Anne Hertz-Mallari Personal Devices ProductionFrom:Anne Mallari
To:Alisha Farnell
Subject:PR response
Date:Thursday, June 2, 2022 11:03:52 AM
Attachments:Why single member districts make sense for Cypress ENE Article 2-2-2022.docx
As Cypress Weighs District Voting, Anger Breaks Out At City Councilwoman OC Register 2-8-2022.docx
Post Christmas meeting prompts holiday fireworks ENE Article 1-13-2022.docx
Citizens for Responsible Development of Cypress Facebook Post 1-23-2022.docx
Trash into gold in Cypress ENE Article 1-26-2022.docx
Time to Protest the Cypress Trash Proposal 1-13-2022.docx
Hi Alisha,
This is in response to the request for records.
Anne
Sent from my iPhone
Begin forwarded message:
From: jonpeat@att.net
Date: February 8, 2022 at 7:46:08 PM PST
To: Paulo Morales <pmmorales_7@yahoo.com>,
ANNEMMALLARI@gmail.com, cpsminikus@ca.rr.com
Subject: Research Info
Colleagues,
I have done some research on articles and Facebook posts related to the trash
contract and voting districts. I have copied the articles into Word documents for ease
of storage and retrieval. I am providing this to you for informational purposes only.
I hope you find this interesting.
Please do not reply to all if you respond to this email.
Thank you,
Jon
Why single member districts make
sense for Cypress.
By
For Event-News Enterprise
-
February 2, 2022
0
99
David Burke
By David Burke
On September 17, 2021 attorney Kevin Shenkman sent a letter to the city of
Cypress alleging that the city’s at-large elections violate the California Voting
Rights Act of 2001 (CVRA). The crux of the allegation is that the at-large system
results in minority vote dilution and that the lack of Asian representation in
government for a city with 35.2% Asian residents is evidence of a CVRA
violation.
Shenkman gave the city 45 days to voluntarily consider creating single-member
districts. Yet, more than four months later Cypress is not substantially closer to
drawing electoral districts than it was in September, which poses a significant
risk for two reasons. First, it is extremely difficult for a city to prevail against an
alleged CVRA violation of minority vote dilution. In fact, no city in California has
successfully done so.
A plaintiff can prevail by showing “racially polarized voting” in which there is a
difference in the choice of candidates that are preferred by voters in a protected
class and the choices of the voters in the rest of the electorate. Such voting
patterns are very common and the court can even look at the voting
preferences of groups in county or state elections, and for ballot initiatives. So
although the city of Cypress maintains that they have not found any merit to
the allegation that they are violating the law, it is unlikely that a court would
agree.
Second, the legal battle would be a drain on the city’s coffers. Santa Clara spent
approximately $6 million, unsuccessfully, before agreeing to a voter-approved
charter amendment requiring single member districts. Santa Monica has spent
over $7 million in a battle that is still being waged in the courts. Given the long
odds of success once a lawsuit is initiated—which Shenkman has said will
happen by June of this year—it seems more prudent and fiscally responsible for
Cypress to transition to districts voluntarily.
Thus far, the City Council has largely delayed that process. The city did recently
hold the first of three public forums on January 19, 2022 to “learn more about
and discuss several important topics surrounding municipal elections.” But with
the specter of costly litigation looming, these forums should have occurred
sooner. In the first forum, residents were divided over at-large versus district
elections, with some expressing concerns that districts would cause division
while others thought they would lead to more effective representation. To be
fair, there are arguments on both sides.
Benefits of district elections include ensuring that there is a representative from
every geographic area of the city and reducing the cost of political campaigns
and candidates’ reliance on large donors. For residents, it can also be beneficial
to know exactly who represents them if there is a problem in their
neighborhood. On the other hand, some people fear that districts would distract
representatives from issues that impact the city as a whole. And in cities with
low populations and small districts, it may be difficult to find strong candidates
who are interested in running.
In my view, the potential benefits of district elections in Cypress outweigh the
costs. Cypress is large enough that there should be many qualified candidates
from different parts of the city. Given that hundreds of cities and school boards
in California already elect representatives by district, there is also ample
evidence that local officials can collaborate on city-wide issues while paying
special attention to the districts they represent. But regardless of the pros and
cons of district elections, the law is on Shenkman’s side.
Just as Los Alamitos, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Stanton, and other cities did
after facing a CVRA challenge, Cypress will likely transition to single member
districts soon enough. When that happens, creating an independent redistricting
commission is the best way to ensure that the process is motivated by the best
interests of the community rather than by political self-interest.
