote to pass the Oakbrook Village high density residential units without sufficient explanation to the surrounding community of how the additional high density population and additional traffic will impact them.
P - for the Vote for the Online Community Bulletin Board
P - for the vote for Swimming Pool Safety


Kogerman -
F - for the Vote to pass the Oakbrook Village high density residential units without sufficient explanation to the surrounding community of how the additional high density population and additional traffic will impact them.
P - for the Vote for the Online Community Bulletin Board
P - for the vote for Swimming Pool Safety


Lautenschleger -
F - for the Vote to pass the Oakbrook Village high density residential units without sufficient explanation to the surrounding community of how the additional high density population and additional traffic will impact them.
P - for the Vote for the Online Community Bulletin Board
P - for the vote for Swimming Pool Safety


Songstad -
F - for the Vote to pass the Oakbrook Village high density residential units without sufficient explanation to the surrounding community of how the additional high density population and additional traffic will impact them.
P - for the vote for Swimming Pool Safety


City Manager -
F - 10 years spent with the Oakbrook Re-development Project but insufficient explanation to the surrounding community of how the Oakbrook Village high density residential units population and additional traffic will impact them.


** INFORMATION, COMMENTS QUESTIONS and CONCERNS from Watch Dog Readers - since the last council meeting on Oct. 23:


Recent audio/video Interview with City Manager Bruce Channing on Public CEOhttp://www.publicceo.com/2012/11/meet-your-manager-laguna-hills/

ABOUT CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS -


Jean Bland, et al., Citizens of Laguna Hills said...
In addition to sending us her opinion re. her accusations against Council Member Kogerman at the Oct. 23, 2012 City Council Meeting, Mayor Carruth responded to our announcement from Dr. Raghu Mathur with a phone call to us and a laundry list of accusations against Dr. Mathur that included poor to no documentation. Her accusations could not be substantiated and/or could not be accessed through her list of dates from LA Times Newspaper archives and her opinions exceeded the length of comments we are able to publish, however we were able to quickly research her accusations against Council Member Kogerman from our own files and the Council Meeting audio files on the City of Laguna Hills web site as follows:


At October 23, 2012 Laguna Hills City Council Meeting under PUBLIC COMMENTS for Item 7.2.1 - Appointment of a Labor Negotiator - for the Annual Performance Evaluation of the City Manager, Mayor Carruth, accused City Council Member Kogerman of being to blame for the failure of the recent 8 months of closed session negotiations and the $23,000 to $30,000 of wasted taxpayer money for a labor negotiator for the City Manager stating to Kogerman - "you in a public meeting called for his resignation and the moment those words left your lips that was over". So if anyone is to blame for losing taxpayer dollars you are the one."


Mayor Carruth's e-mail to us dated 10-3-2012 stated:
I checked the April 24th transcript and listened to the audio. I stand by my comments. Councilmember Kogerman missed the deadline for her report. City Manager Channing did not place her report on the agenda-delaying its placement for two weeks. During the April 24th City Council meeting Councilmember Kogerman used phrases "abuse of power" and stated city manager behavior (delaying an agenda item) "will not be tolerated....I will personally recommend that the individual be terminated or censured." Such threatening words and phrases made in public (during the ongoing intense and sensitive contract negotiations) are deemed to be violations of good faith negotiations. Either Councilmember Kogerman used poor judgement in publicly attacking the City Manager or she deliberately wanted to abort the negotiation process. It is one or the other. Melody Carruth.


So, we at the Laguna Hills Watch Dog very carefully checked the audio tape on the City web site from the April 24, 2012 Laguna Hills City Council Meeting (that can still be heard online on the City's web site) again, and found that Mayor Carruth is again - WRONG.


Council Member Kogerman did not call for the City Manager's "Resignation" and Mayor Carruth neglected to the include the important words ("In the future") in her rendition of Council Member Kogerman's statement. The exact quote from Council Member Kogerman is: "The point of all this is to make perfectly clear that unless the council majority changes the procedure neither Mr. Channing nor any council member other than it's author has the right or authority to arbitrarily pull and item submitted by any one council member unless it is simply to engage in an informational discussion with the author. In the future to remove an agenda item will not be tolerated and should anyone attempt to do so, I will personally recommend that the individual be censured or terminated."


