City of Trees Strikes Again

The news about the damage done to the Claremont Hills Wilderness Park by a bulldozer hired by the city's Community Services Department has been percolating through town ever since Tuesday's City Council meeting. The bulldozer apparently scraped a swath 100 feet or more wide along the Thompson Creek, from the lower end of Via Padova up to the Padua Hills Theatre.

Wednesday's Claremont Courier carried a letter from a reader who was outraged about the city's carelessness:

Plants, rocks and topsoil have been shoved into the creek bed, virtually destroying the fragile riparian habitat. Native oak trees have been partially buried by mounds of dirt and rocks and, in places the streambed itself has been buried under dirt, rocks and debris. The slope uphill from the streambed is now vulnerable to severe erosion. Before native plants can re-establish themselves, mustard and other non-native invasive species will turn the once pristine hillside into yet another ecological disaster.

Yes, protection from wild fires is important. Yes, the Vegetation Management Plan provides for brush removal. Yes, the Plan is sensitive to the preservation of hillside growth. The Vegetation Management Plan prohibits the use of bulldozers to clear brush and other vegetation.

In the past, Claremont has shown its disregard for protecting our endangered hillsides. By failing to follow the Vegetation Management Plan in prior years, the City added to the destruction of the fire that destroyed many homes adjacent to the Wilderness Park; that negligence cost the City $17,500,000 when it lost the suit brought against it for its failure to abide by the Plan.

Today's Daily Bulletin also had an article by reporter Wes Wood II, who noted that the city is acknowledging the error, which may end up costing $200,000 or more to fix:

"We made a mistake," said City Manager Jeff Parker on Thursday.

Community Services Director Scott Carroll apologized at Tuesday's City Council meeting for what happened at the park in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department required the city to clear brush in the park, Parker said. The Claremont Hills Wilderness Park Vegetation Management Plan from 2003 states that only manual clearing can be used.

Carroll said Thursday in a separate interview the city was trying to get the brush cleared in a cost-effective manner and didn't want to "eat up the budget" with the use of manual clearing.

Parker said he plans to have a walk through the damaged area on Monday, get bids to put the area back into shape and then hold a community meeting to discuss everything as soon as Sept. 22.

"My intention with the community meeting is to get those with interests in the issue to get all on the same page," Parker said.

He said the city would have to look at all the information with experts before determining the final cost of the repair but would pay the more than $200,000 in damages if the amount is found to be accurate.

Padua Hills Community Association board member Gary Mizumoto described Parker's words as a good first step if the city does not "do it on the cheap."

Well, that's always the danger, isn't it? The city spares no expense on things like a $1,290,000 trackless trolley or the $10 million Village Expansion parking structure, but will try to cut every corner possible when it comes to its pledges to maintain its property.

Photos of the damage have been circulating town this past week, and we finally received some copies we can post. As they say, a picture's worth a thousand words:

(Click on images to enlarge)
City of Trees I


City of Trees II


City of Trees III


City of Trees IV

Friday Mailbag

TROLLEY MAIL

We received a few notes in response to yesterday's post about the downtown Claremont "trackless trolley":

DATE: Thursday, September 11, 2008 5:26 PM
SUBJECT: Trolley Folly
TO: Claremont Buzz

Now we hear from the Courier article that the Trolley will cost more, that the money from Sacramento may not be forthcoming and therefore be another unbudgeted item for which the taxpayers will have to pony up the money, and all so certain former and current council members can feel like they are in San Francisco or Portland. Aren’t we supposed to be a sustainable healthy city dedicated to getting people to walk and ride their bikes? Aren’t there other trolleys (like the one in Indio, ironically) that are electric powered and therefore more “sustainable”? Are there any stores in Claremont on the trolley route that people actually have to be deposited on its doorstep before anyone will go there?

There must be better and more meaningful ways in which the Claremont City Council can spend our money ( pick your favorite) and , if not, maybe the State SHOULD take money away from them before they find another hare-brained “cute” folly on which to waste it.

And this:

DATE: Thursday, September 11, 2008 3:18 PM
SUBJECT: trolley ?
TO: Claremont Buzz

Hi, just curious if you happen to know where the city council plaque will be located on the new trolley? oh, and I heard a rumor that during the october 30 event the light refreshments will not include girl scout cookies. can you confirm?

[Name Withheld]
(if for some reason you put this on your blog, please don't include my name. don't want to be eligible for any retaliation...)

No, dear reader, we cannot confirm the plaque location, but you can count on it being gold-plated and feature the name Judy Wright prominently.

Trolley Unveiled

The City of Claremont's website informs us that the new downtown "trackless trolley" (bureaucratese for "mini-bus that has been dolled up to look like a cable car"). The city's note says:

There will be four bus stops on the route, which will be located at the Depot on First, the Metrolink parking lot, Bonita at Yale, and Oberlin Avenue across from the public plaza, completing a 1.5 mile loop.

Final preparations are being made such as training the drivers on the trolley, finishing the trolley stops, and the final touches to the trolley.

The Trolley will be on display at the following community events: Village Wine Walk on September 12 in front of City Hall, at the annual Village Venture on October 25th next to the City's booth on Second Street, and the trolley will also be featured in the parade at the Los Angeles County Fair on "Claremont Day," September 18.

The Inaugural Ride will take place at 10 a.m. on Thursday, October 30. There will be a short ceremony, light refreshments and residents will have a chance to be one of the first to ride the trolley before it officially begins service at 11a.m. that same day.

If you have any questions about the trolley program please contact the Community Services Department at (909)399-5431.

Yesterday's Claremont Courier also had an article about the trolley debut (the article isn't available online). The Courier reports Claremont has retained the Pomona Valley Transit Authority to operate the trolley, which will run through a three-year pilot program.

The Courier also reported that the trolley will cost a projected $1,290,596 for the three years. This is a substantial increase over the $887,000 the city had promised back in January. Where does the extra $400,000 go? Apparently, the original figure didn't include the costs of building bus stops and marketing. And gas is more expensive now.

In any case, using the original city estimate of 15 riders per hour, 12.5 hours per day, three day per week, we get 87,750 riders for the three year pilot program or about $14.71 per rider, a nearly 50% increase in the estimated cost for the three-year trial. At that price, the trolley out to be gold-plated.

