Laguna Hills Watch Dog: February 2013

Laguna Hills Watch Dog
Laguna Hills City Council Meeting - February 26, 2013

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS - What's On Your Mind? Meet with your Mayor, Barbara Kogerman, and Share your Questions/Concerns over a no-host coffee, bagel or breakfast at Latte Da Bagelry and Grill on the northeast corner of Alicia Pkwy. and Paseo de Valencia at 25461 Alicia Pkwy. Across PDV from the Laguna Hills Community Center. Meet the Mayor Every Saturday 9 am to 11 am in February and March. The 3rd meeting on Sat. 2-23 included, among others, an enthusiastic group of Girl Scouts, their moms and troop leaders who discussed service opportunities in the City. The Mayor took the Scouts with her to a Grand Opening inside Ralph's Grocery Store on Alicia and PDV where they had the opportunity to be in photos and learned about Make a Wish and opportunities for service there, and the food is great at Latte Da Bagelry!! Come join the Mayor in Building Community in Laguna Hills every Saturday morning and the Mayor will also be joined by other city council members who wish to participate. Mayor-Pro-Tem Andrew Blount has already joined the Mayor. Each Saturday, through the end of March, "Meet the Mayor" will continue to be at Latte Da Bagelry and Grill from 9 to 11 am for good conversation and good food.

** YOU CAN ALSO LISTEN TO YOUR MAYOR, Barbara Kogerman. ON FM RADIO- KSBR (88.50). She is being interviewed the day before and the day after each City Council Meeting by Dawn Kamber of Saddleback Community College's FM radio station. The interviews will be played in 30-second spots, every hour and half-hour from 6 am through 9 am on the day of and two days after the council meetings. Their regular programming throughout this time is easy-listening jazz.
Laguna Hills Mayor Kogerman will also be on TV discussing City Government Transparency on the Brad Dacus Show, "Joy in Our Town", on TBN (Trinity Broadcast Network) - Channel 40 on COX CABLE at:
8:30 am on 3-4-13
3:00 am on 3-7-13
10:00 am on 3-8-13

THE 1ST LAGUNA HILLS GENERAL PLAN HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE WORKSHOP was held on Thursday, February 7, at Laguna Hills City Hall, 6:00-8:00 p.m., 24035 El Toro Road, Laguna Hills - The City of Laguna Hills is updating the Housing Element portion of its General Plan, which will establish the City’s housing goals and policies covering the period between 2014 and 2021. Residents and other stakeholders interested in housing-related matters affecting the city are invited to attend the public workshops hosted by the City of Laguna Hills Community Development Department. The 2nd and last workshop will be held on May 9, 2013. For more information, contact Julie Molloy, Senior Planner at 949-707-2671 or email jmolloy@ci.laguna-hills.ca.us

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

Laguna Hills City Council Meeting - FEATURES DIRECTORY

** Presentations and Proclamations
Item 1.1 - LHHS Student Liaison Report from Amanda Jafee - alternate Kerstyn Gonzales - 1st Annual Spirit Week, Sadie Hawkins Dance, Boys and Girls Lacrosse, Boys Volleyball and Boy's Golf. Girl's Lacrosse, Girls' Basketball, Choirs Concert, Spring Music Concert, Win-Win-Wednesday, March 6, is at Athena Greek and at Buffalo Wild Wings, LHHS receiving School of the Year in Academic Excellence in Spanish Award, Athletic Booster Casino Night, Gourmet Food Truck every Thursday at LHHS, 9th and 10th Grade Planning for Post High School Options Parent Night.
Item 1.2 - Ten Year Anniversary Award for David Reynolds the Director of Community Services for Laguna Hills
Item 1.3 Recognition of and saying goodbye to Parks and Recreation Commissioners Mark Jones, and Farid Tabrizy and Traffic Commissioners Pam Dow and Timothy Hillis
Item 1.4 - Oaths of Office administered to newly appointed Parks and Recreation Commissioners Victoria Auer and Richard Nagle and Traffic Commissioners Rick Frazier, Steven Beeuwsaert, and Michael Caputo.
** Minutes - ** Minutes of the Feb. 19, 2013 Adjourned Regular Meeting will be approved and hopefully published. This meeting covered Goals, Policies and Procedures, etc.
** Public Comments - Resident requested a Do Not Turn On Red sign at the South West corner of Carlotta and Valencia
** Consent Calendar - Warrant Register - $835,509.73
** Items of Interest from the Warrant Register - None
** Items Pulled from the Warrant Register- None
** Items of interest in the Consent Calendar -
Item 4.2 - Claim Against the City of Laguna Hills for an amount exceeding $50,000 from the County of Orange
Item 4.3 - Purchase of Pick Up Truck for City Public Works for $25,000
Item 4.4 - Progress Payment No. 2 for Community Center building Refurbishment for
$24,734.01 including a change order increase of $6,215.90
** Items pulled from the Consent Calendar for discussion - None
** Planning Agency/City Council Public Hearings - Request to subdivide the Cabot Town Center Property into 4 parcels at 25214-25272 Cabot Rd. Staff recommends continue this item to March 12, 2013 City Council Meeting
** City Council Public Hearings - None
** Administrative Reports - Procedural Announcement from Mayor Kogerman re. LIMITING COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS TO A MAXIMUM OF 3 MINUTES FOR DISCUSSION for the next few meetings to try this system.
Item 7.2.1 - La Paz Open Space Preferred Concept Plan-Parks and Rec. Commission reviewed the 3 Plans on February 6, 2013 and made a recommendation.
** Matters Agendized and Presented by Council Members and Mayor- None
** City Council Member Comments - Bressette on resenting the 3 minute limit for council discussions, Carruth also critical of the 3 minute limit and remembering Laguna Hills Citizen Mel Edwards, Gilbert defends the 3 minute limit, Kogerman reported Standard and Poors rating on our current financial condition. Plus Editorial Comment about the 3 minute limit.
** Closed Session - None
** City Council Members Report Card - How did they score? ** Correction in scoring on 2/12/13 blog report.
** Information, Comments, Questions, Concerns from LH Watch Dog Readers from the previous blog post - ABOUT: Sign Theft from the Mayor of Laguna Hills, Transparency and City Council Meetings, T he City Survey, Meet the Mayor, The County Animal Shelter, City Views Publication, Recognizing City Businesses.
PLUS ***WIN-WIN-WEDNESDAY'S SCHEDULE OF RESTAURANTS
***You can place comments in the "COMMENTS" section at the bottom of this blog site report and see comments there from others and you can send comments to BlandMJ@aol.com Your name will not be displayed in the comments section unless you give permission
** HOW TO SUPPORT OUR 3/5 ADOPTED MARINES and UPDATES FROM - TEAM DARK HORSE
** 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 - See where to look for Crime Reports for your Neighborhood
** WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR of the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
on this blog just below this report.