At the same Oct. 23, 2012 Laguna Hills City Council Meeting Council Member Songstad also reminded us of the reason for the failure of the negotiations with the City Manager stating that - unless you have 2 willing parties to negotiate the terms of a contract it is a waste of time. Songstad continued that "... it was a waste of money then and it would be a waste of money now." Laguna Hills Watch Dog October 31, 2012 11:48 AM


Anonymous said...
Do not think for a moment that the two who decided not to run are not interested in City Council any longer. If they ran, they would term out next time they ran for election. My thought is they are taking a term off in order to get on in the next election the following year. Filling the Council with 'their' picks will give them full control next year. Smart, yes, have our back as a community? Take a look at the City Manger's salary and decide for yourself.


Anonymous said...
What has happened to Melody Carruth? For years she appeared to be a citizen advocate and as you stated here spoke out against the ridiculous contract benefits for the City Manager, but since 2010 it appears that she changed her alliance from citizens to the council majority and now all she wants to do is maintain a majority for herself on the city council. I have completely lost all faith in her.


Anonymous said...
Hey Bressette, As a taxpayer, I don't care how you feel about being dubbed part of a lame duck city council, I only care how you spend my money and I don't want any more of it going to the highest paid city manager in Orange County.


Anonymous said...
Mayor Carruth recently knocked on my door and asked me to put a 3rd candidate sign in my lawn. Does she realize there are only 2 vacant city council positions


ABOUT CANDIDATE BILL HUNT


Anonymous said...
I have a friend whose husband is a Sheriff in LA. She said Bill Hunt came to visit her as he was walking around the neighborhood. She asked him why he was running for City Council. He told her that Joel and Allan had contacted him because they want to keep everything status quo with the City Council.


Anonymous said...
Bill Hunt is Missing In Action. He skipped "job interviews" and an offer to meet with the editorial board of the OC Register. Not to mention an appearance he skipped with Laguna Woods Republicans and the local Laguna Hills Watch Dog on Aug. 13, 2012. In fact, the only interview anyone can find is one with OC Politics Blog, in which he states the Laguna Hills City Manager's compensation is fair and well-deserved, and is a political issue not a fiscal issue. http://ocpolitical.com/tag/bill-hunt/ (A much-different pronouncement from one he previously gave at a recent Tea Party forum when he feigned disapproval of the city management's outrageous compensation.) He has been to only 2 or 3 City Council meetings, one immediately after he announced he was running for Laguna Hills City Council. (How ironic that in Hunt's latest campaign mailer, Craig Scott apologist Susie Caskey claims Hunt has been closely following events in Laguna Hills!)
Are Hunt's fans supporting the conservative Bill Hunt or the big spender Bill Hunt; the anti-corruption Bill Hunt or the Bill Hunt who notoriously let Greg Haidl and a drunk-driving supporter go free while a sheriff in San Clemente http://www.fullertonsfuture.org/2010/bill-hunt-on-the-haidl-incident/; the law-and-order Bill Hunt or the private investigator who supports gang bangers in court http://www.occcws.com/?p=925 ; or the illustrator www.illustrationbyhunt.com who specializes in racial and sexual stereotypes and BF of disgraceful racist Barbara Coe? http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2012/08/bill_hunt_must_renounce_joe_ar.php No wonder Bill Hunt is MIA - even he doesn't know who he is. Laguna Hills voters, beware


Anonymous said...
Before you consider voting for Bill Hunt be sure to Check out this page from the "OC Freedom Fund" 455 Capitol Mall, Suite 600, Sacramento, CA 95814 They feel VERY STRONGLY and this organization is NOT for Bill Hunt. The web site is: www.therealbillhunt.com


Anonymous said... The other side to the OC Freedom Fund Story
This is what I found on the internet for the OC Freedom Fund:
OpenSectrets.org - See who's Giving and who's Gettinghttp://www.opensecrets.org/527s/527cmtedetail.php?ein=451170298
"Law Offices of Michael Schroeder":http://www.opensecrets.org/527s/527cmtedetail_contribs.php?ein=451170298&cycle=2012
Bill Hunt and Michael Schroeder:
Why Michael Schroeder hates Bill Hunthttp://www.fullertonsfuture.org/2010/hunt-helps-defend-innocent-latino-while-the-union-plays-politics/
More about Bill Hunt and this same issue in the OC Registerhttp://totalbuzz.ocregister.com/2010/05/24/santa-ana-police-retract-support-of-sheriffs-candidate-bill-hunt/35467/


ABOUT - GENERAL COMMENTS


Anonymous said...
Just wanted to say Thank You to Mike and Evan and your support group for all you are doing for the Marines. My son was in the Marines and I know how much they had needed this kind of support for so many years. It's great to see it happening here! Bless You!!!


