Laguna Hills Watch Dog
Laguna Hills City Council Meeting - February 12, 2013

FEATURES DIRECTORY

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS - What's On Your Mind? Meet with The 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 first meeting on Sat. 2-9 was enthusiastic and the food was great!!  The 2nd meeting on Sat. 2-16 included Mayor Pro-Tem Andrew Blount. One of the visitors to the Mayor was Mr. David Smith the Area Team Chair from AFS where residents can host a High School Foreign Exchange Student from another Country and/or volunteer with AFS-USA who has been working for 65 years toward a more just and peaceful world by providing international and intercultural learning experiences to individuals, families, schools, and communities through a global volunteer partnership. http://www.afsusa.org/   You can contact the Orange County AFS Team by e-mail at davids8000@msn.com  or phone 949-521-0054.  Come join the Mayor in Building Community in Laguna Hills every Saturday morning. 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 NOW 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 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 a public workshop hosted by the City of Laguna Hills Community Development Department. There will be 2 workshops that will include a presentation on housing trends occurring in the community. Participants will also have the opportunity to comment on housing issues affecting the community. For a report on the Feb. 7 meeting see the blog just below this one on the Laguna Hills Watch Dog Blog Site. There will be one last workshop on May 9. 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.

** Presentations and Proclamations
Item 1.1 - LHHS Student Liaison Report from Amanda Jafee - alternate Kerstyn Gonzales - Sports, the Food Truck, Win-Win-Wednesdays, Exciting Arts Update, Athletic Booster Casino Night and GO HAWKS!
Item 1.2 - Laguna Hills 3/5 Marine Support Committee Chairman Mike Bland update on the 3/5 Marines, plans for the Laguna Hills Memorial Day Race and How to Sponsor a Marine in the Race, etc.
Item 1.3 - Lt. Behrens introduced Sgt. new Laguna Hills' Sheriff's Deputy, Luke South
** Public Comments -  Equestrian Trails Safety Committee Update and Win-Win-Wednesdays 3 Special Dates tied to 3 very Special Events on Campus at LHHS.
** Minutes - Item 3.2 - SPECIAL MEETING, 2-5-13 - Appointments to the 3 vacancies on the Traffic Commission and 2 vacancies on the Parks and Recreation Commission
** Consent Calendar - Warrant Register - $350,140.53
** Items of Interest from the Warrant Register - Ralph Anderson and Assoc. Professional Services Management Evaluation-Nov.'12 paid $8,200.10
** Items Pulled from the Warrant Register- None
** Items of interest in the Consent Calendar -
Item 4.2 - Progress Payment for Community Center Building Refurbishment - $30,718.72
Item 4.3 - Authorization to advertise for bids for the Civic Center Improvements
Item 4.4 - Progress Payment for La Paz Rd. Widening at I-5 - $52,221.42
Item 4.5 - 2nd Quarter Finance and Treasurer's Report (FY 2012/13)
** Items pulled from the Consent Calendar for discussion - None
** Planning Agency/City Council Public Hearings - Item 5.5 - Request to construct an outdoor freestanding fireplace and patio cover in a required setback on a property on Yolanda St. and PUBLIC COMMENTS
** City Council Public Hearings - None
** Annual Public Improvement Corporation Meeting for changes on Board of Directors
** Administrative Reports -
Item 7.2.1 - Unscheduled Parks and Recreation Commission Vacancy
Item 7.3.1 - The 2013 Citizen Survey for the City may or MAY NOT be coming soon for citizens with a combo. of phone calls and mailings- see what the City Council Members have to say about this and  WE WANT TO KNOW - WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE CITY SURVEY?
** Matters Agendized and Presented by Council Members and Mayor-
Item 8.1 - Request for Authorization of the formation of a Laguna Hills Citizen led exploratory committee to contact South OC cities with existing animal shelters to assess their willingness and availability to contract with the City of Laguna Hills for Animal Care Services, and PUBLIC COMMENTS.
** City Council Member Comments - Grand Opening of Big Air in Laguna Hills, Special Recognigion for our SRO, Deputy Gunsolley, and his initiatives on campus, South Coast Symphony Concerts in Laguna Hills.
** Closed Session - Item 10.1 - Public Employee Performance Evaluations- the City Manager
*** There will be a workshop on Feb. 19, 2013 at 6 pm in the City Council Chambers at City Hall re. budget and policies and goals of the city council.
** City Council Members Report Card - How did they score?
** Information, Comments, Questions, Concerns from LH Watch Dog Readers from the previous blog post - ABOUT: COIN-Civic Openness in Negotiation,  Empowering Citizens,  Need for Good Manners from Council Members re. Public's Comments; Need for serious consideration of C.O.I.N. related to transparency issues;  A thank you to Assist. City Manager, Don White;  Why do taxpayers pay for labor negotiator for City Manager and who represents taxpayers?;  Truth about the City's Budget Presentation Award;  Animal Control Services issue;  Need for Crime Warning Notices notices from the City.  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.
*** See a Report on the 1st LAGUNA HILLS HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE WORKSHOP ON THE BLOG JUST BELOW THIS REPORT.

