Laguna Hills Watch Dog
Laguna Hills City Council Meeting - April 9, 2013


SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS - What's On Your Mind? Meet with your Mayor, Barbara Kogerman, and Share your Questions/Concerns over no-host baked goods 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 RATE THEIR FAVORITE MAJOR PLANS FOR THE CITY and fit them into the City Budget at 2 workshops. Join the City Council on Tuesday, April 16, at 6 pm, in the council chamber at City Hall for the 1st workshop where Council Members rate their favorite Major Plans. This session is open to the Public.

May 7, 2013 is the tentative date for the 2 study session for the 2013-15 Biennial Budget and Six-year Capital Improvement Plan. The 2nd Session focuses on the Six-Year Capital Improvement Plans and the proposed operating budget and is slated to begin at 5 pm.  Sessions are Open To The Public **Please Note the date and time for this 2nd session has changed since is was originally announced. We will do our best to keep you updated if additional changes occur.


Earth Day in Laguna Hills
Make a difference in your community by participating in the City's Annual Earth Day Laguna Hills Saturday, April 20th from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon (shredding beginning at 8:00am) at the Laguna Hills Community Center. This is a family-friendly event (all ages welcome) featuring a Green Expo, citywide trail clean up, tree planting in recognition of Arbor Day, and free document shredding (limit 7 banker boxes). Volunteers should wear comfortable clothing and tennis shoes. Children ages 12 and under must be supervised by an adult. A special thank you lunch will follow at the conclusion of the projects. For more information, please call 949-707-2680.


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 - HAWK HAPPENINGS free e-mail subscriptions, LHHS MADE Club request to be included at the City's Earth Day. DRAMA - Drama Dept. request for increased promotional support from the city for their productions.
** Public Comments - None
** Consent Calendar - Warrant Register - $137,830.78
** Items of Interest from the Warrant Register - None
** Items Pulled from the Warrant Register - None
** Items of interest in the Consent Calendar
Item 4.3 - Progress Payment No. 24 - $8,923.79, to Sema Construction for La Paz Rd. widening at I-5
Item 4.4 - Three year lease for City Hall Suite 200, to law firm Vilma Aarons, former long time tenant of the Taj Majal building in Laguna Hills,requires Capital cost for the City of $51,108.
** Items pulled from the Consent Calendar for discussion - None
** Planning Agency/City Council Public Hearings - None
** City Council Public Hearings - None
** Administrative Reports
Item 7.2.1 - EXPANSION OF THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
limited use of FACEBOOK, major plan to redesign the entire City web site, estimated $25,000. Development of a customized mobile application for the purpose of providing news, events, and City contact information to residents, businesses and REPORT AN ISSUE component for residents.
Item 7.3.1 - ESTIMATE OF COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE FORMATION OF A PLANNING COMMISSION. ** A lot of resistance here from long time council members to a request for more information from newer members.
Item 7.4.1 - 2013 LAGUNA HILLS' MEMORIAL DAY HALF MARATHON, 10K, and 5 K EVENT. honoring the USMC Dark Horse Battalion including honoring Dark Horse Battalion Wounded Warrier, Corporal Josue Barron, as "Grand Marshall"  **Read details of Corporal Barron's story from Team Dark Horse Board Member and speaker Evan Gost.
** Matters Agendized and Presented by Council Members and Mayor- None
** City Council Member Comments - None
** Closed Session - None
** City Council Members Report Card - How did they score?
** Information, Comments, Questions, Concerns from LH Watch Dog Readers from the previous blog post - ABOUT: Independent Citizen Based Planning Commission, Made in America, City Views, Nuclear Power Plant at San Onofre
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
** 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 - Look at Crime Reports for your Neighborhood
** WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR of the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
on this blog just below this report.


Laguna Hills City Council Meeting - April 9, 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

Mayor Kogerman announced the names of all the people on the dais and the presence of her 3 sisters-in-law in the audience at this council meeting - the 3 Mrs. Snyders.

Item 1.1 - LHHS Student Liaison Report from Amanda Jafee - alternate Kerstyn Gonzales
WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW AT LHHS - Amanda asked for more cooperation between LHHS and the city council.

1. -  The first issue Amanda addressed was communication.  She spoke about HAWK HAPPENINGS, which is a weekly e-mail publication through LHHS that lists all the events plus live links for additional information, forms, tickets, etc. Amanda encouraged the council members to subscribe to HAWK HAPPENINGS, which is a free service, if they haven't already done that.
Additional Information from Meg Gorham - HAWK HAPPENINGS is the most efficient way to get information about upcoming events, and because it is delivered electronically, it contains all the live links for flyers, forms, ticket purchases, etc. all with the click of a mouse. Example of how The CITY will benefit from receiving Hawk Happenings: we are including notice/request for volunteers for Earth Day event. "Meet the Mayor" event is also listed each week. By getting Hawk Happenings, you will have efficient, timely information on everything going on from sporting events to performing arts, to policy changes, testing, etc.
To Subscribe to HAWK HAPPENINGS click on the following link http://www.svusd.k12.ca.us/schools/lhhs/subscriptions.html
 If you have news or need more information, please email me at hawkhappenings@gmail.com