Anonymous said...
I can't believe how little response there is to vandalism in the community when political signs that are not those of Carruth, Songstad, Lautenschleger or Bressette. The only one who seems to care at all is Kogerman. Glad we are getting rid of at least 2 of these old council members and 2014 can't come too soon for me. Disgusted citizen


Anonymous said...
Keep up the good work for our Laguna Hills Community. Stand on Conservative principles and the truth


Anonymous said...
I agree everyone needs to get back to the real issues.


ABOUT THE NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS


Anonymous said...
We will see now if Dore Gilbert really can or will set his own course and if so what that will be. Hopefully we will not have to wait 2 more years to see the reforms our city so badly needs.


Anonymous said...
Hey, Tell Dore Gilbert the first thing he can do for the City he was elected to serve is collect his old campaign signs from all over the place. Apparently the city was egar to collect campaign signs from other candidates way before the election was over but is still not collecting signs from Gilbert or Hunt even after the election.


** WIN WIN Wednesday is an ongoing series of restaurant fundraisers that allow the Laguna Hills High School 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" 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 and Schedule go to our web site at www.winwinwednesdays.com and please be sure to "LIKE US" on Face book!


** Bring the WWW!! flyer to these participating restaurants on these dates and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the LHHS PTSA and you can now get durable and attractive business card size Win-Win-Wednesday Fan and Supporter Cards that contain all the info. for W-W-Wed on one side including how to subscribe to W-W-Wednesday to get your flyers, dates and Restaurant Information sent to you weekly on Wednesdays and the other side of the card will serve as a universal flyer, if you forget to bring a flyer. You can sign up for an e-blast at WinWinWednesdays@gmail.com  to have the weekly schedule and flyers for Win-Win-Wednesdays e-mailed to you.


November 21 - Polly's Pies (Laguna Woods) - all day ( + Pies for Marine Families in cooperation with Teen Darkhorse at LHHS.) If you go to www.winwinwednesdays.com and click on November 21 - Polly's Pies you can download a flyer to take to Polly's Pies so that when you eat there on Wed Nov. 21, 20% of the proceeds from your meal will go to the LHHS PTSA and Team Dark Horse - the support committee for the City of Laguna Hills adopted 3/5 Marines.
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
January 2 - ToGo's
January 9 - Cool Beans
January 16 - Chili's Aliso Viejo


**Don't forget to see our "WWW Everyday Partners - Alpha Cleaners, Golden Baked Hams and ToGO's on our web site. 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


*** Team Dark Horse is Collecting Donations and unwrapped toys and gifts now and until December 6, for an Early Christmas Party for Gifts and Toys for the families of the Deployed Marines. Collection Boxes have been placed at:
Laguna Hills City Hall and Community Center,
Total Wine (in LH where the old Circuit City used to be),
Nellie Gail Ranch HOA Club House and Equestrian Center,
Laguna Hills Mall,
Players Sports Tavern (in LH corner of Moulton and Ridge Route).

** Toys and gift donations need to be unwrapped, please and there will be 300 children - 100 children are 2 years old or under and the rest range up through teenagers.


Team Dark Horse received this very nice thank you message from the wife of the Commanding Officer of the 3/5 Marines. It is a beautiful message and extends to everyone in and outside of the community who has donated to and/or been involved with this effort to support the 3/5 Marines. - Just a quick note to say Thank You! All of your generous donations for our 3/5 baby shower were ‘over the top!’ Your time, thoughtfulness, and support of these new mommies is sincerely appreciated by everyone on the 3/5 command team! This Battalion has the most giving community support Programs on Camp Pendleton! In my 17 years with the Corps, I have never seen anything like it! You all continually surprise us! Your kind spirit and continued support of the Battalion has/will impact hundreds of Marine Corps families forever! Chris and I feel truly blessed to have Team Darkhorse in the family! Thank you, Jennifer Griffin, 3/5 Command Team Advisor


** Capt. Joseph Anagnos from the 3/5 Marines was just awarded the 1st award for heroic achievement in aerial flight, as a Helicopter Pilot, for engaging multiple targets with accurate gunfire in very close proximity to a besieged unit and enabling the unit to free itself from its pinned down position in Afghanistan in Feb. of 2010. He enabled a seriously wounded Marine to be evacuated by providing over watch of the landing zone.


