Yesterday we looked at 7 of the 15 applicants for the vacancy created when Tim Hughes resigned from the Planning Commission (PC). I chose to highlight these 7 people because they had the education, training, or experience in land planning, and this is a major part of the PC’s mission. But when I looked over the rest of the field, so many talented people stood out I thought it’s a shame we have only one vacancy.
In the Mad Max film series, when Max meets MasterBlaster in the Thunderdome, the people chant
"Two men enter, one man leaves"
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In our case, 15 people enter and one person will leave. What a shame! How about a new chant -
"15 people enter, 15 people leave"
Find out what's happening in Lake Forestwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
With so much to do in the City, it would be beneficial if the Commissions and/or the Council created meaningful committees that could assist. Here’s a list of some areas that could benefit from the attention of talented people like the ones who have applied for the PC position.
TRAFFIC COMMITTEE
During the last campaign, nearly everyone agreed that traffic was a major problem and nearly everyone advocated a “Traffic Commission”. Traffic is a problem right now, and it certainly is going to get worse with the 4,200+ new homes being built. Let’s get this group up and running asap. It could report to the PC and many of the people who’ve applied to the one open position could help enormously.
PARKING
If traffic is the main problem, parking is her ugly sister. Hardly a month goes by when parking problems don’t appear at meetings of the PC, the Council, and even the Parks and Recreation Commission. The last city council meeting had a resident who complained about overflow parking from an apartment complex on Ridge Route. Just prior to that parking permits were issued for homeowners near Pittsford Park who were experiencing similar problems. The PC meetings about Brookfield centered on parking, and the Parks and Recreation people in a search for a dog park were nearly stymied by parking problems. Let’s put our minds together and study this issue thoroughly and come out with new standards and new ways to deal with this city-wide serious problem.
ANIMALS
With the talk of a dog park, the problems with the ducks and geese at the Village Pond Park, the recent outbreak of duck botulism, the constant threat coyotes pose to cats and dogs, etc. it’s probably time that we looked at this issue and having an advisory committee would be a good thing. The City of Laguna Woods created such a group a few years ago, and they managed to coordinate the efforts with a community garden and the rescue of cats to make a synergistic process that helped both.
SPORTS PARK
The Sports Park is going to be up and running pretty soon, so it’s time we had an advisory committee to study the best uses of the Park, fees, events, etc. There is already some talk of having an “after-parade” 4th of July celebration in that area, and with the talented people we have in this city, we could probably create a memorable event. The Sports Park Committee could report to Parks and Recreation.
HEALTHY CITY
The City Council asked the Parks and Recreation Commission to study the idea of a “healthy city initiative” and they are going about the task even now. Wouldn’t it be great to create an advisory committee to spearhead this idea.
COMMUNITY GARDEN
The Community Garden idea is not unrelated to the “healthy city” idea, but it also stands on its own. Right now we are focused on one physical area, but who’s to say that a city-wide community garden effort might not be a good approach. This group is already formed and functioning. Let’s legitimized their existence and put them to use right away. If we don’t have an ideal spot right now, what can we be doing?
HOA NETWORK
More than 70% of our people live in HOAs. And HOA problems are often city-related. A few years ago Jim Richert organized a meeting of representatives from HOAs who got together once per month to discuss areas of common interest (e.g., traffic, street repair, flooding, etc.). But lack of response from the City caused this group to dis-engage. Here is a group that could bring a wealth of experience to the City. Indeed, many of the applicants for the Planning Commission position (Jolene Fuentes, Dino Roman, Kim Back) have extensive experience with their HOAs.
These are just a few examples, off the top of my head, of areas of concern that could benefit from the attention of the talented people we have in the City. Not only would these areas flourish, we’d have a proving ground where people could become involved in city related activities and then we’d have a much better look at their qualities and capabilities. That way, when they seek higher office (Commission, Council) they wouldn’t be unknowns, but rather they would have a track record to commend them.
Next time we'll finish up with some recommendations.
