HomeMy WebLinkAboutCORRESPONDENCE - 55C
Flores, Dora
From:Manuel Escamilla <manueljescamilla@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, August 18, 2020 9:04 PM
To:eComment
Subject:Comments for 8-18-2020 Council Meeting
Dear Mayor and Council,
My apologies for the connection issues during the call in phase of the meeting. I attempted to call back in but
the call in line has been locked. Please work with staff to ID the technical issue so that our residents are able to
address the Council.
Though this email will reach you after the decisions have been made, I still wanted to share my thoughts and
observations on the following items.
20A - I'm supportive of this, thank you for bringing back the book mobile. We need to do everything we can
increase literacy access in our community.
22B - I do not believe that this item will provide any additional value to our city. I recommend that the Council
and Mayor ask the Police Chief if we have enough hazmat suits, decontamination units, mobile testing facilities,
and other emergency response materials. As the pandemic has shown us, we have had to scramble for basic
supplies to fight an ongoing biological threat. We should spend our federal grant funds on other supplies that
add to our ability to save lives in case of the unspeakable.
25A - I understand that the expense of restoring a historic structure like the YMCA will be substantial and that
it will be beneficial to get the property restored and back on the property tax rolls before a disaster like the one
that occured on Santa Ana blvd a few months ago.
However my concern is regarding whether or not the purchaser will be able to honor the timeline being
described here. As it stands there are 4 other major projects that they are involved with but have shown little
progress. I would recommend that the City proactively seek out alternative bids if Caribou Industries is unable
to uphold its obligations under the terms of the sales agreement.
25D - Maybe this is the most innovative cost-effective program available but I’m seeing red flags. Why did the
staff report just copy and paste the promotional material from the America on Track website? There was a
sentence where the staff report just changes the point of view from first person to third person. The drug
program descriptions on the organization's website referred to were from a controversial 'weed and seed'
program. This program was studied and found to be ineffective and counterproductive according to a 2005
study in Criminal justice Review. America on track's website also included out of date statistics from a
government agency that hasn't been around since 2012.
Our contracting decisions should be guided by the idea that the City can use these types of smaller contract
opportunities to grow local institutions. Are we really saying that in the nonprofit center of Orange County we
were not able to find any local organizations with an ongoing presence that would be able to tell kids that drugs
are bad?
55C - Thank you and the Public Works team for their efforts on expanding these safe routes to school. We need
to continue the City's efforts to emphasize safety in all aspects of our transportation network.
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75B - I'm in opposition to the revision of the Housing Opportunity Ordinance as it is written. My understanding
of the proposals indicate that these revisions will remove the applicability of an affordable housing requirement
for all development projects within existing specific plans, specific developments, and overlay zones.
If this is the wish of the council, then you should be able to publicly defend the idea that the Main Place
Specific Plan should not include nor financially contribute to the affordable housing fund. That will be the
direct result of your decision.
85B - I'm supportive of the idea of granting an extension for the collection of signatures. The
unusual circumstances around the coronavirus pandemic significantly delayed the collection of signatures. If
only because this extension would further encourage the participation of residents in the democratic process. I
realize that this is not a proposal that the members of the Council are supportive of, but I hope that your faith in
the democratic process outweighs your reservation of the specifics of the proposal that is gathering
signatures.
Stay golden,
Manny
--
Manuel J. Escamilla
https://www.escamillaforsantaana.org/
Master of Urban and Regional Planning | Design and Development, 2018
UCLA | Luskin School of Public Affairs | Department of Urban Planning
Master of Library and Information Science | Archival Studies, 2014
UCLA | Graduate School of Education | Department of Information Science
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