2. - The second issue Amanda addressed was the LHHS MADE Club, that helps the environment, would like to be included in the City's Green Expo/Volunteer Connection Day/Earth Day with a "booth" at the city event on April 20.  They seek to increase Environmental Awareness, and would like to show the community what they are doing with their environmental efforts, recycling, sustainable garden, etc. Amanda asked the council who to contact to make this happen. Mayor Kogerman asked that David Reynolds, Community Services Director and Amanda connect to help set this up.  Amanda also asked if the MADE club could access the "recyclables" collected at major city events.
Additional information from Meg Gorham -  Three potential areas for crossover between City and LHHS here: First, our LHHS MADE Club would like to be included in the Green Expo with a presence, a tent, a "booth" at the event. This would help build awareness for a relatively new campus club to share with the LH community what they are doing - recycling efforts, sustainable garden, etc. Second, the MADE Club would like access to the "recyclables" after major City events starting with the Expo 4/20, as well as the Memorial Day event 5/27, and July 4th events. The MADE Club will provide all the manpower to collect cans and bottles.  Thirdly, the school has for several weeks been promoting the need for volunteers through Hawk Happenings.

DRAMA - Amanda said the LHHS Drama department is requesting increased promotional support from the city for the upcoming production of Les Miserables. Drama is requesting permission to put posters/flyers at City Hall, at Community Center, on city web site, Community Center bulletin board, and next year in City Views to share with entire community. Mayor Kogerman again referred Amanda to David Reynolds, Community Services Director who responded that there is a policy for sharing information and he will talk with her about this information.   Amanda said that would be perfect, thanked the council and added that, she had Rebecca Sargent, LHHS Parent and Drama Booster Liaison, here to answer any questions the council members might have for Drama department, and had one last request.  Amanda asked, if possible, Drama would like to place a vinyl banner at PdV/LaPaz and/or at Moulton/LHDrive where there are other community events posted so will discuss this later with Mr. Reynolds as well.  
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 5:00pm 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.
GO-HAWKS!

Council Member Carruth suggested that Mrs. Lord contact the Orange County Register Newspaper that now has a performing arts component to help advertise the LHHS production of Les Miserables.

Mayor Kogerman announced the names of the people on the dais and presence of her 3 sisters-in -law in the audience at this council meeting.  The 3 Mrs. Snyders.


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 = $137,830.78
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

Item 4.3 - APPROVE PROGRESS PAYMENT NO. 24, IN THE NET AMOUNT OF $8,923.79, TO SEMA CONSTRUCTION, INC., FOR THE LA PAZ ROAD WIDENING AT I-5 IMPROVEMENT PROJECT.

Item 4.4 - Staff negotiated a three year lease for Suite 200 with the law firm of Vilma Aarons. This firm has been a long time tenant at the Taj Majal building in Laguna Hills. The lease requires the City to build out Suite 200. The total upfront capital costs to the City, inclusive of tenant improvements and leasing commissions is $51,108. The start date for the lease is June 1, 2013 and includes a two year option for the tenant.Approve the proposed lease for suite 200 in City Hall.

Items of interest pulled from the Consent Calendar - None
Vote - Passed 5-0

CITY COUNCIL/PLANNING AGENCY PUBLIC HEARING - None
CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARINGS - None


ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS


Item 7.2.1 - EXPANSION OF THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Staff is recommending limited use of Facebook event pages to advertise the City's special events in addition to the city web site and City Views, etc.

Melissa Au-Yeung Senior Mgmt. Analyst, presented the staff report and said the 2 main ways residents have had to communicate with the city are by phone and in person  The staff report states- In conjunction with the development of the 2013-2015 Biennial Budget, staff will be proposing a major plan to complete a redesign of the entire City web site. Costs for the web site redesign are estimated at $25,000. There are two legal issues that arise through the use of Facebook:  (1) a First Amendment right to free speech issues possibly violated through the censorship of comments deemed inappropriate by the City; and (2) Brown Act violations that may occur should three or more Councilmembers comment on a particular item. Both of these issues will be addressed by effectively disabling the commenting capabilities to the City’s account.

The City's "Agendas and Minutes" webpage receives approximately 300 visits per month. As of March 31, 2013, there are 13 announcements/events/activities posted on the Bulletin Board. Since May 2010, the City has utilized Twitter to send out notifications to the public regarding a variety of issues. To date, the City has a total of 246 “followers” that have chosen to receive Twitter notifications from the City. Utilizing social media may assist the City in reaching members of the community that are not currently engaged in local government affairs.

The prevalence of smartphones creates an opportunity to provide a new avenue for communication with residents. Consequently, staff has begun researching the development of a customized mobile application for the purpose of providing news, events, and City contact information to residents, businesses, and visitors. The mobile application, should it be approved, would also promote the City's many facilities, parks, and trails available to the public. One of the key features on the mobile device application would be the Report An Issue component whereby users can report issues throughout the City such as graffiti or pot holes. At that time, users would also have the opportunity to attach a picture of the issue, if applicable, at which point the smartphone's GPS function would automatically provide City staff with the location of the issue to be addressed.

FISCAL IMPACT:
Development of a mobile device application will cost approximately $5,000, with ongoing, monthly maintenance costs ranging from $300-$500, depending on the specific features included within the application. It is anticipated that the mobile application would replace use of RequestPartner and the monthly maintenance costs would be reallocated accordingly. Monthly maintenance costs for RequestPartner are currently $500 per month, resulting in a net $0 cost for the ongoing, monthly maintenance costs associated with the mobile application. Regarding Facebook advertising costs, staff recommends budgeting $500 per special event for targeted advertising to Laguna Hills residents.

