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Category Archives: Civic Affairs

Why I changed my mind about the apartment development at 2525 Main St.

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Development, Planning, Santa Ana 29 Comments

One of my neighbors approached me at the last Santa Ana City Council meeting and asked me why I had changed my mind about the proposed apartment development at 2525 Main St.

I live right down the street from this proposed development, at Spurgeon and Santa Clara. And I walk by 2525 Main St. just about every night, as I like to walk to the 24 Hour Fitness gym at the MainPlace Mall rather than drive there.

Because of my family’s proximity to this project I was at one time opposed to it. But then the EIR (Environmental Impact Report) was published. For me that changed everything. I was expecting the EIR to slam the project. Not only did it not do that, it instead put the project in a positive light. The Planning Agency was also very supportive of this project in their staff report.

This project is going to generate $33.5 million in revenue for the City’s General fund. And it will contribute millions in annual taxes. Remember that many of the residents of the adjacent Park Santiago neighborhood barely pay any property taxes, due to Prop. 13. We need this project’s revenue to offset their in adequate contribution’s to the City’s tax coffers.

Main St. is a commercial street

What else contributed to my change of heart?

  • Main St. is a commercial street – if you stand just north of the 5 Freeway and look north on Main St. all you see is development.
  • While some NIMBYs are complaining about this project they fail to understand that the real threat to our neighborhood is the homeless vagrants who live in Santiago Creek and at Santiago Park. This project will solve that problem by providing around the clock security both in the development and in the neighborhood and park. The apartments will also act as a bulwark against intruders into our neighborhood!
  • This project will not have an entrance/exit on Edgewood. All traffic will be directed to Main St.
  • I am not by the way worried about the traffic. Millennials are driving less. They often use public transportation, or walk or bike to work.
  • The apartments in question won’t be affordable housing. Their target market will be millennials. Millennials are on track to be the most educated generation to date, according to the Pew Research Center. That is exactly what our city needs!
  • The developer has made a ton of concessions and the project will include a lot of amenities for our neighborhood. The NIMBYs refuse to give him credit for any of that.
So many homes are up for sale in the Park Santiago Neighborhood

I was so disturbed by what I saw at the last Santa Ana City Council meeting. The NIMBYs showed up in force and they were unbelievably rude and just plain mean. They purport to be better than everyone else in our city but can’t behave in public? I was so embarrassed by their poor behavior.

You can already see the commercial properties next door to the Santiago Park Neighborhood

The NIMBYs don’t care about facts. Their arguments are strictly emotional and at this point can only be characterized as empty hysteria.

At the City Council meeting, which was a public hearing on this project, the NIMBY’s kept saying the same thing – “This project is too big/too dense. The EIR is flawed.”

Minh Thai

How could the EIR be flawed? That is plain nuts! The EIR process is a very tricky one and our Planning Agency Director, Minh Thai, knows it inside and out. He has been doing this type of work for over 25 years! He has worked at the Cities of El Monte, Torrance and Monterey Park. And he has even worked at Caltrans. He knows what he is doing! When the NIMBYs say the EIR is flawed please understand that what they are doing is calling Thai a liar and a fraud. That is plain despicable. Here is a video where he talks about how much work he puts into the planning process:

This project won’t be the end of the world. I am confident that after it is built the NIMBYs will all have egg on their faces as they will have to admit they were wrong.

The City Council is going to finish the public hearing on this project at their next meeting, this month. I hope the entire City Council will do the right thing and vote to approve this project. They need to vote not just for today but also for the future. That future belongs to the Millennials. In ten short years they will make up 75% of the consumers. We need to start accommodating them now!

Who will replace Roman Reyna in the Santa Ana City Council’s Ward 4?

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Civic Affairs, Phil Bacerra, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana 3 Comments

Roman Reyna’s latest term on the Santa Ana City Council is already over, as we reported last night on our Facebook page.

Reyna was just elected in November, to Ward 4, after his allies conducted a horrific smear campaign against his opponent, former Santa Ana Planning Commissioner Phil Bacerra.

Bacerra however sued Reyna on the grounds that Reyna had not proven he was eligible to run for Ward 4. Reyna agreed to a settlement which will see him step down from the City Council by March 1. Reyna also agreed not to seek appointment or run in a special election for the Ward 4 seat.

The City Council can now appoint someone to replace Reyna in Ward 4. They could also call for a Special Election however that is most unlikely due the high cost of conducting such an election.

So who will replace Reyna in Ward 4? My sources tell me that there is no consensus candidate. One might argue that Bacerra should be appointed however the smear campaign against him cost him support on the City Council – and a few of the current City Council Members were allied with Reyna in the last election.

The City Council last night approved the MOU with the Santa Ana Police Officers Association. However they were unable to approve a means to fund that new contract as they lacked one vote – as Reyna blew off last night’s meeting.

While Reyna could return to the City Council in two weeks my sources tell me that the City Attorney has asked him not to vote on any other items as he could open the city up to lawsuits. So don’t be surprised if he continues to skip out on meetings while getting paid up to March 1.