The most effective redistricting processes follow a few core principles. Districts
should be of equal population, compact, contiguous, and keep “communities of
interest” together, meaning that neighborhoods that share social and economic
interests should not be split apart. Unfortunately, when politicians draw district
lines, those considerations often take a back seat to what is best for those
politicians’ electoral prospects. Elected officials have an inherent conflict of
interest when drawing district lines where they may subsequently run for office.
Even those who are termed out have a conflict because they may have a family
member or political ally who plans to run. The end result is often bizarrely
drawn district lines that put incumbents or their chosen successors into areas
with favorable constituencies, or lines that split incumbents who live near each
other into separate districts so they don’t have to run against each other.
An independent redistricting commission would prevent those problems because
citizens—not elected officials—would be tasked with drawing the district lines.
Typically, commission members are chosen via lottery out of a pool of qualified
applicants, while making sure that members from different geographic areas of
city are selected. Residents who don’t serve on the commission can still
participate in public hearings, comment on draft maps, or even submit maps of
their own for consideration.
More than twenty cities and counties throughout California including San Diego,
Oakland, Long Beach, Sacramento, and Oakland have already put such
commissions in place, which can serve as a useful template for Cypress to
follow. And although such commissions are not immune from contentious
arguments, they are often accompanied by praise from residents who are
grateful for a more inclusive and transparent process than having elected
officials draw lines behind closed doors.
By creating an independent redistricting commission in Cypress, the City Council
would simultaneously put an end to Shenkman’s threatened litigation while
giving more residents the chance to participate in the political process. The
chance to save the city millions while engendering more responsive government
is one the Council should not squander.
Editor’s note: David Burke is a Cypress resident and the founder of Citizens
Take Action, a nonprofit focused on creating more responsive government and
increasing civic engagement.
As Cypress weighs district voting, anger erupts
at city councilwoman
Cypress city councilwoman, Frances Marquez, who was elected in 2020 stands in front
of the home her parents bought in the 1970’s and have lived there since. Cypress on
Sunday, February 6, 2022. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)
By SUSAN CHRISTIAN GOULDING | sgoulding@scng.com | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: February 7, 2022 at 4:57 p.m. | UPDATED: February 8, 2022 at 12:14
p.m.
Depending on where and how you look at it, Cypress is either a quiet bedroom
community or a bustling center of commerce.
The north Orange County city is home to 50,000 residents, with a comfortable median
household income of about $93,000.
While small in size at 6.6 square miles, Cypress boasts a healthy tax base and a host
of employers – including UnitedHealth Group, Yamaha Motor, Costco, Home Depot,
Los Alamitos Race Course, Cypress College, Forest Lawn Memorial Park, several
hotels and, as of November, a 23-acre Amazon last-mile facility.
Still, heated disputes bubble beneath the surface. And sometimes they erupt.
In meetings, city officials openly bristle at newcomer Frances Marquez – who, they
say, introduces agenda items that are needlessly contentious, such as flying the
LGBTQ Pride flag.
Three weeks ago, in an awkward outburst, Councilman Jon Peat angrily yelled at her
about a subcommittee committee from which she was excluded.
“I am tired of being scolded by you in public,” he said. “What gives you the right to sit
here and criticize all of us?”
At the podium, residents address the negative tenor of council meetings – noting the
“bad optics” of the four-member majority chiding the lone woman of color.
“I am appalled and shocked by how our City Council members treat one of their
colleagues,” said resident Brittney Cook, an insurance agent. “If I behaved like that in
the corporate world, I’d be fired.”
Residents complain that, with all the council members except Marquez living close
together, other neighborhoods are overlooked. They grouse about the huge Amazon
distribution center inserted on Katella Avenue near their homes, and a pay-to-use
sports park now under construction in another part of town.
The parking lot at Lexington Park in Cypress on Monday, February 7, 2022. The new
sports park is still under construction. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County
Register/SCNG)
Some denizens slam a no-bid extension of a trash collection contract, maintaining it
was swayed by conflicts of interest on the council.
And now, adding stress upon stress, the city must decide whether to carve out council
districts – with the alternative of a potentially expensive lawsuit.
Threat of litigation
Like a dozen Orange County cities before it, Cypress last September received a letter
alleging that its election system dilutes minority voices.
Currently, all Cypress voters decide on all five council seats. With districts, voters
choose only one council member who lives within their area.
