Laguna Hills Watch Dog
Laguna Hills City Council Meeting - April 23, 2013


SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS - What's On Your Mind? Meet with your Mayor, Barbara Kogerman, and Share your Questions/Concerns over no-host baked goods, breakfast and delli fare at Solomon’s Bakery and Deli for the months of April and May. The 9 to 11 am. sessions are open to all who have questions or concerns about the city or simply want to stop and chat. “We enjoy a lively, wide-open format with no question or comment off-limits.” “We never know what will come up.” Kogerman reports. Past mornings have seen topics ranging from gun control to Girl Scouts. She will have information on city services. She will also invite individual Council Members or others to drop by. The move to Solomon’s Bakery is part of Kogerman’s plan to rotate the meeting places every few months to different parts of the city to showcase Laguna Hills’ friendly neighborhood hang-outs. Solomon’s Bakery and Deli is located at 23020 Lake Forest Drive, Ste 170, in Laguna Hills, between Avenida De La Carlota and Del Lago Drive. (949-586-4717) For over 20 years this traditional and kosher-style bakery has prepared everything fresh and by hand.


** YOU CAN 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.


LEARN HOW YOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS RATED THEIR FAVORITE MAJOR PLANS FOR THE CITY in a Special Edition in the blog report just below this report. If you're interested in what the City of Laguna Hills plans to do with your money in 2013-2015 this is a must read. Tuesday, May 7 at 5 PM will be the 2nd Study Session for incorporating the City Council's Favorite Major Plans into the City's Budget and Tuesday June 25 will be the last meeting and the Only Public Hearing.


The 2nd and Last LAGUNA HILLS GENERAL PLAN HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE WORKSHOP will be held on Thursday, May 9, 2013. It 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. For more information, contact Julie Molloy, Senior Planner at 949-707-2671 or emailjmolloy@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 - WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW AT LHHS, BLOOD DRIVE, TESTING, INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL, DRAMA, FUND RAISERS
Item 1.2 - Mayor Kogerman recognized Lisa Hernandez, Accountant 1 for 10 years of services to the City of Laguna Hills.
Item 1.3 - The City Council Received and oral presentation from Tom Epperson and others, re. the status of their efforts to LOCATE a Good and Cost Effective LOCAL ANIMAL CARE SERVICES, as an alternative to the Orange County Animal Shelter, for the pet owners of Laguna Hills. Find out who is paying the Lion's share of the bill for this service with no voice in how it is used, plus Public Comments
** Public Comments - None
** Consent Calendar - Warrant Register - $845,610.10
** Items of Interest from the Warrant Register - Between the 2 water districts, Moulton Niguel and El Toro the City of Laguna Hills' water bill for Feb.-March = $21,884.93
** Items Pulled from the Warrant Register - None
** Items of interest in the Consent Calendar - None
** Items pulled from the Consent Calendar for discussion - None
** Planning Agency/City Council Public Hearings - None
** City Council Public Hearings - None
** Administrative Reports - Assistant City Manager
Item 7.2.1 - DISCUSSION OF CHANGES and COST REDUCTION for "CITY VIEWS"  including Public Comments
Item 7.3.1 - 2013 WEED ABATEMENT PROGRAM - It's that time again!
** Matters Agendized and Presented by Council Members and Mayor- None
** City Council Member Comments - about citizen participation with city govmt., about earth day, about Meet the Mayor sessions and community involvement.
** Closed Session
Item 10.1 - Conference with Real Property Negotiators
Item 10.2 - Conference with Legal Counsel re. Existing Litigation
** City Council Members Report Card - How did they score?
** Information, Comments, Questions, Concerns from LH Watch Dog Readers from the previous blog post - ABOUT: Council Member Carruth, Memorial Day with Corporal Barron and the Marines, Good Job for LHHS Student Liaison Amanda Jaffee
PLUS ***WIN-WIN-WEDNESDAY'S SCHEDULE OF RESTAURANTS
** You can place comments in the "COMMENTS" section at the bottom of this blog report and see comments there from others and you can send comments to BlandMJ@aol.com Your name will not be used in the comments section unless you give permission
** HOW TO SUPPORT OUR 3/5 ADOPTED MARINES and UPDATES FROM - TEAM DARK HORSE  "Civilian Volunteer of the Year" awarded to Laguna Hills Team Dark Horse Member plus news about the Awards Ceremony and traveling through Camp Pendleton.
** 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
** FIND the CRIME IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD - Look at Crime Reports for your Neighborhood
** WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR of the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER


Laguna Hills City Council Meeting - April 23, 2013
All Council Members were present
=========================================
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
WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW AT LHHS - Amanda said LHHS is partnering with a Sister School in Australia, Werribee Secondary College in Wyndham, Victoria, Australia and they have adopted LHHS in return!  Each school will appoint education ambassadors to promote respect and understanding of one another’s culture. They will explore each other’s educational systems, share ideas, strengthen community ties, expand minds and broaden horizons. Ambassadors will be better equipped to become global citizens of the 21st century by having the opportunity to experience the world beyond the nest and by discovering that “The World is Our Classroom”. To make this possible, LHHS needs your frequent flyer miles. If you are willing and able to donate frequent flyer miles please contact Mr. Sean Boulton at sean.boulton@svusd.org . Help establish friendships across the seas while building academic bonds!
BLOOD DRIVE - LHHS reached a new record with their Blood Drive last week. 185 people gave blood and 85 pints of blood were donated.
TESTING - AP and National Baccalaureate testing coming up in next 2 weeks. LHHS went up 8 points from 2 years ago to last year API score to 851 which ranks 9 out of 10 in the Statewide ranking. Amanda said this is higher than any of the other schools in the district.
INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL - Saturday May 4 is an International Festival at SOKA University so Amanda asked if the City would display flyers for this event on the community bulletin board. She said LHHS will be at the Festival with a booth to raise money for their school.
DRAMA - This week is the beginning of the LHHS production of Les Miserables. Don’t miss the amazing production of Les Miserables by our LHHS performing arts department on April 25 - 27 and May 2 - 4 at 7:00pm at the LHHS Theater.
** The May 4 performance is at 5:00 pm to avoid conflicting with Athletic Booster’s Casino Night. Directed by Mrs. Lord, this classic musical by Boublil and Schoenberg shows off a talented cast and crew, student-designed sets, and our award-winning orchestra led by Mr. Julian. Tickets will be available online starting April 1 at seatyourself.biz and on campus after spring break. For details, go to www.lhhsdrama.com
FUND RAISERS -
Mimi’s Café and French Bistro, in Laguna Hills, is coordinating with the LHHS Drama presentation of Les Miserables, through Win-Win-Wednesdays, so if you eat there on Wednesday, May 8, any time all day, and download your flyer from http://www.winwinwednesdays.com/  and show your flyer at Mimi's, part of the proceeds from your meal will go back to LHHS. Mimi's will also be working as a Win-Win-Wednesday partner with Target whose employees will eat at Mimi's and a portion of the proceeds from their meals will go to LHHS. Also, if you sign up for a Target debit card you can get a 5% discount at Target and for anything you buy at Target with the card, 1% of the purchase goes back to LHHS. There will be applications for this debit card in the program for Les Miserables.
Casino Night – Athletic Booster Fundraiser May 4th. You have the opportunity to sign up for E-Scripts at VONS Club to get more money coming back to LHHS. This is also working with Win-Win-Wednesday at King's Fish House and this will all tie together for MACYS Shop for a Cause where LHHS has an opportunity to raise $1000. On Saturday, May 4th is the LHHS Athletic Booster’s Casino Night at the Laguna Hills Community Center from 6:00 until 11:00 pm. Athletic Booster’s uses 100% of the proceeds to fund much-needed sports equipment, supplement travel costs for CIF play-offs, and many different items that keep LHHS athletes competitive. Order your tickets now and save! Don’t miss out on great opportunity drawings, live and silent auctions, great taco dinner, live music and lots of fun! Friends and families of the LHHS community are welcome! For questions about ticket sales contact Chris Davisson at happyclee@yahoo.com . SEE YOU THERE!  GO-HAWKS!