Laguna Hills City Council Meeting - February 12, 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, tomorrow is a minimum day and Monday is a day off for LHHS. Lots of events this week and next week including congratulations to our HAWK Wrestling Pgrm. who just won their 25th league championship and the CIF championship will be next weekend. The Food Truck is still happening every Thurs. in front of LHHS from 5 to 8 on the side where the football field is located, and all the proceeds go to the school. Win-Win-Wednesday tomorrow is at Villa Roma in Laguna Hills with a percent the proceeds going to the school and PTA as well. Today was the start of our annual dodge ball tournament at our school, a fun event where all grades join together to work together in this game. Athletic Booster Casino Night will be May 4th at the Community Center - you can contact Todd Cunningham for more information about this. An exciting Arts update and congratulations to Danielle Travino who is moving on to the State for their Reflections Program because her painting won at the 4th district level, and this year the theme was Magic of the Moment. This week we are partnered with Ralphs for Community Contribution, if you tell them you are working with the Laguna Hills PTSA the people at Ralphs will donate between 1 and 4 % of your grocery bill to the PTSA. Winter Sports are moving forward along with Boy's Soccer which is playing the 1st round of CIF against Rancho Verde High School and Boy's Basketball is playing tomorrow at 7 pm at Oceanview High School in their 1st round of CIF. Girl's Soccer is also moving on to CIF playing Sacred Hearts Academy at Occidental College on Feb. 14, and Girl's Basketball is moving on to CIF playing at home Pasadena High School on Feb. 14. - Mayor Kogerman added - As Always - GO HAWKS!!


Item 1.2 - Laguna Hills 3/5 Marine Support Committee Chairman Mike Bland said he just got a letter from Lt. Col. Griffin a couple days ago who said the 3/5 are on their way back now so should be back in plenty of time for Memorial Day. He said he would like to thank the community supporters who continue to support. We have received lots of great packages including snacks and books and especially some great weight lifting equipment from Laguna Hills. Mike added that the Marines broke a couple of the barbells
and when they get back we want to find out why they were broken, but they received those about a month ago. A little sad news, we found out last week that Kim Reeves, the family readiness Officer for the 3/5 has been promoted so she'll be leaving shortly. So, in June we will be dealing with a new Commander and a new Family Readiness Officer.

About the Memorial Day Event, Renegade Racing is again, this year, waiving/donating the race fees for 25 Marines the committee is going to support 25 additional Marines, so that's 50 and we are in the process of collecting donations for more Marines to run. We are sending out a flyer about how to sponsor a Marine to run in the race. You have a copy of an article that Karen Robbins wrote in the Nellie Gail Pony Express, this is about the 5th article Karen's written. This is about why she's supporting a Marine running in the race. Her son Jack was in the Marine Corps which is one reason why she's joined Team Dark Horse. The committee has decided they would like to pursue some kind of memorial here in Laguna Hills. This first came up about 2 years ago. Mrs. Carruth was kindof supportive, the committee is willing to investigate that and fund it but we need to know if the council is willing to support something like that before we get more involved. There are a lot of possibilities for a small memorial or a plaque around the Community Center.

Mayor Kogerman noted that they can't take action on an item tonight because it has not been agendized but will be sure that gets agendized for further discussion. Mike continued that Dana Point is putting together a large memorial to the 5th regiment for all the fallen. It will have about 52 names on it and as of today the cost is around $50,000 and there is a letter coming to the City asking for $5000. We informed them that we, as a committee, would be willing to donate $1000 and help them on fundraising. Our committee has already done one portable monument that is in their lobby and the Memorial Deck with the names of the 25 fallen from the 3/5 on it and possibly something here in Laguna Hills. We'll let you know when they get back and would like to have the Col. and his wife come to a council meeting to meet you all, and just found out tonight that Mayor Pro-Tem Blount might do a dinner at his house for them so that's just great.

Mayor Kogerman asked - If someone wanted to make a donation to sponsor a Marine in the race how would they easily do that? Mike answered we have a donate button on our web site now at http://teamdarkhorse.org/ and a copy of the flyer about doing that and we might be able to make a connect between a donation and the name of a specific Marine sponsored. We are working on that. Mike concluded with Orange County Business Journal put together a Charity Publication Edition and we're in there with some information.


Item 1.3 - Laguna Hill Chief of Police, Lt. Behrens introduced Sgt. Luke South who is the Administrative Sergeant. Sgt. South works directly with Lt. Behrens as well as the Sheriff's Dept. and City Staff on numerous events and projects for the City. Sgt. Luke has replaced the recently retired Sgt. Diana Rouwenhorst. Sgt. Luke South joined the OC Sheriff's Dept. in 1996. He has worked as a Patrol Deputy, a Defensive Tactics Instructor. He has a Black Belt in Karate and is a use of weaponless force expert and trainer. He was promoted to Sergeant in 2008 while working in the County Central Jail Complex, and has since worked in Rancho Santa Margarita and Dana Point. Lt Behrens said Sgt. South is also noted for his good common sense and people skills and we are very fortunate to have him here. There was applause and everyone welcomed Sgt. South.


PUBLIC COMMENTS - Mayor Kogerman clarified that speakers are requested to complete a pink speaker form to be given to City Clerk Johns. This is voluntary and asked as a courtesy but is not required and stating your name and address publicly is also not required.

Jim Anderson, Laguna Hills Resident from the Equestrian Trails Safety Committee said other committee members are also here for an update on progress. He said they'd had good meetings with HUMZA and with the City Engineer. 8 important locations were identified but the committee is focusing on 2 locations related to providing advance warning signs. Main focus is on the crossing at the Equestrian Center right now. This location was previously identified as a place to try to create another pathway to lead people to the tunnel that's located there. The City's preference was to eliminate crossings where possible. He said they've been looking at that but the same issues have come up as the last time they looked at this related to things not working well to do that. Regarding the advanced warning sign and considering the possibility of the in-pavement lighting, he said we are not doing anything tonight but just giving you an idea of what we're looking at. We passed out a graphic with a sign for maybe on Oso in each direction to try to identify a community here that is a little unique and get people to look at slowing down. Get people focused on this isn't a freeway, it's a neighborhood where people are playing and active and where we want people to be safe.