The by-district method, intended to better serve groups with common interests, is
generally favored by the California Voters Rights Act of 2001 (CVRA).
Cypress’ threat of a lawsuit came from prolific Malibu attorney Kevin Shenkman, who
specializes in going after cities and school districts that still hold at-large elections.
Fighting CVRA violation claims in court has proved costly and fruitless for those that
try. Seven years ago, Anaheim spent $1.1 million before relenting to by-district
elections. In 2015, Palmdale backed down after forking over $4.7 million. Santa
Monica has spent more than $8 million on still-active litigation.
Therefore, most cities – including Fullerton, Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Tustin,
Westminster and Los Alamitos – grudgingly agree to transition to precincts rather than
risk a burdensome legal battle.
Shenkman’s missive, written on behalf of a Latino civil rights group, offers a laundry
list of Cypress’ purported vulnerabilities.
Although Asians comprise 35% of the city’s population – the same percentage as
white residents – the “complete lack of Asian representation” on the council “is
revealing,” the letter states.
Shenkman points to an Asian American candidate, Carrie Hayashida, who came in
third for two City Council seats in the 2020 election. Six months later, after a
councilwoman resigned, Hayashida and five other female applicants were passed
over for Scott Minikus, one of two men who applied.
Dragging its feet?
After receiving Shenkman’s notification, the council met eight times in closed session
to discuss next steps before calling a special meeting – announced on Christmas Eve
and held Dec. 27.
But instead of approving the creation of sample precinct maps, the council voted to
hire a consultant for $40,000 to solicit public input about whether even to proceed.
Questioning the $200-per-hour price tag, Marquez, a college professor, was the one
“no” vote. “We have a fiduciary responsibility to spend the money of taxpayers in
Cypress responsibly,” she said.
Cypress city councilwoman, Frances Marquez, who was elected in 2020 finds herself
at odds with the other council members over the city’s garbage collection contract.
Sunday, February 6, 2022. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)
Some wonder if the city is procrastinating the inevitable.
“We’ve made it very clear to them that districts need to be in place in time for the
November elections,” Shenkman said. “They are running out of time.”
Shenkman speculated that the council’s desire to hold opinion-seeking forums “could
be an effort to orchestrate an AstroTurf uprising against districts.”
“When they waste millions of taxpayer dollars fighting a lawsuit they can say, ‘Our
constituents wanted us to,’” Shenkman said.
However, city watchdog George Pardon, a retired Cal State University administrator,
does not foresee a lawsuit.
“They’re just kicking districts down the road to get past the November election,”
Pardon said. “They have people in mind who they want to see elected, which might
not happen in districts.”
George Pardon of Citizens for Responsible Development of Cypress, outside of the
Cypress city council chamber on Thursday, February 3, 2022. Pardon is the city
watchdog and city council critic who supports by-district representation. (Photo by
Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
But, Mayor Paulo Morales asserted, “We are absolutely not using the workshops to
drag our feet.”
“The majority of people don’t understand what districts are for and need to learn more
about them,” Morales said.
“I hear, ‘I’d only have 20% of the vote!’” Morales added. “I say, wait a minute, is that
the end of the world? That’s the way we do it with Congress.”
District elections can result in pitting allies against one another, depending on where
they live.
Three seats will be open this year. Peat and Morales term out, and Minikus will be up
for election after serving 15 months as an appointee.
Asian American representation
One person planning to be on the upcoming ballot is Hayashida, the candidate who
recently placed third.
“I’m saddened that the council missed an opportunity to check off several boxes last
summer in its appointment: a strong candidate in the last election; the first Asian
American councilwoman; and someone who represents a neighborhood currently not
well represented,” said Hayashida, who works as a career coach.
“But I didn’t run because I’m Asian. I wanted to represent all of Cypress, and I still feel
that way.”
Malini Nagpal, a psychologist, also threw her name in the hat to fill the opening. “I
didn’t have a chance in hell,” she said, now laughing over her unsuccessful interview.
“One of the job requirements was that you had to be a ‘team player,’” Nagpal said.
“They didn’t want different viewpoints. It’s a tight-knit group with a lot of overlap.”
Morales and Minikus are both retired police officers. Peat is chairman of the Boys &
Girls Club of Greater Anaheim-Cypress, where Mayor Pro Tem Anne Hertz-Mallari
serves as president.
Whatever happens next, it appears that City Council meetings will, at least in the near
future, remain acrimonious.
At the Jan. 24 meeting, Peat requested that the Council consider a motion of censure
against Marquez for disclosing to the public closed session discussions.
