The City of Yorba Linda’s Parks and Recreation Department hosts one of four Concerts in the Park during the summer in Hurless Barton Park, located at 4601 Casa Loma Avenue, from 5:30- 7 pm

Bring your own picnic dinner and/or buy food from local non-profit organizations and the Yorba Linda Volunteens. Seating is available in the amphitheater or grass areas at the park (chairs and blankets recommended).

Dogs are not recommended due to safety issues and the comfort of others in attendance. Riding skateboards, bikes, roller blades, and scooters throughout the park during the concert is prohibited. Alcohol is not allowed in the park.

JULY 18th: “The Answer” will be playing Classic Rock music.

JULY 25TH: The Silver Beatles will play a variety of Beatles music

AUGUST 1ST: “Yard Sale” will play Disco, Funk and Blues music

AUGUST 8TH: “Three Car Garage” will play Classic Rock music

I am in favor of ethical behavior and feel all public servants should be held to a higher standard. The  ethics policy, established in 1972, stated it was a minimum standard of behavior the People of Yorba Linda should expect from their elected officials, appointed officials and staff. It spoke to many of the same things the current policy addresses: conflict of interest, gifts, use of public property, and obligations to citizens, to name a few.  I support ethical behavior but have philosophical and procedural differences with the new ordinance. Unfortunately, when this ordinance was proposed, the Majority  Council would not allow votes on the separate sub-sections of the ethics code; it was an all or nothing approach. Since I had reservations about portions of the code, I could not vote for a law I believe to be flawed.
I view an ethics code as a living statement reflecting the values and direction of the Community. I would have preferred a process to include the community, staff, Commissioners and the Council to cooperatively develop an ethics code, rather than a dictate from Majority Council.

To view the new ethics ordinance, go to:  http://www.ci.yorba-linda.ca.us/~ci26/images/stories/pdf/Clerk/Agendas/StaffReports9-30-09.pdf

Issues I had with the New Ethics Code by Subsection:

Section 2.44.010 No solicitations from City Contractors:
I agree, any contractor that the Council gives contract approval, should be exempt from solicitations. There is another level of contractors in the city that are hired through various City Department Heads, many of whom are YL residents. For example: those who teach parks and recreation classes or a hardware store owner from whom the City purchases supplies. These could be considered contractors and a council member could accidentally ask or accept a donation without knowing they had a relationship with the City at that level.

Section 2.44.020 Prohibitions against accepting campaign contributions for 12 months after approving a permit or decision.
I agree. This section deals with accepting donations, $250 or more from an applicant if a Council vote is taken on their project. BUT this prohibition did not include individuals who benefit from a “no vote” to a project. There is a potential to “buy” a vote from either direction. This Council did not want this included since two of them had accepted $1000 from an individual where their “no” vote favorably affected his position. Mayor Anderson returned his “donation” after holding onto it for two weeks and he is the author of this ethics policy.

Section 2.44.030 Disqualification from acting upon a permit or decision if a campaign contribution was accepted within a previous 12-month period.
I agree although a year is a long time to expect a decision to be affected by a $250 donation.

Section 2.44.040 Prohibitions against seeking endorsements from city employees, commissioners, labor associations affiliated with city contractors.
I agree, employees should be exempt from solicitation. I do not see the harm in asking a commissioner for endorsement as long as they do not feel coerced. I do not disagree with excluding labor associations from solicitation but I feel ALL labor associations should be excluded including Sheriffs, District Attorneys, etc.

Section 2.44.050 Adoption of a code of conduct for elected and appointed officials
I agree but it seems silly to pass a law that says we will do something in the future. This majority Council has broken many of their proposed conduct rules including:  staff bashing, Consultant bashing, campaigning from the dais, disregarding public votes to fit their own political agendas, and the list goes on. We have had more staff quit because of this Councils behavior and yet it is not an infraction in their current new code.

Section 2.44.060 Adoption of a “Whistle blower” Policy
I think this was the ONE thing we should have done first and immediately. This would afford staff protection if they are asked by their supervisors or Council to do something they consider unethical. This would allow them to report the concern without fear of reprisals. Again, it seems silly to pass a law that says we will do something in the future. Why not now?