The City Council also had to delay a decision on the apartment development project at 2525 Main St. Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido had to continue the public hearing on that development when 150 public speakers showed up and the hearing dragged on until 11:30 p.m. That matter will be resolved at the next City Council meeting, in two weeks.

While the current City Council lacks a consistent majority they will have to muster at least four votes to replace Reyna. It will be very tough to find a decent candidate in Ward 4. If the replacement won’t be Bacerra my personal inclination would be to find a woman candidate to replace Reyna as the current City Council only features one woman – Ceci Iglesias.

The Santa Ana City Council can still vote to open a public hearing regarding the 2525 Main St. apartment development this Tuesday

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Development, Housing, Miguel Pulido, Planning, Santa Ana, Steven Mendoza 4 Comments
2525 N Main St. Development

Are you wondering why the Santa Ana City Council meeting agenda for this Tuesday’s meeting was suddenly altered on Friday – to read that there should not be a public session regarding the proposed apartment development, The Addington, at 2525 Main St.?

It turns out that the acting City Manager, Steven Mendoza, got bamboozled by Mayor Miguel Pulido, who might be a lame duck in his last term but is still acting like his voice is the only one that matters on the City Council.

Mendoza indicated on Friday that the delay was due to issues with a traffic study, pertaining to the apartment development project. However Planning Director Minh Thai told the developer of the project that Mendoza was ordered by Pulido to pospone the meeting.

The Planning Agency has already finished the project’s EIR and they indicated that they approved of the project. While the Planning Commission later voted against the project they are an advisory body and the City Council can easily overrule them.

Here is the kicker – despite Pulido’s last-minute machinations the City Council, on Tuesday, can still vote to open the public session on 2525 Main St. They just need four votes – and that seems very likely to happen.

In fact there are only two City Council Members that, to my knowledge, oppose this project – and Pulido is one of them.

The City Council absolutely should vote to approve this project. The proposed project generates more funding for the City, provides for more affordable housing units, funds more park improvements and supports a series of benefits to the neighboring Park Santiago neighborhood that simply would not materialize if the site remained vacant or was developed into a new office building.

In its first year, the project will pay more than $16 million in permit fees, of this more than $5 million will go directly to the City’s general fund. The project’s net annual fiscal benefit to the City of Santa Ana will be more than $1.2 million annually or more than $1.1 million than the existing office structure. These funds can be used to fund much needed City programs and services including youth programs, education, city improvements, parks improvement and more.

The project will remit more than $3.5 million in property taxes annually, of that $1.5 million will go to the Santa Ana Unified School District. However, the project anticipates multi-family residents having far fewer children, so the cost to school children from the project will be less than $500k annually, resulting in a net benefit of more than $1 million to our school district.

The Addington proposal is consistent with all of the City’s General Plan goals and policies, and helps to support its Gateway Designation. This project helps to realize the goals for Main Street that previous City Councils established with the help of significant community input.

The plan for 2525 Main Street was the product of nearly a year of community input, and was sensitively designed to limit impacts to privacy, reduce car trips through surrounding neighborhoods, and eliminate the need for guests to park on nearby streets.

The City of Santa Ana is in dire financial straits. I cannot imagine that very many of our elected City Council members will vote to turn their backs on the vast tax revenues that will be created by The Addington. In fact given Pulido’s outrageous actions on Friday I suspect the vote to approve this project will now be 6-1 with Pulido casting the only “no” vote.

Pulido can vote no as he is terming out in two years so he won’t have to deal with the City’s financial problems much longer.

As for the Nimby’s who are opposing this project, one of them is now suggesting that residents of North Santa Ana should break away from the
City of Santa Ana and form their own city!

How insane is that? If anything this proves that the privileged, entitled Nimby’s in North Santa Ana don’t care about the rest of our city.

Ironically these Nimby’s are ignoring the real threat in the Santiago Park neighborhood – the lawless vagrants that live in Santiago Creek. The Addington project will include around the clock security not only in the apartment project but also in Santiago Park and in the adjacent neighborhood. This project will actually solve the vagrant problem and make us all safer in the process.

The public session on this project should be held on Feb. 5 at the City Council meeting. And the City Council should at last approve this project without further delays!

A few facts about the new proposed Santa Ana police contract

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Santa Ana, SAPD 8 Comments

The next Santa Ana City Council meeting will be a contentious one as the big topic of debate will be a new contract with the Santa Ana Police Officers Association (POA) – the union that represents our police officers. The meeting is set for Tuesday, Feb. 5, at 5:45 p.m.. at the City Council Chamber, located at 22 Civic Center Plaza.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that has been negotiated by the Santa Ana City Council and the POA amounts to a 2.5% retroactive pay increase and a 4% pay increase this year, as well as a 4% pay increase next year. The total pay increase will come to 13%.