The 2nd location would be a Gallup Park, a well used park, and on a visit to that location with staff, all saw that as a good location to actually place a stop sign rather than just warning lights related to the road configuration. Looking at moving the trail head there to line it up with the corner, get a stop sign in, and go through the process with the city of the studies and things that need to be done to show the appropriateness of that location for a stop sign. Then we are identifying where the crossings and trail heads are. In the past there have been YIELD lines painted at a number of locations so we are collecting an inventory of these things. Re. the safety of the horses crossings we're looking at rougher concrete pavement for where the horses cross and in picking a site to do that we are considering fight at Oso and Nellie Gail Rd. because you have to get across on the green light and the horses have a hard time with the pavement there.

Council Member Bressette asked when will we see this item come back to us? Ken Rosenfield, Director of Public Services answered early in April. Mayor Pro-Tem Blount asked has there been some thought given to a simple sign that says "Please Yield for Horses"? Mr. Anderson answered they have to work within the staff's code book for standard signs so there are a number of locations with signs that intend to convey that with a picture of a horse and he thought the sign said YIELD, some with triangles painted in the street and probably a lack of appreciation for what that means. We're looking at the signs and looking at the parks and there aren't any of the park signs you'd have for children at play so it's something else to think about for the future. Mayor Pro-Tem Blount noted that at the previous presentation there was a concern that some motorists don't realize they should wait for the horse to clear the intersection. Mr. Anderson said the City Engineer experienced some of the impatience of the drivers so how you get people to slow down remains the puzzle.


Meg Gorham, Win-Win-Meg from Laguna Hills Win-Win-Wednesday dining out fund raiser said she represents LHHS in general and Win-Win-Wednesday's specifically, a series of restaurant fund raisers which has in the last 3 months been elevated to a whole new ball game. We have 3 special dates for Laguna Hills specific restaurants and tied to some type of event on campus.
1ST ONE - is February 27 partnering with MUN (Model United Nations simulation program) Laguna Hills hosts our own conference on Sat. Feb. 24, so Laguna Hills' Baja Fresh is doing the food for the MUN Conference and a flyer will go into the hands of all of the visiting 900 students on campus and hopefully all the MUN parents and students will come back to BAJA FRESH on the following WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27 so that 25% of the proceeds go to the PTSA and 75% of the proceeds go to the MUN Program.

2ND ONE - is the International Festival on March 21 and 22 and on the Wed. before we have 2 highlights, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20 - LULU'S FRENCH CREPERIE, an all time Laguna Hills Favorite and the proceeds from that day will be shared with the LHHS French Program and still talking with Mandarin Terrace and hopefully they will share the proceeds from their restaurant also on March 20 with the LHHS Chinese Program.

3RD ONE - WEDNESDAY MARCH 27 is a Save the Date Day for LHHS Open House. This is open for all the public, not just the parents of LHHS students. There's a big presentation, with all of the Sports Teams and Clubs and everything for 8th grade students to see and hear what Laguna Hills High School has to offer them. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27 - Chick fil-A is the partner all day in Laguna Hills and Music Boosters is the sharing partner at LHHS. Chick fil-A sandwiches will also be sold at Open House as well.

Meg concluded by thanking the City for coming to their senses and taking away that Dad Gum buzzer that had previously been used to indicate the end of the 3 minutes for speakers. This was met with laughter from all and thank yous!  (**Editor's note - We agree that buzzer last year was terrible!)


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

Item 3.2 - SPECIAL MEETING on 2-5-13 - Interviews for and Appointments to the 3 vacancies on the Traffic Commission and 2 vacancies on the Parks and Recreation Commission - On the Traffic Commission, Rick Frazier was re-appointed and Steven Beeuwsaert and Michael Caputo were appointed. On the Parks and Recreation Commission Richard Nagle and Victoria Auer were appointed. Congratulations to these Laguna Hills Citizens!!


CONSENT CALENDAR - Warrant Register = $350,140.53
Items of interest from the Warrant Register - $8.200.10 to Ralph Anderson and Assoc. for Professional Services, Management Evaluation, Nov. 12.

ITEMS of INTEREST from the CONSENT CALENDAR -

Item 4.2 - Progress Payment for Community Center Building Refurbishment - $30,718.72 to N.S. Construction and Painting, CIP # 513A The bill was $32,335.50 - 10 % retention ($1,616.78) was withheld
to assure final performance of the work. Fiscal Impact - Within the Capital Improvement Budget for the Community Center
Item 4.3 - Authorization to advertise for bids for the Civic Center Improvements, Carpeting and Painting. Civic Ctr. was dedicated on Dec. 14, 2004 so in 9th year of service now. City Budget allocated $102,000 to complete the improvements of repainting all common areas in the interior of the building, replacing all carpeting in common areas and in most city space and replacing broken tiles in the rotunda as necessary.
Item 4.4 - Progress Payment for La Paz Rd. Widening at I-5 - $52,221.42 to SEMA Construction, Inc.  Fiscal Impact - within the Capital Improvement Program Budget for this Project.
Item 4.5 - 2nd Quarter Finance and Treasurer's Report (FY 2012/13) City's total fund Balance is reported to be $9,748,592. Total cash and investments are reported to be up by roughly $121,000 compared with the same time period last year. Balance Sheet is reported to show equity of $16,842,764 as of Dec. 2012. You can find a detailed explanation on the City web site under the Agenda Item for 2-12-2013 Item 4.5 in the Supporting Materials.
Items Pulled from the Consent Calendar for Discussion - NONE
Vote - Consent calendar with Warrant Register passed unanimously with no items pulled for discussion


CITY COUNCIL/PLANNING AGENCY PUBLIC HEARING -

Item 5.5 - Mr. David Chantarangsu, Community Development Director presented A request by D. Kubica/B. Deyo to construct an outdoor freestanding fireplace and approx. 191 sq. ft. patio cover in a required setback on the subject property at 26362 Yolanda St. The property is within the Lomas Laguna development at the intersection of Alicia and Moulton Pkwy. and the applicants are seeking a variance from the City to construct that will allow less than the required minimum 3 foot setback to the side property line. Staff supports the request given the property's substandard lot width, depth and area when compared to the development standards of the property's zone and other properties in the Lomas Laguna development. Letters were sent to neighbors and no complaints received. It was noted that the neighborhood HOA sent a letter in support of the request.

