Foothills Sentry December 2021

Page 3 Foothills Sentry December 2021 7540 E. Chapman Ave. Orange, CA 92869 (714) 639-9792 MEAT&DELI, PRODUCE, BAKERY, FRESH FISH, GIFT BASKETS, WINE MON-SAT: 8am - 9pmSUN: 8am - 8pm www.Pac i�i cRanchMarket.com $ OFF Excluding alcoholic beverages and tobacco products. With coupon only. May not be combined with any other offer or discount. Limit one coupon per customer. Valid only at P aci�ic Ranch Market. When You Spend $25 or More * EXPIRES: 12/31/21 5 OC’s Premier ProduceMarket The Orange County Transpor- tation Authority Board of Direc- tors (OCTA) quietly removed a portion of Glassell Street in Or- ange from the Master Plan of Ar- terial Highways (MPAH), Nov. 8, in an action that surprised at least two members of the Orange City Council. OCTA deleted Glassell, from Walnut to La Veta, with the city’s concurrence, but there was no council discussion or public in- volvement in the decision. The removal is OCTA’s accommoda- tion to Orange’s desire to turn a portion of Glassell into a walk- able Paseo on a seasonal basis. Orange closed two blocks of Glassell on either side of the Pla- za in July 2020 to allow restau- rants to serve food in outdoor din- ing venues. The Paseo was cred- ited with keeping Glassell Street restaurants solvent and Orange’s sales tax coffers fluid during the pandemic. OCTA agreed to the temporary closure, understanding that the street would reopen when the pandemic emergency ended. Street smarts The public emergency has eased up, but the Paseo lives on. Orange shut it down to accom- modate the Orange International Street Fair over the Labor Day weekend, but reopened it (and blocked off Glassell) in Septem- ber. This street closure will con- tinue until the end of the year. The city, however, is hoping to keep the Paseo alive as a seasonal at- traction and is pursuing that end with an environmental review and streetscape design study. Recurring closures of arte- rial highways are prohibited by MPAH policies. According to OCTA, the seasonal or perma- nent closure of Glassell is con- trary to the intent of the MPAH consistency requirements and would jeopardize the city’s Mea- sure M2 funding eligibility. In conversations with city staff, it was determined that removing Glassell from the MPAH would give Orange time to fully study a seasonal Paseo without risking its M2 funding. At least not all of it. Because some funding is cal- culated by MPAH miles, the city will lose about $12,000 annually as the Walnut to La Veta stretch of Glassell is removed from the arte- rial highway map. Need to know? While city staff and OCTA have been discussing the MPAH amendment for weeks, the Orange City Council, or at least a few of its members, were unaware of it. Neither was the leadership of the Old Towne Preservation Associa- tion, residents who neighbor the street, local business owners or members of the public. Mayor Mark Murphy sits on the OCTABoard of Directors. He was at the Nov. 8 meeting when the removal of Glassell from the MPAH was approved as an item on the consent calendar. Murphy did not mention that vote at the Nov. 9 council meeting. “I didn’t bring it up,” Murphy said, “because I thought it was common knowledge, and it was a detail rather than an item for discussion. It is an administrative action that can be reversed at any time as appropriate, within the guidelines of Measure M2 fund- ing. Glassell can be re-added to the MPAH after the city makes a final decision on the Paseo.” Glassell Street removed from county highway map The Orange Unified School District (OUSD) presented its spending plan for the $28,095,152 in CARESAct funding it received from the state to help lessen the impacts of the pandemic. The Elementary and Second- ary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, a subset of the CARES Act, are intended to ad- dress students’ academic, social, emotional and mental health needs, as well as improve facili- ties to support a positive student experience. OUSD reports it is spending $20,219,365 on programs and $7,875,787 on facilities. The spe- cifics of each were determined by surveys and stakeholder input, and may be modified over the two-year course of the district’s plan. Twenty percent of the funding must address lost instructional time. OUSD has allotted more than that, $17,594,012, for coun- seling, physical education, inter- vention and enrichment, intensive learning clinics, tutoring, sum- mer school, and technology. The district intends to hire additional teachers, counselors and instruc- tional assistants. OUSD is directing $10,501,139 to continuous and safe in-person learning. That includes remote in- struction for families who choose OUSD details plans for CARES Act funding See "Mary's Kitchen" continued from page 1 entitled to injunctive relief. How- ever, given the substantial risk of irreparable harm, the court grants the unhoused city residents pre- liminary relief.” The city opted to end the li- cense agreement because, it said, the kitchen had become home to drugs, vandalism and crime. It also did not follow the county’s “continuum of care” model in- tended as a long-term solution to get the homeless off the streets and into housing, jobs and good health. The meals, showers, laun- dry, clothing and mailing address Mary’s Kitchen offered to its pa- trons, was, the city explained, a stop-gap solution that did nothing to curtail homelessness. Warn- ing letters had been sent to the kitchen in 2020 that, the city says, were ignored. Mary’s Kitchen claims that any drug abuse or criminal activity Groundbreaking held for Villa Park Knowles A formal groundbreaking cere- mony was held to