The response thus far from some in the community has been bordering on hysteria so let’s take a look at some facts that have perhaps been overlooked:

  • The POA has 456 POA employees not the 465 that are listed on the city’s staff report.
  • There are currently 111 vacancies in the Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD), as noted by the City on their midyear budget report on the agenda #65C – on page 31. That is approximately $12M dollars in budgeted surplus.
  • Agenda #65C – exhibit 3 shows an SAPD budget of $132M and “actual” expenditures of 62M YTD. That’s a $6.4M dollar projected surplus in SAPD budget alone.
  • The City’s own numbers show either a $12M surplus in the 61 funded vacancies or $6.4M surplus in “actuals” budgeting. At $750K per 1% the annual cost of raise is approx. $4M.
  • CPI is 3-4%. The $4M dollar per year contract is less than 3% of the SAPD’s budget & 1.5% of the City’s budget. 3-5% is usually the margin of error in any budgeting allotted.
  • If the SAPD is 49% of the City’s budget then in theory Measure X funds, 49% of which is $30M, should go to the SAPD. No Measure X funds are however actually needed for the SAPD as budgeted vacancies can absorb the added budget.
  • Staff compounds raises in a graph to a total of $25M (which is inaccurate) but does not compare the SAPD budgeted compounded for the same period, which would be $408M including a 3% annual increase.
  • In total for 2018 – 2019’s budget, City staff revised their estimated revenue from $254M to $262M thus passing a historic sales tax when there was actually about a $12M dollar surplus – misleading the voters as the projected expenditures are $255M and that includes the SAPD MOU.
  • The Santa Ana School PD received a 2 year contract with a 14% increase.
  • The LAPD received a 1 year 5% pay boost.
  • Many police departments are in negotiations right now but on average pay increases of 4-8% are common with 5% raises being the average.
  • The MOU with the POA is a 3 year contract with a 13% pay increase. Consider that the SAPD is not at the top or competitive part of the market and is the only City agency with astronomical vacancies.

Public safety is the number one issue in our city. Santa Ana is a lot more dangerous than surrounding cities. Many of our top police officers over the past few years have left for greener pastures in part due to the lower pay here and also because of our previous Police Chief, who was a total disaster. This is one of the reasons we continue to have so many vacancies in the SAPD.

If we want to keep our younger police officers here and attract good veteran officers to Santa Ana then we are going to have to pay these officers at minimum market rate and remain competitive. This is the only way to attract the best, which minimizes liabilities. Our community deserves and demands the best possible when it comes to public safety.

Over the past few years the City Council majority, led by now termed out City Councilman Sal Tinajero, handed out raises to the City’s top executives and bamboozled the voters into giving the City Council a raise too. Many who are now complaining about the POA increase were silent when those other raises were handed out!

The numbers clearly show that we can afford the POA increase. Don’t be fooled by the hysteria from some quarters. A safe Santa Ana is a city that can prosper.

The SAPD clarifies their record destruction policy

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Santa Ana, SAPD 2 Comments

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: Record Destruction Matter – Joint Acting City Manager / Police Chief Statement

STEVEN MENDOZA, Acting City Manager, City of Santa Ana

In my role as Acting City Manager I requested that we pull an item from the City Council agenda for the January 15, 2019 meeting that addressed authorization for destruction of some police records. My responsibilities as a professional are to ensure I have a thorough understanding of the matters coming before the City Council I serve, and in this case, there were a series of statewide matters that complicated the picture. Specifically, legislation that went into effect just 14-days prior (Senate Bill 1421) to the council meeting and a follow up statewide advisory from the Attorney General created a dynamic environment in which asking the council to authorize record destruction warranted further understanding.

Since pulling the agenda item, I have had additional conversations with our Police Chief and City Attorney, and I am now confident that destruction of these specific records is not only consistent with all legal requirements, but equally important, consistent with a routine record destruction policy that the City Council authorized in 2013 and has been actively used in the years since.

DAVID VALENTIN, Chief of Police, Santa Ana Police Department

Since 2017, the Santa Ana Police Department has made huge strides in transparency and public engagement. Creating and sustaining community trust are essential for our Department and the community we serve. We also take great pride in conducting best practices and defensible police actions in compliance with the law.

Record destruction is a routine process that all departments of public agencies commonly execute. The City Council has a strict policy on record destruction that has been in effect for nearly six years, and our request to have authorization to destroy records was guided by Council policy and not in response to any recently enacted legislation.

In our continued support of transparency, I have directed my staff to ensure that record retention and destruction activities strictly comply with the law and I am confident we are meeting all legal requirements. Additionally, I am working with the law enforcement agencies in Orange County and our District Attorney to develop best practices and standards to be both transparent with the public and fulfill our operational need to destroy outdated records; again, in compliance with the law and our well established City policy.

Karma has caught up to Roman Reyna

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Civic Affairs, Crime, OCDA, Phil Bacerra, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana 3 Comments

Santa Ana City Councilman Roman Reyna is apparently on the verge of resigning because of the shenanigans he got involved in when filing as a carpetbagger City Council candidate last year, according to the Voice of OC.

Reyna tried to do what current City Councilman Jose Solorio did. Move from one ward to another and run for the City Council. But Solorio was pretty careful when he ran in Ward 3, even though he was actually living in Ward 1. Solorio rented an apartment in Ward 3. His wife and kids stayed in Ward 1. Very few folks at this point believe he lives in Ward 3, but he got away with it.

