Some Questions For Potential Fullerton City Council Candidates
There will be 3 open seats (and maybe 4) for Fullerton’s city council this November.
For those that are interested or considering running for any one of those seats, our Friends would really like to know your opinion about the following issues:
1. What’s your opinion about Redevelopment in Fullerton and the recent council vote to expand Redevelopment?
2. What’s your opinion on the roll the city manager plays with the city council?
3. What is your opinion about public employee pensions?
4. What is your opinion about holding people accountable for their actions?
5. What is your opinion about Zone changes and General Plan Amendments; are they ever justified and if so, why and when?
6. What is your opinion on the High Speed Rail coming through Fullerton?
7. What is your opinion about the way things are going in Downtown Fullerton?
8. What is your opinion about the proposed Fox Block development?
9. What is you opinion on future development in West Coyote hills?
Nobody’s going to answer those. They’re too hard.
We need something written by Barbara Giasone. Speaking of Babs, when is she going to start writing for the Observer?
Most of these are very vague.
Be specific. How will you fix the streets (Fullerton’s are the worst in OC)? Could we save $$$ by contracting Fire with the OC Fire Authority? How much?
Greg sounds like the real deal.
Greg, I’d like to read your answers to Codgers questions.
Fullerton’s streets are in bad shape. For as long as I can remember, Fullerton has a bad habit of resurfacing our roads only to have them trenched to lay new sections of water and sewer. Worse yet, when water lines break we end up with a patchwork resembling a quilt. These road conditions take a toll on our vehicles. Our road repairs and utility maintenance should be synchronized.
There is a section of road surface along State College Boulevard which had water seeping from it. After several calls to City Hall, city staff determined that the water source was a HOA that was over watering the parkway. In this case, I think the HOA needs to pay for the cost of investigation and repair of our road which now has two large depressions where the asphalt has prematurely worn away.
In my neighbor hood, it is hard to go more than about 200 feet without driving over an asphalt patch from the repair of broken water lines. Our lines, in my opinion, are breaking quicker than we can replace them. This forces us to pay city crews overtime on weekends and evenings to make repairs instead of actually replacing the deteriorated sections before it becomes an emergency.
As for contracting out fire services, that option needs to be explored. One concern I would have in turning it over to the OCFA is a possible lack of local control. However, the loss of some local control may be mitigated by substantial cost savings.
I don’t have all of the answers but I do recognize that our City needs help.
1) End it the Redevelopment Agency.
2) The CM is the conduit between the council and daily operations of the city’s department heads. It is an important job, though highly overrated.
3) Vague questions get vague answers. Public employees should have a retirement plan available. However, that plan must not be at the detriment of the fiscal welfare of the community which the employees serve.
4) Everyone is accountable for their actions and inactions. Ultimately, voters will decide to keep things the way they are or toss everyone out.
5) Zone changes and general plan amendments allow a community to adjust to the needs of its citizens and taxpayers. It should be done so in a manor which is consistent with ones right to use and enjoy their own property.
6) We have existing track lines which serve commuters well. Using existing tracks and right-of-way is reasonable. Spending millions, even billions, condemning land while displacing businesses and families is not good for Fullerton.
7) Downtown Fullerton is a great place. It can and should be better.
8) Fox Block is a good private venture and a poor public venture. It is one thing to help streamline entitlements for a private developer; it is an entirely different animal to use tax dollars to condemn property for this project. Let the private developer acquire the land on their own.
9) Chevron has a right to use and enjoy their property. It goes without saying that any development must be proven to be safe and sustainable. The Chevron property might best be suited for large estates with massive setback to maintain the open space. The possibilities are endless.
As with all of these issues, each must be looked at on its own merit. Generally, government should stay out of the private sector. The city should only provide infrastructure and public safety. Community programs are nice to have but when times are tough, they must not be prioritized ahead of infrastructure and public safety.
Yes–all the RDA funds should go to fix the streets. The RDA $$$ CAN be used for infrastructure, not for playing developer in the Fox Block.