In a brief telephone conversation, Peat declined to provide specifics, saying only, “We
need to keep our business among ourselves.”
Post Christmas meeting prompts
holiday fireworks
By
David N. Young
-
January 13, 2022
0
195
Council member Frances Marquez
After eight closed sessions, the Cypress City Council hastily called a public
meeting two days after Christmas to hire a consultant and reveal their strategy
to stave off a voting district lawsuit.
Although served with a demand letter months ago regarding a potential
violation of the California Voting Rights Act (CRVA), the city waited until two
days after Christmas to hastily call a public meeting to discuss a series of
forums called to discuss the issue.
Council member Frances Marquez questioned the wisdom and legality of the
meeting, saying the Facebook notification was posted just before the public
meeting, held last Monday, Dec. 27.
Although city officials acknowledged posting a notice to Facebook only shortly
before the public meeting began, city attorney Fred Galante said the meeting
notice was properly placed on the website so the meeting was legal.
“There are no Brown Act violations with this meeting,” said Galante.
Further, Galante suggested that the city is not in violation of the California
Voting Rights Act, at least as far as their investigation to date is concerned.
“The one thing I would clarify,” said Galante, is we have yet to find any
evidence that the city of Cypress is violating the law. Any further discussion is a
closed session issue,” he said.
City manager Peter Grant introduced Arianna Barrios, the CEO of the
Communications Lab, who the city has selected to roll out an information
campaign to the community. In addition, he acknowledged for the first time
during this meeting that the city had hired a demographer to study the city’s
makeup.
Grant said hard costs are currently estimated to be $40,000 out of pocket for a
series of planned outreach meetings and presentations, which he says does not
including the soft costs provided by city officials to facilitate three upcoming
public meetings.
Council member Jon Peat.
The Communications Lab CEO will be paid $200 hour, according to a schedule of
costs that also suggests interns on the project will be paid $75 per hr. as the
city rolled out the redistricting outreach strategy for the upcoming series of
meetings.
“That seems like a lot of money for an intern,” said Marquez.
The firm will prepare a detailed presentation to educate voters about the city’s
election system so they can better understand both the current at-large system
and potential single member districts, the council was told.
Moreover, the firm will prepare the presentations in three languages, including
English, Spanish and Korean.
Grant asked the Council for continued input on the presentation and asked that
all changes they suggested be sent to him by a specific date to be included in
the Communications Lab final presentation.
According to the group’s schedule, the first redistricting public meeting is
scheduled on Zoom for January 19.
The Council voted 4-1 to move forward with the Communications Lab, with
Marquez voting against. Mayor Pro-tem Anne Hertz and council member Scott
Minikus questioned Marquez’ opposition and Hertz asked why she voted no.
“Your ‘no’ vote caught me by surprise,” said Hertz, asking why Marquez did not
speak out after the motion and a second.
“You know, I just want to say that this is what people despise about elected
officials,” said Marquez, “making decisions when the community has not been
made aware of a meeting. We have a fiduciary responsibility to spend the
money of taxpayers in Cypress responsibly.”
Marquez complained about what she perceives as the city’s overall lack of
transparency and meetings scheduled when few people can attend.
In addition, she and others expressed concern about multiple errors in a
proposed Communications Lab presentation that Barrios said would be sent to
Cypress citizens, even though Marquez said she assumed it would be cleaned up
before being mailed to the public.
“We’re paying thousands of dollars for information and I’m hoping that it’ll be
correct in the future,” she said.
Galante pointed out two potentially misleading legal assumptions in the
presentation and suggested they be changed.
Barrios said the PowerPoint being shown was only a draft and of course would
be fact-checked before being distributed or presented to citizens.
Barrios said her firm will educate Cypress residents on the advantages of both
single member districting and at-large districts. “We want them to understand
what is going on,” said Barrios.
Malibu attorney Kevin Shenkman notified the city in September of 2020 that
their at-large voting system, as currently utilized, is a violation of state law.
This means all five council seats are elected from a pool of “at-large”
candidates, meaning anyone who lives within the city limits who qualifies for
office can run, rather than having residents of regions of the city elect single
officials to represent each specific region.
Shenkman has since said that if the city does not have single member maps
ready by July 1, the city would be sued.
Barrios said opposing any redistricting lawsuit has been extremely expensive for
other cities who have chosen to legally fight districting. Some have paid
settlements near nearing $10 million.