PUBLIC COMMENTS - Andrew Herndon from the neighborhood HOA thanked the City Staff for a good job in this effort and on this presentation. He welcomed the new council members and said he as in favor of the request.
Council Member Gilbert stated this was a good presentation from the City Staff, and easy to understand for someone who isn't in the building industry.
VOTE - This was Approved 5 - 0


ROLL CALL OF PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT CORPORATION -
Item 5.6 Election of Public Improvement Corporation Officers - The PIC is a nonprofit, public benefit corporation whose primary purpose is to render financial assistance to the City.  The second Tuesday of February is the time of the annual meeting of the Laguna Hills Public Improvement Corporation (PIC). The City Council sits as the Board of Directors. At this meeting, the Board will elect officers for 2013 and approve the minutes of the previous meeting. As the current President of the Public Improvement Corporation, President Melody Carruth will call the meeting to order. After the roll call, she will entertain a motion to adopt the Resolution electing the Officers for 2013. President Kogerman will then take the gavel and chair the remainder of the PIC meeting. A Resolution has been prepared that will elect the Mayor as President and reelect the City Manager as Vice President, the Assistant City Manager as Treasurer, and the City Clerk as Secretary.
Vote - Passed 5-0

CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARINGS - None

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS -

Item 7.2.1 - Unscheduled Parks and Recreation Vacancy - Jeffrey Mc Connell's letter of resignation effective Jan. 31, 2013 due to moving out of State for employment. A certificate of Recognition will be prepared for Mr. Mc Connell's service since January 2011 and the City Clerk is directed to proceed with the appointment process to fill the vacancy. There will be a Notice of Vacancy on Feb. 13 for applications for this position. Feb. 27 will be the close of the application period and in March the new commissioner will be chosen to begin service on April 3, 2013. If you are interested in this position be sure to check the city web site for more information.
VOTE - Resignation accepted and process for appt. of new commissioner begun 5 - 0


Item 7.3.1 - 2013 CITIZEN SURVEY  - Assistant City Manager Don White presented this item and gave a history that the 1st survey was done in 1995 after the City's incorporation in 1991, to get a good read from the citizens related to how the city had done since incorporation and to seek citizen input early on in the budget process. It then became part of the biennial budget process. He said we had a problem 2 years ago where the survey was not giving us a scientifically valid survey, but that problem has been cured.

At the January 22, 2013, City Council meeting, the City Council considered authorizing staff to proceed with the 2013 Biennial Citizen Survey. The City Council was interested in seeing the final survey instrument before proceeding and established an ad-hoc committee consisting of Mayor Kogerman and Mayor Pro Tempore Blount. The ad-hoc committee has worked with staff to develop a draft survey instrument using the 2011 survey instrument as a baseline. The final survey instrument, subject to modification by the Survey Research Center, is attached to this report for the City Council’s consideration. If acceptable to the City Council, it is recommended that the City Council authorize staff to proceed with the 2013 Biennial Citizen Survey. Staff Report states - “The citizen survey finds and gives voice to all types of citizens. The representative sample tapped in a citizen survey provides the point of view that can be found only in the community at large.”
Fiscal Impact - Cost for the survey is $21,000.

Council Member Bressette questioned the question asking how many people visited the City web site and he asked about social media questions and questioned how many people signed up for tweets from the city. He also asked about including a question re. restoring both of the Sheriff's Deputies to the full compliment that existed before 2 deputies were cut.  Assistant City Manager Don White answered that the first was a question to find the intended purpose for residents visiting the City's web site the 2nd question probably doesn't need to be asked because we assume social media is where the world is going. He said about 160 people are signed up to receive tweets from the City.

Council Member Gilbert said he bets that you would get 100% on that item about the Sheriff's Deputies and continued that he believes public input is extremely important in our decision making process as a council which is why we have this business meeting in public, the web site and phones, etc. There is a lot of access to this council and to the decision making process. Just had a questionnaire 2 years ago and just had an election where we went door to door and met a lot of people and said he thinks they have a good feeling for what people are asking for. He said there were a lot of things he'd like to spend that $21,000 on in the community but not enough change in 2 years for another questionnaire so opposed to the survey now but would look at it again in 2 or 3 years.

Council Member Carruth said she was opposed. There were a lot of questions about methodology and is not convinced that even with changes to methodology we could still have an accurate survey. We have access to fewer land lines and doesn't think people will support this in the mail. Council members have received information door to door. Again she questioned what has happened in the City in the last 2 years that would justify spending $20,000, but can't justify spending the $20,000 at this time.

Mayor Pro-Tem Blount said he struggled with the survey and as we are stewards of the fund of our residents we need to know what our residents would like to have done with those funds. He continued that in the past 12 months he personally spent over $10,000 on a poll that had very similar questions to this survey plus he sent over 30,000 pieces of mail that had his personal cell phone # to each Laguna Hills household. He added that he spent a bunch of time with the mayor going over the questions to insure there were some that could provide some valuable insight yet at the end of the day doesn't see this would yield much new information so he would not be supporting the survey.

Mayor Kogerman added there is no motion yet but there has been some thought given to every 4 years and in 2 years we survey businesses and practices and we can be helpful and so forth. So there would be a survey every 2 years but it would rotate between residents and businesses.