Item 1.2 - Mayor Kogerman recognized Lisa Hernandez, Accountant 1 with a Certificate of Recognition and a gift clock for 10 years of services to the City of Laguna Hills. Lisa started as a part time Accounting Clerk in 2002.  Mayor Kogerman asked Lisa to tell about the most interesting activity in which she has participated or observed since she has been with the City. Lisa remarked that accounting is not all that interesting, but she said the staff makes accounting fun. Lisa also thanked the management and the council. There was lots of applause for Lisa. Congratulations to Ms. Hernandez!


Item 1.3 - Update on the South County Animal Shelter Coalition - The City Council Received and oral presentation from Tom Epperson, Member of the South County Animal Shelter Coalition, re. the status of their efforts to locate a good local options for animal care services for the pet owners of Laguna Hills.

James Vaughn, Laguna Hills Citizen thanked the council for the opportunity to assist in evaluating the services we offer to our citizens and to make sure we're getting the best bang for our buck to be good stewards of city funds. We will share the criteria we used, the various options we considered and what we found. Because cost and revenue were big factors we will be sharing our findings about that and what we propose to be the next steps. The criteria we used needed to result in improved service so we looked at coverage and response times. For example the County gives us 1 Animal Control Officer for 196 sq. miles versus a City like Mission Viejo that provides one Animal Control Officer for 42 square miles. Under "Cost Effective" we look at what various costs and revenues were. We looked at increased Local Control related to citizens and council voices being heard, Proximity to Citizens and Humane Animal Treatment as well as quality of services offered by the various options. Tom Epperson will present the options.

Tom Epperson, Laguna Hills Citizen thanked the council and noted that the city's letters to the various citys opened the door for us. Tom noted that the new County Shelter in Tustin is a option and that's where we'll be if nothing else is found, but that option is related to if and when the new County Shelter is built. He noted for the last 35 years we've been waiting for something to be built. He acknowledged that Don White said things are moving along and perhaps they are. We also looked at outsourcing including outside Animal Control Services and outside Veterinarians to handle the volume from our city that had a total of 262 animals last year involved with the County Shelter. We talked with Keith Rattay, Director of Public Services at Mission Viejo, but they had no additional room at their shelter. There is some interest in doing animal control for us so that door's not closed yet. At Irvine I talked with Sharon Landers, Administrative Services Director and we talked about sheltering only because they can't do the animal control for us. Dana Point/San Clemente, a JPA, but has no room. Also talked with John Pietig, City Manager of Laguna Beach and Jim Beres Police Chief and we'll talk more about that. We saw no evidence of formal plans for the new County Animal Shelter in the City of Tustin related to the north end of the facility. The Navy has told the City of Tustin that land won't be turned over until there is a concrete plan for what they're going to do with the North Hanger. Tom said, Don I know you've said there may be some kind of escrow but because there's been no advance planning and no feasibility study done our feeling is that we're still a long way from a new county shelter.

Regarding outsourcing, we've talked to several private Veterinarians, but a problem there is they need to have a shelter operation open 24-7 because people are looking for and bringing in animals so lots of traffic that normally a Vet. or a kennel doesn't have. The most promising thing we've found so far is Laguna Beach. Laguna Beach rebuilt their shelter after the flood went through the canyon about 2 to 3 years ago. Their shelter is small but they do the sheltering and animal control for Laguna Woods and they'd like to help us with the animal control. We are still looking at sheltering services in the area for some of the overflow from Laguna Beach. We'd like to continue those discussions. Valerie Bromberg will tell you what we found related to costs.

Valerie Bromberg, Laguna Hills Citizen showed some slides with costs and said, according to the source which is the Orange County Community Resources Accounting, this is all about revenue and revenue comes from the amounts paid by residents plus the amount paid by the city. The main source of revenue paid by residents comes from dog owners who comply with the licensing ordinance. As a result of the last 2 years of canvassing investment residents have gone from paying $149,976 in 2009-2010 to paying $223,384 in 2011-2012 or 81% of the animal care revenue is paid for by residents. The numbers shown were the following:

1. For 2008-09 Pet Owning Residents of Laguna Hills paid $163,756 for Animal Care Services, the City of Laguna Hills paid $69,733 and the Grand Total was $233,489
2. For 2009-10 Pet Owning Residents of Laguna Hills paid $149,976 for Animal Care Services, the City of Laguna Hills paid $61,604 and the Grand Total was $211,580
3. For 2010-11 Pet Owning Residents of Laguna Hills paid $217,780 for Animal Care Services, the City of Laguna Hills paid $44,141 and the Grand Total was $261,921
4. For 2011-12 Pet Owning Residents of Laguna Hills paid $223,384 for Animal Care Services, the City of Laguna Hills paid $53,518 and the Grand Total was $276,902

** So, by FY 2011-12 Pet Owning Residents in Laguna Hills were directly paying 81% of the total annual Laguna Hills' bill for animal care services but not receiving any better services.

Valerie continued that animal services is composed of 2 pieces, Animal Control and Shelter Services.

The next slide showed the following costs:
In 2011-2012 in Laguna Hills

Cost for County  Animal Control Services = $208,448 or 75.3% of the total cost
Cost for County Animal Sheltering Services = $56,707 or 20.5% of the total cost
Cost for County Canvassing Services = $11,747 or 4.2% of the total cost.

