Although today’s OC Register contained three stories about Monday nights’ Mission Viejo city council meeting I thought it might be of interest to provide an example of Council agenda manipulation and campaigning from the bully pulpit.
Let me begin by stating while I did turn in a speakers slip on the discussion of the proposed dog park I left after the recall Agenda item concluded to publish the recall report.
To paint the full picture I must begin with a Memorandum from M. Kelly Doyle, City of Mission Viejo Director, Recreation and Community Services, dated September 15, 2009. In his third topic headline Kelly wrote “Dog Park to be on Community Services Commission agenda at the Tuesday, October 20, 2009 Meeting.”
His brief commentary states that “The city previously requested that the possibility of dog park in Mission Viejo to be referred to the Community Services Commission again for reconsideration. Previously the Commission, after considerable time spent by a committee, made a recommendation of a site to the City Council. That site was the former over flow area, past the parking lot and past the Village Green at the Community Center.
The October 20, 2009 Commission meeting will be publicized to the public and to those who have expressed an interest in the possibility of a dog park.”
Help me out here. What was Monday’s date? My calendar reads October 5th.
Kelly said that the Oct 20th meeting “will be publicized to the public and to those who have expressed an interest in the possibility of a dog park.” Why bother. The city council approved that project on Monday.
Prior to his calling an Agenda item regarding our tennis center Mayor Ury opens stating “something for staff. Can we keep this (staff report) brief..we have a lot of people wishing to speak on many issues.” Director Kelly than opens the discussion.
Fast foreword to the Agenda item where we must vote to pay the ROV for the recall certification and Frank allows Lance to ramble on with a political speech for over 10 minutes, even after a public speaker, president of the Saddleback Republican Assembly, urged the mayor and council to move forward and not engage in any debate on the charges.
Let me remind Juice readers of Frank’s earlier direction to Director Kelly Doyle of our having “a lot of people wishing to speak on many issues.” After the first 6 minutes of councilman MacLean’s rambling council member Schlicht asked the mayor to stop this filibuster and was told that he would let it continue. Do we have a dual standard Mr. Ury? You give Lance a blank check with the microphone yet tell Director Kelly Doyle to hurry up his staff presentation involving millions of taxpayer dollars?
Political Strategy and Tactics 101 was in play on Monday evening. Timing, Agenda management, and the dog park which Lance placed on the Agenda trumping the Community Services Commission to buy votes from the dog park proponents in the audience.
To close let me say how disappointed I am in Director Kelly Doyle who spoke at the meeting’s tennis court Agenda item yet didn’t object to councilman MacLean’s Agendizing the dog park bypassing the commission he oversees.
I am thoroughly disgusted with the City Council and I have only lived here for 4 months. It took us a 9-month fight to buy our home in a short sale, and one of the things that specifically attracted us to it was the location…above Oso Viejo park. We learned from the OC Register the day of the meeting that this vote was going to take place. There was NO NOTIFICATION to any affected homeowners of the vote. Most of them had no idea this was going on and are outraged.
Lara. I will look into the “lack of notification” issue. Unless I am mistaken the city has a responsibility to notify all property owners within a designated distance from any proposed project.
In this case they even trampled the Community Services Commission who is scheduled to discuss this potential dog park next week with notification being sent to all interested local parties.
I hope Lara signs on to oust MacLean from office and change the council majority. The vote was 3-2, and removing MacLean can reverse this bad decision. Let the dog lovers have a dog park, but Oso Viejo Park isn’t the place for it.
Dump MacLean and build the dog park in an appropriate place. It does not belong in a “people park” next to homes, sports fields and a school. Shame on MacLean, Ury and Kelley for spitting in the face of homeowners.
A dog park should not be in neighborhoods with homes. Placing it by an industrial park or the animal shelter would be better choices. Isn’t it best to have barking next to the animal shelter, which I doubt will bother them, than to have it by homes and bother the human beings. I have a dog and love dogs, but not in a park next to my neighborhood, or parks next to my Mission Viejo neighbors. It will be more disruptive than our council wants to acknowledge. And quite frankly, I don’t think MV needs one at all.
Good morning Donna.
As I do not know who you are let me simply respond that prior to my speaking at Monday’s meeting of the Mission Viejo Planning Commission several angry citizens spoke about the proposed dog park that was not on their Agenda. These are residents who live in the immediate area who expressed concerns regarding traffic and other peripheral concerns. You might have been one of them.
Lance MacLean pulled a fast one on the Community Services Commission who are scheduled to have a meeting on the proposed dog park on TUESDAY OCT 20th. Hello! That’s next week yet he trumpted that commission, whose members were appointed by the entire council by his adding the dog park issue to the Oct 5th Agenda which appeared just after the discussion of the recall. Mayor Frank Ury took things out of sequence to provide that platform for Lance to campaign for around 10 minutes in front of the dog park advocates as he panders for votes.
Hey Larry, why did you leave the meeting before the dog park came? You were scheduled to be the first speaker. Do you really think you’re being fair and objective in reporting on the agenda item when you weren’t even there? I can see that your integrity hasn’t improved since the days when you’d go to city council meetings and pretend you were speaking for the rotary club.
