Yes, it’s slowing down around Our Town Tustin (politically speaking). Don’t worry, we will continue to provide you with the latest in local political tidbits of interest. They just may be few and far between.

Topping the Tustin City Council Agenda for this Tuesday is the certification of the election results and the administration of the Oath of Office for new and old Tustin City Councilmembers. I am sure this will be quite a show. I expect the usual custom of having as many of the good ol’ boys past and present for cake afterwards will present some interesting photo opportunities. We plan to be there as we always believe in having our cake and eating it, too.

I was looking over the Agenda Report for Item 7 on the Consent Calendar. This item is an agreement to install Category 6 computer cabling for the city. It is interesting to note the city has a prevailing wage clause in the awarded contract wtih Vertex but does not require any kind of verification. How difficult would it be to have someone look over a provided report to insure all aspects of the contract are being enforced? I would suggest our council take a look at this minor but important issue.

Item 11 on the Regular Business Calendar is the second reading of the ordinance to approve the First Street Specific Plan. Elizabeth Binsack’s crew did a good job of refining this plan to accommodate the needs of the Old Town residents affected by the original plan as the business demographics of the city have changed drastically over the years. The minor changes to planning and zoning will ensure the Old Town area remains intact as a historical resource. Now, if we could just get the council and Binsack to keep businesses out of the residential areas, we’d sit down and shut up – OK, not really…

Closed Session

The main items of interest to the new council should be the lawsuits between the City of Tustin and the Tustin Unified School District. The original lawsuit filed by the school district in 2010 is scheduled for trial beginning January 28, 2013 in Judge Gastelum’s courtroom. There is time to resolve this unwinnable situation before then. We know that John Nielsen and the podiatrist councilman have no interest in resolving the issue, preferring to stick their heads in the sand and hold up a middle finger to the taxpayer while hoping for a miracle. Not even Mayor Nielsen’s new found religion will change the facts, however.

We are a bit concerned that the other lawsuit regarding the Heritage Elementary School remains on the agenda. Please don’t tell me they are actually considering an appeal…

Consent Calendar

Item 5 – Consent to Representation in Real Property Negotiations – Provides the city with required waiver letters to allow representation by Amy Freilich and the law firm of Armruster, Goldsmith and Delvac of the city in negotiations with a previous client, Regency Centers.

Item 7 – Agreement for Category 6 City Wide Cabling Infrastructure Project – Installation of highspeed cabling between city facilities.

Item 9 – Award Contract for Traffic Signal Battery Backup Phase 2 – Second bank of battery backups for traffic signals. The bulk of these will be installed along Newport Avenue.

Item 10 – Award Contract for the Edinger Avenue Well – Phase 1 Drilling Project – The project was moved up to coincide with the construction of the new hotels in the area.

Regular Business

Item 11 – Second Reading and Adoption of Ordinance Approving Amendments to the First Street Specific Plan – We recommend the city council adopt this resolution as it has been prepared. Good Job, Elizabeth & Co.

That’s it for the business part of the evening. I have it on good authority that cake will be available afterward. I am sure there will be more than a few photo ops of councilmembers, past and present, with cake on their face.