Giving Thanks in Lake Forest

Since today is Thanksgiving I thought I’d take some time to talk about the things going on in the City that we should give thanks for this year.

Most importantly, we can give thanks for all the people who volunteer their time to make the City a better place. Top of the list is our Council members. I often criticize the Council members for their inability to act and for some of the poor decisions I believe they’ve made, but you have to admit that they put in a lot of time in their attempts to make our City a better place to live. Kudos to them.

Next is the long list of Commissioners, who also give a substantial amount of their time to help make the City better. Again, they often drop the ball or fail at their tasks, but every one of them is a sincere person who is doing their best for the rest of us.

Outside the Council and the Commissions, we have nearly 100 other people who volunteer their time on the Parade Committee, The Teen and the Senior Advisory Boards, the senior program, and the STARS program.

Our City prospers when we have so many people who give their time and energy to help. BTW – this is probably the spot to put in a plug for those dozens of more people who are ready and willing to help when the time finally comes when the Council approves some of the many committees we are lacking.

Beyond the City government, throughout the City we have all sorts of nonprofits groups that are active making the City a better place to live. I’ve had personal contact with many of these, from the Soroptimists International, The Garden Club, Kiwanis, the Boys and Girls Club, and many others. We have literally hundreds of people working every day and doing all kinds of marvelous things that not only impact our lives, but stretch beyond our borders. All these people deserve our support and praise, and as the end of the year approaches, and you’re thinking about your tax deductible contributions, please try to remember these local groups.

And here’s another opportunity for me to plug the idea of a Lake Forest Community Foundation that could act to facilitate the needs of many of these smaller nonprofit groups. Almost every other City in OC has a Foundation. Ours gathers dust on a shelf while other cities raise millions of dollars to support their volunteers. Let’s have a New Year’s Resolution to get this much need group in action.

You can’t mention volunteers without acknowledging the hard work put in by the dozens of Boards of our local HOAs. And inside these HOAs there are often committees where dozens of more people spend endless hours trying to make their neighborhood a better place. I sit on the Board of Lake 1s HOA and on several of their committees, so I know first hand how hard these people work and what good work they do.

There is no force in our City more important than the good work which our citizens do, at all levels, to make the City a better place for all of us.

Beyond this, and looking at City Government per se, the good news is that we are in a good financial position to deal with the considerable challenges facing us in the future.

In addition, our major investment in the Sports Park remains on schedule and within budget. Thanks to our Mayor for being the Cheerleader for this project, but thanks to Marcia Rudolph, Mark Tettemer, and Richard Dixon who helped put this in place.

The 4th of July Parade this year was one of the best. How fortunate we are to have such an event that brings the entire City together. Thanks to Gary Magill and Ron Rivera from the City, and to those 50 people who show up year after year.

Thanks to the hard work of our City Clerk and her department, the City’s website improved in transparency to the point where we are one of the most informative websites in OC.

Thanks to Councilmen Robinson and Nick, the rules governing signs for businesses were loosened in an attempt to be more “business friendly”.  

Thanks to the men and women of the OC Sheriff’s Department. Overall crime rate is down this year so we can feel a little safer in our homes.

If I’ve left anything out, please add a comment. We have a lot to be thankful for this year.