Foothills Sentry April 2021

Foothills Sentry Page 7 April 2021 Contact Peggy Baranyay to make a reservation. (714) 828-1289 • (714) 502-4720 • swtmthr@sbcglobal.net General Meeting & Luncheon: Friday, April 16, 2021 10:30 AM Registration - 11:00 AMMeeting Location: Santa Ana Elks Lodge #794 1751 S. Lyon Street, Santa Ana 92705 WWW.ORANGERWF.ORG Reservation Required $25 cash or check payable to ORWF Speakers: Saving the American Dream Paula Prizio, OC GOP Youth, Chair Kimo Gandall, Anthony Mansfield, College Republicans School Choice: A Solution for California’s Failing Schools Larry Shoaf, PhD California School Choice Orange County JOIN US FOR POLITICAL EDUCATION and COMMUNITY AWARENESS Men Welcome! VP City Council votes on new fees and rate increases By Andie Miles Rates and fees are going up in the City of Villa Park. The city council voted, March 23, to raise existing rates and impose new rates on services previously free to residents, effective July 1. A $19,800 study by consultants BerryDunn provided the fee recommendations. The council authorized the proposal for the Comprehensive Citywide Fees and Charges Rate Study in February 2020, before the pandemic. The contract was awarded on Sept. 22, 2020. The last such study had been completed in 2013. The BerryDunn study recommended that the city adjust rates and add specific fees to provide a targeted cost recovery of 50% to offset the full cost of city services. The city’s current user fees and charges rate is calculated at 49.7%. New fees for services provided by the city that may benefit only a specific project, not the city as a whole, were recommended: core drilling/soil boring, $175; tempo- rary encroachment permit, $82; addition/remodel, $747; ADU plan check, permit, $747; elec- trical Sub-panel, $150; residen- tial EV charging station, $150; masonry fireplace, $300. These services cost the city in terms of personnel time, plan review, per- mitting and inspection. The study also recommended a new technology fee of 3% be assessed to cover licensing, software, hardware upgrades. Technology targeted City Manager Steve Franks indicated that costs for the new, updated technology installed in the council chambers and board room, allowing seamless online meetings and presentations, was approximately $100,000; a 4% fee to help maintain and upgrade as needed, was recommended. The fee increases will include rental of the facility room/council chambers, once the room is open for use; it has been closed during the pandemic. Currently residents pay $25 per hour to rent the room, plus a cleaning fee of $25. That rate would increase to $37.50 per hour, plus a $25 cleaning fee, plus the new technology fee, at 4% of the total rental cost; the total for one hour would be $66. The current rental fee for non- residents is $50 per hour, plus a $25 cleaning fee. That fee would be boosted to $75 per hour, for a total of $103, with the cleaning fee and 4% technology add-on. Mayor Crystal Miles suggested that a separate rate for for-profit rentals be charged; the council agreed on a fee of $150 per hour. The city manager would have the authority to waive or reduce fees. Timing questioned Both Councilman Robbie Pitts and Mayor Miles mentioned their concerns about raising rates dur- ing the pandemic; Pitts suggested tabling the vote to be certain all residents were aware of the pro- posed fee increases. He was as- sured that the published agenda was sufficient notice. The council voted unanimously to effect the cost recovery at a 50% targeted rate, round cents to the nearest dollar (to streamline accounting), approve the facility rental fees, and implement the new fee schedule as of July 1. The vote to approve the new technology fee at 4% was 3-1, with Pitts the lone dissenter. Councilman Chad Zimmerman was absent. Though rates are going up, city coffers are slated to receive approximately $1.1 million of federal relief funds; guidelines as to allowable expenditures are not yet in place. Tustin Summer Academy returns Tustin Public Schools Founda- tion is offering in-person enrich- ment classes as well as select on- line courses June 7 – July 1 at the Tustin Summer Academy. Regis- tration is open at tpsf.net/summer. Students in kindergarten through high school may sample from more than 60 classes in two- and four-week sessions. Coding, gardening, creative writing, video game creation, baking, college prep and drama production are just a few of the offerings. For those wanting to get a head start for the new school year, Fast Forward classes will offer