Don't worry, though. As the city gleefully points out, its not OUR money! The project funded by state transportation fund money, so we can throw it away whatever way we want. Of course, if Sacramento pols pull transportation bond funds to balance the state budget, Claremonters may end up getting stuck a good chunk with the trolley bill. (But we don't want to talk about that.)

The Courier reported on some of the trolley's amenities:

The new vehicle has red paint, wooden seats and a manual bell ringer to replicate more authentic-looking track trolleys operating in cities like San Francisco and Portland. It will be ADA compliant and run on clean-burning gasoline.

We're not sure what differentiates "clean-burning" gasoline from other types, but we do suspect that Claremont's trolley, which covers and area of about six downtown blocks, probably won't help Claremont replicate San Francisco or Portland any more than the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas replicates the real French capital. But a person can dream.

Council Report

Several items of interest from last night's city council meeting:

WILDERNESS PARK DAMAGE

Speaking of broken promises, the council last night heard a report from Claremont City Manager Jeff Parker during public comment that the Claremont Hills Wilderness Park had been damaged accidentally during the city's brush clearance last month. Parker had Claremont Community Services Director Scott Carroll step up to explain what had happened.

Apparently, according to Carroll, Claremont, which owns the Wilderness Park, was ordered by the Los Angeles County Fire Department to clear brush in the Wilderness park. (The city failed to do this before the 2003 fires, and that cost the city's insurer over $17 million to settle a lawsuit by homeowners whose houses burned down.)

Carroll said that the costs of clearing the amount of Wilderness Park land LACFD was requiring was going to be much more than the city had budgeted for. So someone (Carroll?) decided to use a bulldozer to save money. The city has a Vegetation Management Plan that specifies that only manual clearance, biological clearance (by grazing animals), and controlled burns can be used. Carroll admitted the bulldozer use was wrong, and he apologized to Parker and the City Council for the error. Parker indicated the city was taking steps to repair the damage, which sounded considerable.

The bulldozer apparently ran along Thompson Creek parallel to the homes on Via Padova in Padua Hills. The Padua Hills homeowners association took notice and City Manager Parker said that he and the council received a complaint from the HOA. Padua Hills resident Ludd Trozpek spoke after Carroll finished and stated that he had tried to speak to Carroll and to Claremont Maintenance Superintendent Larry Wheaton in July when they were standing on Via Padova apparently planning the brush clearance. Trozpek said Carroll and Wheaton would not talk to him and "blew me off."

Trozpek stated that he had been around when the VMP was being created and that if Carroll and Wheaton had talked to him, everyone could have been saved the embarrassment and the cost of fixing the problem, which apparently can run into the hundreds of thousand of dollars. Besides the problems of dirt pushed into the streambed and acres of habitat being uprooted, the ground was apparently scraped clean and oaks were knocked over or damaged. Also, there is now a severe threat of erosion because there is nothing to hold the soil together at the base of the hill that Via Padova runs along.

Claremont resident and botonist Susan Schenk, who is active in the Friends of the Bernard Field Station, also spoke and said that some of the damage to the structure of the disturbed soil cannot be repaired, even with reseeding and putting in new plants. Schenk called for the city to put processes into place to ensure that such a thing does not happen again.

Mayor Ellen Taylor, doing her best Marie Antoinette impression, told Trozpek after he spoke that Director Carroll said he was sorry and implied, "What MORE do you want?" As is her wont and arrogant as ever, Taylor ignored the key point: In saying he was sorry, Community Services Director Carroll apologized only to City Manager Parker and to the City Council. He did not apologize to the residents who live above the damaged area nor did he apologize to the citizens of Claremont whose resources have been irreparably damaged and whose tax dollars will have to pay for fixing a thing that could have easily been avoided.

So, score one point for the city for taking the high road and acknowledging its error, and deduct two points for not extending the apology to the real damaged parties and for not being open to input that would have avoided the problem in the first place.


HONOREES

The City Council acknowledged its three new commissioners: Angela Bekzadian-Avila (Human Services), Rosemary Fisher-Anaya (Police Commission), and Sayeed Shaikh (Police Commission).

After they greeted the incoming commission members, the Council bade farewell to Jenetta Harris, Southern California Edison's Local Public Affairs Manager, who has worked with the city and city staff as Edison's public face. Harris later mentioned an upgrade to Edison's infrastructure that would require tearing up the south side of Base Line Rd. between Towne Ave. and Mountain Ave., and the north side between the Indian Hill Blvd. and Grand Ave.

From what City Manager Parker said, the latter sounded as if it required ripping up the bike lane in the newly resurfaced section of Base Line Rd. So there may have been a mixup in coordinating the projects. Parker said that Edison would match the rubberized asphalt that has been installed on Base Line Rd.

The Council also recognized CHS junior Kori Carter for her achievements as a hurdler this past year and the Claremont Kiwanis Club for its support of the city's Summer Concert Series and the Children's Concert Series.


RESOLUTIONS

The City Council also approved resolutions against the LA County Metropolitan Transportation Administration's Measure R this November. The measure would increase the county sales tax by a half cent and use the money to fund transportation projects. The resolution said the city was supporting the Gold Line Foothill Extension.

The Council also expressed its frustration with the state budget process (or non-process) by issuing a "Resolution Opposing Fiscally Irresponsible State Budget Decisions that Would 'Borrow' Local Government, Redevelopment and Transportation Funds." (That's a mouthful!)

And, the Council came out with a resolution opposing Proposition 7 on the November ballot. The proposition, which would require utilities in California to get 50% of their energy from renewable sources by 2025, is opposed by an odd coalition:

• PG&E
• Edison
• Sempra Energy
  
• The California Democratic Party
• The California Republican Party
• The California Labor Federation
• The California Taxpayers' Association
• The League of California Cities
• The California Solar Energy Industries Association
• A coalition of environmental organizations that includes the California League of Conservation Voters, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies

PARKING PERMITS

The Council also approved the parking permit process recommended by staff allowing neighborhoods to set up the permits. The council made the following modifications to the proposed ordinance:

• Permitting must be approved by 50% of the responding property owners in a neighborhood seeking permits.
• The City Council will have some additional purview over the permits.
• There will be a six-month trial period for permits once they are approved for a neighborhood.
• The permits will sunset after two years.
  

MANSIONIZATION

The council also approved the staff recommendations for guidelines for a proposed mansionization ordinance.

City Council Meets Tonight

The Claremont City Council eases back into action tonight with a somewhat modest schedule following its August recess. At 5:15pm, the council will meet in closed session for a conference with labor negotiators regarding the Claremont Professional Employees Association. The council will also be discussing price and terms of a prospective agreement with Arteco Partners over the Padua Theatre.

