Even before entering the race for any elected office one of the first things a candidate should do is to take the pulse of the citizens. That said, I am amazed that our city council, with the exception of Gail Reavis, agreed to give council member Lance MacLean his early Christmas present. In the council meeting of Jan 29, 2007, just after being re-elected, Lance recommended “funding a Rose Parade float to support and advertise the community and possibly partnering with the non-profit and business communities.” At the June 19, 2007 council meeting a “Motion made by Council Member MacLean, seconded by Council Member Ury, to set aside $300,000 for the potential of entering a float in the January 1, 2009 Rose Parade.” The vote was 4-1 in favor with Gail Reavis voting NO.
Larry we heard all this already. Stay tuned for the rest of the story and lessons learned which follow.
I guess one could ask how did Lance arrive at the $300,000 figure? Another comment might be why he failed to mention that “wish list” project during his campaign the prior summer and fall? Did he run this idea past the non-profit and business communities to see what support they might bring to the Rose Parade float?
The city of Mission Viejo has been an advocate for taking community survey’s. If it moves we take a survey. If it doesn’t we take another one. Seriously, at the June 5, 2006 council meeting we received the results of a Community Opinion Survey conducted by True North Research conducted between April 7-11 where 400 randomly selected registered voters participated.
The Agenda report reads that “it is important to follow up and act upon information obtained in a resident survey to demonstrate the value the City places on resident feedback. The information from this survey can be put to use in revising the FY 2006-07 budget and subsequently, can be factored into the next update of the Master Financial Plan (January 2007) and the development of the 2007-09 budget.”
Let’s look into the 76 page report to see if a Rose Parade float was ever mentioned.
On page 38 you will find the category of “spending priorities” which opens saying: “it is often the case that residents’ desires for public facilities and programs exceed a city’s financial resources. In such cases, a city must prioritize projects and programs based upon a variety of factors, including the preferences and needs of the residents.”
Lance and Frank. I will be happy to provide a copy of the survey if you no longer have yours.
“Spending priorities.” Based on the True North survey the highest priorities were to coordinate traffic signals and widen congested roads. At the bottom of the list was the question to “convert Community Sign Board to electronic board” where only 7.3 percent gave it a high priority yet the council went ahead with the change anyway. So much for considering taxpayer input. Yes, we opposed building a gym and improvement of city-owned tennis courts. No where on this list is a suggestion to enter a float in the Rose Parade.
Yes, you are elected to make decisions. But if you spend taxpayer money to take survey’s and ignore the results, then you are violating the trust of the electorate.
Thank you for all your work and research in keeping this issue in the spotlight. The Rose Parade float is just another bad idea from city hall, in a long string of bad ideas.
Voters MUST remove Council Member Frank Ury from the council in November, and this is a top priority! MacLean isn’t up for re-election or voters could get rid of both of them.
I will be voting for Neil Lonsinger and Cathy Schlicht, as they are the only two candidates who are actually qualified and fit to serve. If Ury isn’t removed, Mission Viejo citizens can expect more city hall shenanigans.
Email from Council Membre Gail Reavis:
Excellent reporting Larry. Thank you for staying on top of this waste of taxpayer dollars.
Gail Reavis
Email from MV resident:
Larry, in your message, you stated that: “Yes, you are elected to make decisions. But if you spend taxpayer money to take survey’s and ignore the results, then you are violating the trust of the electorate.”
My comment to that statement is that Lance violated my trust within days of his election. I have not had one shred of trust in Lance since. I count my support of him in his election as one of my biggest failings. How could I have allowed someone to so completely fool me? How could I not have seen even a glimpse of what a disingenuous charlatan he is?
My opinion of Ury, on the other hand, is that he is just a political climber, a marionette dancing to someone else’s string pulling commands and is equally disingenuous with Lance. I am glad I did not vote for him.
I have to hand it to the other three council members just to be able to tolerate sitting at the same dais with Lance and Frank.
Larry:
I am back from the grave—and MacLean and Ury do not pass the smell test.
MacLean from his latest outburst in the council chambers and behind closed doors indicates he failed his anger management course required by the court. MacLean is a product of the a ward of the state his entire career. Thus his quick fleecing of the Mission viejo tax payer by rat holing money on a Rose Parade float. Question –have you checked to see if MacLean’s outburst extend beyond the council chambers, or the UCI campus ??
So what are/is Ury’s excuse.???
Frank U. has done nothing while serving four years on the Mission Viejo City council. He does have a lot of excuses—and soft shoe dance on why he did not get anything done. Upon examination all of Frank U’s excuses reveal a person without conviction or fortitude to do what is right. However Frank U. will be know as the “Flaot Daddy.”
#3 I agree wholeheartedly. Art, your doing a good job here, keep up the pressure. MV will be better served with Frank Ury gone.
What if someone made a New Years Day float in their backyard and put Mission Viejo..all over it?
Giving Frank Ury or Lance MacClean credit for designating $300K for electronic stops signs on
Alica Parkway….instead of a New Years Day Float
doesn’t matter.
What you need is a cap on “Frivilous Expenses” by
anyone on the Council. Since the City Manager bought in to this mess makes him complicit! He needs to offer a change to the City Charter or
Rule that says: Spending money on Slot Machine
Junkets to Las Vegas….should not be allowed!
Folks.
We do not receive our USPO mail until 3 p.m. so I am behind the curve. Three MV residents have called in the past hour informing me that hey ahve just received the latest mailer from the city. They are asking for volunteers to work on the 2009 Rose Parade Flaot while we have yet to see the design, a contract, nor a city council vote of authorization. Talk about a forgone conclussion.
And while the budget was set at $300,000 we can only guess how much higher the project cost will be when adding the cost of busing and feeding these volunteers.
So Frank Ury was lying? You can’t have a public servant who lies to you, it keeps the people from having the information to make a decision. It goes to the very nature of our system of government “of the people, by the people.”
Apparently Republican arrogance and overspending is alive and well in MV as well as in Washington DC.