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 be sure to Go to the Team Dark Horse web site at http://teamdarkhorse.org/ to see how your donations are helping, and see the Laguna Hills 3/5 Adopted Marines Face book page by clicking on this link - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Laguna-Hills


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


Ka-chinghe sound of a city manager being fired - just click on http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2012/10/19/ka-ching-the-sound-of-a-city-manager-being-fired/163292/
Grand Jury gets last laugh on "Shadowy" pension costs - Orange County Register OC Watchdog - Oct. 8, 2012 http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2012/10/08/grand-jury-gets-last-laugh-on-shadowy-pension-costs/162930/
City officials abused power, grand jury says July 6th, 2012, 1:22 am · · posted by Teri Sforza, Register staff writer http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2012/07/06/city-officials-abused-power-grand-jury-says/158361/
City among worst for alcohol fueled crashes
Fullerton and Laguna Hills had the worst rates of crashes that involved underage drinkers
Read more at: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/cities-348774-crashes-among.html
New Reports with 2011 Statistics for the 70 year old Orange County Animal Shelter that Laguna Hills still uses for it's citizens http://www.ocregister.com/articles/fewer-338291-killed-shelter.html?pic=1
Total euthanasia rate of 53%. http://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. Euthanasia Rate Stuck at Nearly 50% at O.C. Animal Care http://ranchosantamargarita.patch.com/articles/shelter-euthanizes-fewer-animals-in-2011 County Shelter finally admits killing animal for space.
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
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
After attacks, city-manager-compensation sleuths win state award March 21st, 2011, posted by Teri Sforza, Register staff writer http://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/
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."


** CRIME IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD - For a roundup of Laguna Hills police calls check Sheriff's Blotter information - County of Orange at http://ws.ocsd.org/Blotter/ then choose a city/area and either a 7 day view or a 30 day view. The Sheriff's Open Calls,Cities and Areas - Media Page allows members of the media and residents of the community to see all open calls for all cities and areas. The Sheriff's Blotter enables residents to know what activity is occurring in their communities. A regular review of the calls in your area and the year-to-date crime statistics, at the bottom of each page in the OCSD Patrol Areas section, will provide you an accurate view of law enforcement activity in your community. It will also show you Official Radio Codes. You can contact the Sheriff's Dispatch by phone at 949-425-1800.
** You can also check the Saddleback Valley News every Friday for some of the police calls.


** WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR of the Orange County Register Newspaper - E-mail to letters@ocregister.com. Please provide your name, city and telephone number (telephone numbers will not be published). Letters of about 200 words or videos of 30-seconds each will be given preference. Letters will be edited for length, grammar and clarity.


"SMEAR CAMPAIGN Against Dr. Raghu Mathur", 2012 Candidate for Laguna Hills City Council


The Laguna Hills Watch Dog has received an unusually large number of comments from residents related to what has come to be known as the "SMEAR CAMPAIGN Against Dr. Raghu Mathur", 2012 Candidate for Laguna Hills City Council, that arrived, as a 2 page unsigned mailer, with a very nasty illustration of Dr. Mathur, from "Paid for by Citizens for Good Government in Laguna Hills".


This mailer arrived in the mail boxes of Laguna Hills Residents on 11-3-2012 just 3 days prior to the election and just 4 days after we at the Laguna Hills Watch Dog, received a phone call from Mayor Carruth followed by an e-mail from Mayor Carruth that she asked us to publish. We declined, at that time, Mayor Carruth's request to publish what appeared to us to be a laundry list of accusations against Dr. Mathur with poor to no documentation related to where people could locate complete information regarding the accusations. The Smear Campaign 2 page mailer contained 4 of the 6 Newspaper dates that were contained in Mayor Carruth's e-mail to us and the same subject matter.


This kind of Smear Campaign is the worst we have seen to date, but is not new to Laguna Hills - Allan Songstad made the following statement at the 7-13-10 Laguna Hills City Council Meeting - "....Integrity is the way to win an election and that's where I hope this debate is going to be ...... an election shouldn't be won on falsehoods. It needs to be won on truth. If you can't win it on truth you don't deserve to win."......"Let's lay the facts out there and let the voter's decide, let's not put false statements out there and mislead people into believing things that aren't true." (Please see his entire statement and response in the July 13, 2010 Laguna Hills Watch Dog.)


