We had an excellent lesson in discrimination from the “bully pulpit” at tonight’s Mission Viejo city council meeting. For the past 11 years Dr. Frank Lieberman and his Fun With Chalk Advisory Board, FWC, have collectively spent thousands of hours filling the gap when it relates to promoting art appreciation in our city by way of producing the popular Fun with Chalk “free admission” street painting festival. Due to a shortage of funds in public education, schools financial support of the arts have taken a major beating for a number of years with no changes on the horizon.
As I have blogged in the past, this 501C-3 non-profit group has provided an annual weekend event promoting the city of Mission Viejo where artists from around the state and beyond are on their hands and knees in 100 degree heat drawing masterpieces on the asphalt surface of the parking lot at our Norman P. Murray Community & Senior Center. These are both professional artisans as well as local children.
A percentage of the profits are given back to our local schools in the form of high school art scholarships, PTA art programs as well as FWC providing funds to Laura’s House and Gary’s Place for Kids where youngsters have been victims of domestic abuse/violence, or who have lost a parent, to use art to express their feelings.
Dr. Lieberman had approached the city to consider permitting him to use the center for a high end antique show to raise funds needed to prime the pump for a future chalk event. He told the council that he needed to hold this event to offset the major decline in FWC sponsorships resulting from the deep recession impacting all non profit organizations.
CORRECTION. Proposed event is an antique show, not an auction!
While the original request by Dr. Lieberman called for using the entire center for five days, at the last minute he cut his request down to three days including set up on the weekend to reduce the impact to our existing programs and potential rentals.
His plan is to use the center and hold a one day antique show that would not compete with any merchant in our city while at the same time bringing in merchants and customers from southern California.
While I can understand the frustration by the council, each of whom spoke to Mr. Lieberman last week on his original plan, there was still no excuse to rake him over the coals for around 30 minutes because he changed his request to cut down the impact to the regular center users.
Councilman Ledesma, after listening to the barrage of hostile questions from Lance MacLean, finally spoke out to report that Dr. Lieberman is not an indentured servant. Having served on the FWC Board for a few years I have spoken to Frank about his desire to eventually turn the event over to another Board member to continue providing this activity for our community.
Council member Schlicht, an FWC volunteer, pointed out that the annual Fun with Chalk event has been a big addition to our city which no one denied.
In addition to the street painting FWC also provides art workshops for children, strolling performers, live music and arts and crafts booths.
Lance took Frank to task when Dr. Lieberman said he would need to move the FWC event from May to later in the year as planning and organizing two events back to back was simply too much for him and his volunteer Board members to pull off.
Without quoting every exchange between Lance and Frank tonight let me simply say that you will shortly be able to watch the meeting when it rebroadcasts locally next Sunday and Monday or on your computer at the city web site.
FWC has been a win-win for Mission Viejo. While the city surely provides the venue and support free of charge, FWC adds to the culture that is not found in many Orange County cities.
Let’s shift gears and talk about another non profit in Mission Viejo which I had addressed previously. The Mission Viejo Community Foundation, where two of their members just happened to be sitting near me at this council meeting.
I have to question the hostility towards someone who has contributed both his labor of love and personal cash to bring art appreciation to our city when compared to the failed performance of the MV Community Foundation.
What did they teach Lance in his anger management classes anyway?
To raise financial support of the expansion of the Murray Center the city council created the Mission Viejo Community Foundation and provided $48,750 in consulting fees and $22,500 for feasibility opportunities to raise $5 million as a 501-C 3 non-profit. As I blogged back in Aug of last year we provided an additional $400,875 in two payments as “seed” money. Source. MV Treasurers Department.
The numbers quoted by their board are like jello depending on who is talking. DMA CEO Bob Zuer told the Casta Democratic Club that their target was to raise $2 million for the center. That is not a third party figure. I was invited to attend that meeting and took notes of his dream sheet. Actual checks received from that Foundation, the last time I checked, were for $112,500 and $65,000. Not exactly what we were led to expect nor enough to cover the “seed” money. On MV City Talk in November of 2005 Jim Leach of COX Communications told Trish Kelley that “the foundation hopes to raise one million to $1.5 million within the next 12 months to complete the funding needs of the project.” Never happened. I told the council that you don’t commence successful fundraising for a project when it is almost completed but what do I know.