Laguna Hills City Council Meeting - February 26, 2013
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 - Item 1.1 LHHS Student Liaison Report from Amanda Jafee, alternate Kerstyn Gonzales

Amanda said this is the 1st Annual Spirit Week at LHHS to get the different classes to join together and play pep rallies and games boys vs. girls. Everyday is Dress Up day, boys vs. girls competition.This all leads up to the Sadie Hawkins Dance Friday, March 1st from 7:00 to 10:00 pm in the LHHS Gym. In Sports, Boys and Girls Lacrosse is getting started along with Boys Volleyball and Boy's Golf. Girl's Lacrosse team plays at home tomorrow. Girls' Basketball lost semi-finals in CIF on Sat. but still have a chance to qualify at State. In the Arts on Tues. March 6th at 7 pm is a Choirs Concert in the LHHS theater. Friday March 15, at 7 pm - Spring Music Concert. Today 19 college admissions representatives from many different States came for a personalized showcase for our Juniors. Win-Win-Wednesdays has become bigger and more helpful to our school Wednesday, February 27th is WWW!! at Baja Fresh in Laguna Hills. Baja Fresh is the unofficial sponsor of this year's LHHS MUN Conference on Saturday. a percentage of the proceeds from February 27th WWW!! will be donated back to MUN! The LHHS PTSA is committed to serving and supporting all the students of LHHS and "sharing" the proceeds from WWW!! events is just one way they do it! And Baja Fresh has been a huge supporter of both our school and the MUN program and now it’s our turn to support them! Please bring family and friends to Baja Fresh, all day, Win-Win-Wednesday March 6 is a double header - Wednesday March 6, is at Athena Greek in Laguna Hills all day - a percent of the proceeds will to LHHS PTSA and at Buffalo Wild Wings in Lake Forest all day - Buffalo Wild Wings a percent of the proceeds go to help the LHHS baseball team. The baseball team is raising funds to improve their fields. On Monday, March 1st at 10:30am in the LHHS Theater, the Education Advisor from the General Consul of Spain, Ms. Carmen Fernández Santás, will award LHHS the School of the Year in Academic Excellence in Spanish for its excellence in content and language integrated learning programs in English and Spanish. LHHS is the only high school in the country that won this award. The Education Office of the Embassy of Spain in the United States organizes this competition. This event is not open to the general public but welcomes people from media agencies. Sat. May 4th, is Athletic Booster Casino Night at the Community Center. Food Truck Thursday at LHHS in the parking lot continues every Thursday from 5 to 8 pm with Gourmet Food Trucks to raise money for the school. On Thursday Feb. 28 at 7 pm there is a 9th/10thGrade Planning for Post High School Options Parent Night. GO-HAWKS!

Item 1.2 - Ten Year Anniversary Award for David Reynolds the Director of Community Services and Deputy City Manager for Laguna Hills. Mr. Reynolds was recognized by Mayor Kogerman with a Certificate of Recognition, a clock and a thank you for his quality service to the City of Laguna Hills. City Manager Channing added that Dave came from the private sector where he was an information technology expert. He was hired as a management analyst but it was discovered he had a lot more talents and he can do everything well. The Mayor asked Dave, what he enjoyed most about his job here and responded. "This clock" which prompted laughter and applause from the audience. Dave added he works with a great staff, City Council is wonderful to work with too and are conscious of establishing an environment in which employees love to work and a community that residents love to live in. Congratulations from us also go to Mr. Reynolds who has always been helpful to citizens as well as a valued City Staff Member.

Item 1.3 Recognition of and saying goodbye to Parks and Recreation Commissioners Mark Jones, and Farid Tabrizy and Traffic Commissioners Pam Dow and Timothy Hillis. All the Commissioners have completed their terms of office. Parks and Rec. Commissioner Mark Jones has been serving since 2004 and Parks and Rec. Commissioner Farid Tabrizi has been serving since 2011. David Reynolds, Director of community Services was asked to say a few words about Mr. Jones and Mr. Tabrizi but they were not present at the council Meeting.

Traffic Commissioner Pam Dow has been serving on the Traffic Commission since 1998, and Traffic Commissioner Timothy Hillis has been serving since 2006. Ken Rosenfield, Director of Public Services was asked to say a few words about Pam Dow and Timothy Hillis and Ken joked that, "David knows I have a better commission." Followed by laughs from the audience, Ken continued that Pam had been very consistent in helping on the commission, very nice and very competent in understanding the rules of the commission, it was a pleasure to work with her. Ken continued, "On the other hand Tim Hillis was the first retired Law Enforcement Officer to serve on the City Traffic Commission and that turned out to be an outstanding choice - no jokes intended". Tim brought professional knowledge of traffic control and traffic laws and an ability to connect with residents and never once wrestled anybody to the ground. More laughs and applause.
The Mayor thanked Tim and Pam for their service and presented them with a City Tile and asked Tim Hillis to give an example of the most difficult decision he ever had to make as traffic commissioner. Tim responded, "So coming up here and saying something about Ken and holding him back doesn't count?" Tim continued that he was used to a lot of different kinds of things happening in Los Angeles County. This was like a walk in the park down here. He said he was impressed by the organization the city has and the planning of the streets, but there are those inherent problems that we all experience around schools. He said we have horses here and he came from an area that had horses and it felt natural, enjoyed working with staff and interfacing with the community, He stressed that he always tried to get people to come to the meetings and stay after their issue was over. He said one night there was a gentleman that was under the influence and had to keep him at bay a little bit and that felt like being at home. More laughs from the audience.
The Mayor asked Pam Dow - what was the most unusual situation you had to deal with as a traffic commissioner? Pam answered, "I don't want to say." She followed that with there were so many unique things, it was lots of fun and great working with Ken.

