J. B.'s STANCE ON SOME HOT TOPICS

Athens Services

"I am disgusted by the fact that we never went out to open-bid on this contract, and at the Soroptimist Candidates' Forum I mentioned that I thought we should probably get out of the contract if we could. But now I have flip-flopped on my position to weasel our way out of it.

I find it difficult to admit that I actually agree with Councilwoman Martinez  on something,  but litigation would be expensive, and frankly I don't see how getting out of an agreement could possibly send a positive message to potential investors and prospective vendors. It's like telling the world, 'Hey come do business with us, and if we don't like the terms we agreed upon, then we reserve the right to act like a spoiled child and take you to court because we have buyers remorse.'

Trust me, I think it stinks that we could have gotten a better deal by going out to bid, but the truth is that Athens Services has covered our liability in reference to recycling and solid waste reduction. It's not fair to try to get out of the contract because our elected officials screwed-up. That's what voting is for...to get new elected officials!

I wonder what is really behind this push to get out of the contract. Could it be that someone else is waiting in the wings, hoping to bid on the contract? Is it possible that someone who is running for council, may have a hidden agenda? Is it possible that the current council has an axe to grind with the owners of Athens Services?

It's just not right to weasel-out of a contract, just because we were too stupid to NOT go out to bid. So, go ahead and call me a flip-flopper...There's   no shame in changing one's mind. The shame would be in doing what's wrong, because of false pride. Sure, I wish we would have gotten a better deal, and perhaps saved each household ten bucks a month, but we didn't, and we need to accept that fact and never again approve a major contract without asking for a proposal!"

Lifetime Health Care For Our Elected Officials

"After a resident during Oral Communications at the December Council Meeting brought to light the fact that elected officials who have served five years or more are eligible to receive health coverage for the rest of their lives, once they've reached age fifty, Mayor Pro Tem Mitchell Ing confirmed it and elaborated on it.

By a majority vote, in 2002, the City Council voted on a Consent Item to grant themselves lifetime health care coverage, as long as they serve a minimum of five years, which translates to two terms! The two incumbents who are up for re-election did this for themselves! You talk about shenanigans.

And to top it off, the Staff Report stated that this action would cause NO FISCAL IMPACT. WHAT A FREAKIN' LIE. Yeah I said it...it's a LIE! How can paying for a premium NOT cost money? Total shenanigans!

This item alone is reason enough to give the incumbents the boot. What a load af crap! Are we expected to believe that elected officials who make $500. per month for their service to the city are allowed health coverage for life?

I also disagree with the decision to currently spend close to $50k each year on comprehensive health, dental and vision coverage for our elected officials, even if it's just their first year in office. If you want to dedicate your time to serve the residents of M.P. and are willing to accept the stipend of only $500, then you should be able to reject an expensive health care package? I mean, what's next...a retirement package for the council? It's ridiculous.It's embarrassing. If we weren't a Managed City, and serving on Council was a full time job, then yes, bring on the health insurance, and the pension! 

We need to just say NO to the bullcrap. People are fed-up with politcians misleading them and out-and-out lying to them. With this likely current long-term economic recession, our dear City, the State, the entire Country is over extended. People are sick and tired of the bull.

My slogan is 'S. O. S. - Stamp Out Shenanigans!' 

The definition of shenanigans is: An underhanded act; mischeif...

I am cofident the voters of Monterey Park are willing to make a change. I am confident they will let their voices be heard as they cast their ballots."

Development Projects

"The fact that over twenty percent of our revenue comes from sales tax, it's a no-brainer to take whatever reasonable steps we can to attract regional or national stores to the city. We all want nice places to shop and we all want to see the Market Place completed as well as other feasible projects, like the Towne Centre on Gavey and Garfield.

It's great to see the progress being made on our North Atlantic Project, the Atlantic Times Square. The development is on schedule and I look forward to spending my movie-going dollars in M.P. , though I'm not crazy about the name of the development; let's face it, what about that project is reminiscent of New York's Times Square...(I understand the original plan was supposed to have a large light board, which has subsequently been nixed).

Be that as it may, I think the Atlantic Times Square project is a very positive achievement. We're fortunate to have broken ground before the recession hit hard, and I whole-heartedly applaud the daily efforts of our Director of Development and his team. The project is on schedule and many of the construction techniques are state-of-the-art.