Section 2.44.070 Mandatory AB1234 training for all city staff, executives and appointed and elected officials
I agree with the state law of bi-annual training. I do not feel it is necessary to have all commissioners, Council members, Commissioners and staff take the training annually. In addition, I do not believe the Mayor has the authority to ask other Council members to notify them when they are doing the training independently. The Mayor runs the meeting and is the ceremonial figurehead for the Council but has no more or less power than any other elected Council member. We do not answer to each other, we answer to the People of Yorba Linda.

Section 2.44.080 Prohibition against closed door ad hoc committee meetings of the City council and Commissions
I agree as long as this does not violate personnel rules.

Section 2.44.090 Taping of all closed session meetings of the City Council
This section requires all closed sessions of the City Council to be taped. I disagree with this. This places the City in a vulnerable position when we discuss items regarding potential litigation.  Our City Attorney has also us advised against adopting this provision. There are undefined thresholds that would allow the tapes to be released. Additionally, the tapes could be release with the vote of three Council members. Although the majority Council approved this ordinance, I believe the threshold to release the tapes should have been raised to a super-majority of four to avoid a simple majority council from acting inappropriately for political reasons rather than what is best for the Community.

Section 2.44.100 Prohibitions against the misuse of City Resources or staff involvement in elections
I agree. I have observed the Majority Council abusing this section by working around the ordinance.
Section 2.44.0110 Enforcement
With this ordinance, I feel it is easy to make a mistake and then be vilified for political purposes. Who is responsible to track and enforce this policy? What is the threshold of the infraction and what is the punishment? This is not defined. It has a weak enforcement statement about hiring special council and possibly referring infractions to the DA. Larger items, like misuse of City funds would already be corrected with our current laws.

I do believe in transparency and making sure the community is informed. What has been extremely frustrating is how this Council espouses transparency and then finds exceptions for their own behavior. I do not believe an ethical code makes you ethical. Either you are ethical or you are not and should be judged by your behavior.

It has been suggested this email newsletter deserves a better name. So, I am asking you for suggestions. Email your ideas for a new name for my e-newsletter. A yet un-named panel of unbiased individuals will select a name for this periodical and the winner will be invited to lunch with yours truly! Email your suggestions to jan@horton4yl.com or post them here on the web site blog. Winner will be selected March 15. Deadline for submissions is March 10. Let the good times roll!

Yorba Linda Chamber of Commerce “Mardi Gras” Casino Night, February 5, 2010. Tickets on salePre-sale: $30 each with $200 in chips or $40 at the door with $100 in chips. 7pm – 11pm. It is always a fun packed evening. To purchase tickets, contact the Yorba Linda Chamber of Commerce at: 17670 Yorba Linda Blvd. Yorba Linda CA 92886, Phone (714) 993-9537

SCE Preparation Steps
With the National Weather Service predicting a series of winter storms bringing heavy rain, high wind conditions, flooding in the burn areas and snow, SCE is taking the following precautionary steps to prepare for possible customer service interruptions:
· SCE and contract crews are mobilizing as outages occur and will work around-the-clock to restore power in areas that might be affected.
· SCE storm response personnel are on standby to support service restoration, ensuring that the utility has available inventories of material and equipment for repair work.
· Additional SCE customer call center representatives will be activated to help answer customer calls in the event of increased outages.
· Customers can report outages by calling (800) 611-1911.

Safety Reminders
With high winds, heavy rain and snow forecast in the coming days, SCE wants to remind its customers to be prepared in case of weather-related outages and suggests:
· If you know someone who is dependent on electrically operated medical equipment, make back-up power arrangements in case a power outage affects that equipment.
· Watch for traffic signals that may be out. Approach those intersections as four-way stops.
· If you see a power line on the ground, stay away. Do not touch it or try to remove it.
Call SCE or local law enforcement.
· Make sure you have a battery-operated radio and flashlights. Check the batteries to make sure they are fresh. Use flashlights for lighting during a power outage; do not use candles because they pose a significant fire hazard.
· Do not use equipment designed for outdoor cooking indoors. Such equipment can emit carbon monoxide and other toxic gases.
· If you use a generator, place it outdoors and plug individual appliances directly into the generator, using a heavy-duty extension cord. Connecting generators directly to household circuits creates “backfeed,” which is dangerous to repair crews.