The regular council meeting begins at 6:30pm with a number of routine administrative items, including the introduction of three new commissioners:

• Angela Bekzadian-Avila, Human Services
  
• Rosemary Fisher-Anaya, Police Commission
• Sayeed Shaikh, Police Commission
  

The council will also accept the resignation of Human Services Commission Chair Gwen Carr. No word on why Carr stepped down, but you can bet that fellow Human Services Commissioner Valerie Martinez had more than a little to do with the resignation. The word on the street is that Martinez, who was the spokeswoman and brains behind the Claremonsters' Preserve Claremont campaign, maneuvered against Carr's appointment to commission chair and seems to have continued to work against Carr by manipulating her fellow, less-aware commissioners.

In addition, the council will also vote on a resolution against the LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Measure R sales tax increase. The resolution also expresses support for the Gold Line.

Other items on tonight's council agenda include a discussion of the elements of a proposed mansionization ordinance that would try to implement tighter controls over the sorts of homes that can be built in town, as well as the adoption of a residential parking permit policy.

The parking issue came up previously with the residents on Via Santa Caterina in the Claraboya neighborhood. That neighborhood sits at the trailhead for Johnson's Pasture, and the residents there have complained of parking and crime problems since the city purchased Johnson's Pasture. Via Santa Caterina residents might want to take a closer look at our Forked Tongues post from yesterday. From what we're hearing, the city's trail of broken promises is growing, so don't get too comfortable with the parking situation on Via Santa Caterina.

Reporter Wes Woods II had an article on the parking permit issue:

City staff has recommended the City Council establish such a program and, if approved at tonight's council meeting, the ordinance could be adopted by the end of October.

Councilwoman Linda Elderkin said the ordinance "authorizes ground rules for setting up possible parking areas by permit and the rules for doing that."

Elderkin added: "The first important thing is this policy does not authorize any particular area yet."

The neighborhoods identified in the agenda report as being interested in the ordinance include College Avenue between Foothill Boulevard and Seventh Street; Baughman Avenue between Berkeley Avenue and Indian Hill Boulevard, and the residential area to the west of the Village Expansion. A residential permit for Via Santa Catarina has been established through a separate ordinance.

Officials noted Monday that the ordinance states "a finding would have to be made that no alternative to the proposed zone exists that is feasible or practical."

Permits would cost between $12 and $14 each and would be established with each resolution that creates the separate permit zones in the city, said city engineer Craig Bradshaw.

The police chief, or designee, would be responsible for issuing permits and no more than four permits per address would be issued, Bradshaw said.

A word to the wise, don't put too much stock in anything the city engineer, Police Chief Paul Cooper, or the city's chief planner Lisa Prasse have to say. Those holdovers from the Glenn Southard-era are among the worst of Claremont's Promise Breakers, and we'll try to fill in the blanks as soon as we get more details.

City Council Meeting
- Closed Session, 5:15pm
- Regular Session, 6:30pm
Council Chambers
225 W. 2nd St.
Claremont, CA 91711
(909) 399-5460

Neighborhood Crime Watch

A Claremont neighborhood that has had a rash of burglaries is trying to fight back through a Neighborhood Watch program, the Daily Bulletin reports:

CLAREMONT - More than 300 homeowners have been invited to attend a barbecue to revitalize a Neighborhood Watch program after several home and car burglaries in the area.

"We are very eager to get some publicity to get the bad guys out," said Betty Crocker, a co-organizer of the event with Bruce Mayclin and Joe O'Toole.

The barbecue is scheduled to take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday on Villa Maria Road/Sage Street. The street will be closed from Diablo to Mount Carmel drives.

"What we're doing is we took north of Base Line and everything in between Indian Hill and Mountain Avenue as our domain," Crocker said. "It's a very peaceful feeling to rely on your neighbors when you need them."

In July, Crocker took part in a block party where neighbors discussed burglaries.

"Eight of us had our cars broken into in the middle of the night ... it was beyond irritating," Crocker said.

Forked Tongues

Jack Crabbe: ...we come to a place knowed as the Indian Nations. It was a tract of land by the Washita River that had been give forever to the Indians by the Congress and the President of the United States. We was safe there. This was Indian land as long as grass growed and wind blowed and the sky is blue.
.....
I reckon right then I come close to turning pure Indian, and I probably would have spent the rest of my days with Sunshine and her sisters. But sometimes grass don't grow, wind don't blow and the sky ain't blue.

- Screenplay, Little Big Man (1970), Writers: Thomas Berger and Calder Willingham

Broken promises are a Claremont 400 thing, and people who've lived here any length of time could tell you about any number of misrepresentations made by this group, either through the city government they run or through their educational arm, the Claremont Unified School District.

So, the 400 will routinely speak with forked tongues to get whatever it is they want, then eventually go back on their word.

For instance:

Daily Bulletin writer Wes Woods II had an article that also appeared in the Contra Costa Times about the installation of some temporary bleachers at Claremont High School's football field. As Woods explains, the 25-foot high bleachers are a point of contention with people living next to the field, who've complained that people standing atop the bleachers can see into the residents' homes:

"It's not even a nice thing to look at," said Erik Ennerberg, 69, inside his residence Friday. He and some neighbors explained Friday how the temporary bleachers for Claremont High School's athletic field are an eyesore.

"The worst part is, it doesn't have to be here," Ennerberg said of the football bleachers.

Ennerberg and residents like Deedee and Landis MacIntosh are in agreement and showed up Thursday night at a Claremont Unified School District board meeting to voice their complaints.

On Friday, the bleachers near the residences were shrouded by a green cover, because residents had complained that people could stand on the bleachers and look into windows.

The green cover solution hasn't helped, neighbors said.

"If you look out of the window, you used to see sky," an exasperated Ennerberg said Friday.

On Thursday, neighbors told the school board about an agreement in 2000 between the board of education and residents who live near the athletic field.

The agreement, of which Ennerberg has copies, describes how the board would compromise with the neighbors by not building a stadium complex in exchange for their support for a $2.5 million bond to refurbish the athletic field.

There was also a matter of stadium lights, which were once temporary but which are about to become permanent fixtures. Saturday's Claremont Courier had that story:

Spectators who attend Claremont High School home football games will have a better view of the field action this season. In fact, so will the players and coaches.

