Fullerton City Council Archives - Page 59 of 74 - Friends For Fullerton's Future

July 25, 2010Big Brother

The Wishing Well, Once A Mayor’s Crib; Now A Bottomless Money Hole

IMG00037-20100723-0855 — The Wishing Well Apartments. Someone's wish just came true.

For those interested in obscure Fullerton history, Louis Valasquez lived in the Wishing Well apartments at 466 West Valencia Dr. while serving as the Mayor of Fullerton in 1979.

Those more curious about modern-day Redevelopment Agency boondoggles, may be interested to learn that this past week the Fullerton City Council voted to sell the Agency owned Wishing Well Apartments to an out of town “developer” for $100.

The Fullerton Redevelopment Agency purchased the ol’ Wishing Well for $1,993,433 and paid an additional $60,930 to kick out (relocate) all the tenants that resided in the 16 unit building. On top of that the Agency is going to give the out-of-towners an additional $184,347 to “rehab” the apartments, provided the developer rents the apartments to low income tenants. Here in Orange County “low income” is 50% of the median income – which for a family of 3 is $70,890. This means that people that make around $35,445 will be living in the Brand Spanking New Wishing Well. I’ll bet ya the previous tenants made less than $35,445 per year. So in reality the city kicked out the poor folks in order to replace them with richer poor folks.

Now that’s not very good is it?

And if the units were so dilapidated, why didn’t City Code Enforcement simply cite the landlord and require the units to be standard units?

I think I’ll do a follow-up post and focus on code enforcement failures under Don Bankhead’s and Dick Jones’s years of “leadership.”

July 12, 2010July 11, 2010Dead heads

Who Should Pay To Clean Up The Mess in Downtown Fullerton?

by admin10 Comments

hooligan — Welcome to Downtown Fullerton

Surely not the businesses that don’t sell booze.

Last year a few downtown Fullerton property and business owners lobbied the City Council to impose an tax assessment on downtown Fullerton. The purpose of this “Business Improvement District” was to raise money to clean up the mess introduced into Downtown by the numerous booze joints and illegal dance clubs.

The first step was predictable: hire yourself a “consultant” who will tell you what you want to hear. But the price tag was too steep and the promoters couldn’t get a clear majority of the Council to go along.

But apparently now Councilwoman Sharon Quirk-Silva has changed her mind about hiring a consultant to meet and greet and spread the BID propaganda.

The direction here is all too clear: build up some momentum toward the idea and then rely on the self-interested parties to vote their interest and hope that the other property owners don’t catch on.

Well I think this stinks. Why should all the downtown property owners pay to fix the problems caused by the bar owners and their out-of-control customers, not to mention a City policy that has enabled all these problems? And let’s not forget – former police chief and council candidate Patrick McKinley who liked to look the other way.

And why should the taxpayers keep footing the bill?

July 7, 2010Fullerton City Council

Time to Tow Jones & Mayer Away?

by Travis14 Comments

Attorneys are expensive for a reason… they’re supposed to be smarter than the rest of us. But once again our high-priced legal experts from Jones and Mayer have failed to impress.

In haste to find a new revenue generating scheme, the Fullerton Police Department worked with Jones & Mayer attorney Elena Gerli (of former bicycle nuisance fame) to draw up an ordinance that would raise towing fees and create a new “franchise opportunity” within the city. For Fullerton motorists, that translates to more fees for the same ‘ol service. But I digress.

A series of tow operators gave detailed testimony that passing the ordinance would be a violation of several state laws. The City Attorney then gave a sketchy rebuttal (more on this subject in a future post) that failed to mitigate the council’s concerns, Sharon Quirk-Silva quickly took the lead in sending the attorney back to the drawing board and calling for a study session to prevent another legal mess for our city.

Was our attorney outsmarted by a group of tow truck drivers? It seems like it. We’ll find out in a few more weeks, but not until they’ve squeezed out another round of billable hours.

Why do I feel like we’ve been here before? Let’s see… a bureaucracy’s insatiable desire to increase revenue combined with poor legal advice, leading to eventual lawsuits and thus diverting any potential “profits” into the welcoming arms of Jones and Mayer.

Ah yes, it’s the red light camera disaster all over again.

July 6, 2010Fullerton City Council

On the Agenda – July 6th, 2010

by Christian3 Comments

Happy 4^th of July! Coming off of a nice three-day weekend for city staff we are faced with a council meeting tonight wherein we can expect to see our millions of tax dollars senselessly squandered away. View the agenda.

If you haven’t seen the agenda, please do. We start off with the usual property negotiations to gobble up more low-income housing so we can give it away to a private developer.

In open session we have the consent calendar which no sane person would actually consent to – but we already knew that.