Reyna however goofed up his campaign paperwork. He moved and registered to vote several times and apparently finally turned in his campaign papers after the deadline. By all rights the City Clerk, Maria Huizar, should have kept him off the ballot. Or at the very least the Santa Ana City Council should have got involved. But Reyna’s allies on the Council intervened and he ended up on the ballot.

Now Reyna is facing a civil lawsuit filed by his opponent, Phil Bacerra. This is total karma as Reyna and his allies conducted what might be the worst smear in Santa Ana political history against Bacerra. It was downright criminal. They got away with it and Reyna won but now he is in very hot water as he really has no defense against the charges.

Even worse for Reyna it is very likely that when the civil case is done the new O.C. District Attorney, Todd Spitzer, will likely come after him as well. If Reyna is charged he will be facing felony fraud charges and will likely do jail time and be banned from ever holding public office again.

Reyna has always managed to skate by with minimal effort. In fact I hear that when his former girlfriend tossed him out and then had to discard many of his belongings, entire City Council meeting packets were found that Reyna had never opened. Imagine that? He might have been the laziest City Councilman ever – and he somehow got elected again, last year.

I have no doubt at this point that Reyna will resign – and soon. It is his only hope if he expects to avoid jail down the road. The City Council will then likely appoint someone to take his place. They could hold a Special Election, but I doubt they will.

When Solorio left the City Council a few years ago, after he was elected to the State Assembly, the City Council at the time appointed Vince Sarmiento to finish out his term. So there is precedent for appointing a new City Councilman in Ward 4.

Roman Reyna supports free drug needles

Reyna has only himself to blame. And this time he cannot get away with his wrongdoings. His unethical behavior has resulted in the likely end of his political career.

Perhaps Reyna can now spend more time with his old pal Carlos Bustamante, who also got in big trouble and saw his own political career ruined, due to his own bad behavior.

Reyna won’t be missed. His supporters ought to be ashamed of themselves, particularly those that piled on Bacerra.

Santa Ana Arts and Culture Community Listening Session set for Feb. 1

Posted on by Posted in Arts and Culture, Civic Affairs, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Community: UPCOMING SANTA ANA ARTS AND CULTURE COMMUNITY LISTENING SESSION: FEBRUARY 1, 2019 AT 6:00 PM AT ROOSEVELT-WALKER COMMUNITY CENTER

We need your voice again! Please join us at the upcoming Arts and Culture Community Listening Sessions to help identify important priorities for Santa Ana’s arts future.

To Register, Visit: https://bit.ly/2RduehO

The City of Santa Ana adopted a 10-year Arts and Culture Master Plan in 2016 that the community helped to shape with input from numerous discussions held throughout the city. It is a comprehensive plan with many initiatives that provide a direction for Santa Ana’s arts future. We are pressing forward with identifying those initiatives that will shape the direction we take as a community over the next several years, and we need to hear what is most important to you!

You will have the opportunity to:

• Meet residents, artists, community partners, Arts and Culture Commissioners, and Arts and Culture Office staff
• Share ideas and collaborate
• Share information about projects in your neighborhoods
• Learn about exciting events taking place throughout the city

Trained arts instructors will hold a free children’s art workshop at each event. Food and refreshments will also be provided. Participants are encouraged to review the Arts and Culture Master Plan prior to attending the listening sessions. Copies of the plan are available for download here: https://bit.ly/2MsyqcL

WORKSHOP DATES, TIMES AND LOCATIONS:

1) [Ward 4] Southwest Senior Center: 2201 W. McFadden Ave. Santa Ana, 92704, Friday, January 18, 6:00 pm-8:00 pm
2) [Ward 1] Roosevelt-Walker Community Center: 816 E. Chestnut Ave. Santa Ana 92701, Friday, February 1 – 6:00 pm-8:00 pm
3) [Ward 5] El Salvador Center: 1825 W. Civic Center Dr. Santa Ana, 92703, Friday, March 15, 6:00 pm-8:00 pm
4) [Ward 2] Santa Ana Senior Center: 424 W. 3rd St. Santa Ana, 92701, Thursday, April 25, 6:00 pm-8:00 pm
(Park in the structure on 3rd and Bush streets.)
5) [Ward 6] Centennial Complex: 3000 W. Edinger Ave. Santa Ana, 92704, Friday, May 24, 6:00 pm-8:00 pm (Please refer to Centennial Complex map below.)
6) [Ward 3] Salgado Center: 706 N. Newhope St. Santa Ana, 92703 on Friday, June 21, 6:00 pm-8:00 pm

***Free parking is available but LIMITED in the Community Center parking lots. Therefore, PLEASE BE AWARE OF STREET PARKING RESTRICTIONS when using street parking. ***

To Register, Visit: https://bit.ly/2RduehO

For more information, please contact Gabriela Cramer at (714) 647-5385 or gcramer@santa-ana.org.

PRÓXIMA SESIÓN DE REUNION COMUNITARIA DE SANTA ANA ARTE Y CULTURA: 1 DE FEBRERO DE 2019 A LAS 6:00 PM EN EL CENTRO COMUNITARIO ROOSEVELT-WALKER
¡Solicitamos sus ideas de nuevo! Por favor reúnase con nosotros en las próximas Juntas Comunitarias de Arte y Cultura y ayúdenos a identificar prioridades importantes para el futuro de las artes en Santa Ana.