CITY COUNCIL QUESTIONS

Mayor Kogerman asked if Requests for Proposals (RFPs) have been put out.  Melissa answered that they have been speaking with 3 developers that have developed other applications for the city and no formal requests have been posted. Melissa said they have been talking with other cities and utilized their recommendations. Kogerman asked about other developers who are interested and Melissa responded that they could contact the city. Kogerman asked if this facebook application would be interactive related to getting other people and groups connected with the city and things they are interested in.  David Reynolds, Community Services Director responded that's something that can be looked at through the smartphone application rather than facebook, but that's something we would take a look at.

Mayor Pro-Tem Andrew Blount asked, On the smartphone does the $5000 cover both Android and IOS?  His answer was yes.  Blount responded that seems really low.  When you're investigating, please check cost and cost overruns, etc.  He added that is his business and that's really cheap.  Blount asked about looking at the complete redesign of the city web site and was redirected to the Major Plans Meeting next week to discuss this.

PUBLIC COMMENTS - Mr. Tom Sypl (sp?-pronounced Siple) said he does some specialized mobile phone apps and saw a blurb in the OC Register Newspaper.  He said he built a small android app with a little attachment to his facebook page. He said he works with events and  put up a couple pages on the phone and the phone app and brought some presentations with pictures/screen shots from his own phone where he downloaded a test version of it to see that it was completely operable. He asked for specifications from the city and to put his hat in the ring somehow for discussion. He said he will leave the 7 copies of the presentation he has.  Mayor Kogerman asked that he leave his items with the City Clerk to give to Ms. Au-Yeung  who will then be in contact with you.

Council Member Bressette moved that - City Council direct staff to proceed with development of a mobile application and the establishment of special event facebook pages. Council Member Carruth seconded the motion.

COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS

Council Member Dore Gilbert began with my only concern would be cost so happy to more forward but making sure that it is at a reasonable price because it sounds very inexpensive to me as well at $5000. 

VOTE - Passed 5 - 0


Item 7.3.1 - ESTIMATE OF COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE FORMATION OF A PLANNING COMMISSION.

At the last council Meeting Mayor Kogerman proposed an Independent Citizen Based Planning Commission for Laguna Hills

SUMMARY from the last council meeting: The “independent” Planning Commission model is by far the most common planning methodology employed by cities for good reasons. Among Orange County’s 34 cities, only four, Aliso Viejo, Cypress, Laguna Hills, and Villa Park do not currently have an independent Planning Commission or a committee or commission that performs the same functions. It is preferred by the vast majority who appear before this governmental agency, because this governmental processes and the manner of deliberation are much more conducive to rendering a more thoroughly-vetted result than by appealing directly to the ultimate decision-approval agency without prior public discussion. It permits more efficient use of the City Council’s time. The independent Planning Commission process saves time, reduces minutia, and is citizen friendly. Municipalities employ independent Planning Commissions because they are far better equipped to deal with the “nitty-gritty.” They fully develop background and make recommendations, yet the City Council makes the final decisions. Independent Planning Commissions act as a clearing house for an abundance of items, thus saving valuable time that might otherwise be inefficiently utilized by the City Council. The Independent Planning Commission processes tend to be less formal and more conducive to investigatory exchanges on items that need not come up before the City Council. When independent Planning Commission decisions come before the City Council, the City Council can act more effectively and decisively, and be confident that their ultimate decisions are based on a fully-vetted process. With these compelling reasons, combined with the advent of term limits, and the maturation stage now evident in the City, it is now timely to form an independent Planning Commission in Laguna Hills.
The Vote was 3 in favor 2 against (the 2 against were Carruth and Bressette) to look at the cost for establishing an independent Citizen based Planning Commission.


At this council meeting on April 9 , 2013 Mr. David Chantarangsu Director of Community Development, presented the city staff estimates that start-up costs could be $50,000 or more for staff and City Attorney working together to craft a Planning Commission Ordinance for the City to replace the Planning Agency structure that is embedded in the Municipal Code and would have to be removed. While not a complex work effort, it will be a time intensive effort and staff estimates that the process could incur expenses of at least $50,000 between staff and the City Attorney’s time. Chantarangsu added there are recurring costs to support a planning commission could run as high as $187,000. Details of the cost estimate are described in the body of the online report and consist of such things as a possible Stipend for commissioners of $0-$400; Planning Commission Training Sessions for Commissioners $0k-$24k; (Annual League of CA Cities Conference) $5k-$7k; City Attorney Costs of (Agenda Review/ Meeting Representation) $65k; Administrative Assistant for preparation of commission packets/preparation of resolutions/ meeting minutes/ Brown Act compliance, noticing, posting, SIRE $77k (fully burdened salary + benefits); Staff overtime for attendance at meetings $7k; Supplies - Copying charges/ Miscellaneous supplies $5k-$7k.. This estimate represents a worst-case scenario - TOTAL COSTS $159k-$187k.