A letter from Council Members Songstand and Lautenschleger, requesting campaign contributions for Council Member Craig Scott was sent just 6 days after the statement above was made by Songstad and included the following paragraph with no documentation at all: "Sadly, one city council challenger is amassing a large war chest of out-of-town money she's already begun spending in a vicious misinformation campaign. Her stated objective in running for City Council is to "remove from the Council all males over the age of 50." We're appalled by this discriminatory and divisive statement. Ugly politics have no place in Laguna Hills, and must not be allowed to take over our fine city."


Due to the nature of the "Smear Campaign" mailer against Dr. Mathur and the outrage of so many residents we are publishing the e-mail from Mayor Carruth, as she requested, but with a point by point response from Dr. Mathur in the hope that fairness will prevail, even at this late date, and discourage this kind of smear campaigning in future elections.


From Mayor Carruth to the Laguna Hills Watch Dog -
From: melcarruthxxxxx
To: blandmj@aol.com
Sent: 10/30/2012 2:06:16 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time
Subj: special edition
Dear Jean,
I would be disappointed if you did not allow me to respond to the attacks against me in the letter from Raghu. I would expect that as the Editor of the Watchdog, you are interested in directing readers to OC Register and LA Times articles which provide an insight into a candidate's background and experience. I would also expect that you appreciate more than one perspective.


Laguna Hills Watch Dog Response - The "Attacks" to which Mayor Carruth appears to be referring in her e-mail to us were actually statements from Dr. Mathur's made in defense of his record related to his work as the President of Irvine Valley College for five years and, subsequently, as the Chancellor of the South Orange County Community College District for nine years. This response was made after he stated to us that while going door to door for his campaign he was told by Laguna Hills Residents that Mayor Carruth was knocking on their doors and advising them to google Dr. Mathur.


What Dr. Mathur said in the LH Watch Dog on Oct. 28, 2012 was:

"Desperate Laguna Hills Mayor Melody Carruth Distorts Dr. Mathur's Record as Chancellor." Mayor Melody Carruth and the long-term council members are desperate to distort my outstanding record as Chancellor by pointing the residents to the false statements made by a disgruntled faculty union member on his blog. This is being done in order to make sure that their handpicked candidates for City Council election will maintain the status quo in the City. Residents of Laguna Hills are earnestly seeking “change in the direction” of city governance. Specifically, there is need for reform of excess management compensation, respectful treatment of residents and businesses, and further recruitment and development of businesses and implementation of grand jury recommendation in the areas of transparency, accountability and ethics at the City Hall. I am a change agent and when elected, I will deliver on these much needed changes.


Reason for My Retirement - I had the privilege of serving as the Chancellor of South Orange County Community College District for nine years, which is considered a rare term in academic administration of higher education institutions in California as well as the nation. Per direction and support of a majority of the Board of Trustees, I was engaged in tough and successful contract negotiations with the faculty and staff unions due to declining economic conditions affecting our taxpayers and businesses. However, a disgruntled faculty union member had created blog with continued irresponsible, unprofessional and defamatory false statements about me and my outstanding work as Chancellor.


I retired from the college district when an elected and married male member of the Board of Trustees, directed, and in fact, pressured me to perform an illegal and unethical task, which would have cost an unnecessary expense of more than $250,000 annually for many years. I declined to perform such a task because, as a fiscal conservative, it was against my principles and conscience as well as against the best interests of the students and the taxpayers. Therefore, I respectfully and honorably retired.


Directly From Mayor Carruth's 10/30/2012 e-mail to the LHWD with responses from Dr. Mathur


1. - From Mayor Carruth's 10/30/2012 e-mail to the LHWD - "When asked by residents about the upcoming city council election in Laguna Hills, I urge them to do some research on all five candidates before making their selection. Laguna Hills voters should be encouraged to gather information about the five candidates running for Laguna Hills City Council. Raghu Mathur is a candidate who is well known in the Saddleback Valley Community. I first met him when he was campaigning against the formation of a City of Laguna Hills."


1. Response from Dr. Mathur: Formation of larger city vs. the City of Laguna Hills--More than 20 years ago, a number of people in the Saddleback Valley believed that a larger city would help avoid having duplicative City Halls and services with bureaucratic management structure and excessive costs associated with the creation of several small cities. In a democracy, it is not unreasonable that everyone's thoughts and opinions should be expressed, respected and considered especially in times of significant change such as the formation of a new city.