Council Member Bressette said he made a motion but it failed for lack of a second. He asked Assist. City Manager Don White what the annual operating budget is and was told it was roughly 17.2 or .3 million dollars. Bressette asked what the CIP is but Mr. White said that averages 5 to 6 million a year. Bressette continued that he finds it discouraging that we are about to set upon a path of spending 23 to 23 million dollars of taxpayer money and we won't spend $21,000 to find out what the residents think. He said he has supported this survey originally because he was tired of the council members making these decisions by themselves in a mayonnaise jar that his neighbors may or may not agree with. He added if this survey doesn't go forward we are relying on our own biases, thoughts and favoritisms and he didn't think that was right.

PUBLIC COMMENTS - None
NO VOTE - There was no second for Bressette's motion so there was no vote and this year's Citizen Survey will not take place.
(**Editor's Note - Our thoughts about this are - What none of the council members mentioned in their discussion of the City Survey is that surveys are not tools exclusively for the use of council members. The results of well constructed, intelligent surveys that are valid, reliable and correspond accurately to the real world of Laguna Hills Citizens are excellent tools for voters and an important element of transparency. They are a chance for voters to learn the needs, wants and opinions of other citizens throughout the entire city. The results of City Surveys that are well constructed for citizens and conducted in timely manners, related to election cycles and budget cycles, can be used by voters to gauge how well the elected council members are actually serving the needs of all citizens in the city. City surveys are also important tools for the expression of opinions of citizens who do not wish to communicate their ideas directly to council members but do want to be part of the larger city wide group to freely express their thoughts that will contribute to the City as a whole for all to see. Smaller focused surveys on specific issues done in between regular City Surveys, as needed, seem to us to be a good idea for citizens as well. We did not give a grade to council members on this one because since you're not getting a City Survey - IT'S YOUR MONEY AND WE WANT TO KNOW - WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE CITY SURVEY?)


MATTERS AGENDIZED AND PRESENTED BY CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AND MAYOR

Item 8.1 - Authorization of the formation of a Laguna Hills Citizen led exploratory committee to contact South OC cities with existing animal shelters to assess their willingness and availability to contract with the City of Laguna Hills for Animal Care Services.
Recommendation - Authorize the formation of an exploratory committee to be formed by at least 3, no more than 5, knowledgeable and interested residents. Direct the committee to contact relevant personnel in So OC cities which have an existing animal shelter for the purpose of examining animal control options. Assess the cities willingness and availability to further examine such options. Make an interim report to the city council beginning not later than April 23, 2013. City Council authorize the Mayor to write a letter of introduction to the City Managers of the subject cities welcoming their full cooperation and consideration.
Over the years Laguna Hills Residents have expressed a desire to improve animal care services for our City.

Over the years, Laguna Hills residents have expressed a desire to improve animal care services for our City. Laguna Hills has always been contracted with the Orange County Animal Control Services. Areas of concern include the numbers of animals euthanized at the County-run shelter, lack of confidence that animals will be correctly identified as to their owners, the distance required to check on lost animals, the fact that only one animal control officer is assigned to cover an extensive South Orange County area, and the crowded and outdated conditions at the Orange County shelter. Therefore, the City seeks to provide a more local, more efficient and humane animal control/sheltering environment for our citizens and their animals.

In the past the City has explored options including forming a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) with other South County cities that do not have an shelter and contracting with the City of Mission Viejo animal shelter. These efforts did not result in any progress toward the goal of contracting for animal control services with a humane animal shelter at a reasonable cost to the City. Instead, the official focus has been on working with the County to build a new shelter at the former MCAS-Tustin, a project that remains years into the future, with capital costs to the City projected to be at least $250,000, for a shelter that will remain a considerable distance from the City, and still practice euthanasia.

Several years have passed since the efforts to contract with Mission Viejo or to form a JPA. It is believed that with the passage of time and changes in leadership throughout South Orange County, the time has come to re-examine options available to the City for increased or improved animal care services. This motion authorizes a small group of interested citizens, working with the City’s approval, to examine various animal control and sheltering options that may be available to us now or in the immediate future. The results of this study will be reported to the City Council for guidance on a continuing basis. Should viable opportunities become apparent, the City can decide whether to move forward with a consultant to develop a specific plan.

Mayor Kogerman introduced this item stating it has been several years since this was explored and the intention now is to authorize the formation of an exploratory committee to be formed to contact cities in So OC which have an existing animal shelter for the purpose of examining animal control options. (**Editor's Note - It has been 8 years since the Laguna Hills City Council voted not to share the Mission Viejo Animal Shelter that is also shared by Laguna Niguel and now by Aliso Viejo as well.) She added that City Council should authorize a letter of introduction written by the Mayor to the City Managers of the subject cities welcoming their full cooperation and consideration. Mayor Kogerman followed this by reading the motion into the record as requested by City Attorney Simonian. She added that the exploratory committee should return to the city council by April 26, 2013 to make a presentation to the council re. the status of the outreach efforts.

Council Member Gilbert made a motion to adopt Mayor Kogerman's recommendations and the motion was seconded by Council Member Blount.


Council Member Carruth opposed the motion and noted 4 reasons:
1. Carruth said she was concerned that by forming a committee to explore our options we'll be sending the wrong message to the County of Orange and to some of the cities that we partner with. There's a major effort by the County to create a new shelter in Tustin and said she was concerned that as a city we have made a commitment to Supervisor Pat Bates and to members of her staff and we have worked with Orange County Animal Services. We are part of that team, so by expressing an interest in this might be a problem in terms of breaking up this alliance that has been formed through the County of Orange.
2. 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.
3. Carruth continued that her concern was for the animals throughout Orange County. She said we aren't just concerned about Laguna Hills Animals. (**Editor's Note - We are also concerned about all of the animals in Orange County.  We would like to see them all pulled out of the overcrowded high kill rate County Shelter and placed in better and safer City Shelters but if we can never achieve that in our own City in 21 years it's exceedingly doubtful that the goal of relocating all the animals in Orange County to better shelters or changing the overcrowded high kill mentality of the Orange County Shelter will ever be achieved. We have seen so little progress toward that in the past 21 years, but we certainly encourage Council Member Carruth to continue to try to make that happen.)  She added she has a problem with private shelters that they limit the animals admitted to the shelters whereas the County offers services to all animals. She said the County had 10,000 animals adopted last year and a few thousand returned to their owners and is trying to improve services.
4.Carruth also said she was concerned about sending a mixed message to the people in Lake Forest and Laguna Hills who are involved with animal care that we might be interested in 1/2 million or a 1/4 million dollars every year to another animal shelter. She continued 2 of us have gone through this process and had discussions with the City of Irvine and Laguna Beach and Mission Viejo and we can say, well we have new elected officials but we get right back to the bottom line which is cost and said going from 50 to 60 thousand dollars a year to a quarter of a million is not something she wants to do.