Staff report also says applicants will also have increased costs in processing their zoning applications since the City charges applicants on a time and material basis. Applicants would incur charges for staff time spent at commission meetings, commissioner briefings, as well as for additional staff time spent on preparing two sets of reports (commission and City Council). The estimate provided represents a worst-case approach in terms of cost. It may be possible to reduce costs in the area of the Administrative Assistant position. Further evaluation would have to be done to determine whether or not this position could be filled on a part-time basis. A portion of these expenditures would be recouped from applicants through the assessment of additional processing, fees as permitted by law.


COUNCIL MEMBER QUESTIONS

Mayor Kogerman questioned the $50,000 plus estimate for Crafting a Planning Commission Ordinance in view of computer programs available to assist with this type of project of converting old ordinances to new and availability of looking at what other cities are doing.
David Chantarangsu Director of Community Development answered there would be some new items such as the appeals process and appointment process and a determination as to what planning applications the commission may be able to review would need to be added to the ordinance and could not just be pulled from what other cities are doing. He suggested this would take 3 or 4 weeks of city staff time and city attorney time.
City Atty. Greg Simonian added this figure includes time to prepare the ordinance which is relatively routine. The lion's share of the work would be reviewing State Law within the city's existing code and changing the entire structure from Planning Agency format to Planning Commission format.
Kogerman asked what was the cost to change the municipal code for changing the closed session start time for council meetings and the sex offender ordinance and do we normally associate a cost with a change in the Municipal Code and cost that out as part of our consideration?
City Atty. Simonian answered he did not have that figures on those but the closed session was not significant and the sex offenders ordinance was very significant but he did not have the figures with him. To the question about do we usually associate a cost with a change in municipal code for consideration he answered No, unless the council requests that as they did in this case.
Kogerman questioned the stipend of up to $400 per commissioner related to the city not paying any stipend for Parks and Rec. or for Traffic Commissioners and asked what is the norm on that for other cities.
City Manager Channing responded he thought every city dealt with that differently but it is fairly common for cities to pay planning commissioners because of the nature of the work of the planning commission, especially if there is a very active one and it can range from $100 a meeting to maybe as much as $400.
Kogerman questioned paying to train Planning Commission Members and asked if we have ever paid to train the councill members who are then members of our planning agency on planning issues?
Channing answered, We have not. We send council members to league conferences where occasionally there are planning matters that they are able to be trained on. There is a league 3 day training session once a year for planning commissioners who can become familiar with the state laws and other matters. He said council members are somewhat better educated about those matters.
Kogerman asked the City Attorney about costs for needing City Attorney representation at planning commission meetings. She added we don't pay him for commuting so asked what would be the difference in billing if he was spending his hours at a planning commission meeting vs spending those same hours with the current planning agency?
City Atty. Simonian answered the $65,000 annual figure was taken from a comparison to another city where the planning commission is represented plus a rough estimate of the number of agenda items reviewed and came up with a total of 13 hours including prep. for and attending planning commission meetings on a average agenda.
Kogerman asked if that assumes 2 meetings a month rather than one does the City Atty. currently put in 13 hours for our planning agency meetings?
City Atty. Simonian answered sometimes more, sometimes less depending upon the issue.
Kogerman asked the City Clerk Peggy Johns how much time she spends on the preparation of planning agency materials and the time required to make one additional copy of planning agency material for each commissioner?
City Clerk Peggy Johns answered with assist from City Manager Channing that the preparation of the city council packets varies too much to determine related to the issues, items, attachments, etc. and the planning issues are a part of that whole packet. The copy time now for 5 council members takes from one to three or four hours for the whole packet, so maybe an hour to 2 hours depending upon how big the packet is.
Kogerman noted, regarding the estimate of up to $187,000, that Aliso Viejo abandoned their planning commission because they were built out as a relatively new city, but estimated their cost per year for 20 meetings to be about $50,000 a year vs our estimate tonight of $187,000.
David Chantarangsu Director of Community Development stated he spoke with the director in Aliso Viejo and did go over some of the operating costs such as planning commissioner stipends, city attorney time, staff overtime, supplies, etc. and the distinction there would be that they didn't change their staffing levels when they eliminated their planning commission so here we're potentially having to add a staff member.
There were No Public Speakers so Mayor Kogerman asked for a motion to receive and file the report. Council Member Bressette made that motion but there was no 2nd.

COUNCIL MEMBER DISCUSSION

Mayor Pro-Tem Blount said this is a lot of money about $6 per resident in Laguna Hills. That money is important so he contacted Lacy Kelly of the Association of CA. Cities Orange County (ACCOC) and told her it would be interesting to see what other cities are spending on their planning commissions because if they are spending this much money there may be other cities that shouldn't have a planning commission. If they're not spending this much money then maybe our numbers are not what we think they should be. He then offered a motion that we request that the ACCOC, which they have already agreed to do regardless of us, research their member cities to find the real costs of having a planning commission in these other cities.

Council Member Gilbert said there's a potential for a lot of money to be spent here, so I'm interested to see what comes of Mr. Blount's request because maybe we are doing it the right way and some of these other cities may look at this study and say we're doing it this way just because everybody else did but maybe we shouldn't be doing it this way. He noted that larger cities with lots of construction going on might be overburdened and need to have a planning commission, but in a relatively small city like ours I don't feel we are overburdened and the citizens of Laguna Hills elected us to do this work so it's a good idea to see what everybody else is doing.