Total Cost for 2011-2012 = $276,902
The information from this report shows that Animal Control Services is over $200,000 and 75% of our cost.
Animal Shelter cost is $56,00 or 25% of our cost and for the last 2 years we have paid for canvassing.

** Valerie said it's important to remember that the Animal Control portion is the vast majority of the cost and the main purpose of Animal Control is to protect the residents just as the purpose of the Sheriff's Dept. is for Public Safety. This is a list of some of the things that Animal Control does for us - Animal Control Services consist of - Dead Animal Removal, Quarantine, Vicious Dog Investigations, Law Enforcement Assistance, Impounds, Barking Dog Problems and Feral Cats.

Valerie said, We had thought one of the benefits of the County was low cost but we've seen our costs for Laguna Hills here so we looked at some neighboring cities to see what they were paying and found that those cities that have left the County Shelter are generally paying less for better service than we in Laguna Hills pay.We found was the following:

Per Capita Animal Service Costs:

LAGUNA WOODS in 2012-13 paid $86,000 with a population of 16,192
= Per Capita Cost of $5.31

ALISO VIEJO in 2009 paid $365,849 with a population of 47,823
= Per Capita Cost of $7.65

LAGUNA HILLS in 2011-12 paid $276,902 with a population of 30,344
= Per Capita Cost of $9.13

Tom Epperson concluded with Where We Go Next. He said we need to talk more with Laguna Beach and private sheltering then put the numbers all together and back with you. He thanked everyone for their patience and assistance and asked for questions.
Mayor Kogerman commented that this was an extremely thorough report based upon information that was out there but not pulled together this way before. She continued that it was very helpful to see the picture of what is and what can be.

Council Member Bressette asked to go back to the cost for Services from 2008 to 2012 slide and asked if these were Laguna Hills costs, then asked why did the costs for 2009-10 that were$211,580 go up to $276,902 in 2011-12? Was that an increased cost of services?  Valerie Bromberg answered costs have been going up. In 2004 the budget for the County Shelter was $10 million. In 2009 it was $15 million, now it's $16 million. It goes up every year. She said she also has all the numbers of all the animals that went to the shelter and as we now know the bulk of the cost is not for animal care but for the animal control service. Again, we had not received additional animal control service. There is one Animal Control Officer for area 6 (our area) everything south of the Y including Silvaerado Canyon, so why these numbers are going up is that's we're being billed. James Vaughn contributed and Valerie agreed that some of that increase was the canvassing cost.

Council Member Bressette also commented related to the slide of the 3 cities that the only awkward number may be the 2009 Aliso Viejo number. Valerie Bromberg responded that it is awkward because she took it from the report when Aliso Viejo was moving over to Mission Viejo and that's the cost they gave. We can pursue this by getting more information from the Mission Viejo Shelter now and find out what their revenue is but just to give you an idea, Laguna Hills $9.13 popped but I took the entire County budget of $16 million, and I have a copy of the report I can send you, but the County serves 2 million people so we can do the math and that's $8 per person. Question is why is our (Laguna Hills) cost higher when we have more compliance through a higher per cent of licensing? Santa Ana provides it's own Animal Control, so if you take the 2nd largest city out of the equation for paying for animal control, we're paying $9.

Bressette's last question was can you come back at the 1st meeting in July?
Tom Epperson asked if there was a place marker in the budget for and animal shelter amount? Mayor Kogerman said she asked if we could earmark whatever amount was in the budget for Capital Improvement for the Tustin Animal Shelter could be considered a place holder if we came up with some acceptable option other than the county. She asked if we had that budget item? James Vaughn responded that the 8 week extension to the 1st meeting in July is fine. Tom added we can also get into the details of the cost for Aliso Viejo.

Mayor Pro-Tem Andrew Blount thanked the committee and addressed Assistant City Manager Don White  - My understanding in our budget session last week was that we actually made money off of our dogs but I saw an expense of somewhere around $50,000, can you explain the difference?  Assist. City Manager Don White responded, it is true that this fiscal year, so far we haven't paid anything for Animal Control Services or sheltering and we have a $28,000 credit going into the final quarter of this year. Part of that, I think, was that the $53,000 amount paid by the city in 2011-2012, part of that ended up becoming a credit to us. in this fiscal year.  Blount continued, so would it be the case that so even though the City hadn't paid anything that money would have been offset by the residents due to the licensing so there might have been an actual increase in the amount paid by residents?  Does that make sense or no?  White responded No.  Blount asked, so we had a reduced need for services?  White responded, Well, no, we did have increased license revenue, yes. It's not just license revenue, there's other revenue sources, so to the extent that revenue goes up our costs do go down. Blount - So regardless of whether that money is coming directly from our city or not it is an amount that would be reflected in charges paid by residents in one form or another. White replied, Yes.

Tom Epperson added, essentially, what we were trying to look at is what's the total cost to residents here because if you folks pay it, we are paying it through taxes, otherwise we pay it directly. James Vaughn added, we needed to determine what is the total pot of money we have to work with.  Blount added, I actually enjoy the split in the fee between city and residents because there are some folks that would say I don't have animal so why is it that my tax dollars are going to pay for them? Well, there are 100 reasons why.

James Vaughn added that cats are free riders because there is no license required for them and we emphasize the animal control cost because that is a safety function so all residents do have to pay for that related to wild animals, dead animals, what have you. The dog owners are basically subsidizing that.

Mayor Kogerman responded that the public safety cost which is Animal Control Services is really largely being paid by the residents. James and Tom responded that's correct. Council Member Carruth thanked the committee and emphasized that the Laguna Beach Shelter's capacity and the flooding problem. Tom Epperson responded that we might be able to work something out related to capacity there and are looking into that. James Vaughn also responded that related to creative solutions we want to work out where we can get the best deal for animal control and where for sheltering.


PUBLIC COMMENTS - Joel Lautenschleger, Laguna Hills Resident said the amount paid by residents for dog licensing is required by law. Then the question is what kind of services do you want and what kind are you getting. He noted that the city's cost for the service this year will be down to about zero. If you look at the last time the city went out to get a bid there wasMission Viejo and they asked for something like $225,000 additional that the city would have to pay per year. We rejected that for a number of reasons, bang for the buck. We weren't sure what for that cost. He added that to him it was always an issue of euthanasia and service. He said he looked at some statistics over the last couple of years and looked at 6 or 7% euthanasia rate for Irvine, same with Mission Viejo, for dogs, because they're licensed, is 11% for Laguna Hills. You hear about these horrible numbers at the County Animal Shelter because they have to take everything, feral cats, etc. Years ago we, at the council said we're going to extend the time to 10 days and over the last 2 years no dog or cat was euthanized for space or for time. The only time you saw euthanasia was for cats. If people license their cats, it's a question of personal responsibility. If you want your dog or your cat returned you license it and you chip it. The government has a role to play in Animal Services but Irvine and Mission Viejo are adoption agencies. Irvine brings in 900 animals a year for adoption, makes their adoption rate look great and cuts down on their euthanasia rate. He said he wouldn't look at that rate of $276,000 a year and say oh, we're paying that. It's because people in Laguna Hills are responsible and do license their dogs so are paying for that. He added why should a person who doesn't have a dog be paying for that?