I believe this recession is going to be with us for another couple of years, and although we are dying to get those sales tax dollars in, we have to face the reality that stalled projects may remain on the shelf. We can only do so much. We cannot blame our municipal leaders for not doing their best to encourage new growth, however we must remaian diligent in grabbing all oppertunities which may present themselves that are good for the city. Perhaps we can make use of this unwanted break, to re-evaluate our retail goals and implement new ways of getting those high-profile retailers to Monterey Park, and letting the world know that although M. P. may be, for the most part, a bedroom community, we are by no means a one-horse town.

Based on my meeting with Director of Development, Mr. Reta, I understand that about forty years ago, our City Council said, 'No thanks', to our State CRA money, because the elected officials at the time decided to keep Monterey Park a small town, with a 'Mayberry'-like feel. I don't think our leaders at that time were able to foresee the ramifications of that decision. Ever since then we have been trying to play 'catch-up' with our neighboring cities.

The sooner we realize that we will probably never catch-up, the sooner we can embrace what we are, and improve on it. Perhaps in twenty to thirty years this city will be completely transformed. But in the meanwhile, we must strike a happy medium between Small Town values and Corporate Dollars. Yes, I think we can have our cake and eat it too, so long as we come up with the right recipe for that cake. In other words, so long as we can keep traffic to a minimum, keep our variety of Mom & Pop stores thriving and maintain our high quality of life, while concurrently getting the 'big boys' in, then we can increase our sales and commercial property tax base AND meet our community's retail needs, (so we can shop more in M. P.). THAT IS the American Dream. And I know we can achieve it, for now and forever. It will take a whole heck of a lot of cooperation, but I believe our leaders and our citizens are more than up for the challenge.

From what Director Reta has shown me, Altantic Times Square is going to      be really nice. I met with him and checked-out the plans. The designs are very progressive - especially the condos...some round, some with vaulted ceilings, great views. I'd love to take a walk in them once they're ready to open. They seem to be priced reportedly somewhere in the neighborhood of $350k-$500k. To have a mixed-use development with shopping for the tenants, is like a beautiful little city. I wouldn't be surprised if the people who live their, spend a lot of their free time in the development itself. I hope they get out, to check-out the rest of the city.

For our dear residents who purchased the units and have chosen Monterey Park as their new home, I say, 'Welcome!' Thanks for the property tax dollars...I'm sure your choice will quickly prove to be a worthy one. I've lived in Monterey Park all of my life and I can't think of a better place to live. We've got kick-ass schools, clean water, an efficient Public Safety Department with enviable response times, good-hearted, friendly people and, oh yeah, some of the best freakin' restaurants in the country! Sure, like any city we have our challenges, but overall, if you're not already tingling all over, you guys will soon be boasting to everyone you know about just how glad you are to have chosen Monterey Park as your new home. Welcome, to you all!

Public Safety

"In recent weeks, I met with both Police Chief Jones Moy and Fire Cheif Cathleen Orchard. The meetings were quite enlightening. Let me preface this section by saying that we are very fortunate to have such talented admini-strators, running our police and fire departments. Captain Chris Keller was  also present at my informal discussion with Police Chief Moy. Although over the course of my life here in MP, thankfully, I've had little need to contact police and fire, I've always felt and learned that our public safety personnel are really top-notch...and after asking a lot of questions and basically putting them through the 'JB 3rd dgree', I KNOW we are. I must say that I feel extremely safe. Solid police presence has always been an important factor in deterring crime, and in this regard our PD clearly delivers.

Chief Moy shared with me the fact that crime continues to decrease, based on a recent comprehensive report on all crime activity. In the 1980s, Chief Moy was pivotal in all but completely eradicating Asian Gang activities in Monterey Park. The last gang related homicide, from any gang, was over four years ago.

In association with GREAT, (Gang Resistance Education And Training), MPPD is involved in sponsoring a one week gang and drug deterrent camp for children in the San Gabriel Mountains. This program is free of charge to the children with some Police Explorers serving as camp counselors.

As you may know our city boasts a bevy of volunteer public safety personnel. Of course we have our reserve firefighters and police officers, but there are also volunteer office jobs available, as well as the Police Explorer program for teens and young adults, and the Citizens Patrol, serving in a support capacity to keep our city safe.