Council Member Carruth said that's an idea for the ACCOC agenda but no reason to tie it to the city council here. She continued that her concerns were about any additional cost for the city and the increased cost to the applicant. She asked, "Have you thought about that Mr. Blount?" She talked about extra regulation, about bureaucracy and protecting small government. She said she noted in Mayor Kogerman's report this interesting in being like everybody else. She added, "Have you ever made a long list of what makes our city so strange and so different from everybody else?" She noted the good job Laguna Hills did with their City Hall related to renovation and leaseable space compared with other cities. She talked about a LH policy not to name streets or building after politicians, no redevelopment agency, no retiree health benefits, etc. She said, "We could have a laundry list of what makes Laguna Hills kinda strange and weird." She said, "I think you are delaying this, dragging it out and torturing the staff here, well maybe not the staff, me, perhaps." There was some laughing here, then Carruth concluded that there is no merit in a planning commission.

Council Member Bressette said he sees what Mr. Blount brought up as separate from tonight. He said he it was appropriate for a city council member to bring up something like this for the ACCOC but didn't think it is our role as a city council to suggest to another city council that they may be not be doing something right if it's not affecting us. He said tonight he wants to move on from this issue and has great confidence in staff's numbers. He said this would be generating a body of cronieism.

Mayor Pro-Tem Blount said he appreciates the balance from other council members but you will notice that not at this meeting nor at a previous meeting have I addressed whether there should be a planning commission or not. My motion has to do with what costs are. It is directed strictly to costs to figure out what the actual real costs are. It is not about whether we want to have a planning commission for any other reasons. Our Mayor spent a tremendous amount of time and effort, based on the reports we have, crafting ideas and putting them before us. I still don't believe that we have ferreted out costs so I still want to do that.

Council Member Carruth directed her question to Mayor Pro-Tem Blount and said, "What kind of number are you looking at?" "50,000 sounds pretty good for you. Is that what you're looking for a number that's reasonable so that you can support a planning commission or are you looking for an overall mutual benefit for South Orange County Cities?"

Mayor Pro-Tem Blount answered, I don't know that I would support a planning commission if we made money, that's not the point. The point is we had a discussion that there's a cost associated with this planning commission. I really want to know the real number. Is this exactly what it's going to cost us or is everybody else doing it cheaper or more expensive? I'm new to this council and I'd appreciate having some comparables from outside cities. This motion has to do with what the costs are.

Council Member Carruth continued with, But if it doesn't relate to this decision ...repetition... I'm confused as to why you would want to pursue information.

Mayor Pro-Tem Blount asked What was on the agenda tonight? On the agenda

Carruth interrupted Blount with, "Planning Commission, you want it or don't you?"

Blount responded that's not what was on the agenda tonight. What was on the agenda was what was the cost of having a planning commission and my motion deals directly with what the costs are and not with whether we should have one or not.

Council Member Bressette made a motion that the City of Laguna Hills does not adopt a planning commission. This motion was quickly seconded by Carruth.


Mayor Kogerman pointed out that at this point there was confusion re. a motion that was not seconded, another that was and this one.

Bressette changed his motion to a substitute motion and again this was quickly seconded by Carruth.

Council Member Gilbert directed a question to Carruth, Can you think of 2 other adjectives other than "Strange" and "Weird" to describe the city?

Carruth substituted "Frugal" and "Thrifty".

Council Member Gilbert then commented that time is our friend not our enemy. This is not something that we have to decide now. He said he fully supports getting more information because we have time. He added he is not inclined to support more bureaucracy but he strongly supports Blount's determination to get information on what other cities are doing. He concluded that this would be one more piece of information to use when he casts his vote. He said he is not in favor of a planning commission and never has been for our city but we need more information and are not pressed for time.

Council Member Bressette spoke again on his motion to Not Adopt a Planning Commission. He said you have to wonder how much money you are willing to spend to find out numbers that really won't impact the final decision. 4 people said they don't support a planning commission so why spend more time staff time to determine these things? You could look at the numbers generated by the ACCOC later and make a new decision. He repeated that he would like to put this behind us.

Mayor Kogerman asked if Blount meant to imply that he is going to be opposed to a planning commission in anything he said because Bressette stated 4 people said they don't support a planning commission?

Mayor Pro-Tem Blount clarified that he meant to imply that he'd like to get some more information.

VOTE - was conducted and Bressette's motion - Not Adopt a Planning Commission Failed 2 to 3. The 3 Noes were Blount, Gilbert and Kogerman,

Mayor Pro-Tem Blount restated his motion to request the ACCOC to check with other members of their organization as to costs for having and operating a planning commission and report back to us.

COUNCIL MEMBER DISCUSSION for New Motion

Carruth said she is voting against the motion related to staff costs for ACCOC and our on staff continues to work on this item.

Bressette said council members who say they are against spending, how much more money are we going to spend on this? We have spent way too much already.

Gilbert asked if this was going to continue to cost money from our staff.

City Manager Channing responded it doesn't cost any money to wait. To get the information will take a little time to process the information and present in a report and see how good it is and if it's in a form suitable for you to make sense of. Hopefully it will be. The challenge there is whether or not the ACCOC is able to develop that information in getting it from their numbers.

Gilbert repeated he would like to see this not only for our city but for the entire county to see if we could lead the way for the entire county.

Blount said Lacy Kelly was excited about the idea said it was a perfect opportunity and fit with their organization.