Para registrarse, visite: https://bit.ly/2RduehO
Santa Ana adoptó en el 2016 un Plan Maestro de Arte y Cultura con un plazo de 10 años que la comunidad ayudó a formar a través de numerosas pláticas que se llevaron a cabo en toda la ciudad. Es un plan integral que contiene muchas iniciativas que guiarán el futuro de las artes en Santa Ana. ¡Estamos encauzados a identificar las iniciativas que representan los deseos de la comunidad en los próximos años, y necesitamos escuchar lo que es más importante para usted!
Tendrá la oportunidad de:
• Conocer a residentes, artistas, socios comunitarios, Comisionados de Artes y Cultura, y el personal de la Oficina de Arte y Cultura
• Compartir ideas y colaborar
• Compartir información sobre proyectos en sus vecindarios
• Informarse sobre los eventos que se están llevando a cabo en toda la ciudad

Instructores de artes realizarán un taller de arte infantil gratuito en cada evento. También se proporcionará comida y refrescos. Se anima a los participantes a revisar el Plan Maestro de Arte y Cultura antes de asistir a las sesiones de escucha. Las copias del plan están disponibles para su descarga aquí: https://bit.ly/2MsyqcL

FECHAS, HORAS Y UBICACIONES:
1) [Distrito Electoral 4] Southwest Senior Center: 2201 W. McFadden Ave. Santa Ana, 92704, viernes, 18 de enero, 6:00 PM-8:00 PM
2) [Distrito Electoral 1] Roosevelt-Walker Community Center: 816 E. Chestnut Ave. Santa Ana 92701, viernes, 1 de febrero – 6:00 PM-8:00 PM
3) [Distrito Electoral 5] El Salvador Center: 1825 W. Civic Center Dr. Santa Ana, 92703, viernes, 15 de marzo, 6:00 PM-8:00 PM
4) [Distrito Electoral 2] Santa Ana Senior Center: 424 W. 3rd St. Santa Ana, 92701, jueves, 25 de abril, 6:00 PM-8:00 PM (Estacionarse en el garaje ubicado en las calles 3rd y Bush)
5) [Distrito Electoral 6] Centennial Complex: 3000 W. Edinger Ave. Santa Ana, 92704, viernes, 24 de mayo, 6:00 PM-8:00 PM (Refiérase al mapa de Centennial Complex abajo.)
6) [Distrito Electoral 3] Salgado Center: 706, N. Newhope St. Santa Ana, 92703, viernes, 21 de junio, 6:00 PM-8:00 PM

*** El estacionamiento es gratuito en los centros comunitarios, pero los espacios son limitados. Por lo tanto, favor de tomar en cuenta las restricciones al estacionarse en la calle. ***

Para mas información, comuníquese con Gabriela Cramer al (714) 647-5385 o gcramer@santa-ana.org.

The next Santa Ana Com Link meeting is coming up on Jan. 24

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Notice Regarding Santa Ana Communication Linkage (Com-Link) Forum General Meeting – January 24, 2019

As part of their commitment to draw wide participation from residents of all of Santa Ana’s neighborhoods, the Board of the Santa Ana Communication Linkage Forum (Com-Link) will hold their monthly general meeting on Thursday, January 24, 2019 at 7 p.m. in the Santa Ana Police Department Community Room – 60 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana. Parking validation will be provided.

The following topics will be discussed:

  • Committee Reports: Updates on working with the community by City Public Works Agency Executive Director Fuad Sweiss; City General Plan Update by Principal Planner Verny Carvajal of the City’s Planning and Building Agency; and Education Updates by SAUSD, GGUSD, Santa Ana College
  • Main Presentation on the City’s implementation of the recent voter-approved ballot measures and new ward boundary map by Santa Ana City Councilmember Jose Solorio
  • “Neighbor to Neighbor” Segment and Announcements
  • For more information, please tap or click here to view the Jan. 24th Com-Link general meeting flyer.

Is it time to change the name of Eddie West Stadium to the People’s OC Marijuana Stadium?

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Santa Ana 1 Comment

The City of Santa Ana is broke – for many reasons including the granting of raises to the top executives at City Hall a couple years ago as well as our tradition of hiring overpaid city managers then firing them with a six figure parting gift. On top of that we are facing millions of dollars in pension and health care costs for our retired city employees. So what to do?

One idea that many cities are embracing is selling naming rights to city venues. Santa Ana could rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars a year by doing this!

For example, did you know that Eddie West Field is named after Eddie West, who became the sports editor of The Orange County Register in 1922? Now we can keep calling that stadium Eddie West or we can sell the naming rights to perhaps one of our top local marijuana dispensaries and help them to promote their pot sales while filling up our city coffers with the naming rights fee and the taxes we now collect on cannabis sales.

How about the Dan Young Soccer Complex? That former Mayor retired eons ago and now lives in Coto De Caza. Why put his name on this complex? Let’s name it the Nike or Adidas Soccer Complex and make some money!

