City Council Preview - Nov 5

The City Council agenda for this week includes several items of interest.

FEEDING THE FOWL

The problems with Village Pond Park have been discussed before, and one of the central problems identified by everyone is the feeding of the ducks and geese. For years people have pulled up in the cars, opened their trunks, and taken out tons of stale bread that they fed to the fowl. The long term consequences of this have been poor health for the fowl, an overabundance of fowl in the area, and feces everywhere.

A few weeks ago Councilman Robinson and Mayor Pro Tem McCullough promised that we'd consider an ordinance against feeding the fowl, and here it is. Kudos to them. It's always nice to see an elected official keep a promise, and doing it so quickly is really an eye opener.

According to the City, “all National Parks, all California State Parks, and various municipalities” forbid feeding wildlife, as do local examples such as “Newport Beach and Villa Park”

(Note to the City – is “Villa Park” a “local” example?).

The problem with enacting an ordinance is the enforcement. The City recognizes this potential problems and proposes that in addition to the OCSD they employ the City’s Code Enforcement personnel to issue citations. In addition, the City “is developing alternatives that could be added or substituted to efforts involving a potential Ordinance”, but they are not yet prepared to talk about these alternatives. Apparently they will be ready by November 19th.

(Note to the City – If you’re not ready with your “alternatives”, why not wait until November 19th to consider the Ordinance? After 20 years a few more weeks won't make a big difference)

BTW – I’m disappointed that the City report doesn’t look at the option of providing veterinarian approved food in limited quantities for people to feed the fowl. The food can be dispensed from machines or made available at the local Seven Eleven. Surely some cities have experimented with this and it would be nice if some research was done so this option can be put on the table.

FOUL PLAY AT THE DAIS?

The City is once more considering the use of electronic devices by Council members and Commissioners during public meetings. This item was deferred when Mayor Voigts was unable to attend a prior meeting, and apparently he wanted to weigh in on this issue. We’ve covered this issue before. Having attended almost every Council and Commission meeting this year, I can attest to several occasions in which a Council or Commission member used their device to get information that the staff had neglected to obtain. In the cases I observed, the use of the device served the higher purposes of the meeting, bringing enlightenment to all. Banning the use of devices, as proposed by the City, would be a mistake.

To me, the key is whether or not the information obtained by using the device is cogent to the decision making process and whether or not it is shared with the other members and with the public. Alternately, if we don’t trust our public officials, the staff can be empowered to do an Internet search during a meeting and report back during the meeting.

This is 2013 folks. Let’s not be afraid of technology. Let’s make use of it to do a better job.

FILLING A VACANT SEAT

The City will consider the method for filling the Council seat vacated by Peter Herzog. Herzog was elected in 2010, so his current term expires next year, and the appointee will serve until then. At the last meeting the Council decided to avoid a special election which could cost $200,000 or more when all the costs are factored in.

The City will require –

·  A full resume

·  Written responses to questions from the Council

·  FPPC Form 700 – Statement of Economic Interest

Following this, the council will review the materials and then interview the candidates.

The proposed timetable calls for opening the application process for 2 weeks beginning November 6, and then interviewing candidates during the first week of December, with an ultimate selection prior to the State imposed deadline of December 14. Effectively this means the new member will not take his/her seat until 2014. It also means that if the Council can’t agree on a person to fill the vacant seat, we will be running so close to the deadline that we may end up violating the State law. I’d recommend that the two week period for people applying be cut to one week, allowing one more City Council meeting so that final selection can happen at the December 3rd meeting, and if they can’t agree, there’s sufficient time to arrange for the special election.

If you're interested in applying you should probably attend this week's meeting, and if you can't make it, log onto the City's website on Wednesday to get the final details.

BTW - Apparently the City isn't going to perform any type of background check on the applicants, so if you were reluctant to apply because of some shady past history, don't worry. Defrocked priests, de-certified financial planners, disbarred attorneys, ponzi scheme players, convicted felons (as long as they aren't still in jail), are all welcome to apply. Your secrets will stay hidden.