** Editor's Note - Related to Mr. Lautenschleger's comments above, it's important to note that there is a great deal of additional information to disclose. I was a part of the original effort to obtain better animal care services closer to home for pet owners in 2005, and fortunately I saved extensive information that provides answers to the issues raised by Lautenschleger as follows: Jean Bland

1. USER FEES for DOG OWNERS ISSUE
There are many city services for which all citizens pay but not all citizens use, so one thing to consider is that Pet Owners are paying twice for Animal Services which includes Public Safety Service for everyone in the city, such as dead animal pick up, wild animals, public assists, business licensing for kennels and stables, etc., and Agency assists for police fire, etc. All Pet owners pay through their property and business taxes and they, mostly dog owners, pay again directly through licensing, all without a voice related to local control, cost, distance or quality of service.

2. ACTUAL COSTS ISSUE
In 2005 when the City of Laguna Hills was studying a proposal from the Mission Viejo Animal Shelter vs. the County Animal Shelter, the City of Laguna Hills' presentation including their final Power Point Presentation did NOT include the amount of Laguna Hills revenues from the County and it was noted that Mission Viejo had a difficult time obtaining that information from the County, so there was no clear source of information for residents or Mission Viejo related to the actual revenue which was needed to determine the per capita costs presented by the City of Laguna Hills. Without complete information related to Laguna Hills' Costs and Revenues from the County Shelter we had no way to evaluate a potential cost with Mission Viejo of approx. $230,000 a year (and this was NOT in addition to what Laguna Hills already paid) It was not until 2008-09 that we were able to get clear information from the County (for 2008-09 Pet Owning Residents of Laguna Hills paid $163,756 for Animal Care Services, the City of Laguna Hills paid $69,733 and the Grand Total was $233,489) so at this time we were able to see that Laguna Hills was actually paying more for County Shelter Services, than the estimated cost at Mission Viejo, but also by this time, the City of Aliso Viejo had taken the opportunity that had been offered to Laguna Hills and switched their animal care services from the County Shelter to the Mission Viejo Animal Shelter.

3. CURRENT COSTS ISSUE
Laguna Hills costs are not "down to about zero" the COSTS ARE UP at the County Shelter, but are currently being covered by a combination of more citizens paying license fees due to the canvassing for dog licenses initiated by the City of Laguna Hills and because as Assist. City Manager Don White told us at this meeting - We have a $28,000 credit going into the final quarter of this year. Part of that, I think, was that the $53,000 amount paid by the city in 2011-2012, part of that ended up becoming a credit to us. in this fiscal year.

4. EUTHANASIA ISSUE
Mr. Lautenschleger referred to an 11% euthanasia rate for the County Animal Shelter but because the County Shelter's overall euthanasia rates have been and remain at 40 to 50% for Dogs and 70% for cats he had to have taken that 11% number from only Laguna Hills dogs impounded at the County Shelter and we have that info. for 2010 - 2012 taken from the County Animal Shelter web site. There was no 11% but there was a, one time only, 12% - see below.

2010 County Animal Shelter Stats for the City of Laguna Hills only
A total of 58 cats and 133 dogs were impounded at the OC Animal Shelter
60% of the those cats and 23% of those dogs were euthanized by the shelter
and an additional 7% of the cats and 23% of the dogs were reported to be owner requested euthanasias.

2011 County Animal Shelter Stats for the City of Laguna Hills only
A total of 54 cats and 102 dogs were impounded at the OC Animal Shelter
59% of the those cats and 12% of those dogs were euthanized by the shelter
and an additional 2% of the cats and 20% of the dogs were reported to be owner requested euthanasias.

2012 County Animal Shelter Stats for the City of Laguna Hills only
A total of 65 cats and 142 dogs were impounded at the OC Animal Shelter
43% of the those cats and 15% of those dogs were euthanized by the shelter
and an additional 5% of the cats and 17% of the dogs were reported to be owner requested euthanasias
**Due to the combination of overall consistently high kill rates 50%+ and overcrowding (impounds of about 30,000 every year) at the Orange County Animal Shelter there is added danger for all animals impounded there.

5. CALLING MISSION VIEJO AND IRVINE ANIMAL SHELTERS ADOPTION AGENCIES?
Because both of these Animal Shelters are successfully dealing with animal issues in the cities they serve, they are able to assist high kill shelters, in other areas, to save additional animals and in doing that they are also able to offer more to the cities they service and bring in additional revenue. Both of these shelters also have support groups that pay for services to help pets beyond what the cities are obligated to pay under State Law.

6. SAYING THERE HAVE BEEN NO ANIMALS KILLED FOR SPACE OR TIME?
There is no way for citizens to determine if animals were or were not killed for space or time without having each animal independently professionally evaluated for health and behavior issues and tracked through the system.

A) We were only able to track one dog through the County Animal Shelter System and that was because we were given information by the Laguna Hills resident who turned that dog over to the county, including his kennel number and his date of impound. The Laguna Hills Citizen had taken the dog to a Veterinarian for a vet check and to search for a microchip ID and reported him to be healthy, young and friendly with adults and children. When he was euthanized the reason recorded in his file was: "4-1-06 retention has been met-dog spends most of its time sleeping in the back of the kennel, not very social does look a bit spooky-PAC"

B) From The Lake Forest Animal Control Study of the Orange County Shelter 2006-2007, this was one of the county shelter defects found: "The documented criteria for selection of animals for rescue, adoption and euthanasia in the Policy and Procedure documents were inconsistent, and were often vague and incompletely articulated."

C) From the Orange County Grand Jury Study- Is Orange County Going To The Dogs?  06/03/08  http://www.ocgrandjury.org/pdfs/dogstudy/dog-study.pdf

"The County’s current shelter was built in 1941 to serve a county of 200,000 people – about the population of Huntington Beach or Irvine today."
"The number of euthanized animals led the Grand Jury to question why the figure is so high."
"A large percentage of the animals euthanized was due to lack of space at the County Shelter."
"Even if the new site in Tustin is approved, it may only be able to handle an increase in the animal caseload for a few years unless the pet population tsunami is stabilized or reversed."

