Community College District's Vigilant Bond Oversight
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Courtesy of the Local History Room, Fullerton Public Library 0 ?« f COMMUNITY & ARTS CALENDAR Page 11-14 2005 i Fullerton ObserverFULLERTON PUB. LIB Fullerton’s Only Local, Independent Newspaper • Est. 1978 (printed on 100% recycled paper) VOLUME 27 # 3 MID-FEBRUARY 2005 FULLERTON OBSERVER OBSERVER FULLERTON MID-FEBRUARY PLEASE RETURN TO THE The Art House COMING UP FULLERTON PUBLIC LIBRARY Is Not Moving at CITY .353 W. COMMONWEALTH AVE. FULLERTON, CA. 92832-1796 Contrary to what has been said con COUNCIL cerning businesses at SunnyCrest Cen ter moving out, many are not moving and Fullerton City Hall will remain open. In the meantime, leases 303 W. Common of businesses coming up for renewal are wealth 738-6311 not being renewed. Feb 15 @ 4pm Presently there are no permits or ap • Public Hearing; Pro provals for the proposed “Providence” posed Water Rate In development and, should the project be crease. approved, ground-breaking will prob Feb 15 @ 7:30pm ably not begin for at least another year • Downtown Strategy for or two. Development The Art House is among the businesses • Overnight Parking Per that will be staying. The children’s art mit school has been in Fullerton for nearly • St. Jude Lease Agree twenty years and has no plans of retir ment for Neighbor ing. In fact the school has an art show hood Health Center at planned for March 13th. The Commu Richman Park (Public nity is welcome to attend, call 870-7119 Hearing continued for details. from 1/18/05) • Amendments to Agree City Committee ments for Rutan & Application Deadline: Tucker and Jones- Mayer March 1st • Dec Financial & Capi There are 40 vacancies on city com tal Project Report mittees. If you would like to serve you • Safe Surrender Site Pro can fill out an application online at gram www.ci.fullerton.ca.us/city_council/ • Statewide Bond Issues Above: The front o f the incredibly beautiful new Fullerton College Library slated to be applyappt.html or visit the City Clerks • Changes to Personnel finished in April. Below: A view of the dome from the interior. Office at City Hall. Management System Feb 15 Closed Session Community College • Muckenthaler Proposal Real Property Nego tiations District’s Vigilant •Real Property Negotia tions 127 W. Chapman • Real Property Negotia Bond Oversight tions - Pearl Park The North Orange County Community College District in cludes Fullerton College, Cypress College, and The School of March 1 @ 4pm Continuing Education and serves over 66,500 students yearly. • Sewer Infrastructure In 2002 voters approved Measure X which brought the Dis Briefing trict $239-million in Bond money for construction and improve • YMCA Improvements ments to the various campuses. In Fullerton, renovation and con & Lease Renewal struction projects completed or underway include the beautiful • Transportation Issues: new Fullerton College Library Resource Center pictured above, 1) Commonwealth a new 1,500-space parking structure currently under construc Overnight Parking tion, new classroom office building, and new campus commons After reviewing the report. District staff ning costs for some of these projects will 2) Williamson Diagonal center. The Cypress campus and Anaheim campus also have and consultants contributed their perspec be realized when the projects are taken Parking projects underway. tives and took the following actions: off hold at a later date. 3) Dorothy & State Two firms. Construction Controls Group and Tama Smith & O f the 85 individual projects origi College Crosswalk Assoc. Management Consultants teamed up, at the Districts re 1) Hiring a new Construction Counsel, nally planned, 25 have either been put Removal quest, to perform an evaluation of the overall use of Bond funds Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo on hold or eliminated from further con March 1st Closed in the various projects, and presented their report in August 2004. of Cerritos, to review and modify the vari sideration. At Fullerton College, these Session: Meet & Confer According to the very thorough 84-page report there was much ous contracts involved in the project. include: The Maintenance & Operations - All Units room for improvement. Some contracts were found to be lacking Building, the Child Development Cen protections and language in the best in ter, the second Parking Structure, Auto terest o f the District. The firm has com Shop, and remodeling of various build Lewin Report Analysis of Universal Healthcare pleted review of existing contracts and ings. At Cypress College, projects in California Senator’s CHIRA Healthcare Plan continues to review new contracts with volving signage, pond restoration, land consultants. scaping and a plaza will be using funds “Le t’s face it, Equals Billions in Savings for 2) Appointing an interim Vice Chancellor of not part of the Bond money. we c a n ’t Individuals, Businesses & Government Finance & Facilities while looking for a The 69 projects in various stages of keep going replacement for the Vice Chancellor completion at one or both campuses in The Lewin report, prepared by an Based on the report. Senator Kuehl clude a parking structure, seismic ret the way whose contract ended recently in a independent firm with 18 years of will introduce the California Health $200,000 settlem ent paid from the rofit, Libraries, Theater Arts, Gym, Tech we are. experience in healthcare cost analy •Insurance Reliability Act (CHIRA) at District’s insurance. buildings. Elevator, Energy Conserva There is sis, affirms that California can cre the end o f this month. The bill, if 3) Establishing a higher level of oversight tion, Tennis Court, Fine Arts, Campus ate a fiscally sound, reliable state in passed, will save billions in health Safety Building, Water/Fire System Up no health throughout the program. surance plan that covers all Califor care costs. 4) Filling the gaps in duties between the roles grade, Campus Commons, Physical Ed insurance nians and controls health cost infla Currently California spends $184 of the program manager, construction Facilities, and numerous remodels. “system,” tion. The Report, released last month billion dollars on health care every managers and the District staff. From the renovation and construction showed this can be accomplished i t ’s chaos, year with a hefty percentage going to 5) Reinstating the use of the Request for Pro project start in 2002 to January 2005 the while cutting costs to individuals, administrative costs. A Boston Uni District has spent $77,728,998 of the and the costs posal process to ensure that qualified pro families, businesses, and the state, versity Study “Health Costs Absorb fessional consultants are hired at the best $239-million Bond money on improve are out of and allowing consumer’s freedom One Quarter of Economic Growth,” price. ments with most projects expected to be control.” to choose doctors. The Report ex released this month indicated about completed on schedule by May 2007 amined California Senator Sheila 50% of healthcare spending is wasted and others nearing completion now, Senator Kuehl Due to rising construction material costs Kuehl’s healthcare reform b ill. on unnecessary administrative costs, and revisions some projects have been placed such as, the new Fullerton College Li Continued on page 19 on hold. The $ 1.4 million investment in plan brary. FULLERTON PRESORTED OBSERVER STANDARD U.S. PO Box 7051 POSTAGE Fullerton CA PAID 92834 Permit No. 1577 525-6402 Fullerton, CA \ Courtesy of the Local History Room, Fullerton Public Library Page 2 Fullerton Observer COMMUNITY OPINIONS ...continued next page MID-FEBRUARY 2005 Social Security Re: Social Security article by Connie Rebuttal to Colette Coffman’s Article Haddad Observer Feb 2005 Re: Colette’s at the Muckenthaler, by ullerton Venue.” They advertise that they serve In her analysis of Social Security, Colette Coffman in Observer 20 to 1000 guests. bserver Connie Haddad omitted the fact that our Vol 27 Feb 2005 #2, 8) Food odors: Colette’s current location is Senators and Representatives do not pay Colette is having a hard time accepting the not a residential neighborhood. It is in a into the system, and until they do, no ma fact that the neighborhood does not want to Commercial Strip Mall with alley access jor changes will be made. The Fullerton Observer, founded by Ralph Kennedy have her entire catering business run from the and a couple of renter apartments behind. If anyone believes that this group will in 1978, is a group of local citizen-volunfeers who Muckenthaler property. She said “After two D o you really think the renters are going require themselves to join the system, and creafe, publish and distribute the Observer through community meetings, there still seems to be to complain about food odors, when they give up their bloated retirement plan, I sug out our community. This venture is a not-for-profit some misunderstanding about what is being are busy working to pay rent? gest that you put your tooth under the pil one with all ad and subscription revenues plowed proposed.” Not so! We understand perfectly. 9) The noise now at the Muckenthaler is not low tonight. back into maintaining and improving our indepen In the late summer of 2004, Colette applied unbearable at their outside events, which Don Fix Fullerton for a hard liquor license at the Muckenthaler dent, non-partisan, non-sectarian, community news at the most last a few hours for a 1 day paper. property and a sign went up with the “Colette’s event - not 365 days a year as with a ca Thanks Catering” name without consulting the city Our purpose is to inform Fullerton residents about tering business. the institutions and other societal forces which most Please let me express to you my personal or the neighbors of their intentions. In other 10) Valet parking is a joke.