Council Member Bressette asked to see a copy of the letter of introduction from the Mayor for the exploratory committee. The Mayor did not have copy of a letter and responded that she will be doing a letter with the City Manager and is only asking for approval for the committee to move forward at this time.


PUBLIC COMMENTS - Valerie Bromberg, Laguna Hills Citizen said this committee will cost the city nothing. Volunteers are willing to find data and report their findings back to the council. For example could we provide better animal control services to citizens? In a study conducted by Aliso Viejo it was stated the coverage provided by the County was, at that time, one animal control officer for 196 sq. miles. Projected cost right now for building a new North County Animal Shelter could cost Laguna Hills $250,000 to $300,000 but cities have stopped contracting with the County over the years. A small city like Aliso Viejo or Costa Mesa leaving didn't change our cost much for a new shelter, but if a larger city like Anaheim leaves the cities left would be charged a significantly higher percent. Would the estimated $25million cost for the shelter drop to $20 million with a big city out, who knows? The County would be in control of that amount, so lets check out other options to cover all our bases. So this committee can pursue the idea that if a local shelter had room for our animals the capital improvement buy in might be less than the County bill to us. Individual citizens of Laguna Hills are paying more and more for animal services out of our pockets because the number of licensed dogs here is increasing. Having a greater percent of dogs licensed is a great move, but citizens are paying more for the same service. Let's see if better animal care at a closer shelter the encourages volunteers and acquires large amounts of donations for the protection of our animals is possible for us. Please allow citizens the opportunity to explore these possibilities.

Question from Mayor Kogerman to Valerie - It's been commented that the other shelters would be private shelters that are not open to accepting all animals or would be selective in the animals would take. Do you have any information about that idea?

Answer from Valerie - It's hard to nail down that question of Open/Closed, Kill/No Kill, and Pro-humane. (**Editor's Note It is not correct to say we are talking about Private Shelters because the shelters in the surrounding cities are City Shelters not Private Shelters.) The City Shelter's must take every animal that comes in to the City. Some of them don't take owner relinquished if they are full. (**Editor's Note that also has been known to happen at the County Shelter when they are full.) It's true that the County takes in all the animals. It takes in 30,000 a year and 15,000 they euthanize, so it is a different system but to say these other shelters only take in cute ones, I think you haven't been to these shelters. Valerie said she's worked with Pits (Pit Bulls) at the Irvine shelter and injured animals at San Clemente, they don't get to pick and choose the strays that come into their cities. They take owner relinquished and 2 of these shelters are now taking 3rd chance animals, because their spay and neuter programs are so effective that they have to go out and bring in more animals, and I was hoping maybe those animals could be ours. (**Editor's Note - The County Shelter does not have a low cost spay and neuter program for the huge community it serves.)


Council Member Bressette - Asked if it wouldn't be more appropriate if the City Manager wrote the letter of introduction for the citizen's exploratory committee and Mayor Kogerman said that would be okay with her. Bressette remarked that there is actually some cost to the City for just agendizing an item so not really true that there is no cost to City. He continued that friends out there who love their animals know that he has been frustrated with this for a very long time, since back to 2006, and if you can overturn everything we've learned when Lake Forest, Aliso Viejo and RSM slammed the door in our face when we reached out to them using our staff, I think we know that Laguna Beach is probably not a good fit for us and San Clemente is almost as far than Orange is to go rescue our animals. I wish you the best of luck with it and I hope that you succeed, and I hope you know it's a long uphill battle, because no one's wanted us in the past. (**Editor's Note - * Fact Check - Mission Viejo did want us and reached out to us in 2005, with an offer to share their shelter. The City Council, at that time, said No, so Aliso Viejo took that spot with the Mission Viejo Animal Shelter and has been very pleased with that service according to their reports.) He said the City spent a lot of time and money on this in the past and he hopes the pessimism is overturned by your optimism and your good will.

Mayor Pro-Tem Blount said I too share Council Member Carruth's concerns. There is a forthcoming shelter being built in Orange and I don't want to show that we have a lack of faith in it. Mr. White is putting time in on it. I too am concerned about animals throughout Orange County and not just here in Laguna Hills. I don't want to send a mixed message that personally I would be inclined to spend a dramatically larger amount of money on shelter services, however, with that said Mr. Blount continued with some good natured laughing, I believe that participation matters and Mrs. Bland, I don't know that there is a person in our City, including us, that has attended and spent more time at council Meetings than you have. If you all are willing to put some time into exploring and coming up with alternative options I applaud and would sure like to see the additional information you are able to uncover, so I support the motion.

