Jul
29
Only 2 candidates so far for 3 Los Alamitos City Council Seats
Filed Under 2010 Issues, City Council, Election Issues | 5 Comments
(Los Alamitos, 7/29/2010) As of noon today, only two people had even “pulled papers” to run for the three seats up for election this November for Los Al’s City Council, and both are incumbents.
Both Troy Edgar and Dean Zarkos have picked up their election packets but neither had returned them yet. Papers must be filed with the City Clerk by next Read more
Jul
19
“Compass Study” recommendations from tonight’s Council Presentation
Filed Under 2010 Issues, City Council, Planning & Zoning, Traffic | Leave a Comment
(7/19/2010) Tonight’s 7 p.m. Los Alamitos City Council meeting will feature a presentation on the results of SCAG’s study of the city’s two major traffic corridors.
I was surprised by both what was included and even more by Read more
Jul
16
SCAG Vision for Katella & Los Al Blvds on Monday Council Agenda
Filed Under 2010 Issues, City Council Meetings, Development, Planning & Zoning | 5 Comments
(7/16/2010, Los Alamitos) The agenda is out for this Monday’s City Council Meeting, with several items of interest.
Most significant for the city’s future is Read more
Jul
5
Council to consider ousting Commissioner Sheridan & also reversing Planning Commission @ 7 Tuesday
Filed Under 2010 Issues, City Council Meetings, Decency, Traffic | 6 Comments
(Los Alamitos, 7/5/2010) This week the “5th of July” holiday resulted in the City Council’s meeting being pushed back to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, but it appears that the Council majority, fresh from their victory over ratepayers on the trash contract, is not taking any holiday from Read more
Jun
20
Improvements made in Trash Contract, but are they enough?
Filed Under 2010 Issues, City Council, George Briggeman | 4 Comments
(6/20/2010, Los Alamitos updated 6/21)The agenda and staff reports are now posted for Monday night’s 7 p.m. Los Alamitos City Council Meeting, and they reveal a number of interesting changes that have been made to the proposed Solid Waste Contract with Consolidated Disposal.
The Contract has been the subject of considerable controversy, especially the Council’s going with the second highest of the five “qualified” bidders, a choice which appears to cost local residents and businesses at least six and a half million dollars over the next ten years.
Improvements to the contract made during subsequent negotiations include Read more
Jun
3
Explanations and recommendations for California Propositions 13 – 17
Filed Under 2010 Issues | 2 Comments
(June 3, 2010, Los Alamitos) Today I finally went through my sample ballot and the Secretary of State’s Voter Information Guide, and boy are there a lot of candidates and issues I just don’t know that much about.
After a couple of hours of reading, I know more than I did, so here are my “Cliff’s notes” on some of the propositions. I hope to get posts up on candidates later.
We’ve got a fairly diverse and well informed group of readers, and, frankly, my hope is that you can share areas of your expertise, correct some of the issues where I’m in error, and otherwise add to and improve what I’ve found out.
The biggest deceivers
As usual, there’s an awful lot of distortions and misinformation out there. Most of the ads, whether by mail, radio, TV, or robo-calling are best ignored unless they’re from a group you believe in and support. One of the greatest deceptions out there is Read more
May
10
Is the hospital about to eat up Los Alamitos?
Filed Under 2010 Issues, Commission Meetings, Development, Planning & Zoning | 5 Comments
(Los Alamitos, 5/10/2010) Los Alamitos’ schools, neighborhoods, and location make it a great place to live, but it may well be the most poorly planned community in Orange County.
Los Al has the two busiest surface streets for miles around, but sales tax revenue from retail businesses on those streets is surprisingly low.
Due to a series of decisions made by developers and businesses more than by residents, Los Al has become a city people drive through to get to Costco, Target, Kohls, and restaurants in Seal Beach’s crazy northern dogleg and the unincorporated Rossmoor Center.
What do people drive into Los Alamitos for? Medical care, accountants, schools, Ganahl Lumber, and a handful of really good restaurants actually within the city limit.
While I thank God for our restaurants and Ganahl, and it’s nice to have doctors and schools nearby, the net result is more traffic than sales tax revenue.
My fear is that the Los Alamitos Medical Center’s new 25-year expansion plan is a step in the wrong direction. While it might make a lot of sense for the hospital’s owners, I’m having a hard time figuring out how it makes sense for the people of Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, or Seal Beach.
If you live in the area, tonight is a key night for you because Read more
May
6
5 p.m., 5/7 update: I spent some additional time today with people on both sides of this issue. There are those who feel the issues are more complex than they might appear on the surface, and believe when all the dust settles Los Al residents are apt to see a significant decline in their trash rates as well as minimal increases in the nine additional years of the contract.
