Foothills Sentry - October 2022

Foothills Sentry Page 4 October 2022 SIX POINT PLAN -------- The Dan Slater -------- Dan Slater for Mayor of Orange (714) 886-3160 slaterformayor@danslater.com 1537 E. Chapman Ave, Orange CA 92866 1. PROTECT OUR NEIGHBORHOODS Pro-actively protect our neighborhoods, remaining undeveloped lands and our open spaces, including the Sully-Miller property. 2. PROMOTE STRONGER POLICE PRESENCE THROUGHOUT ORANGE Ensure a stronger police presence to combat criminal activity. 3. ENFORCE THE LAWS Fight for stronger enforcement of existing laws to protect against blight, graffiti, and poorly maintained public spaces. 4. ADDRESS HOMELESSNESS Employ workable solutions to get homeless people off the streets and out of our parks and help get them back on their feet. 5. FIGHT OVERCROWDING Protect our neighborhoods from traffic, parking intrusions, accessory apartments and un-kept rental properties. 6. BRING A BUSINESS APPROACH TO CITY HALL Provide transparency, financial oversight in government spending and support for local businesses. Paid for by: Slater for Orange Mayor 2022, ID# 1438598 jones4vp.org Paid for by Nicol Jones for VP City Council 2022 ID #1453090 "OC Council" continued on page 1 "Grijalva" continued on page 1 to step forward with a plan.” Jon Dumitru said that he under- stood the benefits of a skatepark, but supported GOCAT more than anything else. Kim Nichols com- mented that she had a big heart for the library and senior center, but also supported GOCAT and the skatepark. She suggested that the city take away “all of the ob- stacles and do what we have to do to prepare for grants.” “I’d like to see a game plan for all the proposed uses,” Mayor Mark Murphy said. “We need shelf-ready projects. We need a summary of what is necessary for all of them, and do things ahead of time. If funding is out there, we want to have the boxes checked.” City staff was asked to work out an action plan for all of the proposed projects. Rendering of proposed theater. of using bond money to pay for it. City staff was directed to ex- plore options for passive/recre- ational uses on the site and how they might be achieved. One op- tion reported at the September meeting, is that the city (or other public agency) acquire the site using grant funding, state or fed- eral support or “issuing bonds for the purchase.” The other options were “private use,” developed by a nonpublic agency, or “pub- lic/private partnership,” wherein costs would be shared by both entities. It was the timing of the “issuing bonds” reference that caught the attention of residents who have been following the Sully-Miller saga for years. Timing is suspect “It’s nice that you are finally recognizing that Sully-Miller is not suitable for housing and better left as open space,” resident David Hillman said. “I only wish you had listened to us before allowing Milan to turn it into an illegal dump. The city needs to think this through with clarity and caution. Or is this just an election stunt?” Dru Whitefeather noted that the staff report did not reflect all of the issues associated with the site. He said that much of the activity on the property – agriculture us- ing pesticides and fertilizers, 50 years of sand and gravel mining, concrete crushing -- occurred be- fore there were emission regula- tions. “If this isn’t just a political move,” he said, “why not wait until it is cleaned up?” Laura Thomas asked why the city was positioning itself to buy a dumpsite. “After years of ig- nored complaints about the de- bris,” she said, “you now suggest that taxpayers buy it. Why is the city not pursuing corrections by Milan, rather than burdening tax- payers? This is actually a bailout for Milan and a way to make the city look ‘open-space friendly’ just weeks before the election.” Who said bond? Kim Nichols opened the coun- cil discussion with the disclaimer that her intent was “not to move forward with the purchase, but to look at opportunities based on the history of the site.” Although she was the one who brought up the idea of floating a bond at the July meeting, she now said, “I’m not saying we should buy the land, but work with the landowner, let them know we want to go in that direction, to provide recreation.” “Yes, they have to clean it up,” she added. “It's not a bailout. As the land gets dealt with [by LEA], maybe we can find some kind of collective opportunity to turn it into recreational open space.” “While I appreciate public speakers,” Jon Dumitru advised, “there’s always a reference to something nefarious or a pay- off.” He pointed out that the fate of Sully-Miller has no impact on him or his district and, “I’m not interested in bonding anything.“ Clean clarification Dumitru also made it clear that he is not running for office this year, and therefore has no moti- vation to push for open space to attract voters. “Not,” he said, “un- til I get a park on my side of town [District 2].” Chip Monaco had, in July, insisted that the city buy the land but said nothing this time. Mark Murphy, who is seeking reelection, said that he saw “inter- esting parallels” between Sully- Miller and Grijalva Park. Grijal- va, he noted, started out as three dumpsites, including a brown field site. There were questions of whether the city should own it, and what it should be used for. Regarding Sully-Miller, he said, neighborhoods have made it clear what they don’t want. He confirmed that he is not interested in issuing bonds, and that current owners should be accountable for cleanup. But, he would like “to find a path forward to pursue control of the property. I would not discuss residential uses on the property, but would look for ac- quisition by some entity that will hold it for recreational use.” No action was taken.