The installation of 4 new permanent light fixtures at the CHS Stadium brings more light to the field and replaces the rental units used in the past.

“The 4 fixtures are permanent and provide much better lighting,” said Jeff Shoemaker, assistant director of Claremont Unified School District’s Service Center. “Before, we would rent the lights. We used to have 3 fixtures that were all on the south side and there were none on the north. What would happen was that there would be light spillage and plus, we were using a diesel generator for the lights. So this cuts down on pollution.”

The district has worked with Musco Lighting and Mechanical Electrical Instrumentation (MEI) in order to bring the new lighting system to life. Musco Lighting provided the rental lights last year, but the district decided to incorporate a permanent set of lights this year.

Bait-and-switch, again; or game, set, and match to the Claremont 400, who were able to swindle the football field neighbors into not opposing the bond for the CHS athletic field. If history (real history, not the Judy Wright variety) shows us anything, it's that the Claremonsters will promise the moon to get what they want. Keeping their word of honor is another matter. Then again, you have to honor to pledge to in the first place for one's word to mean something.

By the way, Musco Lighting seems to be the Claremonsters' vendor of choice when it comes to outdoor sports lighting. Besides the school district, the city of Claremont looooves Musco to the point that city staff schills for Musco at every opportunity. You'd think they owned stock in the company the way they stand up for their friends at Musco.

In February, we noted that Musco would be providing the new field lighting for College Park. Also, Musco did the quick and dirty "study" during the run-up to the Padua Sports Park EIR. No surprise then that Musco, who will undoubtedly get the contract (they seem to be hard-wired into every contract; other vendors don't even bother to bid) for the Padua Sports Park lights, found that the 100-foot lighting standards for the Padua project would have no adverse impact on the area which has strict limitations on lighting. (There's another bait-and-switch on that count, as we noted last week.)

The 400's operational strategy in all these sorts of things is to avoid a drawn out conflict if possible, and then go ahead with whatever it was they wanted in the first place. They promise all sorts of things, even come up with detailed, official processes in which they promise to take certain steps to mitigate any potential issues. But after 5, 10, 15 years go by, they ignore all those promises and do exactly what the folks opposed to the given project had warned they would.

If you've had a problem with the city making these sorts of pledges and then failing to follow through on them, write us and send photos if you can. We'll post them as an ongoing "Claremont Bait-and-Switch" series.

Another Anniversary

Today marks one year since we posted our "Labor Day" piece about city employee salaries. You might recall that we discovered that the city's online document archive contained pay stubs for city employees and that we posted the salaries and other compensation paid to a number of employees as well as an image of Claremont City Manager Jeff Parker's pay stub.

No personal information such as social security number nor even the ever-important "bank routing number" was included in the pay stub information we found on the city's website. In a failed attempt to shut down this blog, Claremont City Attorney Sonia Carvalho falsely claimed the information we had found on the Claremont website was stolen.

Carvalho also falsely asserted that the information we had posted was private and confidential (in California, public employee salaries and benefits are public information). Carvalho demanded that Google, which owns our Blogger host, shut down the Insider. After we pointed out to Google that the information in the pay stubs was public information, the city then made yet another false assertion that the pay stub images could not be posted because they were copyrighted material (government documents such as the pay stubs cannot be copyrighted).

Carvalho ended up having to eat a triple serving of crow.

Oddly, we're both still here, Carvalho and the Insider. Reminds us of a poem we saw someplace or another:

Award

[A Gold Watch To The FBI Man
Who Has Followed Me For 25 Years]

Well, old spy
looks like I
led you down some pretty blind alleys,
took you on several trips to Mexico,
fishing in the high Sierras,
jazz at the Philharmonic.
You've watched me all your life,
I've clothed your wife,
put your two sons through college.
what good has it done?
sun keeps rising every morning.
Ever see me buy an Assistant President?
or close a school?
or lend money to Somoza?
I bought some after-hours whiskey in L.A.
but the chief got his pay.
I ain't killed no Koreans,
or fourteen-year-old boys in Mississippi
neither did I bomb Guatemala,
or lend guns to shoot Algerians.
I admit I took a Negro child
to a white restroom in Texas,
but she was my daughter, only three,
who had to pee.

- Ray Durem (1915-1963)

Claremont Insider is not only a Coward, it is a Thief: Sam Pedroza in His Own Words

Stolen shamelessly from the Foothill Cities Blog, here.

Claremont Councilmember Sam Pedroza was doing some heavy blogging on Friday and Saturday. Below we reproduce an exchange that appeared on the Footsy Blog:

Sam Pedroza: Working Man

By Centinel | September 4, 2008

A Claremont Insider reader wonders how Sam Pedroza goes to committee meetings during the day when he has a full-time job. Weird, how could that be? Oh, he works for the county. [this is Centinel; the Insider would never never make this mistake; See Sam's comment] Ah.

Share This

Topics: Main Page, City Council, Claremont |
10 Responses to “Sam Pedroza: Working Man”

1. Uh Huh Says:
September 4th, 2008 at 4:04 pm

Don’t blame it on the fact that he works for the County. Blame it on the fact that he is a “politician”.

2. Sam Says:
September 5th, 2008 at 4:48 am

FC Blog, Since the “Claremont Insider” is too cowardly to allow comments added to their postings [see our note at end of post--ed.], I just wanted to let you know that attending those meetings are part of my job. I am the Sanitation Districts representative to the Discovery Center. I would be more than happy to provide you with all the information you want on this great project that would benefit the entire San Gabriel Valley. Oh, and by the way the Sanitation Districts are not a County agency, a very common misunderstanding. The Sanitation Districts is a special district, much like a water or school district.

3. gilman Says:
September 5th, 2008 at 8:29 am

Well Sam is right…the Sanitation Districts is not a county agency. Instead, the Sanitation Districts operate under what is known as a “Joint Administration Agreement”. So while not a County agency, it is one of those mysterious entities that taxpayers know little about. A bureaucracy..I think yes, funded by local citizens…yes, funded through taxpayer dollars …yes, funded in part through the county….maybe, a county agency..no.

Part of Mr. Pedroza’s position involves government relations, outreach and public relations…..perfect politician training.

With his expertise in trash/sanitation issues, maybe Mr. Pedroza can share with us why local cities continue to “sole source” their trash contracts and fail to perform any shopping, comparison or competitive bidding…..