Item 1.4 - Oaths of Office were administered to newly appointed Parks and Recreation Commissioners Victoria Auer and Richard Nagle (who is also on the board of directors of the Support Committee for the City's Adopted 3/5 Marines) and Traffic Commissioners Rick Frazier, Steven Beeuwsaert, and Michael Caputo and they were each greeted and thanked by Mayor Kogerman. The terms for these commissioners will be through January of 2017.

PUBLIC COMMENTS - Mayor Kogerman clarified that speakers are requested to complete a pink speaker form to be given to City Clerk Peggy Johns. Providing your name and address is a courtesy but is not required unless you would like to be notified about your issue.

Anita Robertson, Laguna Hills Resident asked about at traffic issue in her neighborhood. She said this has been an ongoing issue for about 7 years but is getting worse because traffic is increasing. She requested that the City of Laguna Hills install a Do Not Turn On Red sign at the South West corner of Carlotta and Valencia where the El Toro off ramp is off the 5 freeway. A lot of folks, from Laguna Woods use that right turn to go to Valencia, past the fire station or to come into here. After work a lot of folks use the Lake Forest, they come tootin down Carlotta in a hurry to get home. but there's no visibility when your're making a right turn on a red light. When the traffic starts to be a little less freeway then people behind start honking and getting impatient. She asked please, just a big fat sign on Paseo - NO TURN ON RED at that intersection, It is a safely concern. She said she was directed to a March meeting of the Public Works.

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
** Abbreviated Minutes of the Feb. 19, 2013 Adjourned Regular Meeting were also approved.

CONSENT CALENDAR - Warrant Register = $835,509.73
Items of interest from the Warrant Register - None

ITEMS of INTEREST from the CONSENT CALENDAR -
Item 4.2 - Claim Against the City of Laguna Hills, for an amount exceeding $50,000, from the County of Orange filed in the City Clerks Office on Jan. 7, 2013. City's Claims Administrator and Defense Attorneys have recommended that the City Council reject the claim. Claim is a wrongful death claim naming the City of Laguna Hills and the County of Orange as defendants. You can read details of the claim on the City web site in the online agenda report.
Item 4.3 - Purchase of Pick Up Truck for City Public Works for $25,000Item 4.4 - Progress Payment No. 2 for Community Center building Refurbishment for $24,734.01 including a change order increase of $6,215.90 for corner guards, removal of restroom wall paper and paint walls.

Items of interest pulled from the Consent Calendar for discussion - None
VOTE - Consent Calendar passed 5-0

CITY COUNCIL/PLANNING AGENCY PUBLIC HEARING -Item 5.4.1 - A request to subdivide the Cabot Town Center Property into 4 parcels at 25214-25272 Cabot Rd. in the Freeway Commercial Zone District. Staff recommends continuing this item to the March 12, 2013 City Council Meeting to allow additional time to consult with the applicant.
PUBLIC COMMENTS - None
VOTE - 5-0 to continue to Public Hearing to March 12, 2013

CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARINGS - None

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS - Procedural Announcement from Mayor Kogerman who stated that at the Feb. 19, 2013 Workshop the council decided to limit the city council members comments to a maximum of 3 minutes each during the 1st round of discussion and if needed we can go to a 2nd round, etc. for the next few meetings to try this system.

Council Member Bressette interjected, "No we did not." "I'm sorry, you're just wrong, that's not what we decided." "There was no action taken." Mayor Kogerman called upon City Manager Channing for the minutes of the Workshop Meeting. City Manager Channing stated, at the workshop we did talk about how to improve the pace of some of the agenda items particularly some of these Administration Items. The council, by consensus, decided without a vote that it would be in their interest to give a try to limiting your comments to 3 minutes. It does not limit your opportunity to ask questions of the presenter or speakers but applies to the discussion of the motion. If the first round of comments is not sufficient it could be extended to another round. Mayor Kogerman said this is standard practice in other agencies and is not intended to censor or squelch the exchange of ideas. We hope this will enhance our discussion by giving every council member the opportunity to be heard in a timely manner. After a few meetings we'll evaluate and decide if this is the way we want to conduct the meetings.

Item 7.2.1 - La Paz Open Space Preferred Concept Plan -

The Parks and Recreation Commission reviewed the three La Paz Open Space Concept Plans at the meeting of February 6, 2013. Following public comment, the Commission provided direction to the Landscape Architect to prepare the Preferred Concept Plan for this project. The Preferred Concept Plan is a modification of Concept Plan 3.

Ken Rosenfield, Director of Public Services presented the Concept Plan that maintains the passive uses of the La Paz Open Space, places the trail uses closest to La Paz Road, and was amended to add low-level lighting and benches as amenities in the Plan. Staff also directed minor trail alignment changes to enhance the users experience when on the trails and to add lighting in the La Paz and Moulton equestrian tunnels for safety. Approval of the Preferred Concept Plan will conclude the Park Planning Process and begin the preparation of the Plans and Specifications for this project. Approval of the Preferred Concept Plan is recommended by staff. Ken Rosenfield presented the history of this area and added that at one point the trail is about 65 feet from the closest home. There are 22 Ballard Style low level lights along the multi use trail, there are 3 locations where ramps and handrails are installed for this project, by law for ADA issues (American's with Disabilities), a hitching post and stock tank for equestrians by the shops in the commercial center. There is signage at a cost of $8,160 along the trail. There is no dry stream bed, no bridges, 5 trash receptacles and 2 benches, no picnic tables, no drinking fountains, there are 3 dog litter bag dispensers in the trail system. There are some openings between the trials to add landscape space. There will be 141,000 feet of ground cover, 1100 shrubs, 149 new trees, 4700 linear feet of trail fencing, and the signage. The slopes adjacent to the existing homes are fully landscaped and will not be touched and will be maintained. Some trees will be removed in the open space area mainly the Eucalyptus trees that have been topped over the years along with the dilapidated drainage system and other debris on the site. The Landscape Architect is Mr. Richard Fisher and he will answer questions.