We can also put ads on city trucks and turn them into rolling billboards? We can even put logos on our city uniforms and sell those rights too!

Many cities are doing this! Why is Santa Ana so behind the times yet again?

Click here to read what Wikipedia has to say about civic naming rights.

Who is going to be Santa Ana’s next City Manager?

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, David Cavazos, Fuad Sweiss, Jill Wallace, Kristine Ridge, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Raul Godinez, Santa Ana, Steven Mendoza, Vince Sarmiento Leave a comment

We are starting to receive snippets of information and chisme regarding who the Santa Ana council is looking to hire as our next City Manager, since apparently the current City Manager, Raul Godinez, has in effect resigned after offering the city a separation agreement. He was a friend of former City Councilmembers Michele Martinez and Sal Tinajero and they led the charge to overpay him. It is going to cost a small fortune to settle with him now.

Kristine Ridge

Mayor Pulido, at the time that Godinez was hired, was pushing to hire Kristine Ridge, who used to work for the City of Anaheim, as their Assistant City Manager.

Now it appears that Pulido is pushing for Ridge again. Ridge was supposed to be next in line to be the City Manager of Anaheim but a split City Council sent her packing.

Would she come on a split package and try for a year, in Santa Ana, like Godinez? You see if a City employee gets one year at a high salary that salary will be used to calculate their future pension benefits. So often these volatile positions are attractive because of their salary not their longevity.

Ridge is a City Manager for the City of Laguna Niguel now – we hope she and her local Sheriff’s Deputies are not sending their homeless to us!

Some around town, in Santa Ana, are wondering if she might be willing to leave her current post, as the best she could hope for is a 4-3 vote.

Some of the City Council Members appear to be concerned that Ridge is apparently very friendly with Jill Wallace (aka Jill Arthur), who used to work at Santa Ana’s City Hall as Pulido’s Assistant. There are allegations that Wallace wants to influence the situation in Santa Ana.

Wallace remains very close with Pulido andis his closest confidant. But she freaks people out some folks at City Hall, for whatever reason.

Since Ridge is a City Manager already in South Orange County, don’t be surprised if she wants a salary package in Santa Ana that compares to previous City Manager David Cavazos’ $500,000+ salary. In fact the word is that she has already made a very high salary request.

Would the Santa Ana City Council, which still appears to lack a solid majority, want to hire a new City Manager without a transparent process, when she was already passed over in Anaheim?

David Cavazos

Remember the last time the City engaged in a rushed city manager hiring process they ended up with a hot mess, namely Cavazos.

The current City Council is split and some of them, starting with Council Member Jose Solorio, want to have the City Council consider people both from outside and inside City Hall.

Solorio supported Ridge the last time around, but he commented on our last post about this and said that Santa Ana needs to focus on a fair process to consider who the next acting or interim City Manager might be.

Solorio, and Council Members Vince Sarmiento, Roman Reyna and David Penaloza met last week in a closed session meeting and who knows what direction they gave to city staff?

Solorio also said that this all, including the City Manager’s separation agreement, will be on the upcoming January 18th City Council meeting agenda.

Fuad Sweiss

Inside choices to replace Godniez may include Steven Mendoza, who is the acting City Manager, while Godinez is still on “vacation.” Some Council Members are apparently pushing for Fuad Sweiss, who is the current Santa Ana Public Works Director. Sweiss is credited with getting the city’s newest emergency homeless shelter , The Link, built in a record 28 days.

Sweiss is already on the City payroll, so hiring him as the interim city manager would save the city some money. He previously worked for the city of San Francisco, so who knows what his politics might be? But now that we have a new Governor who hails from San Francisco, Gavin Newsom, Sweiss’ background in the Bay Area could be a plus. In fact we hear that Sweiss is very friendly with Newsom.

No question Pulido will be working to get support for Ridge up until the closing bell. But will he be able to get four votes on the City Council for Ridge?

To be continued…

Has the Chairman of the Planning Commission become a liability to the City of Santa Ana?

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Development, Housing, Mark McLoughlin, Planning, Santa Ana 28 Comments
Mark McLoughlin and Dale Helvig

Do you remember a fellow named Mark McLoughlin? His name popped up this week as a possible candidate to replace Ceci Iglesias on the SAUSD School Board. But that appointment appears set to go to former Santa Ana Planning Commissioner Bruce Bauer, who could make history as the SAUSD’s first openly gay School Board Member.

McLoughlin currently serves on the Santa Ana Planning Commission. He previously served on the Rancho Santiago Community College Board of Trustees and he lives in the Floral Park Neighborhood. He runs a golf sporting goods company according to his bio.

McLoughlin has been involved in local boards and civic affairs for some time, as you can gather. So one might think that he would be very careful, particularly in his role as the Chairman of the Santa Ana Planning Commission, as to how he goes about his business. As a Commissioner it is vital that he serve all members of the public in a fair and nonjudgmental manner.

It seems however that McLoughlin has allowed himself to become personally embroiled in the simmering debate about the proposed high-quality apartment development at 2525 N. Main St.