4. Sam Says:
September 5th, 2008 at 11:34 am

Gilman, you are right in that we are a government agency that is fairly unknown, but then again most special districts are. We operate two essential services - wastewater and solid waste management. Wastewater is paid through a charge on the property tax bill and solid waste is an enterprise program that is paid directly through tipping fees charges paid at the gates. Those costs are absorbed as part of your trash collection bill. The Sanitation Districts do not operate trash collection, that is a service provided by private hauling companies (i.e. Athens and Waste Management) or by the cities themselves, (i.e. Claremont or City of Los Angeles). As we transition away from urban landfills to waste-by-rail programs the disposal costs go up and hauling contracts become much more competitive. In addition, increased regulatory measures increase operating costs making it much more challenging for the smaller companies. The Sanitation Districts have no position on the “sole source” issue however as a councilmember I could tell you that the costs and mandates of operating a hauling service is ever more challenging and that could explain why cities rather turn that service over to the private sector. I would imagine that sole sourcing brings convenience and organization. I’m sure that if our city proaches the subject we will become much more informed on the process. You are also correct in that the trash industry is very political but quite frankly its not the type of politics that helps me in Claremont.

5. Uh Huh Says:
September 5th, 2008 at 1:59 pm

Spoken like a true politician.

6. gilman Says:
September 6th, 2008 at 7:55 am

Thanks Sam for the detailed posting…I think it helps the average citizen better understand the folks that are representing them.

As for the sole source issue, I probably did a poor job of posting my question….let me try again.

Certainly, using only one major trash service provider has it’s benefits…but the question is -
Should local governments award exclusive franchise agreements, or any other contract for services, without conducting any shopping, sending out any requests for proposals, or conducting any open and competitive bidding?

This issue might even be something to bring up with your contacts at the County and State level…I think legislation mandating that local cities must conduct an open and competitive bidding process before awarding these contracts
may help…what are your thoughts?

7. Seedy Watch Says:
September 6th, 2008 at 9:39 am

The fact of the matter or this topic is, local government management employees are lazy and want to take the easy way out on any project that is put before them to solve.

Completing the project with the least amount of effort and most politicial brownie points is the main goal, for each brownie point equeats to MORE money in their pay packages!

Problem solved.

8. Sam Says:
September 6th, 2008 at 11:33 am

While I could see the concept of sole sourcing contracts where there are no alternatives, such as placing ads in a local paper, in general most contracts ought to go through an RFP process. But just mandating an RFP process is not enough, appropriate weights with appropriate questions need to be asked. You need smart staff to come up with a smart RFP. Then you need a smart decision making body to make the decision. More mandates could shortcut a lot of this, such as having to take the lowest bid. Remember, you get what you pay for.

9. Seedy Watch Says:
September 6th, 2008 at 1:17 pm

Looking at the whole process is not like inventing the WHEEL all over again but this seems to be the feeling in general when is come to following through with a simple task.

Could it be caliber of city staffing is below the level it was years ago, when a can do attitude was the norm and ecpected?

Lets not forget with this NEW caliber of staffing we have to PAY them more to do LESS!

That climb up the corporate ladder even inside local government knows no speed limits.

10. gilman Says:
September 6th, 2008 at 8:14 pm

Sam…..

I agree that having a bright staff and a smart Council are ideal, unfortunately that is often simply not the case. It is the average taxpayer who suffers the results….if a mechanism was in place where some form of shopping was required on these huge “trash service” agreements, it might help.

If nothing else, the average citizen could review these clearly public records and observe how the city/elected officials were spending THEIR money and conducting THEIR business.

Under the current guidelines, massive contracts are being awarded with no transparency and no public involvement until after the contract is awarded…..i.e., the uproar over the way Athens has been awarded various contracts throughout Southern California.

Additionally, the current system is ripe with abuse, potential fraud and financial “priming”. Local officials who support these contracts often receive large campaign donations, while those who support shopping do not?

[Note: We don't get too much email from Sam Pedroza here at the Insider. But we believe we are batting 1.000 in printing the ones we do receive. Our humble forum is always open to our local elected officials. We reprint below an email we received from Sam on August 22, 2007:

Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2007 10:24:58 -0700 (PDT)
From: "sam" spedroza1@verizon.net
To: claremontbuzz@yahoo.com
Subject: Claremont Insider : Why are We Here?

sam has sent you a link to a blog:

weak response, if you are just providing another view then why hide... just another coward.

Blog: Claremont Insider Post: Why are We Here? Link: http://claremontca.blogspot.com/2007/08/why-are-we-here.html

He seems to want to keep that whole "coward" motif going. Better grammar and punctuation this time though. Keep 'em coming! Thanks to "Uh huh", "gilman", and "Seedy Watch", as well as Sam, for their contributions.]

Goings On

BURT & ROCKY'S UPLAND STORE TO CLOSE

The Daily Bulletin reports the Burt and Rocky's Ice Cream Company location in Upland will be closing. The Claremont location at Bonita and Yale across from Rhino Records will remain open.

The article said:

Owners Brent and Sherry Hunter have decided to shut their shop at 360 W. Foothill Blvd. due to a significant increase in rent.

"The building has sold twice since we've been here, and each time it sold for a lot more money," said Sherry. "So all of the taxes have gone up to where they doubled our rent, and if we renew our lease our rent would triple."

The Hunters purchased the company 11 years ago from founders Roberta and Roy Marley and upgraded to a larger space across from Upland High School about five years ago.

"It's sad that we don't have a store in Upland for the time being, but that doesn't mean we won't come back," said Sherry.

KARL ROVE TO SPEAK AT CMC MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH

Claremont McKenna College's Marion Cook Miner Athenaeum will host former presidential advisor Karl Rove as a speaker on Monday, September 15th at 6:45pm. The CMC Forum blog had a post about the event, and so did CMC student Charles Johnson at the Claremont Conservative.

Marion Cook Miner Athenaeum
385 E. 8th St.
Claremont,
CA 91711
(909) 621-8244

MUSIC AT THE DOUBLETREE

And in case you forgot, we received another Raveler spam about the band's appearance tonight at the Claremont Doubletree from 7-10pm.

Hey Now!

The Ravelers are returning to our favorite casual hang-out this
Friday evening for a party on the patio....Friday, September 5- Let's party on
the patio!
---Doubletree Hotel Claremont
---555 W. Foothill Blvd
---Claremont, CA 91711
---(909)626-2411 (Please call to make
reservations if you would like to eat dinner, it helps them to set up the right
number of tables on the patio)

The Ravelers play from 7:00 pm - 10:00
pm. Meet with friends, food, and fun!
On Foothill Blvd between Indian Hill
and Mountain Ave.