Following Shenkman’s notification, the city has consistently met in closed
session to discuss the issue, while Galante has been in direct communication
with Shenkman, the Malibu attorney confirmed.
The after-Christmas meeting, which was recorded on audio tape, not video, and
posted nearly a week later, was among the first public meetings to discuss the
matter, although the Council has now set three forums, one in January and two
in February at which Barrios will facilitate a discussion about the situation with
residents.
Before the council reorganization in December, Mayor Paulo Morales was
appointed by former Mayor Jon Peat to serve alongside him as the only other
member of an an ad-hoc subcommittee on redistricting.
Peat then denied a request by Marquez to be appointed to the ad-hoc
subcommittee despite the fact that Marquez said she has participated in
redistricting work on Capitol Hill and has a related doctorate degree.
The former Mayor cited the fact that Marquez, serving her first term, might be a
candidate for re-election in the next election, and thus bias her thinking, so he
refused to appoint anyone but himself and Morales.
“Mayor Pete told me that I would not be able to serve on the committee since I
would face another election. He said the collective experience of he and Mayor
Morales would serve the committee well.”
Marquez, at this special Monday meeting, suggested it was perhaps Peat with a
conflict of interest.
“However, Mayor Peat failed to mention that he had a foot in the game as his
wife, Bonnie Peat, will run for city council this coming year,” said Marquez.
“Therefore, the [redistricting] ad hoc committee has a bias and, in my eyes, this
process is unfair.”
Bonnie Peat is currently the President of the Cypress School District Board of
Trustees.
The ENE has reached out to Mrs. Peat for a comment.
In the meeting, Mr. Peat did not respond to Marquez’s assertion.
Marquez said she was not able to able to make the reorganization meeting in
December because of a fall she sustained in her home. She was upset that at
that meeting, the Council discussed redistricting and the newly elected Mayor
removed her as the principal delegate to the city on the Orange County Fire
Authority.
Even if Monday’s meeting was technically legal, said Marquez, sending out
documents on Christmas Eve for this special meeting was questionable.
“This seems like an ambush,” said Minikus, who suggested Marquez should have
“said something earlier.”
“I understand your concerns,” Morales told Marquez, “But I [also] understand
we’re on a deadline.”
Morales then repeated Galante’s comments in saying “there is nothing here that
says there is a [CRVA] violation. “It [the claim there is a violation] is
something,” said the mayor, “that we are responding to in service to the city.”
Citizens for Responsible Development of Cypress, CA
January 23 at 7:33 PM · Would You Recuse Yourself? When Valley Vista submitted their bid proposal in 2014, the proposal boasted that Valley Vista Project Director George Briggeman has been intimately involved with the Boys and Girls Club, the Woman’s Club of Cypress, Chamber of Commerce, BRACE of Cypress, and Cypress College through his support. The proposal indicated that this support has continued for over 35 years and that he is familiar with their resources. After a review of all the proposals submitted, Valley Vista was awarded a 10-year contract in September 2014 to start in July 2015. In 2015, the Fair Political Practices Commission fined George Briggeman from Valley Vista Services for his support of City Council candidates in 2012. Two of those individuals were candidates for the Cypress City Council: Rob Johnson and Mariellen Yarc. Should Council Members Johnson and Yarc have recused themselves from the vote to award the initial contract to Valley Vista? I think so. Council Member Jon Peat was elected to the City Council in November 2014. Jon Peat has been on the Board of the Boys and Girls Club since 2013 now serving as 1st Vice Chair. As stated previously, George Briggeman acknowledged having been intimately involved with the Boys and Girls Club for over 35 years as of 2014 which would currently be over 40 years. Mayor Morales and Stacy Berry were also elected in 2014. In 2017, Valley Vista, through George Briggeman, requested an extraordinary adjustment to their contract which included service reductions and a rate increase. The city hired a consultant to review the request. The consultant’s conclusion was that there was no basis for the adjustments requested by Valley Vista but the City Council approved the changes anyway with Council Member Stacy Berry being the only No vote. Both Rob Johnson and Mariellen Yarc termed out in November 2020 with Anne Hertz-Mallari and Frances Marquez elected to replace them. In 2020, Valley Vista came back to the City Council for additional concessions. They wanted to build a trash transfer station and a Compressed Natural Gas facility on the City Yard in order to reduce their costs further. The proposed project was next to a residential area and there was substantial pushback from the residents so the City Council backed off. A controversy did arise in 2021 during the consideration of a two-person subcommittee to review the Valley Vista request for a joint venture or another extraordinary rate adjustment. Then-Mayor Jon Peat proposed