On The Agenda – May 18, 2010

I went to look at the agenda for the May 18^th meeting and had trouble with the City’s website.  I was able to download the agenda but none of the supporting documents.  So I will attempt to give you a brief and general idea of what is going on.  This time I really could use your input in completing the picture. Here is the agenda.

Let’s start with the closed session where we find two major events to look at.  First, it looks like maybe the firefighters have come to some agreement with the City regarding cuts to their salaries.  We’ll have to see what happens.  Also, there are a number of properties that Land Czar Rob Zur Schmiede would love to get his hands on.  No doubt he looks to displace dozens of low-income families and replace them with low to moderate income families.  Then he and his agency will skim a little off the top of the newly assessed property tax value.  As a side note, Assemblyman Chris Norby issued his 6^th Norby Notes email wherein he gives a very good overview of redevelopment agencies and their numerous significant failures.

The properties listed on the agenda include:

324, 401, 419, 425, 449, 455, 475 W. Valencia Drive, 512 S. Ford and 147 W. Santa Fe Avenues in Fullerton.

At this rate, the Land Czar will control all of Fullerton by 2020!  No one’s property is safe, not even your kids’ tree house!

Friends For Fullerton’s Future come in on the closed session at #4!  If you haven’t heard, FFFF, et al are suing the City of Fullerton.  Perhaps admin can give us some idea of what might be happening.  Perhaps an easy way for this suit to go away might be to elect some new council members who will put the reigns on the Land Czar and get the Redevelopment Agency under control.

Coming in at #5 is Chris Meyer.  The agenda just lists this as a personnel matter.  Is he taking a pay cut or what??  Maybe he has decided to retire and join that $100K pension club.  If he does, maybe we can talk him into taking a council member or two with him.

Next we move into the open session.  We have a couple of proclamations, one service award, and one presentation by the American Veterans Memorial Association.

After the fluff, you have an opportunity to address the council and tell them what you think.  It’s a good way to get your voice heard.  Don’t mind the members with their fingers in their ears whistling Dixie out their backsides; that’s normal.

This meeting’s consent calendar is pretty big with 11 items.  We have the obligatory minutes, end of period financial statement (March 31), capitol expenditure report (also as of March 31), and then a slue of construction projects.

Among them is the library remodel project with $4,142,377.25 this month and a total “Guaranteed Maximum Price” of $9,391,000.00.  We’ll see… There are 6 other construction jobs worth nearly $2,000,000.

Last on the consent calendar is approval of Final Map for Tract No. 17315.  The subdivision is in the Ford/West/Richman Avenues area.  Since the City’s website isn’t allowing us to look up the backup documents, I have nothing further to report on this.  My guess is this is one of the Land Czar’s projects.

Item 12 takes us out of the consent calendar and into a public hearing over Underground Utilities District No. 15.  Part of this is supposed to bury overhead lines on State College Boulevard from Kimberly Avenue to Santa Fe Avenue.

The only “regular business” is item 13, Fullerton Community Center Project review.  The agenda says this:

The Fullerton Community Center Project is one of two major projects currently being undertaken as part of the civic center area improvements. These projects include significant renovations and additions to the Fullerton Public Library and the construction of a multi-purpose Fullerton Community Center; parking and circulation improvements, and limited street improvements to Commonwealth Avenue.

Recommendation by the Parks and Recreation and Redevelopment and Economic Development Departments:

Approve the Community Center concept plan, and authorize staff and the Project Manager at Risk (PMAR) to proceed with design development and preparation of a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) based on the conceptual design.

Coming up on May 25 we have the public hearing on Coyote Hills.  Expect another crazy night heated opinions.  Outside City Hall I heard one man mutter “Why won’t they listen to us?  Why do they insist on doing this?” I assumed he was talking about the Coyote Hills development and how the City Council isn’t simply stopping this in its tracks.  Who knows, maybe on the 25^th they will.  Remember, we have two seats up for re-election and possibly even a third seat if Nelson sweeps the June 8^th Primary.

Also coming up on June 1st, you can expect to find these topics on the agenda.

• Public Hearing – Adopt Budget
• Call Election/Consolidate/Candidate Statements
• April Financials
• Presentation – SCE – State of the Utility
• Proclamation – Marlis Katherine Christianson Wigestrand
• Public Hearing – Towing Ordinance
• Insurance Program Report and Recommendations
• Closed Session – Existing Litigation – Lopez
• Public Hearing – Amend Title 15 – Personal Service Facility/Tattoo Parlors
• St. College Grade Separation Change Order
• Personnel Management Changes
• Draft Request for Interest for Downtown Core & Corridors Specific Plan

As always, please let me know if I missed something that you think is important, especially since I could not access the backup documents for the agenda items.