If you are having a birthday, this is a great place to
celebrate. If you are looking to wind down after a week of work, this is a great
spot to wind down with some cocktails, dinner, and some fun music. If you are
wondering where to meet some friends for fun at a nice outdoor setting...well,
this is the place!

The weather looks to be perfect for a patio party on
a summer's eve! See the attached photo to view the setting we have arranged for
you and your friends.

See you Friday!
Hai, Pat, Martie, Rob
The Ravelers

Mailbag

We received this email in response to our post yesterday about Claremont's Padua Park grant application to the San Gabriel and Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy:

DATE: Wednesday, September 3, 2008 3:11 PM
SUBJECT: How about work ethics!
To: claremontbuzz@yahoo.com

Great story. Thanks for doing all the research on the wheeling and dealing of our elected officials.

I do have a comment about Pedroza (in that sense it could apply for other officials as well). How is it possible for somebody like him, who is employed 100% (presumably) by the Sanitation District to spent so much time in committees and other official business meetings and still do his job, for which I assume he receives compensation.

How does he get away with attending committee meeting during the day on a regular basis, while he is employed by the sanitation district? Must be nice to work for the County!

Yep, your tax dollars are about the only thing at work here.

Follow the Money

We've been puzzling over the city of Claremont's application for a $1.6 million grant for Padua Park, which is supposed to break ground some time in the next few months. The city has committed approximately $2.4 million of its own money to the project, but that leaves it anywhere from $8 million to $10 million short of the money needed to complete all three phases of the project.

As we observed last Friday, the city's Human Services Department has submitted a grant application to the San Gabriel and Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy (RMC), a state agency that doles out grant money for projects in the watersheds for the two Southland rivers.

The RMC is supposed to be concerned with protecting the watershed and the native habitats in the foothills and areas drained by our rivers. In our previous post, we noted that a reader familiar with the Padua Park project has been following the Claremont grant and found some inconsistencies between the project, which the reader describes as an active, intensive-use sports park, and the RMC's mission.

Most importantly, the second and third phases of the Padua Park project would end up destroying 8.9 acres of a habitat known as Riversidean Alluvial Fan Sage Scrub (RAFSS). Apparently, there are less than 2,000 acres of the stuff remaining in California, mostly because the RAFSS appears in foothill areas that are highly desireable sites to build housing developments like all of the homes that have been built north of Base Line Rd. in Northeast Claremont.

The RMC's staff is recommending that the conservancy give $800,000 to the city for the project, and they seem willing to give more later. The RMC staff seems to tie the money to rehabilitating the RAFSS and to including a more passive-use aspect for the project. But, there doesn't seem to be anything that bars the city from accepting the money under the false pretense of constructing a passive-use park, then turning around and going ahead with their current plan, which includes 260 parking spaces - more than double the space any park in town (College Park has 100 parking spaces).

As we also noted, the Padua Park Environmental Impact Report (EIR) stated that the when it is fully developed the park will use an average of 31.5 million gallons of water per year, a further wasteful departure from the sorts of things the RMC is supposed to encourage.

So why would the conservancy give money to a project that veers so greatly from it RMC's stated goals?

We think the answer lies in the backroom politics at RMC. For one thing, former Claremont Traffic and Transportation Commissioner Tim Worley is the RMC's director of development. As a commissioner, Worley voted to approve the traffic portion of the Padua Park EIR.

More importantly, Claremont Councilmember Sam Pedroza, who as a Community Services Commissioner was one of the main proponents of the Padua project, sits on the board of the San Gabriel River Discovery Center Authority. Pedroza is the chair of two of the Discovery Center Authority's committees (the only two committees): the Fundraising Committee and the Stakeholders Advisory Committee.

Pedroza, incidentally, received the endorsement of none other than Tim Worley when Pedroza ran for Claremont's City Council in 2005.

The Discovery Center Authority is one of those quasi-public joint powers authorities that has $3 million pledged to it from the RMC. The Discovery Center is supposed to be built in the Whittier Narrows Flood Control Basin. The Discovery Center's website, gives a description of the project:

The Discovery Center will present the story of the San Gabriel River watershed, emphasize the importance of water resources and the natural values of the watershed, and provide educational and outdoor experiences for people of all ages. The Center will also continue the cultural, natural history and ecosystems messages; and outdoor experiences presented by the L. A. County Department of Parks and Recreation at the existing Nature Center.

Sounds like a good thing, though the project, like Padua Park, has apparently created a lot of controversy. From we've heard, the Friends of the Whittier Narrows Nature Area have found fault with the size and scope of the project, saying that it will destroy the area's native wildlife, including a significant amount of RAFSS. Funny how Pedroza, a supposed environmentalist, is at the center both projects. Hypocrisy seems to be Sam's middle name.

One might wonder how such a goof as Pedroza, affable though he is, could come to rise to such a position of destructive prominence. Like any good pol, Pedroza works the machinery of government, mainly by networking with the contacts he's made in San Gabriel Valley Democratic circles. Pedroza's former employer, Congresswoman Hilda Solis, for whom Pedroza worked when she was still in the State Assembly, no doubt had a hand in Pedroza's rise as well.

All of this points up the perils of putting someone who is as weak and insecure as Pedroza in a position of power. Voters thinking that they are protecting nature and open space approve billions of dollars in bonds to generate the funds the RMC uses for its grants, and then the money leaks out in dribs and drabs under false pretenses to the pet projects of Southern California's elected and non-elected officials. And they do it all with stunningly little accountability to the voters.

In his position on the Discovery Centery Authority board, Pedroza is in close contact with the authority's director, Belinda Faustino. Faustino also happens to be the director of the RMC. A July 8th post on the Daily Kos noted this about Faustino:

And the head of the RMC, Belinda Faustino, does not have a forestry, biology, hydrology, agricultural degree but was originally in corrections in Chino. Ms. Faustino worked for the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (SMMC) as the Budget Officer and then became for the SMMC, Chief Deputy Executive Officer of the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority and the Wildlife Corridor Conservation Authority. No one that this writer has found, or has heard from others who know the voting Board for the RMC has an educational background in science. (updated) The one staffer who does have a Ph.D is Tim Worley but he also works for MWD (see at bottom of page). Tim's Ph.D. is in Political science. If you sit in a RMC meeting, you find no one says much to Ms. Faustino and everything is passed without question.