FISCAL IMPACT: The total construction cost estimate for the Preferred Concept Plan for the La Paz Open Space, CIP No. 615A, is currently $1,204,000 (including a 20% construction cost contingency and a 15% allocation for construction management). Funding for this project is included in the 6 year Capital Improvement Program Budget. The project funding is being provided from the proceeds of the sale of Parcel 1 of Parcel Map 2009-134 to the adjacent shopping center.

Staff Recommendation - Approve the Preferred Concept Plan.

Council Member Carruth asked why the trail lighting and benches, how does this fit in with other project trails to the east of this one and has staff met with the County of Orange to see if they will contribute re. fencing and the County Master Trail System and what is the response from the equestrian community?
Ken Rosenfield answered there is nothing planned in the 6 year Capital Improvement Program Budget for projects east of this one in this area and no meeting with the County is scheduled until a final plan is approved for this area and the County has no trail rights in this area, their trail rights begin west of Moulton Pkwy. He added that there have been no comments from the equestrians about these trails. He added staff thought that for residents walking down Alameda Ave. would prefer to enter the area at the maintenance access road nearer to the homes rather that at Alameda and La Paz.

Council Member Gilbert said he liked opening the maintenance access road to pedestrian traffic because he doubts people will walk all the way down to La Paz to enter this area. He asked why $132,000 more for preferred concept 3 than initial concept 3. Ken answered $65,000 for the lighting about $8,000 dollars in the amenities list, the accessibility cost was anticipated but not to this level, a field survey has been completed for grading and cut and fill and that cost increased. Gilbert asked about the signage for $8000?
Ken answered there's a total of 14 signs to be informational for trail users telling about plantings, descriptions of the entire trail system, etc. Gilbert asked, and the amenities for $8,400? Ken answered hitching post and stock tank with auto refill system are about $2,300 together, $1,200 for the dog bag dispensers, concrete trash receptacles are about $3,000. and 2 benches sitting on concrete pads about $2,000.

Mayor Kogerman asked about the opinions of the Parks and Rec. when they decided on this plan. Were they happy with it, or how did that go. Ken answered he was not at the Parks and Rec. meeting but there were about 12 residents who attended and Mr. Fisher will give more detail but a couple residents were concerned about proximity of the trail to their homes, 1 resident wanted more active uses, for the most part residents are happy to see the sight developed for passive use. Some residents were concerned about intrusion, having more people in that area.

Mr. Richard Fisher, Landscape Architect for this area took a question from Council Member Bressette who asked if the original Concept 1 cost would be different today. Mr. Fisher answered no additional attention was given to concept 1 because it was not a preferred plan. Bressette asked re. this preferred plan the last time you were here we discussed the safety of the proximity of the trail to the sidewalk and the street re. safety, have you changed your opinion about that? Mr. Fisher answered one concern was the 2 trails so close to each other but we went back and got some separation there so our comfort level is more positive now. Bressette asked about the hundreds of yards of purple pipe that is present on the land today and can it be re-used. Mr. Fisher answered that may not be an operational system any longer and it is above grade, the pipe for this project needs to be below grade and many of the heads are not operational. Careful removal, stockpiling and hauling it to a storage location could be expensive. A new system would address water conservation more successfully than the old system. Bressette asked about a moisture sensitive system. Mr. Fisher responded that is in their thinking and they will be using state of the art system. Bressette asked why the lighting is in the plan when the public objected to it at the last meeting? Mr. Fisher answered Parks and Rec. felt it was a safety issue for a multi use trail and we may be sorry if there is a trip and fall situation. He added that lighting would illuminate only the trail. Bressette asked about a Wayfinding Signage Plaza, what is that? Mr. Fisher said in the original master plan of our trail head plazas, we talked about a plaza near the Moulton intersection but in talking with staff we decided it is not an appropriate expenditure for this project so the signage here is a modified version of that master plan.

Council Member Carruth asked why the benches. Mr. Fisher explained the benches are to meet ADA criteria plus there was a passionate plea from a resident on the other side of La Paz from the trail that will use the trail to train her child with significant challenges to be more independent. A couple of other speakers mentioned a place to rest. Started with plan for 5 benches and whittled it down to 2.

PUBLIC COMMENTS -

Joel Lautenschleger, Laguna Hills Resident from the gated community Falcon Hill located across the street from this project, said if you are going to use plan 3 you might as well use the sidewalk. He said he was glad to see the trail moved further from the street and sidewalk related to noise and safety but would like to see it moved further from the trail if possible. He said he likes the lights and benches. He added he would like a drinking fountain for people and pets and declared that this area, on the other side of La Paz from where he lives, "is definitely the worst looking part of the city". He added, make it a quality project. You can hear everything he had to say regarding the extensive trail system beyond this project, etc. online on the city web site city council meeting audio feed.

Council Member Carruth asked Lautenschleger about lighting from the refurbished shopping center. Lautenschleger suggested, trees to mitigate some of the lighting from the shopping center and in the slope on his side of La Paz for the houses that will be affected.

Mayor-Pro-Tem Blount asked if there was any additional info. from the Parks and Rec. Commission Meeting that they should know. Lautenschleter, responded that there were 2 new people on the Parks and Rec. Commission so it was a new thing for them and lot to grasp at once. He said there are always concerns about who is going to use this area. He said even if the trails are pushed back the trails are 10 to 17 feet below the homeowners and lets face it the ones who use that trail are gonna be the people there. He said he doesn't see that as a concern.

Shannon Friedman, Laguna Hills Resident also from Falcon Hill said she has some concerns re. the lights from the shopping center and would like some small tree's on her side of the road to block large lights and added that better landscaping on her side of the street would be very nice. She expressed gratitude for actually being heard at the meeting she attended and can see that the architect took into account and that the commissioners listened. She said she is concerned about walking with her son where the trails get too close together as she is working on teaching him not to hold her hand. She said he's 11 and he's fast and she's teaching him some 2 year old skills and needs to be able to catch up to him. So moving the trails away from the street will make them more usable for her. She said she's not concerned about the low level lighting. She said she thought the access to the maintenance road for citizens would make their access to the trail easier. She asked if, possibly related to ADA compliance, stairs could be placed some where for in the landscape because she and her son practice those too. She said she liked the drinking fountain, benches and signage.