7. ADDITIONAL DAYS AT THE COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER FOR LAGUNA HILLS ANIMALS?
The City of Laguna Hills told us that they have an agreement in place with the Orange County Animal Shelter to guarantee all owner known dogs from Laguna Hills will be retained for a minimum of 10 days instead of the State required minimum of 7 days before being eligible for adoption to afford pet owners more time to recover lost pets.
We learned from the 2006 Laguna Hills Contract with the County Animal Shelter that, "If agreed to, additional animal retention days will be offered on a SPACE AVAILABLE BASIS only" and the shelter is almost always full. This agreement covers only owner known dogs and we requested Public Records but never received any information verifying that any of the additional 3 days had ever been used. Also if they are used the city would be repaid for the days through revenue related to fines collected when an owner reclaims a dog.

Mayor Kogerman said she was very impressed with the work the citizen committee had done. She added it was something that needed to be done, was helpful and she is hopeful that it will lead to solutions we can all be happy with.
 
VOTE - City voted to have the committee come back in 8 weeks at the 1st meeting in July which would be July 9, 2013 - Vote was 5 - 0.


PUBLIC COMMENTS - Mayor Kogerman clarified that speakers are asked 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. There were no public comments.
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
CONSENT CALENDAR - Warrant Register = $845,610.10
Items of interest from the Warrant Register - None
Items of interest pulled from the Warrant Register (which is part of the Consent Calendar) for discussion - None
ITEMS of INTEREST from the CONSENT CALENDAR- None
CITY COUNCIL/PLANNING AGENCY PUBLIC HEARING - None
CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARINGS - None


ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS

Item 7.2.1 - CITY VIEWS AND COMMUNITY SERVICES ACTIVITY GUIDE - STAFF RECOMMENDATION: THAT THE CITY COUNCIL DIRECT STAFF TO: (1) PROCEED WITH REDUCING THE CITY VIEWS SECTION OF THE CITY'S NEWSLETTER; (2) ISSUE REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS FOR PRINTING AND GRAPHIC DESIGN SERVICES; AND (3) AND AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO EXTEND THE EXISTING CONTRACT WITH FAUBEL PUBLIC AFFAIRS FOR THREE MONTHS.

Melissa Au-Yeung, Senior Management Analyst presented the Staff Report -

SUMMARY: City Views/Community Services Activity Guide is a 28 page, 9" x 12" publication mailed out on a quarterly basis to all households and businesses within the City and has been periodically published since 1993. In the 2007-09 biennial budget it was combined with the Civic Center Activities Guide. Copies of the publication are also made available at the Civic Center and Community Center. The City of Laguna Hills currently contracts with Faubel Public Affairs for the development and coordination of the City Views/Community Services Activity Guide. At its March 12, 2013, City Council meeting, the City Council expressed interest in exploring various cost savings options associated with the development of the City's publication. The City currently budgets $105,000 annually for the development, printing, and mailing of the City Views/Community Services Activity Guide, of which approximately $36,000 represents the 11 page City Views portion of this brochure.

Staff examined the following four cost saving options:

1. continue with the existing City Views but issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for development and coordination services;

2. reduce the City Views section of the publication substantially from 11 pages to 3 or 4 pages which, if brought in house, would reduce the cost by an estimated $6,000 per publication if graphic design and printing also brought in house there would be an additional savings so the total savings would then be estimated to be about $8,500 per issue or $34,000 per year;

3. eliminate the City Views section altogether resulting in a savings of $11,000 per issue or $44,000 per year plus other cost reductions for in house publication would increase that savings to about $60,500 a year.

4. Sell advertising within the existing City Views format this option would require consulting services and graphic design and printing costs would increase due to the expanded size of the publication. While these cost would be more than offset by the revenue generated through advertising sales there are too many variables to provide an estimate of possible savings and costs.

The city studied the publication for the City of San Clemente that does use advertising.  San Clemente currently pays their consultant $53,640 annually for their city news letter, which includes a fixed cost of $43,640 and $10,000 in mailing costs. Their consultant is responsible for developing the publication and for the management and sale of advertisements.  In exchange the consultant is entitled to all the revenues derived from the ad sales. The staff is still responsible for drafting copy and writing articles, coordinating the cover and preparing the schedule of classes for publication. The number of pages varies at the discretion of the consultant based on ad sales for the quarter and advertising may be placed anywhere in the publication with the exception of the City News Section. Staff did mention they have received feedback from some that it's difficult to find certain items among the proliferation of ads they also expressed some concern with the structure of their contract, so may issue an RFP for a new model.

Due to the combination of cost savings and the ability to reserve a limited number of pages to publish and disseminate important information to residents, as well as for the purpose of maintaining a high quality, easy to read publication, staff recommends the City Council direct staff to move forward with reducing the City Views section substantially. Included within this option, staff proposes issuing an RFP for design and printing services.  Additionally, because the development process for the Summer issue of City Views is scheduled to begin prior to the end of the fiscal year, staff requests a three month extension of the Professional Service Agreement with Faubel Public Affairs to allow adequate time for the transition with no disruption in publication mailings.

Council Member Carruth asked if staff got any information about how switching to public advertising may have affected/impacted San Clemente's Park and Recreation Classes. Melissa answered that San Clemente has been utilizing the advertising for 20 years so they do not have any comparison information. Carruth asked what any savings would be if we could reduce the City Views portion of the publication to once a year. Melissa answered that would allow us to eliminate City Views for 3 issues for a savings of $11,000 per issue (as noted in staff suggestion #3 above)

Mayor Kogerman asked if San Clemente's ad sales income goes to a consultant and the city is not making any money on that where is the savings?  Melissa answered that they pay a reduced cost of $53,000 for their city brochure which is substantially larger than ours.  Kogerman then asked City Atty. Simonian about any problems with restricting the kinds of advertising that go into the publication. City Attorney Greg Simonian stated, he would have to research that issue. There are legal issues assoc. with regulating commercial advertisement within a city publication we'd want to take a close look at the parameters of regulating content with regard to the sale of commercial advertising space. San Clemente may have a governmental policy regarding the sale of advertising within the publication which means the government serving in a proprietary capacity as opposed to a regulatory capacity so we need to take a closer look at that.

Council Member Bressette asked other than City Views what other tools do we have to contact our residents on a regular basis to inform them about City matters?  Melissa answered the City's web site but city Views is the other major source. Bressette asked if anyone's ever complained that City View's is too large?  Melissa appears to have answered that she hasn't seen it. Bressette asked did you consider if the RFP should ask for both the proposed reduced size of City Views and the current size so the council could compare the numbers?  Melissa said she wasn't sure but the proposed RFP is for graphic design and printing services and bring the coordination and development in house. Because it's a reduced size staff can bring it in without too much added burden.  Bressette asked if staff didn't think we could get a better price if we send the whole thing out for bid. Melissa replied, yes and that's option number 1. (as noted in staff suggestion #1 above)

Council Member Gilbert asked why staff preferred option 2 to option 3 above when option 3 saves about twice the money.  Melissa answered because option 2 still allows us to provide some information to residents and some photos, if there's something special going on, without reducing the size of the content too much.  Gilbert asked and you can't do that with option 3?  Melissa responded there's some blank space on the bottom to fill in with a little information.  Gilbert said he'd like to sit down and talk with somebody from City Views to get a better understanding when seeing the publication and talking about the options at the same time.