This two- story Craftsman- style home is located at 4801 Park Ave on the corner of Park Ave and Lemon. It has been the discussion of many a Council meeting for the past 5-6 years, after the home was vacated and allowed to deteriorate. The home listed as a City Historic resource in 1981, is currently uninhabitable.

The home, built in 1918, was inhabited by some of our earliest settlers, the  Trueblood’s and the Janeway’s.

Mr. Trueblood had the distinction of being the first passenger to ride the Pacific Railroad from Pillsbury, a town now abandoned, to Yorba Linda. Mrs. Ada Trueblood enjoyed writing and chronicled events occurring in the area at that time. Mrs. Trueblood was active in the community and was one of the charter members of the Yorba Linda Women’s Club. Three members of this family were charter members of the Yorba Linda Friends Church.

The Mr. and Mrs. Luther Janeway operated a grocery store on Main Street. Their daughter, Clara Mae Janeway Stephans, was one of the early Librarians of the Yorba Linda District Library. This family was also active in the Yorba Linda Friends Church.

There is documentation that Richard Nixon spent time on the property when he was a young boy.

The current owners expressed an interest to demolish the home and to replace it with a larger home that was out of scale for the surrounding neighborhood. The Planning Commission reviewed the plans and reduced the scale of the planned residence. This plan was still out of proportion for the surrounding area.

The Historic Society and other members of the community had hoped the home could be salvaged. After much deliberation, in an effort to save one of the last, true historic sites in our community, the City Council unanimously approved the purchase of the property and to “mothball” the structure protecting it from further deterioration. I did have reservations about this decision. The cost to purchase the property and mothball it is about $475,000. But given the historic nature of the building, I felt it was wise to give the community one last opportunity to raise the funds needed to preserve the home and determine a functional use for the property.  I supported this action with the caveat that no further City funds would be used to rehabilitate the home. As a sign of “good faith” I have requested the community group/ entity be required to raise 30% of the funds needed to rehabilitate the home within a year they are awarded the contract following an RFP. If this does not occur, the home will be demolished and another use will be determined for the site. This will be discussed at a Council meeting at the end of January or beginning of February.

CITY OF YORBA LINDA SEEKS APPLICANTS TO FILL A VACANCY ON THE PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION
The City Council of the City of Yorba Linda is seeking applications from Yorba Linda residents to fill ONE vacancy on the City of Yorba Linda Parks and Recreation Commission.
The Commission, appointed by the City Council, is comprised of five members who serve alternating four-year terms. The vacant term for appointment will terminate on December 31, 2013. The Parks and Recreation Commission meets on the third Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m.
Yorba Linda residents interested in applying for appointment are encouraged to file a brief application form with the City Clerk’s Office prior to 5:00 p.m. on December 18, 2009. Application forms may be obtained at Yorba Linda City Hall, 4845 Casa Loma Avenue, in the Office of the City Clerk. For information call (714) 961-7150.
DEADLINE FOR FILING APPLICATIONS: DECEMBER 18, 2009 at 5:00 p.m.

XEROX IS  DOING SOMETHING COOL

If you go  to this web site, www.LetsSayThanks.com <http://www.letssaythanks.com/>    you can pick out a  thank you card, Xerox will print it and it  will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq . You can’t pick out who gets  it, but it will go to a member of the armed  services.

How AMAZING it would be if  we could get everyone we know to send one!!!     It is FREE and it only takes a  second.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if  the soldiers received a bunch of these?  Whether you are for or against the war,  our soldiers over there need to know we are  behind them.

This takes just 10 seconds  and it’s a wonderful way to say thank you.

Please take the time to pass it on  for others to do.  We can never say enough  thank you’s.

Thanks for taking to time to  support our military!

Do you shop at Albertsons?  If so, please consider obtaining an Albertson’s Preferred Savings Card at no cost and signing up for their Community Partners Program. The Albertson’s Community Partners Program will allow the Friends to receive donated proceeds of up to 4% of your shopping dollar every time your card is scanned.  To participate, obtain a card at any Albertson’s store or use the “Preferred Savings Card” you already have.  Link your card to the Community Partners Program by calling 1-800-696-6419 or going online at www.albertsons.com/cp <http://www.albertsons.com/cp> .  Enter in your information and include the Friends’ Organization ID# 49000127147.
Thank you for your support of the Friends of the Yorba Linda Public Library!