appointing himself and newly elected Council Member Anne Hertz-Mallari. Council Member Hertz-Mallari is a long time Director of the Boys and Girls Club of Cypress which is now the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Anaheim and Cypress. At the time the subcommittee was proposed, Council Member Stacy Berry challenged the appointment of Council Member Anne Hertz-Mallari because of her long-time connection to George Briggeman. Responding to that challenge, Council Member Hertz-Mallari acknowledged that she and George Briggeman have known each other for 15 years and he’s donated to Boys and Girls Club events and given them free trash services for 15 years. The effort to reward Valley Vista continues. The requirement by the State for cities to implement an organic waste disposal system has led to yet another review of the Valley Vista agreement. Rather than the proposed revision being limited to the organic waste
program, the revisions also included an adjustment increasing the recycling cost because Valley Vista says they are losing money on it. The changes also include a substantial increase to the cap on annual CPI increases and probably the most egregious change is an extension to the contract to 2037. The original contract was a 10-year contract with an allowance for a 2-year extension and 2 one-year extensions. With these new changes, this will end up being a 22-year contract without going out to bid. Neither Council Member Peat nor Hertz-Mallari recused themselves. Would you have recused yourself? The City Council pushed through these proposed contract changes during Thanksgiving week. Starting this process during Thanksgiving week and expecting residents to focus on it during the holidays and a heightened COVID transmission period raises the serious question as to the transparency of these changes. Probably the most glaring cause for concern is that Los Alamitos, which is an adjacent city to Cypress, went out to bid for the new state changes and saw their price go down with only a 7-year contract. In fact, if the changes proposed by the Cypress City Council are ultimately implemented, Cypress residents will pay $21.43 per month which is 54% more than Los Alamitos residents who will pay $13.90 per month. Westminster residents pay $14.75 per month. Given the significant difference in the proposed rate for Cypress residents compared to Los Alamitos and Westminster residents, this contract should be bid out as soon as possible. Since the City Council extended the contract by 2 years in 2017, the current contract expires in 2027. This contract should not be extended to 2037 without a bid. Given Mayor ProTem Hertz-Mallari’s position at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Anaheim and Cypress and Council Member Peat’s position on the Board of Directors, they should both recuse themselves. Mayor ProTem Hertz-Mallari chose to recuse herself when the City Council allocated COVID funds to the Boys and Girls Club. Why shouldn’t she recuse herself when the City Council is considering substantial contract changes that benefit a company that provides free services and financially supports the organization she works for. Similarly, since Council Member Jon Peat is on the Board of the Boys and Girls Club, he should have recused himself when the City Council allocated funds to the Boys and Girls Club and he should recuse himself from voting on these changes to the Valley Vista contract. While there may be a legal path that allows them to avoid recusing themselves, the question is what should they do to avoid a perception of a financial conflict of interest? 1717 9 Comments 3 Shares
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Trash into gold in Cypress?
By
For Event-News Enterprise
-
January 26, 2022
0
382
George Pardon
By George Pardon
When Valley Vista submitted their bid proposal in 2014, the proposal boasted
that Valley Vista Project Director George Briggeman has been intimately
involved with the Boys and Girls Club, the Woman’s Club of Cypress, Chamber
of Commerce, BRACE of Cypress, and Cypress College through his support. The
proposal indicated that this support has continued for over 35 years and that he
is familiar with their resources.
After a review of all the proposals submitted, Valley Vista was awarded a 10-
year contract in September 2014 to start in July 2015. In 2015, the Fair Political
Practices Commission fined George Briggeman from Valley Vista Services for his
support of City Council candidates in 2012. Two of those individuals were
candidates for the Cypress City Council: Rob Johnson and Mariellen Yarc. Should
Council Members Johnson and Yarc have recused themselves from the vote to
award the initial contract to Valley Vista? I think so.
Council Member Jon Peat was elected to the City Council in November 2014. Jon
Peat has been on the Board of the Boys and Girls Club since 2013 now serving
as 1st Vice Chair. As stated previously, George Briggeman acknowledged having
been intimately involved with the Boys and Girls Club for over 35 years as of
2014 which would currently be over 40 years. Mayor Morales and Stacy Berry
were also elected in 2014.
In 2017, Valley Vista, through George Briggeman, requested an extraordinary
adjustment to their contract which included service reductions and a rate
increase. The city hired a consultant to review the request.