mark the begin- ning of construction of the Villa Park Knowles. The strip of land on Wanda, between Collins and Villa Park Road, was formerly known as the Wanda Greenbelt. The Villa Park City Council had voted to rename the improved area after one of the city’s true gems, Mike Knowles. The ceremony on Nov. 1 was held, coincidentally, on Knowles' 64th birthday. He has maintained the city for over 34 years, tire- lessly responding to calls from residents at any hour, helping city organizations and nonprofits with every imaginable type of request to make their events run smooth- ly, in addition to keeping his city clean. He has continuously shunned the spotlight, despite being in- tegral to the city and receiving accolades from Rotary Club and other groups. The Knowles will be planted with native plants, including fruit trees, harking back to the city’s citrus packing beginnings. A pathway will wind through the area, already a popular walkway for residents. Approximately $80,000 will be provided by city funds, a donation from the Villa Park Community Services Foun- dation and grant monies. Upon completion of the proj- ect in early 2022, City Manager Steve Franks anticipates a plaque to honor Knowles, “the unofficial mayor of the city.” noted by the city does not happen on it premises, and it offers care options not available anywhere else. It says that it has operated at that location since 1994 with few reported problems and the full support of Orange officials and staff. It is the city, Mary’s Kitchen asserts, that has ignored its offer to discuss navigation op- tions for its homeless patrons. Another wrinkle Confounding the discussion is Prologis, a real estate investment and supply chain logistics com- pany. Prologis has purchased the nine acres at 534 Struck Avenue, across the cul-de-sac fromMary’s Kitchen. It wants to build a 57,900-sq.-ft. truck terminal that would include 85 bays for tractor trailers, and 118 outdoor stalls. Struck Avenue will ultimately host some 300 truck trips per day. An Orange city official re- ports that the trucking company has nothing to do with Mary’s Kitchen, that the city asked the nonprofit to vacate before Pro- logis entered the picture. While the proposed freight truck facility is still far from any city approv- als, John Underwood, a freelance journalist researching the city’s relationship with Mary’s Kitchen, dug up an Initial Study/ Mitigated Negative Declaration for the proj- ect dated September 2021. A Mitigated Negative Declara- tion is a document that identifies potential environmental impacts of a project, explains how “sig- nificant” impacts would be miti- gated and demonstrates why a full Environmental Impact Report is not required. It is a preliminary step in a project’s approval pro- cess. The comment period on the Prologis project ended Oct. 25. Issues bought up by commenters must be addressed before moving forward. Missing in action The declaration mentions Mary’s Kitchen once in an in- troductory sentence noting what neighbors the property. It is nev- er included in any of the environ- mental analyses, or considered in terms of potential impacts. The document states that “the pro- posed project would not result in environmental impacts that would cause substantial adverse effects on human beings.” It reports that the project would not displace any housing or peo- ple, that the area is not conducive to walking, that sidewalks on that side of Struck are not necessary. The negative declaration refers to potential soil contamination and hazardous materials, negative air quality, noise and truck traffic is- sues brought on by construction and assures the reader that any negative impacts to workers or the general public would be miti- gated. The attorney for Mary’s Kitch- en, Brooke Weitzman, reports in her comments on the Mitigated Negative Declaration, she asked, “What about us?” Apparently, Mary’s Kitchen is already gone. to keep their students at home, extra earnings for school staff to supervise staggered school start times and lunches due to COVID protocols, and facility enhance- ments. “In the decisions we made,” Assistant Superintendent, Busi- ness Services Dave Rivera says, “health and safety were a prior- ity for students and employees. We followed guidelines from the health department, the strategic plan, and stakeholder feedback. We maximized funding by cou- pling ESSER with our existing budgetary resources.” Imminent facilities improve- ments include gym and restroom renovations, shade shelters, new 85-inch classroom monitors and speaker systems, air purifiers, new furniture for libraries and classrooms, cafeteria renovations, drinking fountains and water bot- tle filling stations, hand washing stations and outdoor lunch tables. Because the district is now serving 6,000 meals a day, ad- ditional attention is being given to nutrition services, including ovens, heated cabinets and refrig- eration units. To ensure district ESSER pro- grams are meeting the academic and mental health needs of all stu- dents, progress will be consistent- ly monitored via parent/student surveys, reading and curriculum benchmark assessments, advisory group discussions, and growth measurements. Student mental health, deemed a major issue in parent surveys and community feedback, will be monitored by tracking the num- ber of reported risk assessments, referrals and suicide prevention instruction. From left, Pat Buttress, Supervisor Don Wagner’s office; Chad Zim- merman, Villa Park mayor pro tem; Crystal Miles, mayor; Mike Knowles; Bob Collacott, councilman; Eva Wyskowski, president Villa Park Women’s League. Mike Knowles on his 64th birth- day