Council Member Gilbert said I too share Council Member Carruth's concerns about the cost of a new shelter and the message that it sends to the county, but I'm wondering if we can't pursue both roads where we give our citizens the ability to pursue this without a significant cost and who knows until you go out there and you knock on doors, who knows what you're going to find out. So, I think there's been a lot of change throughout Saddleback Valley, north and south of us, in terms of city council and city managers and management. There may be a fit for us and maybe this might motivate the county to step on the gas a little bit for the new shelter, if they really are serious about building one. Maybe they may say, wait a minute, people are starting to get antsy and anxious out there so we need to move ahead with this, I don't know. But I do think that we are all entitled to at least find out the information that's out there and we can't find it out unless we ask, so I am in support of this. Along with Councilman Blount, I too am very concerned about the cost of a shelter and field service and liability. To me liability is one of the most important issues because God forbid somebody gets attacked by a dog, that's happened, and seriously maimed or even killed. We have to be sure that we're indemnified against a huge court case where it could cost us over a hundred thousand dollars. So that's a major concern and when you're out there talking bring up indemnification. That would be crucial, so that's a heads up for you. The worst thing I could do here is not set expectations because if your expectations and mine don't match, someone's going to be unhappy. I'm very concerned about cost. I will not support anything that's going to cost us multiples of what we're doing now. Certainly I'm open and I want to be reasonable and that is why I don't want to spend $21,000 on a survey (He's referring to the City Survey of it's Citizens every 2 years) and continued, that he'd rather spend that money someplace else.

Council Member Bressette offered a substitute motion and again asked that the City Manager be the one to write the letter of introduction for the citizen exploratory committee in lieu of the Mayor. Bressette's request was acceptable to the maker of the motion, Council Member Gilbert so the substitute motion was withdrawn. Mayor Kogerman added she would like to see the letter before it goes out.
VOTE was 4 in favor and 1 against - The No Vote was Council Member Carruth.


CITY COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS -

Council Member Gilbert said he was thrilled to have Council Memberr Carruth back and appreciates her comments, institutional memory and leadership.

Council Member Bressette said he had been Appoointed to the Orange County Fire Authority's Executive Committee for Budget, Finance and Capital Improvement.

Mayor Pro-Tem Blount said he and his son attended the Grand Opening of "BIG AIR" on Friday and it is so much better than Sky High up in Costa Mesa. Great facility that's family oriented, great exercise and there's so much to do there. He enthusiastically expressed that he was thrilled to have it in the City and concluded with if you haven't been to Big Air, go.

Mayor Kogerman said there is a lot to do as Mayor and she too attended the Grand Opening at BIG AIR and echoed Blount's comments. She noted they were so grateful, at Big Air, to see people from the City show up. She said the businesses in the City really appreciate our interest in them and she thinks this business be a big success. Mission Viejo had their annual recognition of our area's Sheriff's Deputies of the Year and the Fire Fighter's of the Year and our Lt. Behrens added humor to the evening as well as well deserved recognition for Laguna Hills Student Resource Officer (SRO) Deputy Gunsolley. Mayor Kogerman also met with the South Coast Symphony, that is a professional symphony orchestra that has been performing in Laguna Hills for 17 years. She said she was ashamed to say she didn't know anything about it, but they are having a concert on Feb. 22 hosting the Young Stars of the Future, as they do annually. Their concert is at what was called Lake Hills Community Church, it has a new name now but is off Moulton, and on that same day they will be giving 2 youth concerts to 3000 4th graders from So. OC schools. They've played for about 34,000 4th graders over the years. This marvelous organization would love to have a relationship with the City. She added one of the great things about this position is that you get to discover these treasures in your own back yard and hopefully promote them. Kogerman said she also met with (S.O.N.G.S.) San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Monday, received an update and hopes other council members will do the same. She also met with LHHS Principal Sean Boulton, at his monthly coffee with the Principal, and found out more about the increcdible effects Deputy Gunsolley's initiatives have had on the campus. She asked Lt Behrens to agendize this so we call all have a full report. She promised that we'll all be very pleased with the difference that Gunsolley and his initiatives have made in all sorts of ways on the campus.
Mayor Kogerman announced that she now has a Meet with The Mayor and Share your Questions/Concerns going. Last Sat there were 10 interested citizens and for unfettered conversation. She added that she will be inviting council members, one at a time to join her. This has started at the Latte Da Bagelry and Grill on the northeast corner of Alicia Pkwy. and will be going on there for 2 months and then move to a location in North Laguna Hills. She said she is hoping this will continue to be successful and get lots of input from citizens and it doesn't cost $20,000.


CLOSED SESSION
Item 10.1 - Public Employee Performance Evaluations- the City Manager

The Next regular City Council Meeting is Tuesday, February 26, 2013 - 7 pm, at City Hall.*** There will be a workshop on Feb. 19, 2013 at 6 pm in the City Council Chambers 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:

Blount -
P - City Council/Planning Agency vote for backyard fire place and patio cover approved by the neighborhood HOA
P - City Council vote for Authorization of the formation of a Laguna Hills Citizen led exploratory committee to contact South OC cities with existing animal shelters to assess their willingness and availability to contract with the City of Laguna Hills for Animal Care Services.

Bressette -
P - City Council/Planning Agency vote for backyard fire place and patio cover approved by the neighborhood HOA
P - City Council vote for Authorization of the formation of a Laguna Hills Citizen led exploratory committee to contact South OC cities with existing animal shelters to assess their willingness and availability to contract with the City of Laguna Hills for Animal Care Services.

Carruth -
P - City Council/Planning Agency vote for backyard fire place and patio cover approved by the neighborhood HOA
F - Vote Against Authorization of the formation of a Laguna Hills Citizen led exploratory committee to contact South OC cities with existing animal shelters to assess their willingness and availability to contract with the City of Laguna Hills for Animal Care Services.

Gilbert -
P - City Council/Planning Agency vote for backyard fire place and patio cover approved by the neighborhood HOA
P - City Council vote for Authorization of the formation of a Laguna Hills Citizen led exploratory committee to contact South OC cities with existing animal shelters to assess their willingness and availability to contract with the City of Laguna Hills for Animal Care Services.
 
