Foothills Sentry - August 2022

Foothills Sentry Page 4 August 2022 JOHNSON MOTORCARS 31 Years of Specializing in the Service and Repair of Mercedes-Benz Gary Johnson 714-997-2567 982 N. Batavia # B13, Orange, CA 92867 gary@johnsonmotorcars.com Dear Editor: I watched the Orange City Council meeting on July 12, and am appalled at the behavior of Councilmember Chip Monaco. He interrupted Councilwoman Arianna Barrios on several occa- sions, and launched a rambling monologue that was punctuated by his lack of respect for Barrios, her position and her constituents. When several members of the public, exercising their rights un- der the First Amendment, spoke about the effects of illegal fire - works in their districts, Monaco again jumped in and made dispar- aging remarks about the speak- ers, saying the he "was sick of the nonsensical discussion of illegal fireworks in the city." Mr. Mo - naco, you are an elected represen- tative of this city and whether you agree with these residents or not, you have no right to insult them. But that wasn’t enough. The discussion of the Sully-Miller property was on the agenda. Mo- naco called out Councilmember Barrios for asking for clarifica - tion on the subject, and said that “Sully-Miller is private property, and they should be able to do as they wish.” I guess that says our laws mean nothing when he is de- fending property owner Milan's wants and desires. Monaco went on to state that the 'speakers', [Bonnie Robinson, Adrienne Gladstone, Dru White- feather, and Laura Thomas] com- ments were "untrue and misguid- ed." He named them publicly. He went on to say that he was "sick and tired" of hearing from the residents of OPA, and Coun- cilmembers Ana Gutierrez and Barrios "pandering to their con- stituents." Pardon me, Mr. Mo- naco, but why is it that you can go on rambling, laborious rants but when other elected represen- tatives take an opposing opinion to yours, they are "pandering?" He capped off this vicious and unprofessional display by stating that Barrios and Gutierrez were "pounding their chests" and he was tired of their “BS” and that OPA should "stop coming to the city council.” This, along with his other pub- lic displays of anger and lack of respect for others' beliefs, should be more than enough for the vot- ers of Orange to exercise their rights to VOTE HIM OUT IN NOVEMBER. He doesn't de- serve to represent the people of Orange. John Reina Orange Dear Editor: Councilman Chip Monaco, at the July 12 Orange City Council meeting, told those assembled, “If we want open space, we need to acquire it. There are mounds of crazy stuff there. They [the prop- erty owner] will never clean up this site.” Monaco was referring to the illegal dump on the for- mer Sully-Miller site on Santiago Canyon Road. How does Monaco know Milan will not clean up the site? The city council has had many Landfill lamentations laced with Chip Monacologue opportunities to close down this site, but has chosen to side with the property owner. In 2003, city staff recommended closing this site. Mayor (then councilman) Mark Murphy, voted to keep it operating. It is surprising that Murphy, Monaco and Kim Nichols fail to acknowledge that they helped perpetuate the problem by refus- ing to use their enforcement au- thority in 2019 to shut it down. Instead, they hid behind the false notion that everything Milan does is grandfathered and totally al- lowed. It took a citizen (not the city) to bring this illegal activity to the attention of the county’s Local Enforcement Agency (LEA). The LEA issued a cease-and-desist order and told Milan, in effect, to remove and properly dispose of all the material that had been il- legally dumped onto the property. Unfortunately, due to a process error, the order was reversed and Milan convinced the county and the city to go easy on them. Orange residents have endured the mess at Sully-Miller because of a willful lack of leadership and a refusal by certain council mem- bers to enact their powers to cor- rect it. We need council members who embrace a mission to protect our health and welfare, not ones who disrespect and belittle resi- dents while downplaying their own and the landowner’s respon- sibility. Kim Plehn Orange Dear Editor: Arianna Barrios is my council member in District 1. I was ap- palled at how she was treated at the last council meeting by her colleague Chip Monaco. Late in the meeting, she had to politely ask council members to be re- spectful to one another. That didn’t stop Monaco, as he continued offensive rants in- sulting public speakers, entire communities, and fellow council members. He repeatedly accused specific councilmembers of “pan - dering to the wishes of their con- stituents.” My understanding is that coun- cil members, as elected represen- tatives of the people, should do just that. They should work to fulfill the needs and wishes of the people who reside in Orange, not the demands of dishonest outside developers like Milan. If I had to choose between electing a councilmember who “panders” to the people versus pandering to big money special interests, I’d trust the