elementary students an opportunity to prepare for fall. All classes are no homework, no tests, no pressure -- just fun. PWC helps set up household The Premier Women’s Council (PWC) joined OC LULAC (League of United LatinAmerican Citizens) to help a mother and her five children relocate to an empty house. The family needed complete household furnishings. PWC purchased a washer and dryer, sofa, coffee table, end tables and an entertainment console. Members were generous in donating new and slightly used items, including a computer printer, dinette set, a bedroom set, bunk beds, linens, towels, student desks, pots and pans, dishes, tablecloths and toiletry items. Premier Women’s Council has mailed out an ongoing invitation for a Quarantine Tea Party Fun- draiser to raise money to give back to women in need. All dona- tions are appreciated, and can be mailed to P.O. Box 131, Orange, CA 92866. For more informa- tion, please email Anita Preciado at manzanaa@aol.com or text (714) 290-5802. Orange extends moratorium on small lot remodels The moratorium prohibiting the addition of three or more bed- rooms and bathrooms on single- family houses on lots less than 12,000 sq. ft. has been extended for 10 months and 15 days. The extension, approved by a unanimous council vote March 23, gives city staff sufficient time to research and review appropri- ate changes to the municipal code to protect neighborhoods from unregulated growth. The changes under study in- clude standards for open living space, lot coverage, parking and the proper placement of boarding houses, dormitories and student housing. Houses not homes The issue arose when residents alerted the city to a prolifera- tion of remodels in single-family neighborhoods to serve as hous- ing for Chapman University stu- dents. Neighbors reported illegal parking, trampled landscaping, unruly parties, confrontations, lit- ter and trash. The Orange City Council passed an emergency 45-day moratorium on residential addi- tions Feb. 16. Asked if the mora- torium had received complaints from residents applying for room additions or interior renovations, City Manager Rick Otto said that most applicants understood the situation and modified their plans. Others have not yet resub- mitted plans that would comply with the emergency restrictions. More is not merrier Councilwoman Arianna Bar- rios noted that, “We’re seeing homes advertised with 10 bed- rooms for students. How do we regulate that?” The answer from City Attorney Gary Sheatz was, we can’t. “Occupancy is regulated by the state,” he said. “You can’t regulate based on numbers.” Because the state has defined 'families' as just about any group of people living together, limiting occupants is considered discriminatory. Regulating the number of bed- rooms and bathrooms added to an existing home is, according to Sheatz and city staff, an available tool in the toolbox. Olympian Cindy Brown competes on a new court Cindy Brown is known to have been fiercely competitive on the basketball court. She earned an Olympic Gold Medal, set two NCAA scoring records, won nu- merous other golds, and played professionally in Europe, Japan and the WNBA. Now, she is competing in a different court, without a bas- ketball (February Foothills Sen- try). There is no playbook. This month she will, once again, enter a courtroom, hoping to have her Villa Park home restored to her. Her case has been returned from Federal Court to California Su- perior Court. She was notified that the Court is being asked to sit as an appellate court on deci- sions made by other courts and it has referenced a similar case that gives Brown hope that she’ll soon be sleeping in her own bed, not her car. Her ordeal began in 2005, when an identity thief refinanced her home. The court recognized the identity fraud, but found the bank was not complicit and could not be held responsible for its failure of due diligence. The bank now says it owns her home. Title to the home is clouded by numerous title changes, none of which she initiated. There are 20 unregistered parcels attached to this one property. Her thick bind- ers of evidence uncovered layers of fraud and deceit: notary mal- feasance, unauthenticated docu- ments, title documents stamped as “presumptive,” without notary seals, misspelled notarized signa- tures, title changes in Texas and South Carolina, in noncompli- ance of California law. Brown continues to pay for utilities she cannot use, waiting for her day in court. Cindy Brown, 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist and fighter