The consultant’s conclusion was that there was no basis for the adjustments
requested by Valley Vista but the City Council approved the changes anyway
with Council Member Stacy Berry being the only No vote. Both Rob Johnson and
Mariellen Yarc termed out in November 2020 with Anne Hertz-Mallari and
Frances Marquez elected to replace them.
In 2020, Valley Vista came back to the City Council for additional concessions.
They wanted to build a trash transfer station and a Compressed Natural Gas
facility on the City Yard in order to reduce their costs further.
The proposed project was next to a residential area and there was substantial
pushback from the residents, so the City Council backed off. A controversy did
arise in 2021 during the consideration of a two-person subcommittee to review
the Valley Vista request for a joint venture or another extraordinary rate
adjustment. Then-Mayor Jon Peat proposed appointing himself and newly
elected Council Member Anne Hertz-Mallari. Council Member Hertz-Mallari is a
long time Director of the Boys and Girls Club of Cypress which is now the Boys
and Girls Club of Greater Anaheim and Cypress.
At the time the subcommittee was proposed, Council Member Stacy Berry
challenged the appointment of Council Member Anne Hertz-Mallari because of
her long-time connection to George Briggeman. Responding to that challenge,
Council Member Hertz-Mallari acknowledged that she and George Briggeman
have known each other for 15 years and he’s donated to Boys and Girls Club
events and given them free trash services for 15 years.
The effort to reward Valley Vista continues. The requirement by the State for
cities to implement an organic waste disposal system has led to yet another
review of the Valley Vista agreement. Rather than the proposed revision being
limited to the organic waste program, the revisions also included an adjustment
increasing the recycling cost because Valley Vista says they are losing money on
it.
The changes also include a substantial increase to the cap on annual CPI
increases and probably the most egregious change is an extension to the
contract to 2037. The original contract was a 10-year contract with an
allowance for a 2-year extension and 2 one-year extensions. With these new
changes, this will end up being a 22-year contract without going out to bid.
Neither Council Member Peat nor Hertz-Mallari recused themselves. Would you
have recused yourself?
The City Council pushed through these proposed contract changes during
Thanksgiving week. Starting this process during Thanksgiving week and
expecting residents to focus on it during the holidays and a heightened COVID
transmission period raises the serious question as to the transparency of these
changes.
Probably the most glaring cause for concern is that Los Alamitos, which is an
adjacent city to Cypress, went out to bid for the new state changes and saw
their price go down with only a 7-year contract. In fact, if the changes proposed
by the Cypress City Council are ultimately implemented, Cypress residents will
pay $21.43 per month which is 54% more than Los Alamitos residents who will
pay $13.90 per month. Westminster residents pay $14.75 per month.
Given the significant difference in the proposed rate for Cypress residents
compared to Los Alamitos and Westminster residents, this contract should be
bid out as soon as possible. Since the City Council extended the contract by 2
years in 2017, the current contract expires in 2027. This contract should not be
extended to 2037 without a bid.
Given Mayor ProTem Hertz-Mallari’s position at the Boys and Girls Club of
Greater Anaheim and Cypress and Council Member Peat’s position on the Board
of Directors, they should both recuse themselves. Mayor ProTem Hertz-Mallari
chose to recuse herself when the City Council allocated COVID funds to the Boys
and Girls Club. Why shouldn’t she recuse herself when the City Council is
considering substantial contract changes that benefit a company that provides
free services and financially supports the organization she works for.
Similarly, since Council Member Jon Peat is on the Board of the Boys and Girls
Club, he should have recused himself when the City Council allocated funds to
the Boys and Girls Club and he should recuse himself from voting on these
changes to the Valley Vista contract.
While there may be a legal path that allows them to avoid recusing themselves,
the question is what should they do to avoid a perception of a financial conflict
of interest?
Editors note: George Pardon is Director of the Citizens for Responsible
Development of Cypress.
Time to protest the Cypress trash
proposal
By
David N. Young
-
January 13, 2022
Valley Vista Services gets huge financial boost from Cypress Council. Courtesy
photo
By George Pardon
First of all, I want to commend the Los Alamitos City Council for obtaining a
much better trash services agreement by going out to bid compared to the deal
the Cypress City Council negotiated with the current trash services provider,
Valley Vista.
Unless 50% plus parcels in Cypress send in a written protest to the Cypress City
Clerk by 5 PM on January 24, Cypress residents will experience a 32% increase
in their rate paying $21.43 per month compared to Los Alamitos residents
paying $13.90 per month. Cypress residents can also expect an additional
increase in April based on the consumer price index.