The Daily Kos' post also described the problems with the Discovery Center, which sounds as if it has the makings of a real boondoggle:

Also, why are so many wasteful endeavors couched with serving THE CHILDREN, when in fact they are hollow projects, literally???? The RMC’s new Children’s Museum is supported and funded by the Metropolitan Water District through a surrogate – the newly formed, Sierra Club Angeles Chapter San Gabriel River Campaign. The Metropolitan Water District has its own Children’s Museum, called the Water Museum in Hemet California (26 K. sq. ft.). This project cost $16 or 26 million (depending on what source is used) and costs Southern Californian water rate payers about a dollar per house hold to fund the empty building’s lights and air conditioning.

....

The Rivers and Mountains Conservancy (RMC), transmogrified into another group called, San Gabriel Discovery Center Authority (headed by the same person, Belinda Faustinos) has been planning this Children's Museum since 2000. The RMC spent $136,000.00 on scientific reports that say the sand that fills the Narrows is not stable for river playgrounds, not capable of sustaining man made wetlands, and since the aquifer has dipped below historic and even drinking water standards for most of the surrounding cities, should be carefully managed, instead. One other report suggests, because effluent from the Sanitation Districts, which flow through the Whittier Narrows near the new Children's Center, the authors suggest using algae to test the flowing river water for toxic blooms.

The Daily Kos' blogger, Tardigrade, really gets to the heart of the problem:

Why in the world would a Californian environmental preservation, governmental entity, supported by the likes of the Sierra Club, the Metropolitan Water District, funded by billions of tax dollars, want to destroy the environment? Maybe that is a stupid question. This 'agency' is powered by people without ANY science background or have mis-matched backgrounds for the job. You ask, how much damage can an ‘environmental agency’ with people filled with 'ideals' (perhaps, ambition) but, with no oversight, do?

There are three projects in Southern California of similar focus, supporters, design, two of which have been massive financial failures. Two projects are associated with dams in L.A. All three projects are FOR THE CHILDREN. Two are about water and all were supported by the water agencies and governmental environmental groups. One related project, a colossal reservoir built by one of the agencies, may negatively impact S. California’s water supply in this drought emergency. One project is in the planning and public relations stage where disaster can still be averted. All of the projects are museums, one in Hemet, one in Sunland and one in Whittier Narrows.

The lesson - where there is lots of money and no oversight, things go very badly – like Katrina.

Again we say, it may not be criminal, but it sure ought to be. In the meantime, you'll go on paying for the privilege of funding all the folly.

Fall Jazz Depot Series

Claremont's Depot Jazz series will get under way September 19th. The concerts at the Claremont Metrolink station at 200 W. First St. and run from 7 to 8:30pm every Friday through mid-October. Here's the lineup from the city's website:

September 19: Swing 4 Sale
September 26: Joel Penner Sextet
October 3: L.A. Bluescasters
October 10: Donavan/Muradian Quintet
October 17: Susie Hansen Latin Band
Wolfe's Market will be onsite with a variety of dinner and snack items available for purchase. Parking is available at the Metrolink Lot, located at First Street and College Avenue. Everyone is encouraged to bring a lawn chair and blanket to enjoy the festive music under the stars at the beautiful Claremont Train Depot.

For more information about the City of Claremont's Depot Jazz Series, call (909) 399-5490.

Gold Lining

In other transportation news, Congressman David Dreier, an alum of Claremont McKenna College and Claremont Graduate University, recently sat down with three Democratic counterparts representing cities with an interest in the Gold Line Foothill Extension.

The four, Dreier, plus Reps. Adam Schiff, Grace Napolitano, and Hilda Solis (Claremont City Councilmember Sam Pedroza's political patron), got together for a 25-minute video roundtable in which they talk about why the Gold Line is a great project deserving of better treatment from the LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).

The video, with the title "Special Congressional Report," comes from Rep. David Dreier, Rep. Grace Napolitano, Rep. Adam Schiff and Rep. Hilda Solis. The Los Angeles Times' Steve Hymon had a post about the video on his Bottleneck Blog. Hymon reports that the show, which was apparently made for cable TV, probably isn't an off-the-cuff conversation moderated by an independent host:

The show features the four of them sitting around in a circle being asked questions by a moderator named Jo Maney. Here is her first hardball question, addressed to Dreier:

"Can you tell us a little bit about the Gold Line Foothill Extension and how it will help reduce traffic congestion and save energy?"

Maney then goes on to forget to tell viewers a crucial detail: she happens to work for the guy she's interviewing. Maney is Dreier's press secretary.

Centinel over at the FC Blog also wrote about the video in a post (with apologies to the 1994 Arkansas Razorback basketball team) called "25 Minutes of Hell."

Desert Trolley News

Trolleys have become the latest urban planner fad. Some trolley company representative must be making the rounds at League of California Cities conferences.

Claremont's trolley-folly begins in October, and now news comes to us of a proposal in Indio to include a trolley at Indio's Polo Square mixed-use development.

The Desert Sun reported on the Polo Square trolley:

Polo Square, the city's flagship project on Highway 111, will include an electric trolley system that will weave through the more than 50-acre, mixed use project.

Hailed by some as a unique feature for retail projects, the anticipated trolley system will not only ease traffic congestion, but serve as an attraction as well.

“It looks like the old double-decker buses in England,” said Janet Cook, executive director of the Indio Chamber of Commerce. “I think people will come to Polo Square to ride them.”

The project is at the corner of Shields Road and Highway 111 in what is considered one of the gateways to Indio.

The high-rise project has been marketed as a “city within a city” and may eventually include about 500 dwelling units in vertical condo buildings, two hotels, various retail boutiques, a department stores, high-end supermarket and subterranean parking.

It is estimated to cost about $850 million and is scheduled for completion in 2012.

Leap of Faith - Updated

Janus has got to be the patron god of Claremont. We've long noted the incredible skill with which Claremonsters of all stripes are able to hold two contradictory ideas in their heads at the same time. It's a talent they constantly use to argue one way when it's convenient for their purposes and then adopt the opposite position when it's not.

A case in point: As we noted on Monday, the City of Claremont has applied for a grant of over $1.6 million from the San Gabriel and Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy (RMC) to help pay for Padua Park in Northeast Claremont.