Carruth questioned What will be included in this report?  We need more than just numbers, we need to know how big the city is, what level of activity of their planning commission, the number of residents because every city is different. She asked Blount - "Is that part of what you discussed with Ms. Kelly? Not just numbers but she's going to provide levels of activity."

Blount responded, Yes, it was, and expounded on city differences such as: different needs for planning commissions, number of agenda items, numbers of meetings, numbers of residents and the amount of economic activity, and what their planning commissioners actually do. She is going to address all these things.

VOTE on Blount's Motion to request the ACCOC to check with other members of their organization as to costs for having and operating a planning commission and report back to us. The motion passed the vote was 3 to 2. The 2 Noes were Bressette and Carruth.


Item 7.4.1 - 2013 Memorial Day Half Marathon, 10K, and 5 K event.
The City of Laguna Hills Half Marathon, 10K and 5K Event, Honoring the USMC Dark Horse Battalion is scheduled for Monday, May 27, 2013. Registration for the event is open, with more than five hundred (500) participants registered at this time. All races will again start at 7 a.m., which allows the streets impacted by the event to re-open as early as possible. Finisher medals will be provided for all race distances for 2013. Fladeboe Automotive Group has become a second presenting sponsor of the event, along with long time partner Saddleback Memorial Medical Center. Staff is once again collaborating with South County Outreach for the 2013 event to conduct a food drive to benefit low income families and those in need. Additionally, the City intends to donate $3 from each paid 5K, 10K, and half marathon race registration to the 3/5 Marine Support Committee at the conclusion of the event.

Members of Team Dark Horse attended the April 3, 2013, Parks and Recreation Commission meeting to discuss the possibility of having Corporal Josue Barron serve as "Grand Marshall" for the 2013 event. While serving with the 3/5 Battalion in Afghanistan in October of 2010, Cpl. Barron lost his left leg above the knee and his left eye. After two years of intensive rehabilitation at the National Naval Medical Center in San Diego, Cpl. Barron has participated in six full marathons. Additionally, Cpl. Barron was recently selected to receive a mortgage free home through Chase bank's Homes for Our Troops program. The Parks and Recreation Commission was in favor of recognizing Corporal Josue Barron during the event.

The City of Laguna Hills and South County Outreach will be partnering in a Food Drive over the Memorial Day Weekend. Race participants and spectators will be encouraged to bring canned goods and non-perishable food items which will benefit those served by South County Outreach. Collection stations will be available at the race start line and the Community Expo on Monday, May 27, 2013. Another collection station will be located at Road Runner Sports in Laguna Hills during pre-race packet pick up on both Saturday, May 25 and Sunday May 26 from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Proceeds from the beer garden ticket sales will also be donated to South County Outreach at the conclusion of the event.

PUBLIC COMMENTS -  Evan Gost, Team Dark Horse Board Member said he was a proud Laguna Hills resident especially given what we're doing for the Marines. He said this year's event will be even better than last year's. Evan recalled that last year we had Corporal Travis Haggerty running 13 miles carrying the American Flag with the 25 names of his 3/5 Marine comrades who were killed in action in Afghanistan written in the white stripes of the flag and he noted that Corporal Haggerty also wrote us recently to thank us for all we do. Evan declared reading Corporal Haggerty's thank you message motivated me to get my 71 year old body to somehow make it through 2 5Ks and that's what I'm going to do.  Evan announced that the Stroller Worriers (Marine spouses with children in strollers) would be racing again this year and Member's of Team Kelly. Evan explained that 1st Lt. Robert Kelly, who is also the son of a Marine Corps General, was one of the 25 3/5 Dark Horse Marines killed in action in Afghanistan in 2010. Lt. Kelly's sister, Kathleen, started running as therapy after the death of her brother and Team Kelly now run marathons all over the county in honor of Lt. Kelly and the others who died for their country.

Evan announced that the big event this year is Corporal Josue Barron, who lost a leg and an eye is going to be given a mortgage free home in a ceremony at our Memorial Day Event. Chase Bank sponsor's a program of giving away 1000 homes to charitable organizations, in this case Homes for Troops. They renovate the homes and customize them for individuals. Corporal Barron's home will be in Temecula and will be ready in June. The big blue key to the home will be presented at our ceremony. Evan said he sent a message to the Kobe Bryant foundation because Corporal Barron formed a wheelchair basketball team and is qualified to compete in and All Military Worrier Games next month in Colorado Springs where he will be a hand cyclist. He came in 3rd in recent International Competition and he's going to play in the wheelchair basketball.

Corporal Barron's history is that he grew up as a gang member in So. Central Los Angeles. He joined a gang so they would stop stealing his shoes. He found salvation in the Marine Corps. He met the love of his life at 20 years old, they married, he was deployed to Afghanistan and came back without a leg and an eye. He has the 3/5 symbol on the artificial eye in his left eye and on his prosthetic leg to show how much he loves the 3/5 Marines. His goal now is to get a degree in Sociology and keep kids from becoming gang members. This is a wonderful American Story that was featured on Brian Wilson's NBC News because when he came back from Afghanistan they had a wedding in San Diego.

A motion was made for Corporal Josue Barron to be the Grand Marshall of the 2013 Laguna Hills Memorial Day Event by Council Member Dore Gilbert, seconded by Mayor Pro-Tem Andrew Blount and passed unanimously and the staff report was received and filed. Mayor Kogerman added that Mr. Gost was directly responsible for finding out about the homes that Chase Bank is involved with and contributed significantly to this marvelous event. She remembered Corporal Haggerty at a previous Laguna Hills event saying, "Every town should be like this one."