The key question to consider is whether or not McLoughlin has what one might term a “personal interest” in this project. The California Fair Political Practices Act and the California Political Reform Act state that officials and employees should avoid making or participate in making decisions in which they have a significant personal interest, even if that interest is not a financial one.

McLoughlin has consistently opposed the 2525 N. Main St. project – even when he did not have all the pertinent information.

While there are a cadre of neighbors in the Park Santiago Neighborhood Association who oppose the project there are also many area residents who have written letters in support of this project.

Furthermore the City of Santa Ana’s Planning Agency recommended the project – after the project’s EIR (Environmental Impact Report) showed that the project would not have a negative impact on the community and would in fact generate more than $3.5 million dollars in badly-needed annual tax revenues for the City of Santa Ana. The developer has also offered to spend over $1.5 million to improve the badly dilapidated Santiago Park.

We have also heard that other Santa Ana Planning Commissioners believe that McLoughlin has violated the Brown act repeatedly, most recently before the recent Planning Commission hearing started, when he lobbied to all of the commissioners that the matter of voting on the project needed to be kicked down the road because he allegedly needed time to review the EIR. Why didn’t he do that beforehand? The Planning Agency had even produced a nice summary of the EIR! The project hearing ended up getting delayed for more than six weeks.

It is also vital that City Commissioners allow everyone the same amount of time when they are addressing a Commission on a public matter. However McLoughlin allowed opponents of the project to talk at times for up to six minutes but he was curt and cut off any supporter’s time to under 2 minutes. In any city hearing, public speakers are allowed up to 3 minutes to speak up, but McLoughlin set aside the rules and did as he pleased. That certainly does not appear to be due process.

McLoughlin has also allegedly spoken to all the other members of the Santa Ana Planning Commission about the project, expressing his dislike for the project, which is a huge mistake – and another violation of the Brown Act. As a City Commissioner he is only allowed to speak to up to two fellow Commissioners on any project, at any given time.

Word on the street is that McLoughlin has also refused to meet with anyone from the development team to be informed about the project firsthand. it is eminently clear that McLoughlin has in fact made up his mind prior to receiving all of the information on the project, which flies in the face of his commitment to be a fair-minded Commissioner. Planning Commissioners are required to impartially review a project – not make up their mind a year before it comes before them!

In fact the job of the Planning Commission is to simply “recommend” to the Santa Ana City Council development projects that they support. They are not a legislative body.

McLoughlin has however been seen about town quite often in the company of Dale Helvig, the leader of the opposition to the development in question. Remarkably, there are many reports that the two of them have met often over the last year to discuss strategy on how to trip up or slow down the project.

McLoughlin also has friends and family that live in the affected Park Santiago Neighborhood and he is attempting to do them a favor by staying in opposition. He lives in close proximity to 2525, about 1500 feet via the trail that runs along Santiago Creek. This proximity might in fact be a reason for recusal.

McLoughlin’s plan appears to be to delay and delay the project with the hope that the developer will tire of these games and walk away. But the project already has a glowing recommendation of approval from City staff that is trained to assess these projects. And at this point it is very likely that our new City Council will approve this project – in order to bring badly needed quality housing to our city while also filling up our tax coffers with income our city simply cannot reject at this point.

At the end of the day McLoughlin appears to be pandering to a small faction of seniors in Park Santiago because the City has moved to ward-specific City Council elections. He must think that he has a shot in two years to take down City Councilman Jose Solorio and win his seat in the next election. That seems an impossibility however as Solorio’s Ward 3 has become increasingly diverse over the past few years and many of the older white residents are currently selling their homes, packing up, and leaving Santa Ana.

We hear that the developer has met with some high-powered attorneys and he is prepared to file suit against McLoughlin personally if he is foolish enough to vote on a project while he appears to have a most serious set of conflicts with.

Is McLoughlin also putting the City of Santa Ana in financial peril by disallowing the applicant developer’s rights to due process?

What really happened at last Friday’s botched Santa Ana City Council meeting

Posted on by Posted in Cecilia Iglesias, Civic Affairs, David Penaloza, Jose Solorio, Juan Villegas, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Raul Godinez, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 2 Comments

Santa Ana City Councilmembers Vincent Sarmiento, Jose Solorio, Roman Reyna and David Penaloza tried to pull a fast one last Friday at a last minute special session of the Santa Ana City Council.

What this boiled down to was an attempt by Solorio to fire the current Santa Ana City Manager, Raul Godinez, who was a terrible hire, and replace him with an interim manager of his choice.

But Solorio, who should know better, got punked when Mayor Miguel Pulido, Mayor Pro Tem Juan Villegas and City Councilwoman Ceci Iglesias blew off the special meeting on Friday. You see firing Godinez takes five votes – and Solorio was only able to come up with four votes on Friday.

Solorio and Sarmiento spent the last year ripping the Santa Ana Police Officers Association but now that union is allegedly playing footsie with Solorio, who they believe is going to be our next Mayor, in two years, when Pulido terms out. Which is why Penaloza went along with Solorio on Friday.