Council Member Bressette suggested an ad hoc committee of council members that would study this and bring back their findings for a review.

Mayor Pro-Tem Blount asked if there were any reported benefits for advertisers in San Clemente?  Melissa answered San Clemente staff mentioned that businesses are appreciative of the fact that they are able to advertise in so many households.

Mayor Kogerman added that we will be bringing in Facebook as another means to communicate with our citizens so asked if it could help fill in a gap if we cut back on City Views?  David Reynolds, Community Services Director contributed that the goal for Facebook will be mainly for highlighting special events but recommend still going forward with our recreation guide.

Council Member Gilbert proposed that we might actually see a majority of the advertisers in our City Views come from areas/cities surrounding Laguna Hills as their opportunity to let LH residents know that they exist. He said he didn't know if we have enough businesses in LH to support this concept but we have a real opportunity for involvement from the surrounding cities.  Mayor Kogerman added there would also be opportunities within the city Laguna Hills for community based organizations such as the world class ballet school in our city and the Symphony Orchestra in our city.

PUBLIC COMMENTS - Brian Locke (sp?) from Faubel Public Affairs, said he has been a pleasure assisting Melissa and Don with the publication of City Views for the past 3 years.  He added they are proud of the publication and said they often ask their clients is where do you get your information about what's going on in your city/community and city publications are high up on the list of residents. He continued that this is a great way to communicate in a form that people can hang onto and keep around the house for awhile. He said they would be happy to compete in an RFP process to get a more competitive cost and he advised that future costs could be less than you're paying now even if you kept the publication the same.

Council Member Gilbert noted that the Orange County Register newspaper provides excellent service at no cost so he thinks $100,000 a year is way to much money for what we've been doing so would expect that you'd be very competitive going forward.

Meg Gorham, Laguna Hills Resident said she currently she doesn't use the Community Services Guide, but is in favor of keeping City Views and expanding it from a City Hall communication to a Community Publication. She added that she doesn't think we have to chose to provide less to save money as there are other alternatives. About facebook she said it has been her experience through Win-Win-Wednesday  was that facebook doesn't work that well.  She mentioned the 'Patch" (an online community blog for many communities across the country) lumped Laguna Hills in with Aliso Viejo but doesn't recognize Laguna Hills as a partner with Aliso Viejo. Meg added if there is an ad hoc committee or input from the public she would like to offer her services as someone whose been out there in the newsletter business. (**Editor's Note - There are Patch blogs for Laguna Beach, Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel and Lake Forest but not for Laguna Hills.)

Council Member Carruth made a motion that the council direct staff to proceed with limiting City Views portion of the City's newsletter to once a year issue a proposal for printing and graphic design services and and authorize the city manager to extend the existing contract for 3 months. There was no second for her motion so it was withdrawn and she then moved that we appoint Council Member Gilbert and Council Member Bressette to serve on an ad hoc committee to study City Views. This was seconded by Council Member Bressette.  Carruth was asked by Mayor Kogerman if she wanted to add a member of the public to this committee and Carruth replied, "No".  Mayor Kogerman asked if the ad hoc committee would have the option to seek public input and Carruth responded that she assumed public input would occur here in the chamber.

Mayor-Pro-Tem Blount asked that an option for public input outside the Council Chambers be included so the ad hoc committee can seek public input as they desire throughout the process.   Council Member Carruth responded she would accept that addition to her motion with the understanding that additional information from the public would be shared with the rest of the council members so they would be fully aware of those individuals who provide additional resource information.

Vote was 5-0 in favor.

Mayor Pro-Tem Blount commented about facebook that during the recent election 2 of the candidates used facebook rather heavily but still sent out mailers.


Item 7.3.1 - 2013 WEED ABATEMENT PROGRAM

This item was presented by Ken Rosenfield, Director of Public Services, who said only 2 properties required City clearing of the property last year and compliance is usually very good.

ADOPT A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LAGUNA HILLS, CALIFORNIA, DECLARING WEEDS AND RUBBISH ON SPECIFIED PRIVATE PROPERTY TO BE A PUBLIC NUISANCE, COMMENCING PUBLIC PROCEEDINGS, AND SETTING A PUBLIC HEARING FOR MAY 28, 2013."

Annually, the City initiates a Weed Abatement Program to control noxious or dangerous weeds for health and safety purposes and for management of fire hazards. The Weed Abatement Program proceduresinclude the following general activities:

March 2013 Inspect properties for potential weed abatement
April 23, 2013 Adopt a Resolution declaring weeds to be a nuisance and declaring intent to abate weeds
April 25, 2013 Mail notices to property owners of abatement requirements and scheduled Public Hearing
May 28, 2013 Hold Public Hearing and adopt Resolution of abatement order
June 18, 2013 Initiate City weed abatement for non-compliant private properties
June 27, 2013 Send notice to property owners of abatement costs and scheduled Public Hearing
July 09, 2013 Hold Public Hearing on assessment of weed abatement costs
July 23, 2013 Submit costs to County Assessor’s office

FISCAL IMPACT - The work has been budgeted for Fiscal Year 2013-2014 in the amount of $40,000. Some of these costs will be recovered as an assessment upon the private parcels requiring abatement (if any), and the balance relates to the annual clearing of City-owned properties.

Vote - Approved 5-0

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


COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS

Mayor Pro- Tem Andrew Blount said, I sit up here thinkin' we listened to our animal reports just a little while ago, and it came from some folks in our city who are really interested in this and who are willing to step up, and I just think its marvelous that we not only have an opportunity, as the council, but we're also willing to encourage citizens and support them when they step up and want to spend some time and do something that's helpful and I'm grateful to be with this group of folks right here that are willing to do that, so thanks.

Council Member Dore Gilbert said, I would just like to let my fellow council members know that the Gilbert Family en mass will be walking in the Memorial Day 3/5 event to waddle so hope you guys will be out there joining us for the 2 1/2 mile marathon.

Council Member Carruth said - Shout out to the Park and Rec. Team. Two or three of them were at the Earth Day and I appreciate Mr. Reynolds and Mr. Meehan and their staff for putting together a really nice earth day. I think we had close to 70 participants, a successful paper shredding and a nice expo. including a couple of high school groups as well as some from other local schools and Girl Scouts. I was pleased with the turn out, level of enthusiasm and organization of the event.