Our Fire Department also offers a training program for residents to learn light search and rescue, first aid and other first-response emergency skills in the a Program known as CERT, (Community Emergency Response Team). More information on all the city's programs can be found on the Montery Park website, www.ci.monterey-park.ca.us, (just locate the appropriate drop-sown menu at the top odf the page).

My personal experience with the Paramedics of the MPFP is one I will forever be grateful for. When you've got a cracked skull, (actually it was just a bad scalp tear and massive bump on the head), and your momentarily paralized from bonking your head so damn hard and bleeding on the sidewalk in front of your favorite Chinese restaurant on Garvey, you want a fast response time...you need a fast response time. And I got it. They made me feel like I wasn't a total idiot for tripping, and one of the team brought my container of hot and sour soup into the ambulance for the ride to the emergency room.

After getting stitched-up, x-rayed and examined....when I got home, I enjoyed my soup; savoring every hot and sour spoonful. The reason I tripped, as I found out nine months later, is because I was subtly losing motor control, due to spinal cord compression caused by the progression of severe spinal arthritis (Ankylosing Sponylitis), which is something I was born with. Getting rear-ended by an unlicensed driver a few years prior was probably also a contributing factor. By the way, to anyone out there who has had their license suspended, especially those who've had multiple DUIs like the jerk who hit me, (Raul Franco), stay the hell off the road!!!!! 

Ironically, six months after winning the Christopher Reeve Acting Scholarship Competition, (about 3 months after I tripped over myself), I experienced a frightening degree of quadriplegia with loss of bowel and bladder control. At age forty, for two months I was wearing diapers! Thankfully the calamity was properly diagnosed at UCLA and fixed in time. Now the biggest side-effect I experience is the annoyance of having a some minimal over-reactive reflexes, tingling in a few fingers and a fused neck, (vertebre C2-C5). But considering I am a Metal Ox, according to my Chinese Horoscope, it is in keeping with my stuborn, unmovable nature, I guess.

My experience with our police has also been minimal - when I was a kid, my bike was stolen, (no thanks to not locking the garage door), sorry about that, Chief, so that almost doesn't count. And only once in fifty years, we had a break-in while away, and when we got home to a slightly ransacked house, with a small amount of money and jewelry missing. Feeling frightened and violated, the police were there, 'Johnny-on-the-spot'.

Though the bastard criminals had fled, it was comforting to know that the police responded very quickly. I'm just sorry I didn't have a hot pot of coffe waiting for them with some freshly baked donuts. But seriously, living in a safe place is something we lucky citizens of M. P. can thankfully take for granted on a daily basis. In that sense we are extremely fortunate.  

Some may argue that we are 'spoiled'. Well, if never having to live in fear, and knowing that you and your family are being watched-over, 24/7 means you're 'spoiled', then, yeah, we're 'spoiled'. And thank God for that! That's one of the main reasons why so many people want to live here. 

Enviable reesponse times, seperate police and fire dispatch, along with a high level of prfessionalism and curteous service, continues to keep Monterey Park at the forefront of Public Safety models.

Our fire department, I'm sure, will eventually get their new Station 2. However, after extensive evaluation and taking into account the fact that a station should be designed to serve the needs of its community for at least fifty years, Fire Chief Orchard believes that rebuilding on, or remodeling and retrofitting the old site is not a realistic option. It's just too small. There once was talk about 'building up' and making it a two-story facility, but unfortun-ately, for folks like me who are dying to slide down the fire pole...that's not going to happen. 

As Chief Orchard believes, I too am confident we will eventually find a suitable location, hopefully with minimal disruption to the nearby homeowners. Not many people would be willing to sell their home to the city in order to build a brand-spanking new fire station, but some just might...without holding the treasury hostage. Or we just might find another, non-residential site.

There are a lot of vital things that our city does, which we may not be aware of unless we ask. Our police and fire departments have very knowledgable employees, who will probably be able to answer any question right away. I was happily surprised to hear about the many more heart defibrillators which will continue to be strategically placed throughout the city! 

Like I said, now more than ever, I really feel safe. Keep up the great work, ladies and gentlemen...may God continue to watch over us all, as you honorably and selflessly serve our city. Amen. 

       More Hot Topics To Come! Let JB Know Your Concerns on The Message Board... 

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