The first of three phases of the park has gone out for bid, and the city has allocated approximately $2.4 million to the project, whose total cost is estimated by the city to be between $10-12 million. Because of the flaws with the park design, the city has already been turned down for three state park grants worth a total of $3.2 million.

The city's RMC grant is curious because the RMC is a conservancy. It's supposted to save the type of habitat that the city will have to bulldoze when they build the second and third phases of Padua Park. (From what we're hearing from a number of outraged readers, bulldozing seems to be Claremont's mitigation of choice when it comes to native habitats, and the city's stewardship of its open space in a number of areas seems to consist of ripping it out and putting up a plaque to commemorate that which they've destroyed - but that's a story for another post.)

Below we've posted an image of page four of the RMC's updated listed of Tier 1 grant applications. These are projects for which the RMC staff is recommending granting money. Padua Park, which had been a lower priority Tier 2 project, has gotten a bump up to Tier 1 as of the most recent listing:

Click to Enlarge

Notice the difference, though, between the city's intentions for Padua Park and what the RMC staff is recommending. Also note the omission of certain information inconvenient to Claremont's money-grab. Here is the present Padua Park description:

Padua Park is planned to be a 22 acre facility located in the northeastern portion of the City of Claremont. When fully developed the park will feature both active and low impact recreation spaces. This funding request is for Phase 1 which includes the entryway, parking, nature trail with fitness stations, native plantings, restroom and soccer field. Phase 1A and 2 are planned to include an extension of the networked walking trails with fitness core training stations, along with ball fields, tennis courts and play areas.

What the city of Claremont neglected to tell the RMC, however, was the fact that of that 22 acres they're speaking of, 8.9 acres is a certain kind of habitat known as Riversidean Alluvial Fan Sage Scrub - the same stuff the city was arguing needed to be saved from gravel mining by Vulcan Materials on the land adjacent to the Padua Ave. site. No wonder the city had to find a man who had a mail-order Ph.D in theology to be their biology expert for the park's Environmental Impact Report (EIR) - like all city of Claremont endeavors, rationality and reasoned argument went out the window. This one was a faith-based initiative from the beginning.

On top of the city's hypocrisy over the sage scrub, the city also ignores the fact that their own EIR for the park states that the park will drink 86,400 gallons of water every day or 31.5 million gallons a year and at peak times water usage would be up to 50% higher, hardly the portrait of a xeriscape paradise the city painted in their RMC grant application:

From the Padua Avenue Park DEIR, Page 3-10.3
Go to page 169 of the City's online document.

The RMC staff recommendation is to approve Claremont's application for about half the requested amount:

Partial funding recommended ($800,000) of the passive and natural elements. RMC funding for this project includes a portion of RMC funds for restoration of the habitat on site, and a feasibility study of the site should be completed. Also a recommend a commitment from the City to seek funding from appropriate sources to undertake restoration activities.

But if the city goes ahead with its plans for Padua Park, those plans will necessarily include the removal of all of the very on-site habitat the RMC is talking about. How do they make the two square? Right now, the city is going forward only with Phase 1. As soon as they start the next part, Phase 1A, the habitat in question will be removed and replaced almost entirely by an asphalt parking lot and active-use park space with sports field lighting.

So, again we have to wonder if the city is merely using a bait-and-switch tactic with the RMC, promising on the one hand to restore habitat in order to qualify for the grant, then on the other hand proceeding to do the opposite of what RMC suggests once the city receives its money. We have no idea if the RMC's grant conditions are binding, but they sure ought to be given Claremont's history of manipulating or misrepresenting facts to get what it wants.

This one appears to be heating up, and we'll try to keep you up-to-date on the double-speak as it flows out stereoscopically from the two faces of Claremont.

Policing Claremont

The Claremont Police Department will be hosting another DUI checkpoint tonight from 6pm to 2am Saturday morning at an undisclosed location somewhere in town.

The CPD website says:

The Claremont Police Department will be conducting a DUI/Drivers License checkpoint on Friday, August 29, 2008 from 6 pm until 2 am, at an undisclosed location within the city. In an effort to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol involved crashes, DUI checkpoints are conducted to identify offenders and get them off the street, as well as educate the public on the dangers of impaired driving. Funding for this operation is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Claremont doesn't seem to have the sorts of problems with these things that Pomona has had, where there's been a real community debate over how the checkpoints are conducted. On Thursday, August 21st, a Pomona community forum to discuss traffic checkpoint policies turned ugly and resulted some heated words between off-duty police officers and some civilian participants. The Daily Bulletin reported:

POMONA - Hours after off-duty police officers engaged in a shouting match with participants at a community meeting, members of the Pomona Habla/Pomona Speaks coalition began taking steps Friday to file formal complaints against the officers.

Coalition representatives met Friday and decided to file complaints with Police Chief Joe Romero's office and the City Council in addition to seeking an independent investigation of Thursday night's incident, said coalition member Arturo Jimenez.

The coalition will also file complaints at the state level, he said.

"We are going to be filing a complaint with the state Attorney General's Office and calling for his involvement," Jimenez said, adding that various state agencies will also be contacted.

Thursday evening's actions on the part of the officers were out of line, Jimenez said.

"What happened (Thursday) was a horrible intimidation tactic," he said.

* * *

Policing of a different sort may be in order for Claremont parks after yesterday's meeting of the Claremont Community Services Commission Parks and Facilities Committee meeting. The committee yesterday discussed a proposed ordinance to ban smoking in city parks. Daily Bulletin reporter Wes Woods II, who seems to be the new Claremont beat reporter, had an article that laid out the party line on the issue:

Colin Tudor, senior management analyst in the City Manager's Office, said he composed the ordinance after council members and staff had heard concerns from people about second-hand smoke in parks.

"It was not a specific instance," Tudor said. "I think it was more a general concern that had come up."

If the ordinance is approved today, it would go before the Community Services then the City Council at the end of September or early October.

An agenda report from Community Services Director Scott Carroll and Assistant City Manager Tony Ramos said Mayor Ellen Taylor had presented the idea to the commission.

On Wednesday, Taylor said the idea came to her after she attended a spring conference and "I thought, 'Wow.' I thought it was a good idea. I asked our city if we could do it, and they said sure."

Taylor said she was concerned about the health of children from second-hand smoke and people who drop cigarettes that wash into storm drains.

As we've noted before about Mayor Taylor, whose image needs some burnishing, it's all about the kids.