Mayor Kogerman said, The Girl Scouts were there because at one of the Meet the Mayor sessions they came asking for service projects for the city and at the same meeting Mrs. Bromberg was there and talked to them about some animal opportunities. That was a nice meeting. Tuesday Night May 7 at 5:00 pm in the Council Chambers for the Operating and Capital Improvement Project Biennial Budget Study Session.


CLOSED SESSION
Item 10.1 - CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATORS - re. lease for space at City Hall
Item 10.2 - CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - re. Existing Litigation - Test Claim with the Commission on State Mandates TC #09-TC-11, San Diego Region Water Permit, California Water Quality Control Board, San Diego Region, Order No. R9-2009-0002 (Claimant: County of Orange, Orange County Flood Control District, Cities of Dana Point, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, and San San Juan Capistrano)


The Next regular City Council Meeting is Tuesday, May 14, 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. She then reviewed the past
================================


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 - for vote to receive status report and continue citizen's group search for an Alternative to County Animal Shelter and Contol Services for Laguna Hills
P - for vote to form ad hoc committee to further study issue of cost analysis of City Views with opportunity for citizen input.
A - for adding option for citizen input for ad hoc committee to further study City Views
P - for vote in favor of weed abatement

Bressette 
P - for vote to receive status report and continue citizen's group search for an Alternative to County Animal Shelter and Contol Services for Laguna Hills
P - for vote to form ad hoc committee to further study issue of cost analysis of City Views with opportunity for citizen input.
A - for suggesting an ad hoc committee to study City Views
P - for vote in favor of weed abatement

Carruth 
P - for vote to receive status report and continue citizen's group search for an Alternative to County Animal Shelter and Contol Services for Laguna Hills
P - for vote to form ad hoc committee to further study issue of cost analysis of City Views with opportunity for citizen input.
P - for vote in favor of weed abatement

Gilbert 
P - for vote to receive status report and continue citizen's group search for an Alternative to County Animal Shelter and Contol Services for Laguna Hills
P - for vote to form ad hoc committee to further study issue of cost analysis of City Views with opportunity for citizen input.
P - for vote in favor of weed abatement

Kogerman 
P - for vote to receive status report and continue citizen's group search for an Alternative to County Animal Shelter and Contol Services for Laguna Hills
P - for vote to form ad hoc committee to further study issue of cost analysis of City Views with opportunity for citizen input.
P - for vote in favor of weed abatement

City Manager
Nothing this time.


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

ABOUT: Council Member Carruth

Anonymous said... What is wrong with Melody Carruth? She was rude and condescending last year, as mayor, and that behavior continues, this time aimed at newbie councilmember Blount. If she can't handle this job perhaps she should quit before she comes up for re-election next year. Congratulations to Blount for handling her outbursts with firmness, logic and calm dignity.

Anonymous said...I went to the city website's audio to listen to this dialogue because I couldn't believe what was written here. When I heard it, it was still hard to believe. When long term council members attempt to repeatedly block new members from just considering new ideas and concepts and getting accurate information, it's long past time for the old ones to be gone. Carruth was absolutely right when she said they were torturing her. That's because she considers herself and her ways of doing things indispensable. I did vote for all the new members but with some reservation. That reservation is gone now. I'm delighted to see this town opening to residents, citizen groups and schools and I think a great example of what residents can do is the committee that serves the city's adopted Marines. Why did it take 20 years for all this to begin happening in this city?


ABOUT: Corporal Barron, Memorial Day and the Marines

Anonymous said... Evan did a great job speaking about Cpl. Josue Barron,our "GRAND MARSHALL" for Memorial Day. We are so honored to have him. Evan has been so inspired by Josue, that he has been in training the last few weeks to run the 5K. Now there might be a run/walk, Team Gost or Team Waddle consisting of Gost, Kogerman, Gilbert, Blout and who knows who else. Lets make sure we have lots of cameras ready for taking pictures.

Anonymous said...Great news about having a Grand Marshall for the Memorial Day Event this year and being able to honor Corporal Barron who gave so much for our country. Did you see the story about this in the OC Register, Friday 4-12-13 Saddleback Valley News section with that wonderful photo of the start of the previous race with the Marines - http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-503525-barron-memorial.html There is more at http://lagunahillshalfmarathon.com/ with all the information about registration for the races.

Jean Bland said...This came from Evan and is beautiful tribute to the fallen members of our military .....*Please make sure your sound is on. One reason it is called Angel, is that when the plane releases its decoy missiles, as is shown in in several of the pictures, it creates an Angel shape in light & smoke. Listen to the words of the pilot and the tower, and make sure you sit quietly and listen to the very end. This is beautiful. God bless the Veterans! Go to Angel Flight at http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=70Ikj1hZDnw&feature=related You might also need to click Watch On YouTube which may appear on the screen after you click on the link above.


ABOUT: Student Liaison Report from Amanda Jafee

Anonymous said...Congratulations to Amanda, the LHHS Student Liaison! She did an incredible job of asking for more cooperation between LHHS and the city council. She accomplished her mission and took no prisoners. That was not an easy thing to do but was much needed and she was both assertive and respectful. She nailed it!!!


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

May 1 - Habit Burger - May Day (both LF and AV)
May 8 - Mimi's Cafe (LH)
May 15 - Special "Diez-Y-Cinco" de Mayo Event
**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

Laguna Hills citizen, Mike Bland, Chair of Team Dark Horse, was presented the "Civilian Volunteer of the Year" award for Camp Pendleton on April 25, 2013. The presentation was from the Brigadier General, U.S. Marine Corps Commanding General of Camp Pendleton, Vincent A. Coglianese. Mike said this was a very unexpected surprise for him and it was a great honor to serve the Marines.

All the nominees were presented with a Certificate of Recognition, a Congratulatory Letter from the White Housed signed by the President, and the President's Voluntary Service Award letter. In addition, Mike was presented with a large color photo of himself shaking hands with General Coglianese, and an approximately 4 x 6 x 2 inch clear acrylic block artistically embedded with his name, the name of the award and the date. Mike was accompanied to the event by Laguna Hills citizens, and fellow Team Dark Horse Members Teresa Bonutto, Dick Nagle, Owen Litfin and his wife Jean Bland. He was also joined by Kim Reese, the 3/5 Marines Family Readiness Officer and by Jennifer Griffin, the wife of Lt. Col. Griffin the Commanding Officer of the 3/5 Marines.