The difference is that the leaders of the city funded non-profit, which are arms length from the city, were never taken to task for their miserable performance like Dr. Lieberman was tonight.
While I am not suggesting the council giving FWC the seed money that Frank expects to raise by the one day antique show, they could match what he hopes to net as they truly do not wish to have the FWC chalk event skip a year. Dr. Lieberman’s dilemna is that sponsorships to date are way below the start up costs.
If it were me, I would contact neighboring cities tomorrow and offer to bring my nationally reknown street painting festival to them. Let me also add that FWC has been acknowledged for its festival by the US Congress.
There was no excuse for Lance MacLean beating up on Dr. Lieberman nor for mayor Frank Ury to permit that abuse to continue non-stop. This is not Government Motors. You do not own the Fun With Chalk name nor event.
Dr. Lieberman, who just celebrated his 77th birthday on the 4th of July, truly does not need to take this verbal abuse from any council member at this stage in his life.
Closing comment. Finally, after probably an hour of discussion, the city manager offered to work with Dr. Lieberman to see if they could address the desire to hold next years FWC in the May timeframe as there are too many city activities in the fall as suggested by Frank. With that understanding the council voted unanimously to honor Frank’s request.
Is Mission Viejo’s city hall a thug-ocracy? Recall MacLean and replace him with a human being.
I witnesses first hand the abusive treatment of Dr. Lieberman by Councilman MacLean. To MacLean “No Good Deed Shall Go Unpunished” and MacLean used every opportunity to abuse, embarrassed, and belittle Dr. Lieberman.
MacLean gives a pass to the Mission Viejo Foundation, who has failed miserable in their performance but attacks and individual who has given generously of their time, money and efforts to build a nationally known event in Mission Viejo.
This latest act just reinforces why Lance MacLean should be/is being recalled and removed from office. The balance of signatures required will be easy to acquire once all citizens of Mission Viejo view councilman MacLeans latest outrage.
Disgusting…. there is no other word for it, it was a cheap attact on a person who has been doing this for years ona a volunteer basis. I give Dr Lieberman “two thums up” for not just thelling Lance and the Council to take a hike, and move my event to one of the other cities who have been courting him, and Fun With Chalk, and he would be in the right to do it!
Lance Maclean is a former shining star of Young Americans for Freedom at UCI and a bright shining light to all OC Repugs. You who turn on him are Bolshevik liberal moderate plants sent from North Korea with computer chips in yore heads!
Some council-watchers have said MacLean has been on his best behavior since he got notice he’s being recalled. His best behavior sounded more like a drug-induced state. MacLean is mentally unbalanced and dangerous.
MacLean’s primary achievement at UCI was his job as a bureaucrat. He openly talked about having his underlings (students paid by UCI) work on his political campaigns and said his boss didn’t care. MacLean lost his job at UCI after he was charged with assault and battery. His so-called record at UCI begins with his police record! A couple years ago, MacLean either sued or tried to sue UCI when a black man was promoted ahead of him for a job. No wonder UCI got rid of him at the first opportunity.
Count the calories.
Wish you had signed on before I had a cherry pie for breakfast after golf this morning.
Several years ago I was contacted by a UCI insider who sent me a plain wrapped package with documentation regarding Mr. MacLean getting in-kind and cash campaign contributions from UCI vendors who had nothing to gain by that financial support. As I make every effort to verify information, and without naming names, I did speak to a UCI professor regarding university policy regarding the allegations. Somewhere in my archives is that package. For now anyone can simply check his 460 campaign reports from the 2000 campaign to see the names.
Count your calories. Let me close by saying no one walks away from a cushion job at a state university after 27 years unless someone shows you the door. Lance was the Associate Director for Student Government at UCI. Sure. He resigned without any prompting?
The Brooklyn Bridge has been sold but the GW bridge across the Hudson from NJ to NY is still available and has a toll where you can quickly recoup your investment.