2. - From Mayor Carruth's 10/30/2012 e-mail to the LHWD - "Later, I along with other South County residents, read about Raghu's
troubled years serving on the South Orange County College District. His experiences, documented in the LA Times 5/17/2004, 5/18/2004; 9/13/2000; 3/19/2002, 1/26/1999 and the Orange County Register 1/26/2010; paint a picture of a man who tried to channel the energy and focus from the classroom to the courtroom.
He filed lawsuits against the District,"


2. - Response from Dr. Mathur: When I was serving as a new President of Irvine Valley College, a former president of the college on staff was caught faxing my confidential evaluation to his colleagues on campus as well as members of the press. A fax accidentally reached the District Chancellor who advised me to file a lawsuit against the former college president which I did. Since I incurred attorney's fees in the disposition of the lawsuit, the District Chancellor and the President of the Board of Trustees asked me to file a lawsuit against the District to recoup my attorney's fees which I did. The district settled the matter with me by paying my attorney's fees, and I made no gain from it.


3. From Mayor Carruth's 10/30/2012 e-mail to the LHWD- "suffered the humiliation of a number of no-confidence votes"


3. Response from Dr. Mathur - The Irvine Valley College President, the District Chancellor and the Board of Trustees were each given votes of no confidence in efforts to intimidate the management, at a time when the Board of Trustees had directed the management to pursue a different course of action in the governance of the District and its colleges, including preparation of students for emerging new career opportunities in the competitive global economy and compensation negotiations with three different unions. Dr. Mathur was not singled out for the vote of no confidence. Negotiations were concluded collaboratively in the best interests of the students and the taxpayers. These negotiations resulted in major savings of funds that led to rejuvenation of technology infrastructure along with long-overdue building renovations and construction of several new buildings to accommodate enrollment and programs growth at Saddleback College and Irvine Valley College, including the opening of a third campus, called, Advanced Technology and Education Park (ATEP) at the 78-acre land at the old Tustin Marine Base that the District had received free of charge from the U.S. Department of Navy through the City of Tustin. We hired a number of new faculty members as well. We accomplished all this without going to the voters and asking them to approve additional taxation upon themselves by passing a Bond Measure.


4. From Mayor Carruth's 10/30/2012 e-mail to the LHWD - " and encouraged secrecy and suppression of free speech while serving the South OC College District."


4. Response from Dr. Mathur - Some faculty and staff members were engaged in destructive and unprofessional means of conflict resolution. I was encouraging faculty and staff to engage in positive, civil, respectful and professional approaches to conflict resolution with absolutely no intent to encourage secrecy or suppress free speech. As an American, by choice, I have embraced the concept of free speech as guaranteed for everyone by the U.S. Constitution. We collectively focused on building a cooperative and innovative team of faculty, staff and administrators to better serve all students within the financial, facilities, staff, technology and equipment resources available to us and in the most transparent and cost effective manner possible.


5. From Mayor Carruth's 10/30/2012 e-mail to the LHWD - "No longer Chancellor, he left behind a college district which was fortunate to have survived under his watch. On several occasions, the District came perilously close to losing its accreditation."


5. Response from Dr. Mathur - At that time, some college faculty leaders were more interested in seizing control, responsibility and authority over the governance of the colleges from the administration and the Board of Trustees, rather than collaboratively working with them within the established district policies, procedures and protocols. As Chancellor, I was refereeing and managing this situation in an even handed fashion in an effort to ensure that the colleges retained their accreditation which they successfully did for the good of the students and the taxpayers. Colleges never lost their accreditation.


6. From Mayor Carruth's 10/30/2012 e-mail to the LHWD - "No longer Chancellor, he left with a $250,000 severance package."


6. Response from Dr. Mathur - I chose to leave related to a moral and ethical issue, when an elected and married male member of the Board of Trustees demanded of me to create a new Dean position and pressured me to promote his unqualified girlfriend to fill that position. The position came with a secretarial support position at a total annual cost of $250, 000, and was unnecessary, illegal and unethical. While the colleges were offering a limited number of courses for students due to budget constraints, I declined to add any administrative positions and thus participate in wasting taxpayer dollars. This was against my principles as a fiscal conservative as well as against my conscience and the best interests of students and taxpayers. Therefore, I respectfully and honorably resigned as Chancellor of the South Orange County Community College District. The Board of Trustees chose to honor one year remaining on my contract as the Chancellor. I most sincerely wanted to work and earn the money; instead, the Board chose to pay me severance pay per contract, and still paid full salary and benefits to another Chancellor when I left. Some Trustees wanted me to stay and earn my pay which I was totally prepared and willing to do.