Hi Dan. Missed you at the Walk against Drugs this morning.
As Juice readers do not have, andsurely don’t want my entire MV history let me say that Dan Avery is, or was, very involved in the MV Activities Committee that manages our 4th of July Street Festival each year and our popular Santa’s Workshop.
In early 1996, when they were looking for volunteers to assist them in marketing their events and other tasks, my wife, daughter and myself signed up. I gave them a heads up on my political involvement and asked if that presented any problem as they are funded by the city. The answer was no. However as the 1996 election was coming up someone in city hall “suggested” that they really didn’t need someone to assist in marketing resulting in my being asked to step down from that volunteer post which I did. A few weeks later they advertised for someone to help promote marketing. They simply were not going to give me a chance to wear a white hat confirming one of my positive volunteer activities for our city. In addition prior to leaving the MVAC I recall assisting in setting up and painting the Santa workshop house and fencing but that’s just old news. We did attend an awards dinner whre my wife and daughter were included in those volunteers recognized.
I share all of this for a specific reason, including his comment about the MV Rotary Club whose current members I met with earlier this morning. Lance MacLean was very involved in the MVAC and still has a few friends who will support him in the recall such as Mr. Avery.
Integrity? I never announced myself as a officer of the Rotary Club when addressing that city council meeting (that was several yearsago). I was there as a card carrying member asking a basic question as to when the promised plaque confirming our donation to the new library was to be found on the donor wall.
Dan. You might see Scott Walker and get the Rotary “4 way test” business card.
As Rotarians we address the things we think, say or do:
1. Is it the truth?
Going back to your comment about the dog park: “Do you really think you’re being fair and objective in reporting on the agenda item when you weren’t even there?”
Gotcha Dan. I did not write about that night’s dog park Agenda item.
Go back to Rotary test #1. Is it the TRUTH? You are wrong!
What I wrote regarding the proposed dog park was text from former mayor Sharon Cody and our local vetinerary group. Those are official city documents not my own imagination.
PS: Do you own a TV or computer? Are you aware that these city council meetings are broadcast live and on memorex tape the following week?
Do you know that Larry Gilbert proposed televising these meetings a “few” years ago during the internal council bickering with former councilman Bob Curtis? My mentor and great friend, the late Norm Murray felt that televising of these meetings would turn into grandstanding while I argued for transparency. Part of my presentation was to enable homebound seniors to be able to watch their elected officials in action. You can confirm this with former mayor Bill Craycraft who was on that council and whom I was with this morning.
By the way you don’t need to be present to write about city council meetings which, as stated above, are televised. You can also get the tapes from our very own city library!
Have a wonderful weekend.
While I did submit a speakers card for the animal shelter the prior topic ran longer than expected and I had a self set deadline to post those actions that if you read the Juice you would have seen them. In fact if I am not mistaken Lance had just called his former ally John Paul Ledesma “John Paul Lobotomy” and I rushed to this keyboard to report it.
Yup. Lance passed the anger management course.
Welcome to OJ, Dan. I appreciate your efforts to hold our bloggers accountable.
I have a question for you, as you seen to have an interest in MV politics. I remember reading about Lance’s altercation at UCI http://www.ocregister.com/articles/maclean-uci-court-1981830-rackauckas-attorney
And frankly, I was offended by his actions. Do you know if he ever took those anger management classes? I know he took early retirement. Thanks for any insight.
Red. Missed you lately. See my reply to Mr. Avery which should shed some light on his jumping into this debate
Solid reply, Larry. Good on you. I am waiting on your friend’s response to Lance’s abusive behavior.
Red. While I appreciate your comment this is just another of Lance’s supporters trying to engage in recall “damage control” or to discredit myself. As we have never heard from him before, someone obviously put him up to responding to my report.
As readers have noticed I often add comments to my posts which come to my personal email after I send out an email blast to a broad spectrum of contacts.
As a courtesy I copy our city manager, city attorney and city council members directly on every post in which I refer to Mission Viejo. In fact, as you know from getting a direct copy of my email posts I also send copies to the governor and our president when I mention their name.
This MV activities Committee volunteer is not on my personal Juice distribution.
Larry, do you have a copy of that memo from Kelly Doyle?
Lara. Yes I do. The Memorandum from M. Kelley Doyle is dated September 15, 2009 on city of Mission Viejo letterhead.
The first item listed is the “Heritage Committee Deck of Playing Cards available for Sale.”
The next headline reads: “Residents Approve Revised Master Plan for the Marguerite Aquatics and Tennis Centers.”
The third headline reads “Dog Park to be on Community Services Commission Agenda at the Tuesday, October 20,2009 Meeting.”And the last headline reads “September 19, 2009 car wash to benefit the City’s adopted Marines and Sailors.”
Can you email a pdf to: osoviejoneighbors@gmail.com ? Having trouble finding it on the city’s online document system. Thank you!
Lara. Sorry that I only have it in hard copy format. You are welcome to contact me and I will hand you a copy. You could also make a public records request of the city clerk and they will provide one for you at “no charge” as the first four pages of any requested document are free of cost. Call Robert Schick? at 949.470.3034 or Karen Hamman at 949.470.3033 for directions on obtaining the record request form.