Item 2 is the Public Works 7-year Capital Improvement Program wherein PW Director Hoppe concocts a way to spread some money over all of the broken infrastructure. Doing so shows the Feds that we mean well but have no money. The truth is if we wanted to, we could fix a few serious issues now and delay some of the more minor ones. But we won’t. We will wait and watch more roads crumble, precious water resources bubble up from broken water mains, and our sidewalks lifted up by city trees. Worth noting is that the Harbor Boulevard slope failure that has been threatening pedestrians and motorists for more than a year has been pushed back until FY2012-13. Oh well; what do you expect? The 7-Year CIP covers $70,874,000 of tax dollars.

Item 3 is a wireless carrier lease for the Euclid Tank Farm for $1,577 per mo with 4% increase each year.

(more…)

June 29, 2010Boohooism

Yellowing Submarine Advocates Tax Increase

by Joe Sipowicz12 Comments

the-observer-ostrich4-300x225 — Things are lookin' up!

Well of course they do. That’s what they know.

In the most recent edition of the squalid rag (page 1, 20% recycled paper) known as the Fullerton Observer, an unnamed editorial writer bemoans the fact that “City businesses fees” (sic) “may be outdated and too low.”

Well of course they are too low – for taxers like the Yellowing Observers, whether they are outdated or not.

Then there’s this gem: “While city (sic) employees and residents are being required to help out through layoffs, furloughs, increased fees, and reduced services, nothing has been asked of the business community.”

Huh? If anybody in Sharon Kennedy’s family had ever owned or run a business they would know that the business license is not a “fee,” it’s a thinly veiled tax, levied on businesses, and that it confers absolutely no service to the business owner. It’s just a revenue grab. Then of course the whole thing is pitched in the obligatory “look how small the increase per business is and look how many jobs it will keep!” routine.

If anybody is dumb enough to buy into I’d sure like to hear from them. And thanks Observer for a 2010 campaign issue! Let’s hear it. Whose for the new Observer tax increase?

June 29, 2010June 29, 2010Brick Veneer, Fake Old, And Other Horrors

Look Up In The Sky! It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! No It’s a Pringle!

by admin3 Comments

MTD_JRW_RAIL_HELICOPTER_2.mi_embedded.prod_affiliate.8 — The boondoggle takes to the air

Don’t feel so bad. The consultants, lobbyists, con men, and other assorted rip-off artists are pushing the multi-billion high speed rail in other places, too. Here’s an article from the Fresno Bee that tells all about how the local gentry are trying to grab their share of the HSR gravy that they think will be a big deal for the raisin capital of the state.

PringlePower — You are becoming very sleepy...

The common denominator, of course, is Anaheim’s termed-out Mayor-For-Hire, the irrepressible Curt Pringle who figures to make big bucks as a “consultant” for this boondoggle when his days as a conflicted politician are over. The Fresno crowd wined and dined hizzoner and he was clearly impressed with the show of unanimity – much more than he’s getting down south these days. He even promised them a 2012 start for the project.

Come December Pringle will be out of office, and will no longer be able to pull the strings at OCTA either, although it sure looks like he’s getting his ducks in a row, puppet-wise there and at Anaheim’s City Hall.

June 27, 2010July 17, 2010Boohooism

Doug Chaffee Announces Candidacy For City Council

by The Fullerton Shadow23 Comments

Aha! Our old acquaintance Doug Chaffee has announced he is running again for Fullerton City Council. He must feel that the number of vacancies this fall will improve his chances. His two prior forays into elective politics were expensive and disastrous.

Anyhoo, here’s the announcement:

NEWS RELEASE

FROM: CHAFFEE FOR COUNCIL

Contact: Paulette Marshall, (714) 529-4513; chaffeemar@earthlink.net

CHAFFEE WILL SEEK SEAT ON FULLERTON CITY COUNCIL

Fullerton, CA, June 22, 2010. Doug Chaffee will file papers with the Fullerton City Clerk indicating that he will seek a seat on the city council. The general election is scheduled for November 2, 2010. In announcing his candidacy, Chaffee said that he is extremely concerned about the city’s financial situation, which has resulted in diminished city services.

“My campaign will emphasize sustainable financing for the city and restoring a sense of inclusiveness, openness and civility among the people who work, live, and serve our city. There are many challenges facing Fullerton. I want to hear from the community – residents, homeowners and businesses. I’m a good listener and welcome everyone’s ideas. Working together, we can create common sense solutions to the economic and social challenges that face Fullerton.”

A business attorney who has practiced law in downtown Fullerton for more than 40 years, Chaffee is a graduate of Fullerton Union High School, University of Redlands (BA Economics), and Northwestern University School of Law. He lives in Fullerton with his wife, Paulette, and sons Marshall and Adam.

