Foothills Sentry - January 2024

Foothills Sentry Page 2 January 2024 jadtec.com 714-282-0828 HELPING YOU PROTECT WHAT MATTERS MOST! ACO 4202 "Trash rates" continued from page 1 cial” and upped manure collec- tion rates substantially. Waste Management eventually agreed to charge the same for manure placed in carts as it did for or- ganic waste in the same size cart. Bin rates, however, remain “com- mercial,” and run about $409 a month for a two-cubic-yard con- tainer collected twice a week. A public hearing on the rate in- crease is slated for the Jan. 9 city council meeting. Slater says the revised rate schedule should be completed before then. Staff increases boost Orange Code Enforcement Orange Code Enforcement Di- rector Rafael Perez reported at the Dec. 12 city council meeting that his department had plowed through 285 backlogged short- term rental (STR) cases and stayed on top of illegal street vending in the city. Code Enforcement hired two full-time officers and one con- tractor to combat the backlog, closing all but 20 cases. The ad- ditional manpower allowed staff to pore through social media to identify illegal STRs and assess fines or shut them down. Many simply reappear on another rental website, so staff monitor those sites routinely. Illegal street vendors are al- ways given the opportunity to apply for a business license and county health permit if food is sold. Of 230 vendors contacted by Code Enforcement, only four were interested in license appli- cations, and just one was com- pleted. Staff also contacted 38 mobile food trucks; of those, six signed up for licenses. Repeat offenders may have their stands impounded and food discarded. “We have impounded some,” Perez says. “Stands are held for 30 days, allowing vend- ers to retrieve them." Residents are reminded that they can report code violations on the city’s 24/7 app. Those calls are fielded daily. City Manager Tom Kisela notes, however, that Orange has six enforcement officers to serve over 100,000 people. “Whether for building codes or graffiti, the demand for Code Enforcement is through the roof,” he said. “We’ve had 200 reports of graf- fiti. That takes a lot of staff time, beyond what it takes to paint over it. The process is laborious.” El Modena Library Teaching Garden opens A vegetable and herb garden, created as a space for patrons to read, study, learn and play, offi- cially opened at the El Modena Library with a ribbon-cutting cer- emony, Dec. 4. The garden brings new life to a patio area that was used only occasionally and was not integral to the library’s mission, nor did it provide much benefit to visitors. Staff, under the leadership of El Modena Library Site Supervi- sor Hannah Mendez, envisioned the space as a teaching garden, wherein the community could learn about plants, nutrition, pol- linators and sustainability. The work began with a $30,000 sustainability grant from the state, and continued with help from the City of Orange Public Works De- partment and the Library Foun- dation. Public Works designed and constructed the garden area; the Library Foundation provided funding and seeds. Mendez plant- ed the seeds in small containers and transferred seedlings to the new beds, assisted by young li- brary patrons. In addition to vegetables and herbs in the raised beds, fruit trees were planted along the patio wall. “Those will take more time to grow,” Mendez says, “but we should have avocados, peaches, mangos and apples eventually.” The ribbon-cutting ceremony featured presentations to the li- brary by a number of local dig- nitaries, including Supervisors Vicente Sarmiento and Don Wag- ner, and Congressional Represen- tatives Lou Correa (46th District) and Young Kim (40th District). Hannah Mendez planted hundreds of seeds to get the garden started. The ceremonial ribbon was cut by Librarian Keisha Loidolt (center), urged on by, from left, Victoria Owens, Library Foundation; Dan Slat- er, mayor; Bill Curtis, Library Services; Kathleen Stevens, Friends of the Library; Katie Montgomery, library trustee; Alisa Driscoll, Library Foundation and Chapman University vice president of Community Re- lations; Rebecca Hultquist, Foundation administrative manager; Ana Guiterrez, District 5 councilmember; and Peggy Calvert, trustee. CPOC kicks off its third year Conservative Patriots of Orange County kicks off its third year with its Jan. 18 meeting. The organization has grown to over 300 members, and is initiat- ing a “Young Patriots Section” for students up to 25 years old. The general business agenda includes officer elections, the Pa- rade at the Podium and details of the Young Patriots program. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Santa Ana Elks Lodge, 1751 Elk St. Tickets are $30 for mem- bers, $35 for non-members, and include a buffet dinner. Visit con- servativepatriotsofoc.org or con- tact Peggy Baranyay, (714) 828- 1289 or swtmthr@sbcglobal.net . Winter garden seedlings were planted in raised beds.