Mayor Pro-Tem Blount asked Ms. Friedman what her son's name was and she gave the name and said she was excited about using this park.
Council Member Carruth asked if Ms. Friedman is concerned that the plan shown on the screen will not provide adequate screening from the lighting from the center. Ms. Friedman said she doesn't have a clear concept yet of how well the lighting will be screened or if neon signs will be shining in her bedroom, etc. She said she is referring to building D and she doesn't know if the lighting is adequately screened and if the plan will change and if they'll push for less trees, etc. so just doesn't want neon signs/lighting to negatively affect her property.

Mr. Chantarangnsu was asked to comment on the light screening issue by Mayor Kogerman and he responded there is a condition of approval for the shopping center of a master sign program and the council will have the opportunity to take Ms. Friedman's concerns into account to see if they need to add conditions to limit exterior light from the signs onto the residents across the street.

Dave Stevens, Laguna Hills Resident from Aliso Hills where the planned landscaped area is located, stated this plan #3 is quite a bit better for us. There are 16 homes directly affected by this project. He asked that if the pedestrian walkway is going to be opened closer to the houses where it is now a vehicle area, where trucks go, some barrier needs to still be there, because over the 17 years that he has been there dirt bikes, ATVs, and various other forms of transport including, kids building jump ramps, etc. have been in that area and he said he would not want vehicular traffic to be able to access that. He continued that what they originally asked for was put down the middle and split the difference but with the grading that's not possible. If you put it back to plans 1 and 2, it's (the trails) are below the grade of my house, but I've got 3 little dogs and there's probably 12 to 15 dogs that live in that area and it's gonna be a free for all if you put the trail closer to the people because they'll bark. He said no drinking fountain needed because it's not that far to walk, he'd prefer 1 bench to 2. In response to a question from Council Member Carruth he said we don't need lighting because of the expense and ongoing maintenance, this is not a park. I don't want people there at night. In the summer it's light until 9 pm he accented again that this is not a park but a throughway.

COUNCIL COMMENTS: that will (beginning tonight) include a 3 minute time limit in each round of comments.

In this discussion, there were multiple comments and motions made with no seconds and other motions made and seconded with seconds that were then retracted, etc., so we are going to skip to the end to present the final statements from Council Members and the results.

Council Member Carruth said approve the preferred concept plan with 1 bench, no lighting, no water fountain, moving the equestrian trail, where possible, further from La Paz, stressed that this is an open space corridor.

Council Member Gilbert said approve the preferred concept plan with 1 bench for a place for people to rest. and with the lighting on a timer that would go off at a reasonable hour, and move the trail as far from La Paz Rd. as possible an still maintain this concept plan and the access road incorporate a pedestrian path down to the multi use pathway.

Mr. Fisher, Landscape Architect said there is a chance that some of the trail areas could move a few feet further from the road/sidewalk area.

Council Member Bressette said a trail established by people over the years already runs from Alameda to Baja Fresh and that is the farthest area from La Paz, but we moved the trail in the other direction. He said he likes Gilbert's idea of moving the trail further away from La Paz related to safety and noise and he thinks that if we don't move the trail, the people will. He said no lights or signage or drinking fountain, 1 bench is okay.
Mayor Pro-Tem Blount said we have appointed a competent Parks and Rec. Commission so he is reluctant to change much for that reason. If we disregard their plan, move it all around and change it why have a Parks and Rec. Commission. He added that we did indicate to the Parks and Rec. Commission that we'd only consider something like plan 3 as opposed to giving them an open slate so we did this to ourselves, but he is concerned about safety with the horse trail so close to the road.

Mayor Kogerman said she believes the lighting is a safety issue but has questions about the lighting. Mr. Fisher, Landscape Architect said the lighting will be energy efficient and probably with LED on photo cells that come on in darkness, and go off on a timer. Kogerman said she likes one bench and agrees with Blount's concerns re. the Parks and Rec. Commission who spent a lot of time on this and the fact that we botched it a little bit by saying we're only going to accept this plan. Keep the lighting and if we can safely move the equestrian trail a few feet back from La Paz do that.

Ken Rosenfield, Director of Public Services said it is staff's understanding that the only trail requested to be shifted is the equestrian trail and not the multi use trail and it would not be staff's intention to bring a revised concept plan back to the council. We understand the direction being given so we would proceed to construction drawings which the council will see for approval and if the council directs changes we can still make them. He also explained that there were some parts of the trails that could be moved but other's could not be moved related to drainage areas, settlement basins, and land configuration, etc. and pointed out the options for movement of trails on a diagram for the council. He later added that at some points the equestrian train cannot be moved closer to the multi use trail related to leaving too little room for landscape to be used to separate the 2 trails.

City Attorney Greg Simonian added his recommendation that the council defer to the Professional judgement of the Landscape Architect as to viability of the Ballard Lighting being on timers. City Councils should defer to the design of communities that are authorized by having a landscape professional design the park. I would caution the council that interfering with designing the lighting of a park so that the City could avail itself of design immunity in the future. What that essentially means is you rely on the professional judgement of a landscape architect to advise on safety and lighting aspects and that issue should be at the doorstep of the design professionals with respect to lighting. Council Member Gilbert argued that he was not okay with the lights possibly being on all night. Mr. Simonian then suggested that the council could consider at a later date evaluating whether or not to incorporate this open space passive park area into the city's pre-existing park regulation ordinance which does have timing requirements, for example you can't be in the city parks after 10 pm. as a matter of law in the City of Laguna Hills. He further explained that the area is not a park, has not "park" designation, no parking but may be able to incorporate use of this area into the park regulations to insure it would be illegal for anyone to be in this area after 10 pm. We'd have to take a look at the existing park regulations to see how, if at all, we could incorporate some or all of those park regulations including no barbecuing, no camping and a litany of other park use regulations that are applicable to all the city's parks. We have to take a closer look at it to see if they are active or passive. Council Member Carruth contined to pursue questions about "park" issues to which Mr. Simonian repeated that we would have to take a closer look at the existing park use regulations to see if they are applicable.