The ceremony was held deep inside Camp Pendleton and for those of you who have not had the time or the opportunity to travel through the territory that is Camp Pendleton, it is a fascinating journey. On our way to Volunteer Appreciation Day, we found ourselves traveling through California heritage, relics from military history, a comical surprise, and a place that is well known to us thorough a television series, as well as trendy strip malls. We traveled along Basilone Road that is named for Gunnery Sgt. Basilone who was a World War II hero, based at Camp Pendleton. He received the Medal of Honor, the country's highest military award, and then went back to fight again in the Pacific at Iwo Jima, where he earned the Navy Cross posthumously at age 28.

This two lane road begins as an exit from the I-5 and meanders through a major part of this vast Marine Base where the strictly observed speed limits range from 15 to 50 mph. Most of the untouched hilly back country surrounding Basilone Rd. was green with plentiful scrub growth at this time of year although we passed a section of a few recently blackened acres just off the road that had obviously experienced a fire. We passed unexpectedly interesting signage along the road such as "San Mateo the fighting 5th, the most decorated regiment in the Marine Corps", and "Tank Xing". Posted on a tall chain link fence a banner read "Welcome home Josh, your wife and puppies missed you". We passed a School of Infantry with acres full of vintage military equipment and vehicles that we had previously seen only in old war movies. We laughed as we were going south and encountered a convoy of humvees going north boldly displaying large STUDENT DRIVER signs on the front bumper of each vehicle. We saw barracks on the right and on the left what appeared to be a training village constructed for the Marines as a copy of a village in Afghanistan. We recognized an NCIS Building from T.V. and noted there's the real thing. Shortly before we arrived at the ceremony we stopped at an original old CA. Ranch House that at one time belonged to Andres Pio Pico, the last Governor of Alta CA., and then to Don Jean Forster who owned the ranch from 1864 to 1882. The sign said Richard O'Neill and James Flood purchased it in 1882 and in 1942 President Franklin Roosevelt dedicated the Marine Corps. Base as Camp Joseph H. Pendleton. Major General Joseph Henry Pendleton (June 2, 1860 – February 4, 1942) was a United States Marine Corps. general who served in the Marine Corps for over 40 years.

The Camp Pendleton Volunteer Recognition Ceremony was reminiscent of the Hollywood Academy Awards. Before entering the a large training facility theater, surprised volunteers walked a short red carpet facing a battery of attractive, enthusiastic, young photographers. Everyone was seated in the training theater and volunteer nominees were each escorted to the stage by ladies and gentlemen dressed in formal attire which we noticed, following the ceremony, was immediately changed to clean up after the event uniforms.   It was announced that there were 4,500 civilian and military volunteer hours logged for the year 2012.  The Commanding General, Brigadier General Vincent Coglianese, spoke of appreciation for volunteers stepping up to fill gaps and changing the odds related to funding cuts.  He also noted that, "You make a living by what you get and Make a life by what you give".  There was a video presentation of volunteers and it may surprise you to know that in addition to Civilian Volunteers there are Military Active Duty Volunteers who give a great deal of time back to the community.  The ceremony opened with a salute to the American Flag accompanied by about 20 children from Carrillo Elementary School all providing, in unison, sign language for the words to the musical strains of God Bless America.  If that wasn't enough to get the tears flowing, the end of the ceremony included the same little children providing sign language to Proud To Be An American. There was also an entertaining dance presentation - Arte Flamenco's (Segerstrom Center for the Arts).

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

Attend and/or run with heros in the City of Laguna Hills' Memorial Day Event on May 27, 2013 and on the Team Dark Horse web site at http://teamdarkhorse.org/  YOU CAN SPONSOR A MARINE IN THE LAGUNA HILLS 2013 MEMORIAL DAY RACE by clicking on the donate button on the Team Dark Horse Home Page or by sending a check to the address on the Home Page. The full race Fees are $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.

LHHS Student and Parent Volunteers are needed for the Memorial Day Race activities. Volunteers will receive lunch, a volunteer t-shirt and recognition for their service to the community. If you are interested in volunteering for the day of the race (May 27th) or pre-race activities (May 25th and 26th) complete the Volunteer Registration form. See the Volunteer Letter for more information. E-mail Stacie Smith, Volunteer Coordinator Stacie@renegaderaceseries.com  the completed form or with any questions you may have. The Laguna Hills Memorial Day Event this year honors Corporal Josue Barron, who lost a leg and an eye. For more information on the Memorial Day festivities visit  www.lagunahillshalfmarathon.com.

You can see the Laguna Hills 3/5 Adopted Marines Face book page by clicking on this link - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Laguna-Hills-Team-Darkhorse/132765660119128?ref=ts&fref=ts

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 Blandat35bland@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: Please Click on the links below to see the stories.
Robbins:Supporting Team Dark Horse, by Karen Robbins, March 8, 2013 The Orange County Register http://www.ocregister.com/news/dark-498871-horse-marines.html
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 2011 http://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, 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 Carehttp://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/ Which city council makes the most money? http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/07/11/which-city-council-makes-the-most-money/88311/#comment-169311
LA Times: Laguna Hills City Manager Salary http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-oc-salaries-20110621,0,1126677.story
June 9, 2011 ORANGE COUNTY GRAND JURY REPORT - Compensation Study of Orange County Cities http://www.ocgrandjury.org/pdfs/comp-study-oc-cities/Compensation-Study-of-Orange-County-Cities.pdf
City manager says compensation is fair http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-303264-channing-compensation.html
After attacks, city-manager-compensation sleuths win state award March 21st, 2011, posted by Teri Sforza, Register staff writer http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/03/21/after-attacks-city-manager-compensation-sleuths-win-state-award/78545/#comment-139633 Click on http://www.publicceo.com/ for more of this story.
No more $60,000 SUVs for city manager? http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/02/09/no-more-60000-suvs-for-city-manager/75030/
OCREGISTER: Laguna Hills councilwoman says no to health benefits http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-282972-benefits-council.html
O.C. cities lavished health benefits on council members http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2010/12/06/oc-cities-lavished-health-benefits-on-council-members/69544/
Who has the best-paid city council in California? (updated) http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2010/12/02/who-has-the-best-paid-city-council-incalifornia/69418/ In Laguna Hills the Taxpayers pay the entire cost of heath care premiums for the elected part time city council members and their families. In addition, the City Manager's contract states "To the extent that payment of all or any portion of the dependent rate of premium, is not approved by the city council for all city employees, Channing shall be entitled to a salary increase or cash payment sufficient to cover the amount of premium or rate for dependent coverage not provided by the City plus applicable income taxes on that amount."
OCREGISTER: Chris Norby: Local officials susceptible to 'Bell syndrome http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/elected-276253-city-syndrome.html "Bell syndrome thrives where elected boards vote in lockstep, where groupthink is elevated, and skeptics are ostracized, and where top staff are seen as irreplaceable experts – with rubber-stamped salaries to prove it. Bell syndrome thrives when self-congratulation trumps self-examination."


** FIND the 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.