Solorio may have fashioned an ad hoc City Council majority, with Penaloza now in league with him, but he won’t be able to fire Godinez without a fifth vote. And that simply is not going to happen.

Make no mistake – Godinez is toast. But he will leave when Pulido decides to oust him. And Pulido won’t let Solorio decide the terms of Godinez’ ouster – or his replacement.

As for Solorio, he needs to calm down. He may have a boatload of campaign cash but he won’t be the only Democrat running for Mayor in two years. It is very likely that former City Council Members Sal Tinajero and Michele Martinez, and maybe even Claudia Alvarez, will run for Mayor.

Now imagine if a fiscal conservative, like Iglesias, decides to run for Mayor in two years? She will easily win if the Democrats split their votes three or four ways.

The Santa Ana Police Officers Association is really blundering by getting in bed with Solorio. Now they have antagonized Pulido and Villegas. Iglesias was already upset with them after they spent a small fortune trying to beat her in last November’s election. They are giving Penaloza bad advice by asking him to team up with Solorio, Sarmiento and Reyna. I am shocked that they would have anything to do with Reyna after they ripped him mercilessly for his alleged connections to the Mexican Mafia!

Cooler heads will ultimately prevail. I expect Penaloza will realize his error and team up with the real City Council majority – then Godinez can go his merry way and we can finally hire a competent City Manager.

Remember Godinez only got the job because he is Hispanic. That is what Tinajero told Pulido at the time. That sort of racist thinking will hopefully be set aside now. We need a great City Manager – irrespective of his or her race.

Free sandbags now available at the Santa Ana City Yard

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Public Safety, Santa Ana, Water, Weather Leave a comment

City of Santa Ana

Advisory: CITY OF SANTA ANA SANDBAGS AVAILABLE AT CITY YARD / CUIDAD DE SANTA ANA SACOS DE ARENA DISPONIBLES EN LA YARDA CORPORATIVA

The City of Santa Ana has made sandbags available to City residents and businesses during winter storms or rain events. Up to ten (10) sandbags are available per Santa Ana residence location or Santa Ana business location.

The self-service sandbag station is available at:

City of Santa Ana Corporate Yard
215 S. Center St., Santa Ana, CA 92703
Monday – Friday: 7:00 am – 7:00 pm
Saturday – Sunday: 8:00 am – 6:00 pm

To view an informational video with additional details, please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A8IG1QY4ME.

For additional information, please contact Public Works Agency Dispatch at (714) 647-3380 between 7:00 am and 4:00 pm.

CIUDAD DE SANTA ANA – AGENCIA DE OBRAS PÚBLICAS
SACOS DE ARENA DISPONIBLES EN LA YARDA CORPORATIVA
La ciudad de Santa Ana ha hecho disponible sacos de arena a residentes y negocios de la ciudad durante las tormentas de invierno o eventos de lluvia. Hasta diez (10) sacos de arena están disponibles por residencies y negocio en Santa Ana.

La estación de autoservicio de sacos de arena está disponible en:
Yarda Corporativa de la Cuidad de Santa Ana
215 S. Center St.
Santa Ana, Ca 92703
Lunes – Viernes: 7:00 am – 7:00 pm
Sábado – Domingo: 8:00 am – 6:00 pm

Para ver un video informativo con detalles adicionales, visite https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLQDV7sXEfQ

Para obtener más información, llame a la Agencia de Obras Públicas al (714) 647-3380 entre 7:00 am y 4:00 pm.

The City of Santa Ana is now accepting community development block grant applications

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City of Santa Ana

Advisory: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE NOW THROUGH FEBRUARY 4, 2019

Approximately $872,543 of funding will be available to experienced nonprofit organizations for public services that include an emphasis on:

• Crime prevention, intervention, and/or suppression efforts for children, youth and/or families;
• Economic Development;
• Tenant Services, assistance and programs; or
• A Sumer Night Lights Program.

Programs will be funded from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020.

NONPROFITS MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING GUIDLINES AND CRITERIA:

Meet the national objective of activities that provide a benefit to low- & moderate-income persons. Programs must serve at least 51% low- to moderate-income persons, provide a new service or augment existing City of Santa Ana services, and be aligned with one of the following City of Santa Ana Strategic Plan Goals:

• Community Safety;
• Youth, Education, Recreation;
• Economic Development; or
• Community Health, Livability, Engagement & Sustainability

For more information or to submit for an application, visit: www.santa-ana.org/cdbg

Santa Ana’s City Hall will be closed from Dec. 24 to Jan. 1

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City of Santa Ana

Advisory: SANTA ANA CITY HALL WILL BE CLOSED FROM MONDAY, DEC. 24 THROUGH TUESDAY, JAN. 1.

City Hall is closed from Monday, December 24, 2018 through Tuesday, January 1, 2019. City Hall will re-open on Wednesday, January 2, 2019.

During the City Hall closure, if there is an emergency such as tree down, water leak, obstruction blocking streets, or light pole down from car accident, please call 911. For non-emergency service requests such as sidewalk repair, graffiti, or furniture on parkway, please contact the After-Hours Public Works Dispatch Hotline: (714) 647-3380.

For more information, please visit www.santa-ana.org.