Final Motion - Was read as - Adopt the preferred plan with one bench, with the Ballard lighting and we will revisit that after looking at some code issues as per our attorney's recommendation, that the trails be moved from La Paz as outlined by Mr. Rosenfield, and that we have pedestrian access from the maintenance road.

VOTE The Final Motion was approved 4 - 1 The No Vote was Council Member Bressette

MATTERS AGENDIZED AND PRESENTED BY CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AND MAYOR - None

CITY COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS -

Council Member Bressette said what we decided would, informally, was to keep our conversations brief and meaningful. He said he does not agree that we should adopt any rule that restricts any council member from exploring ideas and participating in a full and meaningful discussion about with the important decisions that come before this body much like we did tonight, but a call for the question and a move for a vote simply cuts out meaningful discussion, especially when perhaps you don't want to have that conversation anymore. In fact what we decided to do was to try was to allow a more meaningful discussion by allowing for a more free flow discussion and we decided to do that informally and not announce it to the public. It's a great disservice to our residents who elected this body to tell them that we are restricting any member of this body to voice their opinion and fully vetting an issue. I have never thought we spent too much time on an issue over the 21 years I've been sitting up here, only that maybe we spent too little issue. This whole idea flies in the face of being fully transparent to our constituency smacks of backroom deals and secrecy. This body needs to take all the time it needs to take to make a decision. I'm an elected member of this body entrusted by the public to thoughtfully and thoroughly represent their interests without the need to move an item along. I will not allow anyone to restrict me in fulfilling that obligation which is to represent the citizens of Laguna Hills taking as much time as it many need and I resent any action to restrict my representation of the citizens especially up here at this time.

Council Member Carruth said it was her understanding following their workshop that we would try to be efficient and would try to make sure our conversations were to the point but she agrees with Mr. Bressette that if we move into the area of watching a timer all the time, that we will lose the whole purpose of being here. To have meaningful discourse, making sure that the public is aware of what we're deliberating over, making sure there's full discussion, we pride, especially since Mrs. Kogerman's been on the council, on transparency and making sure the public is fully engaged. Tonight was a perfect example of that we were taking about $1.2 million. We still had an issue about lighting, we're committing to it but not sure if that's going to work or not. If we hurry we may make poor decisions. Reigning in council comments is a mistake. She added that long time resident Mel Edwards was murdered in Santa Ana. He a great American, a Vietnam Vet he was a well respected, kind, hard working and generous business owner and was a neighbor in Laguna Hills and will be remembered as a loyal supporter of the City. In early years he was always there with a check book to support us. He and his wife Cheryl were a true anchor family and fully engaged members of our community. They were committed to youth of the community and LHHS Grad Night. She asked that the council meeting be adjourned in his name and that was done.

Council Member Gilbert said the issue of a 3 minute time limit and transparency are not one in the same. He said he believes that the 5 eloquent and intelligent people here can make their points intelligently and cogently in 3 minutes and if you can't I think maybe there's a problem. If it's a circumstance where we have to respond to other comments then certainly we have that ability with a 2nd round of comments. In no way is that 3 minute time limit meant to prevent any council person from representing the citizens of this community. It's meant to make our meetings more efficient and but made to prevent repetition of a point that has already been made. For those of us who've sat in councils or boards we know that when people become passionate about their ideas they tend to re-explain them in different ways but really they are not saying anything different. He said he is absolutely interested in everything that Mr. Bressette and Mrs. Carruth have to say about any item, especially since I'm new to this council, and I highly value their institutional memory, as I did Mr. Lautenschleger's comments tonight, but I think those comments can be make within a 3 minute time limit and then if there are any more comments to be made, there are more comments to be made and the chair, I'm sure will recognize that. So, I think, it's probably not a bad idea for us to think in terms of trying to make our points and move on. He noted here that he has used his 3 minutes and is repeating himself which is what happens when you have unlimited time. He added if you watch members of U.S. Congress, they have a time limit. Their time limit is even used up by the people they've asked a question to. We're important but we're not so important that we can take up all the time that we want and not be efficient, with that time, so all I'm asking for is efficiency and I think it's something we should strive for and if it doesn't work then we won't do it. I think it's worth a try.

Council Member Bressette argued to Council Member Gilbert that he was cut off tonight and said if you would have allowed my point to be made about the lighting, only about the lighting, you would clearly understand why the lighting was not necessary or even appropriate in that area because people that want to walk from where the shops will be to Alameda St. have a clear alternative which is the sidewalk which people walk at 9, 10 and 11:00 at night 5:00 in the morning, they rarely go down in that grassy field in the dark and I don't think it's appropriate fro them to go down that trail in the dark and the decisions that we make tonight about trails the staff will build upon as we continue to formalize the rest of the trails for the City. So I felt like I got cut off tonight and I don't think that was appropriate.

Council Member Gilbert responded I don't think you were cut off under the 3 minute time limit that was by a call for question and that is not what I am speaking to. I am speaking a 3 minute limit that we placed upon ourselves when we're discussing an item, so you would have had that opportunity but there was a call for a question and that has nothing to do with the 3 minute time limit.

Mayor Kogerman added that a recent Standard and Poors rating report speaks very favorably about our current financial condition and conservative financial practices even in the midst of a past recession and as a consequence of their review we have reaffirmed that our double A plus on our certificates of participation debt issuance with a favorable outlook for 2013. City Manager Channing commented that transfers to a triple A rating on our General Fund. The meeting was closed in the Memory of Melvin Edwards whose life was cut off needlessly and too soon and we will miss him.

***(Editor's note - As a person who has listened to this city council longer and more frequently than most, I ask why not embrace rather than fight the ideas of Economy of Speech, Organization of Thought, and the concepts of Critical Thinking and Improved Communication? These are valuable skills that lend credibility and impact to what anyone says? Laguna Hills citizens are subjected to 3 minute limits in their presentations to the city council, should council members not be able to present their discussions as well as citizens? For the council this plan has no restriction on the number of questions asked, there are more than one round of 3 minute discussion periods to use if needed, and there are no restrictions on telling the truth related to transparency, plus they encourage the non speaking council members to listen while others are speaking. Lengthy and often repetitious speech encourages listeners to drift away rather than to stay fully engaged, so how can it hurt to give this a try? You may be successful and that would be a win-win for all of us. Also, a suggestion, we have noted for the past 2 years that it would be a very good idea for the council members and management staff to actually record council member workshop sessions so they could listen and know for sure what they decided and how they decided it.)