Chaffee is vice chair of the Fullerton Planning Commission and past president of Fullerton United Way and Sunrise Rotary Club. He serves on the board of directors, North Orange County YMCA and the Advisory Board of Fullerton Interfaith Emergency Service. He is a member of Friends of Jazz and the Sierra Club.

He can be reached at (714) 726-0521 or chaffeemar@earthlink.net.

END

We received this notice in an e-mail from a Chaffee volunteer who hopes FFFF will be fair to Mr. Chaffee.

Well, hell, we’re always fair.

Anyway, about Chaffee: he is one of those unrepentant liberals who almost always seems to believe government knows best. On the other hand his position on the City’s doling out entitlements on massive projects with gleeful abandon has been better than others.

In the past some of us meanies have singled out Chaffee as the recipient of our acerbic affections. This time? Who knows? We’ll have to see how good, or bad, the ultimate crop of candidates is.

June 22, 2010June 23, 2010Dead heads

God-Awful Godfrey Making A Comeback?

by The Desert Rat4 Comments

Word on Commonwealth Avenue is that former Council member Peter Godfrey is contemplating a return to the ring of elected politics in Fullerton. True? I don’t know, but I do know that the Establishment Repuglicans need to start lining up some plausible ‘pugs to go for the new openings, and the usual Dick Ackerman/Ed Royce RINO tribe is almost exhausted.

For those who don’t remember Peter Godfrey’s hollow, staff-stooge tenure on the council in the mid-90s, we noted his presence, here, to cheerlead for Fullerton’s Redevelopment expansion. That alone should suffice to present an adequate political character profile of Our Man Godfrey.

Also of note is the fact that he was nominated for a 2009 Fringie Award in the category of Scariest Ghost of Fullerton Past. He might well have have won, too, if not for the horrifying appearance of his old pal, Linda LeQuire (shudder).

Well, we knew the ‘Pugs had to come up with somebody, no matter how cadaverous, but Godfrey? Yikes.

June 18, 2010May 6, 2011Behind Closed Doors

Did Fullerton Councilman Assault Female Cop At Christmas Party?

by admin35 Comments

JUNE UPDATE: I’ve spoken with another police officer who wants to know why we haven’t posted any more information on this story, as there were many witnesses to the alleged act. Rest assured, we are not going to stop digging until we get to the bottom of this.

FEBRUARY UPDATE: I spoke yesterday with the officer in question who has stated unequivocally that an incident did in fact occur, and that Councilman Jones has mischaracterized his innocence. The officer has been instructed by City Human Resources Department to avoid further communication with us.

We all know that Christmas parties are notorious for bad behavior on the part of some of the participants. When you are an elected official maybe you believe you can get away with some extracurricular activity without reproach. And maybe you are a just a bigger target for nasty accusations that aren’t true.

Which is the case with Councilman F. Richard “Dick” Jones?

We have been informed by separate sources, both in the Fullerton PD and in City Hall, that Jones slapped a female Fullerton police detective on her buttocks at a police union Christmas Party on December 18th at the Summit House restaurant; and that the physical assault was followed up with a dismissive slur regarding Dick’s perception of the officer’s sexual orientation.

Yesterday we sent Dick Jones an e-mail asking him to respond to this allegations. Here is what he said:

I just learned of this allegation this weekend. This is completely untrue and I have no idea why or how this rumor was started. People who know me, know I would do no such thing to anyone. Thank you for asking me. Such an accusation is very upsetting as there is no truth to it!

So now we have an accusation and a denial, and as yet no response from the officer in question. So the real question is why anybody in the Fullerton PD would attempt what would evidently be a smear on Jones? That’s a good question and one we will be pursuing.

In any case, difficulties arise, including the possibility of a cover-up of this alleged incident within both City Hall, as well as in the ranks of the police union itself. Apart from the issue of a typical hush-up for a politician, there remains the subject of other parties who may have a stake in making sure that news of the alleged incident doesn’t get out. The City Manager is a close personal friend of Mr. Jones, and would certainly render any investigation problematic. Meanwhile, the police union is apparently in the process of bargaining a new agreement and may very well be in need of Jones’ vote.

If true, the incident would certainly center on the behavior of Jones, of course; and also the rights of the officer in question who may be feeling pressure from her bosses and also from her union brethren to let the matter go – at least for now.

Alternatively we are confronted with the possibility that someone within the Fullerton Police Department has concocted and sold a story in order to make Jones look bad. But what for? Who knows? In any case, the timing may be poor. Angering a potential vote during labor negotiations is probably not the best idea.

We’ll stay on top of this as best we can. Particularly to make sure that this situation doesn’t end up playing a part in a labor agreement negotiation.

June 17, 2010June 23, 2010About Us

Some Questions For Potential Fullerton City Council Candidates

by admin7 Comments

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?