Council Member Gilbert thanked everyone for allowing him the opportunity to read the book of stories and memories of the 25 3/5 Marines killed in action and said he is looking forward to reading this and will return it so that others will have the same opportunity. He added that it makes him "so darn proud" to live in a city that truly steps up to the plate, not just talks, under the leadership of folks like Evan Gost and Mr. Bland. He said he was proud to know you. He said he is the father of a Marine and thank you for all you do.

Mayor Pro-Tem Blount thanked staff for the Memorial Day Event as well, said he attended last year and it was terrific and said he is so moved this year that he said, with a chuckle, that he may try to waddle his way through a race.

Mayor Kogerman added that if Corp. Barron's wife rides with him in the Humvee the Mayor will not be in that vehicle so she will also be happy to join Team Gost/Team Waddle!!  More chuckles!

Mayor Kogerman also announced the seminar at LHHS for Thurs. April 10 by Deputy Brian Gunsolley (School Resource Officer funded by the city) who does such marvelous work: Parents are invited to a FREE seminar and discussion on understanding teen psychology and behaviors with Dr. Jorge Galindo on Wednesday, April 10th at 6:30pm in the LHHS MPR. Dr. Galindo is a licensed Psychotherapist and Psychoanalyst specializing in the treatment and evaluation of adolescents and families.

Mayor Kogerman announced adjournment until Tuesday, April 16, at 6 pm, for the LEARN HOW YOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS RATE THEIR FAVORITE MAJOR PLANS FOR THE CITY here in the council chambers at City Hall.


MATTERS AGENDIZED AND PRESENTED BY CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AND MAYOR CITY COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS - None
CLOSED SESSION - None


The Next regular City Council Meeting is Tuesday, April 23, 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
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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 voting for the development of a mobile application and the establishment of special event facebook pages.
A+ for creating a new motion adn getting it passed, to request that the ACCOC check with other members of their organization as to costs for having and operating a planning commission and report back to us.
P for voting for Mayor Pro-Tem Blount's Motion to request the ACCOC to check with other members of their organization as to costs for having and operating a planning commission and report back to us.
** LHWD explanation for this grade - the cost estimate presented by the staff at this meeting was too wide ranging and non-specific to be useful.
P for voting for 3/5 Dark Horse Marine Corporal Josue Barron to be the Grand Marshall of the 2013 Laguna Hills Memorial Day Event

Bressette
P for voting for the development of a mobile application and the establishment of special event facebook pages.
F for voting against Blount's Motion to request the ACCOC to check with other members of their organization as to costs for having and operating a planning commission and report back to us.
P for voting for 3/5 Dark Horse Marine Corporal Josue Barron to be the Grand Marshall of the 2013 Laguna Hills Memorial Day Event

Carruth
P for voting for the development of a mobile application and the establishment of special event facebook pages.
F for voting against Blount's Motion to request the ACCOC to check with other members of their organization as to costs for having and operating a planning commission and report back to us.
P for voting for 3/5 Dark Horse Marine Corporal Josue Barron to be the Grand Marshall of the 2013 Laguna Hills Memorial Day Event

Gilbert
P for voting for the development of a mobile application and the establishment of special event facebook pages.
P for voting for Mayor Pro-Tem Blount's Motion to request the ACCOC to check with other members of their organization as to costs for having and operating a planning commission and report back to us.
** LHWD explanation for this grade - the cost estimate presented by the staff at this meeting was too wide ranging and non-specific to be useful.
P for voting for 3/5 Dark Horse Marine Corporal Josue Barron to be the Grand Marshall of the 2013 Laguna Hills Memorial Day Event

Kogerman
P for voting for the development of a mobile application and the establishment of special event facebook pages.
P for voting for Mayor Pro-Tem Blount's Motion to request the ACCOC to check with other members of their organization as to costs for having and operating a planning commission and report back to us.
** LHWD explanation for this grade - the cost estimate presented by the staff at this meeting was too wide ranging and non-specific to be useful.
P for voting for 3/5 Dark Horse Marine Corporal Josue Barron to be the Grand Marshall of the 2013 Laguna Hills Memorial Day Event

City Manager
 F for Inadequate cost analysis of costs for having and operating a planning commission


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

ABOUT: Independent Citizen Based Planning Commission, Made in America, City Views, Nuclear Power Plant at San Onofre


ABOUT: Independent Citizen based Planning Commission

Anonymous said... Thank you Mayor Kogerman for your recommendation for an Independent Planning Commission. Anyone who has ever sat through a planning session with the too long term council people knows how they use that time more to hear themselves speak than to hear the applicant or the citizens from most of our communities, especially on any sign issues. Not everything is a dollar issue and "sense" not cents is more important in this case. We do need more turn over on the city council and we do need qualified people involved in our city government but how much chance is there for that with an absolute minimum of chance for involvement in this city. This is going in the right direction, keep it moving. If we're really that concerned about cost, why are we keeping Channing? He's as stuck in time as the old time councilmembers.