7. From Mayor Carruth's 10/30/2012 e-mail to the LHWD - "In Raghu's campaign for city council, he talks about administrative waste and yet he fed at the public trough taking a $700 car allowance every month, took taxpayer dollars every month to pay for home electronics, computer, cell phone Internet access (OCRegister 1/26/2010).


7. Response from Dr. Mathur - Such payments are normal for a Chancellor of the community college districts in Orange County, CA. South Orange County Community College District consists of 48% of Orange County; three campuses, namely, Saddleback College, Irvine Valley College and Advanced Technology and Education Park(ATEP); over 2,500 employees; over 40,000 students and a budget of half-a-billion dollars. As Chancellor, I was responsible for the management of this huge District. I worked and attended to issues and challenges of a vast variety 24/7, so much so that the Trustees would periodically ask me to slow down for the sake of my health. However, I had a strong work ethic, worked long hours including the weekends, enjoyed working and kept a fast pace with a very demanding schedule.


8. From Carruth's 10/30/2012 e-mail to the LHWD - "In Raghu's campaign for city council he writes about the importance of
transparency and yet he was accused of muzzling free speech, he was censured and made certain his departure agreement from the college district included a gag order. Even his initial appointment violated
the State of California's open meeting laws.


8. Response from Dr. Mathur - Throughout my career in education, I have been a practioner of transparency. I did not violate the Brown Act in my own appointment. Under a different Chancellor, the Board of Trustees was accused of violating the Brown Act when they appointed me as the President of Irvine Valley College. I wasn't at the meeting when the Board appointed me.


9. From Mayor Carruth's 10/30/2012 e-mail to the LHWD - We should all use extra care as we prepare to select new elected officials.


9. Response from Dr. Mathur- I agree that we should always use extra care as we prepare to select new elected officials. I wish that Mayor Melody Carruth had taken that same extra care by doing her homework by discussing this with me and before making references to bits and pieces of poorly documented material that others could not easily access to read in full for themselves. Such a behavior sets a terrible example for future elections that should always be judged on the basis of truth and a willingness to allow candidates time to respond to questions and concerns.


COMMENTS FROM RESIDENTS to the Laguna Hills Watch Dog ABOUT THE SMEAR CAMPAIGN AGAINST DR. MATHUR - from "Citizens for Good Government in Laguna Hills."

We thought Mr. Robbins summed this issue up quite well with his response...


Laguna Hills city politics have become more contentious in recent years. The City Council has begun to turn over as ineffectual incumbents have been replaced with new members and the embarrassing debacle of the City Manager’s excessive compensation package have given rise to more debate among the City’s voters. However, the civility of that debate decidedly declined with the mailing a few days before last week’s election of a flyer criticizing Raghu Mathur, a candidate for the City Council. The flyer, which was poorly presented and clearly intended to cast Mr. Mathur in the worst possible light without promoting the campaign of any of his competitors, was unsigned. Accordingly, recipients around the City were left to guess as to who went to such trouble. Apparently, the authors of the flyer only had sufficient courage of their convictions to denigrate Mr. Mathur – their courage didn’t extend to actually identifying themselves so that the flyers’ recipients could judge their credibility. Why was it so important, if they believed it was so vital for Laguna Hills voters to learn about Mr. Mathur’s alleged transgressions, to maintain their anonymity? In short, if they thought they were doing the public such a valuable service, why would they not identify themselves? It’s impossible to estimate whether the flyer played a role in Mr. Mathur’s defeat last week, but at least one can hope that whoever perpetrated this act and overstepped the bounds of decency feels some embarrassment today. Certainly, Laguna Hills deserves better. David Robbins”


Anonymous said...
Have you seen a the letter Joel Lautenschleger sent out dated Oct. 9? He tells people to Google Raghu. Melody Carruth is doing the same as she walks the neighborhood. Both are aware that there is a blog by a rabid unionist that publishes all sorts of untrue, allegations against Raghu. How typical of them to avoid saying themselves what they know to be untrue but to promulgate the lies anyway. Reprehensible, but so much like them.


Anonymous said...
The late Tom Fuentes, longtime O.C. GOP chairman and one of the most revered leaders of the Republican Party of all time was well informed about the troubles Dr. Mathur had with the unions and others who opposed him who conducted themselves in ways considered contrary to community standards of justice, honesty and good morals and backed Dr. Mathur completely....He was exonerated of all the vile accusations contained in the hit piece long ago..Whether it be Dr. Gilbert or Bill Hunt ..whoever is responsible for this rubbish doesn't belong on the city council...


