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This post is from a candidate running for Lake Forest City Council. All candidates have been and are at any time invited to blog on Patch.
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Traffic continues to be a problem in the city of Lake Forest. Light synchronization still has not occurred throughout the city. While the city has upgraded the on-ramps at El Toro, traffic is still snarled there. And with the proposed additional housing that developers want to build, the problems are only going to get worse.
And speaking of housing, I was on the planning commission when we were preparing the Opportunity Study. At that time, the final study showed a balance of housing, commercial and industrial that provided enough income for the city to allow additional housing as well as the support services for that housing.
The city has a problem with its aging infrastructure that needs to be addressed. There are sections of the city that don’t have curbs, gutters and sidewalks. Streets are falling apart and are not being repaired in a timely fashion. Electric services are failing and our water and sewer systems are in need of repair.
Our city sends dogs and cats that they pick up to Orange County Animal Shelter, which is a high-kill shelter. We should consider contracting with either Irvine or Mission Viejo shelters to send our stray animals there. Not only are they no-kill shelters, but if you lose a pet, you don’t have to go all the way to Orange to claim your pet. And in a city our size, we should have a dog park. Numerous cities around us either have a park or are planning on building one. With the development going on in the city, we should be able to provide a dog park along with all of the sports fields we are adding.
Medical marijuana has been approved by the voters for a number of years now. We should not be closing down marijuana clinics, but regulating how and where they can operate. My parents are medical professionals and I know the benefits that medical marijuana can provide. Regulating where clinics can go and how they operate will provide the level of safety that people feel is necessary to prevent more crime from occurring at these places.
I will make sure that we have a balanced city budget and the money we need to fix problems areas is spent wisely. It will be my job to make sure that the city acts in a fiscally responsible manner. I believe the city should hire more locally owned businesses rather than going outside of the city when possible. And the city should not negotiate with bidders unless it negotiates with all of the bidders.
Also, I don’t believe in reimbursements for travel to and from city council meetings. When I was on the planning commission, I traveled to San Diego for training. I used my own car to get there and didn’t bill the city for the gas I used. Serving on the city council is a volunteer position and I believe that the stipend the council members are paid should be used for local travel expenses.
Finally, public safety and crime prevention are a number one priority for me. And it isn’t just the sheriff’s or fire department’s job. The city has a number of programs for the citizens to learn about what they can do and I want to keep programs like that going and build on it so that we have the greatest city in the county.