Kogerman -
P - City Council/Planning Agency vote for backyard fire place and patio cover approved by the neighborhood HOA
P - City Council vote for Authorization of the formation of a Laguna Hills Citizen led exploratory committee to contact South OC cities with existing animal shelters to assess their willingness and availability to contract with the City of Laguna Hills for Animal Care Services.
A  For introducing the citizen friendly item of Exploration of Better Animal Care Services for citizens of Laguna Hills
A+  For getting the Exploration of Better Animal Care Services for citizens of Laguna Hills passed and getting the work done with little to no cost to the City.

City Manager - Nothing this time


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


ABOUT:  COIN - Civic Openness in Negotiation

Anonymous said...
Sunshine in Costa Mesa forecast
I believe the Frank Mickadeit article in today's OC Register is noteworthy....
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/city-495968-public-employees.html 
the city of Costa Mesa will post an extraordinary document at costamesaca.gov. It is extraordinary for three reasons: 1) what it will tell us on its face; 2) how it will be used to help make better decisions; and 3) what it could lead to.
The document will be a simple spreadsheet that describes the real cost to taxpayers of every element of the contract the city has with its general employees

ABOUT: Empowering Citizens

2-13-13 - It is easy to bash local government these days for being unresponsive, but last night the Laguna Hills City Council, under the leadership of Mayor Barbara Kogerman, empowered a group of citizens to collect data to explore possible options for improved local animal services. The South County Animal Shelter Coalition will collect information on options and costs and report back to the Council in April. The city leverages the energy and insight of its residents while demonstrating its responsiveness to the changing needs of our community. There are no guarantees, but at least the process demonstrates the city's willingness to listen to all the facts and provide greater transparency just as the new councilmembers and mayor promised. Democracy doesn't end on election day and thanks to the Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem Andrew Blount, Councilmen Dore Gilbert and Randall Bressette, trust in government of the people, by the people and for the people got a new breath of life. We thank them for that.   James Vaughn

ABOUT: Need for Good Manners from Council Members re. Public's Comments

Anonymous said...
I refer to Council Member Bressette's nasty- toned comments to Mr. Steven's objections to some of the La Paz Landscape Concepts presented at Tuesday's meeting. While I understand Mr. Bressette's courage in pointing out that the city will consider the city's needs, I felt, as did others in attendance at that meeting, that he could have made his point without the nasty tone. Such comments can only exert a chilling effect on our residents' willingness to speak their minds, which we should be encouraging, not discouraging. That also speaks to the need for the City Survey where citizens can comment without the expectation of being slammed in public for doing so.

Anonymous said...
Hey Watch Dog, Tell Bressette that nasty responses to citizens who have a right to be heard during "Public Comments" at city council meetings is not the way to get votes and positively influence people. Displays of bad manners to citizens who disagree with you are not acceptable. There was more than enough of that last year from Carruth and it needs to stop now.

ABOUT: Need for serious consideration of C.O.I.N. related to transparency issues

I hope the C.O.I.N. ( Civic Openess in Negotiations ) ordinance gets the attention it deserves. A full and transparent accounting for all salaries, perks and pensions paid by taxpayers to our city employees is good for all concerned.
John Bosch

ABOUT: A thank you to Don White

Anonymous said...
I believe we need to tell Don White that his candid response to the city survey for citizens was very much appreciated. We can never begin to establish any trust with city management or the council members unless we hear nothing but the truth from them. This was definitely a positive step and Thank You Don White!!!!!

ABOUT: Why do taxpayers pay for labor negotiator for City Manager and who represents taxpayers?,

Anonymous said...
Why do taxpayers have to pay for a labor negotiator for the city manager? Is that another stipulation of his bloated contract with the City? Also, thanks for the heads up about the Budget Presentation Award that they use our money to "tout" in City Views. A lot of things need to change in this city and this new council sounds pretty good so far.

Anonymous said...
When taxpayers pay for a labor negotiator related to the City Manager who is the labor negotiator representing, the citizens or the City Manager?

ABOUT: Truth about the City's Budget Presentation Award

Anonymous said...
You are spot-on, once again, in pointing out the fallacy of touting meeting basic accounting standards as it that were some great achievement. As I was reading the new comments in this Watch Dog, I glanced up to the last line of the list of articles in the press, which came from an op-ed by Chris Norby about the "Bell Syndrome." He wrote, "Bell syndrome thrives when self-congratulation trumps self-examination."
How appropriate!

ABOUT: Animal Control Services issue

Anonymous said...
Regarding the better Animal Control Services that are needed for Laguna Hills - Dogs get out frequently in our neighborhood because of workers leaving gates open (including us on several occasions much to my frustration and angst) but also it seems on windy days. One bad windy day I had four different neighbor dogs at my home who had gotten out and wandered to our house. It certainly wasn't due to irresponsible owners.

ABOUT: Need for Crime Warning Notices notices from the City.

Anonymous said...

We got this message from our HOA on 1-26-2013. We are lucky to have an HOA that keeps us well informed but since not all of Laguna Hills has HOAs there should be notices sent out from the City warning the rest of the city. I have not seen these kinds of notices on the City web site? - Nellie Gail Ranch residents have reported several solicitors throughout the neighborhood, especially in the evenings. These solicitors can be quite pushy. Research on the company they are representing indicates that the solicitors are perpetrating a scam. Please be cautious of purchasing any products (magazines subscriptions are the most recent sales ploy) from door-to-door solicitors and report any suspicious activity to the police.


** 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.

February 20 - Perla's Taqueria (MV) Mission Viejo - all day
February 27 - Baja Fresh - (LH) Laguna Hills - all day
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.

Distinguished Budget Award’ more about good looks than financial healthJanuary 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, 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-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.