This tends to fly in the face of logic to me, but there are people I respect who say things are more complex than the relatively simplistic analysis I present below.
It was suggested that I take some time over the weekend to actually read through Monday’s staff agenda report on the Solid Waste Bid as well as all of the consultant’s evaluation and scoring of the proposals.
That’s about 27 pages, and I’m going to try to get through it over the course of the next few days and see how much it changes my opinion. You might want to follow the links above and read through those two documents for yourself.
In the meantime, be aware that the following article may only represent one side of a complex issue.
Finally, for the record, the schools are not affected much by the trash bid as they contract separately with whomever they choose for waste disposal.
(5/6/2010, Los Alamitos) It appears that our City Council is moving full steam ahead with a ten year trash contract that could cost our businesses and residents a whopping $9,000,000 more than the contracts offered by two other bidders!
Incredibly, Read more
Apr
5
Los Al Council to raise trash fees tonight?
Filed Under 2010 Issues, City Budget, City Council Meetings, Election Issues, George Briggeman | Leave a Comment
(Los Alamitos, 4/5/2010)If you live or work in Los Alamitos, the City Council could easily reduce your monthly trash bill for the next ten years.
They could just as easily increase your bill.
Whether your bill goes up or down will largely be determined by a Council vote tonight on the weighting of criteria for evaluating the seven proposals received for this decade’s Solid Waste Disposal Contract.
Unfortunately, as it now stands, the recommendations by the Council’s subcommittee of Mayor Poe and Mayor Pro Tem Stephens appear to Read more
Mar
5
Planning Commission Meeting 3/8/10
Filed Under 2010 Issues, Commission Meetings, Planning & Zoning | Leave a Comment
[Ed Note: JM - Still. Yeah I wish Dave were back doing this too...]
7:00 PM at the City Council Chambers.
On the agenda, 2 Public Hearings
1) 5122 Katella Avenue – Roof mounted wireless facility Recommendation: Continue the public hearing to the April 12, 2010 meeting of the Planning Commission (Ed Note: This is the same building that Councilman Edgar had issues with regarding signage)
2) a request to allow non-medical office uses in specific units not to exceed thirty (30) percent of the total units of the Los Alamitos Business Park (Cerritos and Los Al – where the Sizzler is). Recommendation: Adopt Resolution No. 09-18 (approval)
Then there are 2 community development reports.
1) Commissioners Andrade and Commissioner Grose will summarize the February 8 hearing regarding LAFCO Boundary Report
2) SCAG Compass Blueprint Update powerpoint presentation by staff
There is nothing on the agenda relating to the decision from last Monday regarding the zoning on Katella.
Feb
26
Council Meeting – 3/1/10 – 7PM
Filed Under 2010 Issues, City Council Meetings, Development, Planning & Zoning | 18 Comments
[Ed Note: JM still... Dave is still away so I'm still posting for him. It's Friday, the City Council Agenda has been posted... ]
Don’t go to City Hall! As part of our historic 50th celebration, the City Council Metting has been moved to…
ST. ISIDORE PLAZA, 10961 REAGAN STREET
Not much to discuss… unless you consider the Consent Calendar.
A little background and then…
Feb
15
Traffic Commission, Solid Waste, Melting Pot, & City Clerk on Los Al agendas for Tuesday, 2/16
Filed Under 2010 Issues, City Council Meetings, Planning & Zoning, Traffic | Leave a Comment
(2/15/2010, Los Alamitos) Several items of interest are scheduled for two separate City Council Meetings that were moved back to Tuesday due to the Presidents’ Day Holiday today.
At a 5 p.m. Special Meeting the Council will meet in closed session to Read more
Feb
1
Feb 1: YOUR reporting on tonight’s 2 Los Al Council Meetings
Filed Under 2010 Issues, City Council Meetings, Commission Meetings, Planning & Zoning, The Base | 5 Comments
(2/1/2010, Los Alamitos): Once again it’s your turn to be the reporter on our City Council meetings. Tonight is interesting because it features Read more
Jan
29
Joint Los Al City Council and Planning Commission Special meeting @ 5:30 Monday
Filed Under 2010 Issues, City Council Meetings, Planning & Zoning | Leave a Comment
(1/29/2010) A number of important zoning and planning issues will be on the table this Monday, 2/1/2010, when the Los Alamitos City Council meets jointly with the Planning Commission at 5:30, before the Council’s Regular Meeting.
Key issues on the agenda include the Read more
Jan
28
Los Alamitos needs your input on Katella/Los Al Blvd. study
Filed Under 2010 Issues, Planning & Zoning | 1 Comment
(1/28/2010, Los Alamitos) The city is finally moving forward with the SCAG-funded Compass study of the Los Alamitos Blvd. and Katella corridors.
Part of the initial phase involves a very important Read more