one who has the interests of the people at heart every time. I was also sad to see that Mayor Mark Murphy allowed his bul- lying tactics to continue. There is no justification for Monaco’s behavior or Murphy’s failure to intervene. They need to do better for Orange and the people who live here. Arlene Johnson Orange Dear Editor: I attended the city council meeting on July 12, and was com- pletely shocked at the conduct ex- hibited by Councilmember Chip Monaco. He attended via telecon- ference, as he was vacationing in Hawaii. Over the discussion of the Sully-Miller site, there were several speakers from the OPA community (where the site is located) as well as many ques- tions asked by councilmembers Arianna Barrios and Ana Gutier- rez. Following the discussion and questions, for almost 10 minutes, Monaco proceeded to rant, be- little, bully and scold Barrios and Gutierrez, saying that they should stop “playing and pandering to their constituents,” quit “pound- ing their chests” and quit wish- ing that Milan would clean up its mess. His exact words were, “Milan is not going to clean it up and you need to stop your wishful thinking.” (Which is an interest- ing statement in itself. How does he know this?). In fact, it was Monaco that was “pounding his chest.” The questions asked by Barrios and Gutierrez were valid and responsible questions to get information needed to make deci- sions regarding this site. I com- mend and appreciate them both for their hard work and diligence. Once he was done with Bar- rios and Gutierrez, Monaco then proceeded to call out, bully and belittle OPA and speakers Dru Whitefeather and Laura Thomas, stating that their speeches were blatantly untrue and misguided. This couldn’t be further from the truth. All speakers on this topic are very knowledgeable about every facet of this site and the ne- farious activities during the past several years. They speak with facts that have been checked and confirmed. He may not like what is said, but it is their civil duty and constitutional right to speak. I sat there in complete disbe- lief. The disrespect, bullying and attitude exhibited by Monaco was unacceptable and unbecoming of a councilmember. And even more alarming was that Mayor Mark Murphy did nothing. He allowed Monaco’s rant to go on and on. The city needs a code of conduct with severe consequences for this type of disrespectful and unac- ceptable behavior. I hope that every resident of Orange will make their voice heard this coming election. This is the opportunity to bid farewell to Mayor Murphy and bring in a new mayor (Dan Slater), and re- place Monaco with someone who represents the residents with re- spect and dignity. We need lead- ership that cares about our city and its constituents. Laurel Maldonado Orange Dear Editor: When one goes to a city coun- cil meeting, one expects an op- portunity to share opinions and concerns with a respectful coun- cil about local matters. And sometimes, when an issue that has never been resolved and has lasted several generations gets re- hashed, it can seem like a broken record, especially to the public that feels ignored. However, one does not expect councilmembers to lash out with vitriol toward constituents, as Chip Monaco did during the last meeting. Chip not only pulled back the curtains on his lack of concern over the Sully-Miller dumpsite and his willingness to give Milan a pass on cleaning it up, he also laid bare his contempt for the residents affected by the site and for those fellow council- members who seek responsibility from Milan. The fact that Mayor Mark Mur- phy allowed Monaco’s rant to go unchecked, and that Chip felt em- boldened to act in such a manner toward the people he is supposed to serve and with whom he serves, makes me wonder if this council Golden State Water announces conservation plans Golden State Water Company, serving portions of North Tustin, is now under Stage 2 of its wa - ter shortage contingency plan, in response to worsening drought conditions. Customers are expected to reduce water usage by 20 per - cent, as compared to 2020 usage; they should also limit outdoor watering to two days per week. Even-numbered addresses may water landscape on Sundays and Wednesdays; odd-numbered ad - dresses will water lawns on Tues - days and Saturdays. Outdoor wa - even operates under a code of eth- ics or has any leadership at all. I would hope that since Mo- naco seems so unhappy and so unsuited for the demands of be- ing on the council, that he consid- ers resigning. I certainly hope the residents of District 4 do not vote him back into office. Sharon Mulé Orange tering is prohibited between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Golden State may also imple - ment a drought emergency sur - charge of up to $2.50 per CCF (100 cubic feet or 748 gallons) for water usage in excess of the customer’s baseline drought allo - cation, should local and statewide supply conditions warrant further action. Residential customers will not be asked to use less than eight CCCF monthly. Customers are encouraged to visit gswater.com for more infor - mation.