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A shocked audience complained, talking over Ledesma until Board President Ortega threatened to have them removed. “Ledesma’s comments were inappropriate,” Singer said. The board was originally slated


Photo by John Cox


Newly elected Orange Park Association Board members, from left: Don Bradley, Leroy Pendray and Richard Eldridge.


OPA holds annual meeting


By Peter Jacklin The Orange Park Association’s annual meeting


was lively, informative, allowed election of new of- ficers, and included a vote on amended bylaws for the group. More than 200 people attended the Jan. 31 event, held at Fire Station 23. Dignitaries in attendance included Assemblyman


Don Wagner, Orange City Councilmembers Mike Alvarez, Mark Murphy, Kim Nichols and Fred Whitaker. Mayor Tita Smith was unable to attend. City planning commissioners Pat Buttress and Dan- iel Correa attended as well. Also in attendance were former Villa Park council member Deborah Pauly and California Highway Patrol Outreach Officer Paul Fox. The terms of association board members Don


Bradley, Keith Dombroske and Sue Philipp ended with this meeting. Elected to new three-year terms were Bradley, Richard Eldridge and LeRoy Pen- dray. The latter two are first-time board members.


The bigger picture Assemblyman Wagner spoke on the state of leg-


islation pending for 2015, the “hidden gas tax” ef- fective in January, the proposed vehicle mileage tax and the Bullet Train. Wagner is responsible for the adoption of AB 1669, which requires county traf- fic planners to take local equestrian traffic into ac- count when setting speed limits on roads within Or- ange Park Acres. The news of the signing of the bill brought cheers from the membership. Orange Mayor-pro-tem Fred Whitaker enlight-


ened the audience with the challenges the city fac- es in 2015, most notably the ending of bargaining agreements with three of the city’s service organiza- tions. Whitaker noted that 2014 sales tax revenues increased eight percent, exceeding budget forecasts. Whitaker further advised that City Manager John


Sibley announced his retirement from public service effective later this year. A search is underway for a replacement. Mark Murphy, speaking on behalf of Third Dis-


trict Supervisor Todd Spitzer, energized the mem- bership with a discussion of the Irvine Company’s recent donation of 2,500 acres to the county for use as open space. Much to the delight of the audience, the donation’s major impact removes the construc- tion of several thousand homes in East Orange and prevents greatly unwanted future congestion and traffic patterns within the community.


Consensus building In other matters, the membership was advised that


the Ridgeline litigation before the State Supreme Court is now expected to the heard in the next few months; the agreement between Salem Lutheran Church and OPA, allowing a smaller chapel expan- sion, has been completed and was presented to the city planning commission. The Newport Academy’s plan to double the size of its current rehabilitation projects was presented as an undesirable and un- wanted addition to the community. Association President Laura Thomas highlighted


the group’s 2014 achievements and announced that work on the community’s trails is the priority for 2015. Changes to the association’s bylaws, which


passed unanimously, included a definitions of “as- sociate members,” further role definition of officers, clarification of how bylaws are amended, and edito- rial changes to the language. Membership dues are $50 per person, and can be mailed to Orange Park Association, P.O. Box 2295, Orange 92859. Siblings Dylan and Erin Mongan and the Orange


Acres Back Breakers 4-H led the membership in the Pledge of Allegiance. Pastor Jon Thomas of Salem Lutheran Church provided the invocation.


to vote on the contract in Decem- ber. That vote was delayed to a special meeting scheduled for Dec. 18. That meeting was can- celled. Ortega noted that the vote had been delayed because the board hadn’t had enough time to review the contract. “We had just 10 minutes to look it over in De- cember,” he explained, adding that he needed more time to review the financials and ask questions. Singer pointed out that the


board had copies of the contract for more than a month, plenty of time to study the details. Ledesma also wanted time for


a closer review of the financials. Admitting that teachers deserved a raise, he noted that salaries are 85 percent of the district budget and wondered if the proposed eight percent was affordable. He again bemoaned the loss of Measure K and the need to fund school upgrades. The contract was ultimately


approved with Moffatt, Singer, Delgianni-Brydges, Wayland and Ortega voting “yes,” and Ledes- ma and Surridge voting “no.”


Tuesday, February 10, 2015


The witching hour Although discussions of both


the Peralta sale and the teachers’ contract were laden with lamenta- tions about the defeat of measure K and the need to fund facilities improvements, when it came time to address those issues specifi- cally, the clock ran out. With the meeting approaching


the three-hour mark, Ortega sug- gested the Measure K discussion be deferred, but with the pub- lic waiting to address the board, he agreed to start the discussion even though “board meetings were supposed to end at 10 p.m.” Howard Kirschner, a Villa Park


resident who has asked the trust- ees to talk about funding options for facilities improvements at the last two board meetings, did so again. “This is my third month,” he said, “I will ask again, what are each of you planning to do? Not to dwell on what went wrong, but focus on what we’re going to do tomorrow. Tell the public. What’s the plan?” Several other speakers told the


board that its disunity and lack of respect for colleagues and the public was a reason Measure K failed. Ortega promised the au- dience that trustees would try harder. He also promised Howard Kirschner that a town hall meet- ing or study session would be scheduled for the next meeting. Which, Kirschner noted, was supposed to happen Jan. 22.


Swirl,sip and stroll in Old Town Tustin


To promote its charm and


“walkability,” Old Town Tus- tin will be the site of this year’s “Swirl, Sip and Stroll” event hosted by the Tustin Young Pro- fessionals, etc. (TYPe) and the Tustin Community Foundation, Saturday, Feb. 28, from 1-4 p.m. The event will feature a vari-


ety of delectable food, award- winning wines, craft beers and specialty cocktails from the restaurants, bars and shops in Old Town. Restaurants will serve a sample of food or drink


from their menus, and shops or boutiques will serve vendor- provided food or wine at their locations. Tickets are punch cards, good


for 10 tastes. The cards are $20 each, or two for $35. More than 200 strollers enjoyed their sip- pings and tastings last year, and the sponsors are expecting an even larger turnout this year. Tickets are now available at


tustincommunityfoundation.org, or at the corner of El Camino and Main on the day of the event.


WE BUY CARS!


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