CLOSED SESSION - None

The Next regular City Council Meeting is Tuesday, March 12, 2013 - 7 pm, at City Hall

Contact Laguna Hills City Council Members at ccouncil@ci.laguna-hills.ca.us
** In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in City Council meetings, you should contact the office of the City Clerk at (949) 707‑2635. Notification 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the City to make reasonable arrangements to assure accessibility to this meeting.
================================

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:

** A Correction was made in scoring for the Feb, 12, 2013 Laguna Hills City Council Meeting Report in the Laguna Hills Watch Dog. Mayor Kogerman should have received an A for introducing the citizen friendly item of Exploration of Better Animal Care Services for citizens of Laguna Hills and an A+ For getting the Exploration of Better Animal Care Services for citizens of Laguna Hills passed plus getting the work done with little to no cost to the City - so those 2 grades were added to her score and the report was updated online. We apologize for this error in our Citizen Friendly scoring.

Blount - P - for Vote to adopt the La Paz Open Space Preferred Concept Plan - Adopt the preferred plan with one bench, with the Ballard lighting and we will revisit that after looking at some code issues as per our attorney's recommendation, that the trails be moved from La Paz as outlined by Mr. Rosenfield, and that we have pedestrian access from the maintenance road

Bressette - F- for Vote Against adopting the La Paz Open Space Preferred Concept Plan

Carruth - P - for Vote to adopt the La Paz Open Space Preferred Concept Plan - Adopt the preferred plan with one bench, with the Ballard lighting and we will revisit that after looking at some code issues as per our attorney's recommendation, that the trails be moved from La Paz as outlined by Mr. Rosenfield, and that we have pedestrian access from the maintenance road

Gilbert - P - for Vote to adopt the La Paz Open Space Preferred Concept Plan - Adopt the preferred plan with one bench, with the Ballard lighting and we will revisit that after looking at some code issues as per our attorney's recommendation, that the trails be moved from La Paz as outlined by Mr. Rosenfield, and that we have pedestrian access from the maintenance road

Kogerman - P - for Vote to adopt the La Paz Open Space Preferred Concept Plan - Adopt the preferred plan with one bench, with the Ballard lighting and we will revisit that after looking at some code issues as per our attorney's recommendation, that the trails be moved from La Paz as outlined by Mr. Rosenfield, and that we have pedestrian access from the maintenance road

City Manager - Nothing this time

** INFORMATION, COMMENTS QUESTIONS and CONCERNS from Watch Dog Readers - since the last council meeting

ABOUT: Sign Theft from the Mayor of Laguna Hills

On the night of her selection of mayor of our city, Barbara Kogerman's husband "Col. Bill" erected a wonderful surprise - a " Mayor of Laguna Hills" sign on their front yard, complete with spotlight. They decided to make this sign a Laguna Hills Legacy, to be passed on to succeeding mayors. Unfortunately, upon their return from church last Sunday afternoon, they discovered that this sign had been stolen. They reported the theft and are hopeful the sign will be recovered. The Laguna Hills High School principal and School Resource Officer have been notified. They believe that such a prank may be widely known among students. Any mention on Facebook will be greatly appreciated and will likely be helpful in finding our sign. Your blogs and posts would be helpful.
This message was received on 2-25-13 from Mayor Kogerman

ABOUT: Transparency and City Council Meetings

Anonymous said...
At a recent city council meeting Councilman Dr. Dore Gilbert stated " a city council meeting is where the business of the people is conducted in public". A elegantly simple statement yet powerful in its scope. Powerful enough to define and distinguish the new council provided they remain true to the promise of greater transparency. Citizens deserve to be included in the process.
John Bosch

ABOUT: The City Survey

Anonymous said...
For many years I've thought the city survey for Laguna Hills needed to be professionally udated to eliminate the high probability of answers that were set up to make the old council look good. Citizens need to have the survey as a voice of their own and I agree that the questions and results of the survey need to be published and on file for all citizens to see and use. I've tried over the years to communicate with the Mayor and if I received an answer, I sometimes learned later that the information I was given was biased and not correct. I also want a survey done every 2 years that corresponds with the budget cycle and city council member elections. I have no objection to finding a way to do this for less money and that's something useful that the new council members should work on. The company that's been used in past years sometimes had poor reading and phone communication skills and the list of choices was often too lengthy. I suggest using e-mail and a simple form that is mailed to people with no e-mail that can be returned through the mail or dropped off at city hall. For me phone surveys are the worst way to go. They are annoying because they either always interrupt me when I'm busy or when I have finally have a chance to relax. Also because there's too much advertising by phone going on now, I rarely answer my phone unless I know I'm expecting a call.

Anonymous said...
Hey, why not do a brief targeted survey to find out how citizens feel about the city survey, frequency, method of contact, value of information for them, etc. ?

Anonymous said...
I think, keep the city survey coming every 2 years but definitely improve it to make it more valuable and relevant. It can an important part of checks and balances for city government. Why isn't the city asking for citizen's input for better survey questions, the most convenient method to use for polling citizens, and how often they want it done?

Anonymous said...
Why doesn't the city publish the city survey questions in City Views with instructions to return it to the city? City Views needs to be more useful for residents and this could be a start.

Anonymous said...
I agree with the second comment, I don't want a phone survey. I want to be able to see and study the questions and answer without feeling rushed and I want to be able to find the questions and answers online on the city web site.

Anonymous said...
I think the surveys should be every 2 years because the farther apart they are, the more people forget about the results but I care more that we, the taxpayers, are paying for something that honestly reflects our opinions. Sometimes you have to pay for a service that is useful. Look for more economical ways to do the survey but cut the waste from the system not services that benefit citizens.