With the new Los Alamitos agreement, residents will also get 4 bulky item pick-
ups a year and they allow 4 items with each pick-up and a quarterly Household
Hazardous pick up. This is compared to Cypress residents getting 2 bulky item
pick-ups a year with one item equaling one pick-up.
George Pardon
If you don’t think Cypress residents are getting an optimal deal, the only option
at this point is to send a protest letter to the Cypress City Clerk. At a minimum,
the letter must include the following information: a) address or assessor parcel
numbers of the property subject to the proposed rate increases, b) the name of
the owner of the property (or tenant if applicable) and whether the protester is
an owner or tenant of the property, c) a statement that the party is protesting
the rate increases, and d) the protester’s signature. Only one protest per parcel
will be counted. The letter needs to be addressed to City Clerk, Cypress City
Hall, 5275 Orange Avenue, Cypress, California 90630.
If the proposed changes to the agreement with Valley Vista are approved, the
agreement will be extended until 2037. To extend this contract from the original
10 year term to a 22 year term without another bid process seems far in excess
of the original intent especially given the concessions that have already been
given to Valley Vista in previous contract revisions.
Given the significant value the Los Alamitos City Council has recently achieved
for their residents through a bid process, it seems that it would be in the best
interest of Cypress residents to bid this contract allowing the current contract to
end at its current term ending in 2027 which already includes the 2 year
extension previously granted to Valley Vista.
Residents need to protest this increase to avoid the proposed changes to the
agreement.
Emails were sent to the City Council and the City Manager on December 16 and
30 and again on January 4. The emails were sent asking if I was missing
something in my read of the Los Alamitos agreement because I didn’t want to
spread misinformation. I also stated that unless I hear something to the
contrary, I will presume my assessment is correct when I distribute the
information to the residents.
The response I received from the City Manager was that my assessment of the
Cypress and Los Alamitos refuse franchises is so careless that it detracts from
public discourse. The fact that I received a response from any of my emails to
the city was a surprise although the response received didn’t provide clarity.
If anyone has reviewed the agreements and can justify why Cypress should
commit to Valley Vista for another 15 years without going to bid, I would love to
hear from you at georgepardon@gmail.com.
George Pardon
Citizens for Responsible Development
From:Anne Hertz-Mallari
To:Alisha Farnell
Subject:PR Response
Date:Thursday, June 2, 2022 11:48:28 AM
This text message was sent to Rob Johnson.
Sent from my iPhone
From:Anne Hertz-Mallari
To:Alisha Farnell
Subject:PR response
Date:Thursday, June 2, 2022 11:57:45 AM
Sent from my iPhone
From:Anne Hertz-Mallari
To:Alisha Farnell
Subject:PR response
Date:Thursday, June 2, 2022 12:45:20 PM
Attachments:IMG_5335.PNG
IMG_5336.PNG
Fb post re the forums. 2 pics in order to capture.
Anne
Sent from my iPhone
From:Anne Hertz-Mallari
To:Alisha Farnell
Subject:Pr response
Date:Thursday, June 2, 2022 12:58:41 PM
Attachments:IMG_5338.PNG
Sent from my iPhone
From:Anne Hertz-Mallari
To:Alisha Farnell
Subject:Pr response
Date:Thursday, June 2, 2022 1:07:15 PM
Attachments:IMG_5342.PNG
IMG_5341.PNG
2 posts re final forums
Sent from my iPhone
From:Anne Hertz-Mallari
To:Alisha Farnell
Subject:Pr
Date:Thursday, June 2, 2022 1:13:39 PM
Attachments:IMG_5344.PNG
IMG_5345.PNG
Jan 17 posts. 2 photos
Sent from my iPhone
From:Anne Hertz-Mallari
To:Alisha Farnell
Subject:Pr
Date:Thursday, June 2, 2022 1:20:46 PM
Attachments:IMG_5347.PNG
IMG_5348.PNG
Posted in cypress ca community group
Sent from my iPhone
From:Anne Hertz-Mallari
To:Alisha Farnell
Subject:Pr response
Date:Thursday, June 2, 2022 1:27:09 PM
Attachments:IMG_5349.PNG
IMG_5350.PNG
2 pics
Sent from my iPhone
From:Anne Hertz-Mallari
To:Alisha Farnell
Subject:Pr
Date:Thursday, June 2, 2022 2:31:36 PM
Sent from my iPhone