Anonymous said...
Thought I could stand by but after the ultra-nasty piece in the mail this weekend, I'm just moved to speak. AT LEAST BRIEFLY! If you want the rest of the story, I'm happy to share that too but for those that want the bottom line, I am POSITIVELY voting for Raghu Mathur and Andrew Blount for Laguna Hills City Council tomorrow. If you'd like, I can give you my real-world reasons why I am NOT voting for the others but I'd prefer to leave it positive and tell you WHY I'm so in favor of Mathur and Blount. (I could give you my Top Ten, but I'll stick to just one!) I have tried to send this only to those that I do not KNOW are actively supporting another candidate...my intent is not to solicit, only to inform of MY PERSONAL thoughts on the subject....


#1 Reason - because they started caring about the city, the council, the neighborhood, the community LONG before there were candidates. As many of you are aware, I really just started attending the COLH council meetings when I started Win-Win Wednesdays!! in January 2011. I started GOING and learning first-hand more about what was going on at City Hall. Although I missed my share, at least at EVERY single meeting I attended, at LEAST Andrew OR Raghu (and many times BOTH) were there. They were asking questions, making comments, making requests (as was I), making suggestions (as was I), because they CARE (as do I). And have demonstrated a physical presence and a physical interest in what was going on in the community, in our businesses, at our high school. Raghu was front and center at the Every Fifteen Minutes presentation way back in April. Both Andrew and Raghu have been regular attendees at Win-Win Wednesdays events....long BEFORE they were visible candidates.


If you haven't been to a City Council meeting (and I know most of you haven't because its usually the same half-a-dozen faces), I encourage you to at least sign up to receive the Laguna Hills Watch Dog - a blog produced by a friend and neighbor, Jean Bland. Jean and her husband Mike (the Chair of the COLH Marine Support Committee, Team Dark Horse) attend EVERY LH City Council meeting and have for years, in order to bring to the interested public, a transcript of each and every meeting. Jean voice-records every meeting and then spends hours transcribing and doing her own follow-up research and fact-checking to present fair representation of what transpired. Please don't take my word for it, unless you just really don't care...(and if that is the case, please just vote for Mathur/Blount and be done with it!)...but, otherwise, read about what is happening in YOUR community. Here's Jean's most recent editorial posting reflecting the desire to GO POSITIVE. You can also sign up to receive regular updates: http://lhwatchdog.blogspot.com/


I'm a feather-ruffler myself...vowing never to do things "the way we've always done it" just because that is the easiest way or because it's the path of least resistance. Vote as you will, but make sure that you are voting based on current, relevant, reasonable, and reliable information. Don't rely on junk mail that comes from anonymous cowards who remain nameless on their mailers and faceless at City Council meetings. And once the new council is elected, please join me EVEN occasionally on the front row at the COLH meetings....you may be glad you did! There are lots of very POSITIVE things going for us, so please GO POSITIVE WITH ME and feel free to forward this to others....Vote for Raghu Mathur and Andrew Blount.


Anonymous said...
Wow, what a hero! I know that last commenter who said it point blank and personal. Thank You! That person has been at the City Council meetings and knows who's been there vs. who just popped in and pretends to know anything about what is going on in our city government. It is wonderful to have support from the citizens in the know.


Anonymous said...
There is the vile hit piece that was delivered today. The hit piece demonstrates how awful Melody, Allan, and Joel have negatively influenced some folks.


Anonymous said...
Here is this mail we received today on Dr. Mathur. Notice the Illustration. I started wondering if Bill Hunt did the Illustration??


Anonymous said...
Blount and Mathur are who we are voting for... Melody Carruth has become nothing more than another "rhino" in the Laguna Hills City Council.


Anonymous said...
At times like these, people's character and lack of is truly revealed.


Anonymous said...
It is sad about Dr. Mathur & makes me feel ashamed of our city. He is a good man and would have brought the much needed changes at city hall. So, half a loaf is better than none and if we couldn't get Raghu I'd so much rather have Dore than Hunt.


Anonymous said...
It's such a shame that even at this level people have to resort to this type of smear campaign. What happened to dignity and winning because a person has a good plan? This is very disappointing that people have to resort to this.


Anonymous said...
I love that Melody Carruth is wrong about Kogerman, wrong about Songstad and still wants to criticize Mauthur. Sounds like she sees and hears only what she wants to see and hear? What has happened to her?