ABOUT: MEET THE MAYOR

Anonymous said...
Thank you to Mayor Kogerman for getting out in the community to take the time to listen to us. I've lived in Laguna Hills for a long time and never saw that happen before. I attended last Sat.'s Meet the Mayor and I think it's great. Maybe this city can start to be known as the friendly city?

ABOUT: THE COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER

Anonymous said...
Did you see this story in the OC Register today about the County Animal Shelter. "About 47 percent were euthanized, another 6 percent were euthanized at the request of their owners, and about 1 percent died or escaped. The 54 percent overall death rate was pretty much the same as 2011" Nothing ever really changes there. The best thing cities can do for all the animals of OC is find a different shelter for their animals because every city that leave the County shelter reduces the burden for the rest of the animals who are stuck there. http://www.ocregister.com/news/cats-496442-percent-animal.html

Anonymous said...
http://articles.latimes.com/2001/apr/19/local/me-52910
The county plans to move its shelter in 2003 from its site in Orange,on The City Drive, to the former Tustin Marine Corps Air Station.
Not much progress with building a new shelter or improving the services at the old one.

Anonymous said... http://articles.latimes.com/2001/apr/19/local/me-52910
The county plans to move its shelter in 2003 from its site in Orange,on The City Drive, to the former Tustin Marine Corps Air Station.
Not much progress with building a new shelter or improving the services at the old one.

Anonymous said...
In this report you state - Carruth stated she would like us to continue focusing our energy on providing leadership and advice to the County to move forward with a new County Shelter. Does she have any evidence of changes our advice and leadership have made at the county shelter and does she realize Laguna Hills is less than 2% of the County's Animal Shelter budget? If the county loses us it won't make any difference to them, just like what we say about improving shelter services doesn't make any difference to them. One animal control officer to cover 196 sq. miles including our city has not made a difference to them. We'd have to pay more to change that and then we'd be paying as much as it would cost for much better and safer services close to home. At some point city councils make a determinations about having better services for citizens or not and whether you try to get them through the county or close to home you still have to pay for them. The county would have to lose a large city or two for their budget to be impacted and to get their attention about better services.

ABOUT: CITY VIEWS

Anonymous said...
There's a need to make better use of City Views by letting people know about the Community Bulletin Board at the Community Center and online on the City Web Site. City Views is subsidized by taxpayers, so it should be full of useful information for taxpayers.

ABOUT RECOGNIZING CITY BUSINESSES

Anonymous said...
Thank you to Mayor Kogerman and councilmember Blount for recognizing new and existing businesses and groups in Laguna Hills and mentioning them at city council meetings. Laguna Hills businesses are all small businesses, no big box stores, and there is no Laguna Hills Chamber of Commerce, so the city needs to support their businesses. Good work Kogerman and Blount!

** WIN WIN Wednesdays!! is an on-going series of restaurant fundraisers, a project of the Laguna Hills High School PTSA. Eat at these great local restaurants on Wednesdays and in return, they donate a percentage of the proceeds to the LHHS PTSA. It’s good for us AND it’s good for the local restaurant community. This allows 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!*** Recently the PTSA was able to donate $16,000 for a State of the Art Language lab for the LHHS Language Immersion Program whose Spanish Immersion Component has recently won an INTERNATIONAL AWARD for the BEST SPANISH IMMERSION PROGRAM IN THE WORLD and whose teacher, Mrs. Tonya Iribarne, won a NATIONAL TEACHER OF THE YEAR AWARD ** For Weekly Flyers and Schedules go to our web site at http://www.winwinwednesdays.com/ and please be sure to "LIKE US" on Facebook!

** 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 Cardsthat 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.

March 6 - Athena Greek (LH) - all day and Buffalo Wild Wings (LF) Lake Foprest - all day
March 13 - California Pizza Kitchen (LH Mall) - all day
March 20 - Lulu's French Creperie (LH) - all day
March 27 - Chick fil-A (LH) - all day
April 3 - Spring Break TBD - all day
April 10 - Mangia Bene Cuchina (LN) Laguna Niguel - all day
April 17 - Deemer's American Grill (LN) - all day
April 24 - Fuddrucker's (LF) - all day
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

BE SURE TO SEE ALL THE GREAT THINGS YOUR DONATIONS HAVE MADE POSSIBLE at the Team Dark Horse web site- http://teamdarkhorse.org/

On the web site YOU CAN SPONSOR A MARINE IN THE LAGUNA HILLS 2013 MEMORIAL DAY RACE by clicking on the donate button on the Home Page or by sending a check to the address on the Home Page. The full race Fees are $58 if funds are received before 3/15/13, $63 if funds are received before 6/7/13 and $68 if funds are received before 5/7/13. A donation in any amount will be gratefully appreciated and all donations are tax deductible.

You can also join the City's Adopted 3/5 Marines by running with them in the 1/2 Marathon Race through Laguna Hills and 4 other cities or you can participate in the 10K walk and Run, the 5K Walk and Run or the 1/2 mile Kids Run.

You can see the Laguna Hills 3/5 Adopted Marines Face book page by clicking on this link - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Laguna-Hills

Donation checks can be made to "Laguna Hills Team Dark Horse" and mailed to - Team Dark Horse, 27251 Lost Colt Dr., Laguna Hills, CA. 92653 or anyone can now donate via PayPal on the web site at http://teamdarkhorse.org/ 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. Laguna Hills City Clerk Peggy Johns is the City Liaison to the 3/5 Support Committee.

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

Latest Update on the Orange County Animal Shelter in the OC Register Newspaper - The 54 percent overall death rate was pretty much the same as 2011http://www.ocregister.com/news/cats-496442-percent-animal.html
Distinguished Budget Award’ more about good looks than financial health January 17, 2013 - OC Watchdog by Keegan Kyle,http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2013/01/17/distinguished-budget-award-more-about-good-looks-than-financial-health/165287/
Resident's Resolutions for Laguna Hills, Lake Forest at http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-382833-lake-forest.html
Laguna Hills Needs an Identity of its Own at http://www.ocregister.com/news/laguna-382827-hills-town.html
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, 2012http://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 writerhttp://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 citizenshttp://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 Citieshttp://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 writerhttp://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/03/21/after-attacks-city-manager-compensation-sleuths-win-state-award/78545/#comment-139633Click 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.

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