Anonymous said...The City director in charge of development says Planning Commissions only look at whether a project meets code. That would be a nice change from intrusive city council members who want to micromanage projects and require their own personal preferences, whether it's the size of signs, what kinds of plants they should have or when a business should be open for lunch. Certain council members are just control freaks who think no one else is as smart as they are. Let's hope the new members see the wisdom of an independent Planning Commission.

Anonymous said... An Independent City Planning Commission is a No Brainer for thisAnonymous said... An Independent City Planning Commission is a No Brainer for this City. We need one and it's something worth spending some money for!
Anonymous said... For those of us who don't live in Nellie Gail with 3 of the 5 city council members, we haven't seen much balance in the community from the council on planning issues. I think residents on an independent planning commission would give more consideration to how all residents in the city will be effected by planning issues.


Anonymous said... I found on the Aliso Viejo City web site that Aliso Viejo's Planning Commission was NOT dissolved to save money but "due to the lack of current and foreseeable development projects in the City". Also the "positive fiscal impact amounted to $50,000 in total cost savings to the City over a twelve month period, assuming 20 Planning Commission meetings would have been conducted during that twelve month period". So apparently their Planning Commission had not been costing them more than $50,000 a year assuming 20 sessions a year which is way out of line with Channing's estimate of Cit Manager Channing's estimate of over $100,000 a year. Also I looked at 2010 Planning Agency Issues for Laguna Hills, for 2010, 2011 and 2012 and found the numbers of planning sessions significantly increased over those 3 years.


David said... I work with a gentlemen who served on the County of Riverside Planning Commission for 18 years.  I told him about the pending issue in LH to set up a separate PC and he too said it’s a very good idea, for several reasons:

1. A separate Planning Commission (assuming people with some planning or design or business experience are selected) brings added expertise to bear on planning issues, in addition to the expertise already present on the City Council. In short, it helps engage people who might otherwise not be involved in civic issues and whose expertise may benefit both the City and the City Council. (I’m sure that the Laguna Hills residents serving on the parks and the streets commissions are already providing this extra expertise in those areas, so the Council should already be able to see the benefit of augmenting their expertise in a given area with that of interested citizens.)

2. Applicants processing planning-related applications generally appreciate the extra level of hearing available under a two tier system. The City Council (obviously) remains the ultimate decision-maker, but applicants under a two tier system feel they get a fuller consideration of their issues through two forums, rather than one.

3. Aside from the applicants, interested citizens also appreciate the fuller consideration a two tier system provides.

4. With a separate Planning Commission providing the initial forum for an applicant, most of the politics of a particular issue or application are eliminated or diminished. In turn, applicants feel better about the process, and the City Council can address the matter in a more objective manner with less concern of creating a controversy where the PC has already recommended a result. When the City Council finds the PC in error or otherwise makes a different decision from that recommended by the PC, the two tier system provides a more in depth consideration of the matter and the applicant invariably feels that the system is fairer.      Thanks. David K. Robbins


ABOUT: Made in America
Made in America Song - link
Toby Keith - Made in America http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO6W9vZl5pM


ABOUT: City Views

Anonymous said...The new council members are right about City Views. It definitely needs a booster shot in the make it worth reading category. It's been stuck in the same tired old promote the city council and city management junk for years and using the taxpayer money to do that is robbery. Give us something worth our money to create and worth our time to read or just get rid of it.


ABOUT: Nuclear Power Plant at San Onofre

Anonymous said... I agree about the perils of San Onofre related to no way to get rid of years of nuclear waste and no place to store it other than at the facility, and the whole plant is located in an earthquake zone. It was originally touted as something that would save significant money for energy production and that never happened. Now we see that problems with it aren't detected before they cause damage and lengthy down time. We don't yet know the problems related to exposure for those living near this plant because that hasn't been studied. What is the upside to keeping 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 the WWW!! flyer to these participating restaurants on these dates and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the LHHS PTSA and you can now get durable and attractive business card size Win-Win-Wednesday Fan and Supporter Cards that contain all the info. for W-W-Wed on one side including how to subscribe to W-W-Wednesday to get your flyers, dates and Restaurant Information sent to you weekly on Wednesdays and the other side of the card will serve as a universal flyer, if you forget to bring a flyer. You can sign up for an e-blast at WinWinWednesdays@gmail.com  to have the weekly schedule and flyers for Win-Win-Wednesdays e-mailed to you.

April 17 - Deemer's American Grill (LN) - all day
April 24 - Fuddrucker's (LF) - all day
May 1 - Habit Burger - May Day (both LF and AV)
May 8 - Mimi's Cafe (LH)

**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/

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. For more information on the Memorial Day festivities visit www.lagunahillshalfmarathon.com.

*** The recent and Very Special Message from 3/5 Marine Corporal Travis Haggerty thanking the City and all the Supporters of the 3/5 Marines. This is just the 1st paragraph: "Hello, my name is Corporal Travis Haggerty, 1st Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines. I am currently deployed on the 15th MEU and was also on the last deployment with 3/5 to Sangin, Afghanistan. I had the honor of participating in the Laguna Hills Half Marathon last year and ran with the American flag that had the names of our fallen warriors on it. The run was a great way for everyone involved to support the Marines that have fallen and the sacrifice that they and their families have made for this country. I will be the first one to tell you that the overwhelming support that your organization gives to this battalion and its families is remarkable. We could not have received a better city to stand by our sides."

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 Bland at35bland@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."


** 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.