88 replies to this topic

[FolsomJunior00]

As a 12 year resident of this town, I have grown sick and tired of watching this city council be run by developers and special interest groups. From their collective inability to manage growth, take care of affordable housing mandates, ignore the wishes of the public on water meters or provide essential services like adequate roads and utilities. Traffic is a mess and they do not seem to be bothered by it. This council does not seem to represent the views of the Folsom citizenry. I don’t trust the majority of them. Kerri Howell and Eric King seem to be good people but the others need to go.

Good man/woman/person, you are not blinded by the light! Be praised!

[Kerri Howell]

Usually, I have a knack for causing the end of a blog by posting - I guess it did not work this time.

Old Soldier - Martha is leaving with the City in good financial shape - she is NOT leaving with a golden parachute. Her employment is over at the end of April. We are hoping that she will continue to assist us after that (perhaps until mid summer) with some ongoing special projects, like the budget and some regional issues.

FDNY - right on the money!

Robert - what is the title of this blog? You and I have talked about affordable housing on the phone, and in person, and I have explained here and elsewhere that the City acted in accordance with our past "Housing Elements", the state did not require updating of the documents for many years, Folsom had always been viewed in a different light given that the prison is located here and we used to actually get credit for the prisoners, and over the time period during which the State was not requiring revisions to the housing elements (pretty much state wide), Folsom ends up in the spot light (higher housing prices than the rest of Sac County, great place to live, highest median income.....), political winds change statewide, especialy where housing is concerned and Voila, lawsuit from an ultra liberal organization downtown - Gee, why might they sue the upscale town that was about 65% Republican at the time? Soapbox comes to mind - oooops, somebody already said that - if you are looking for a campaign issue, might I suggest you find another one? As my favorite professor in college used to say, "That would be flagelating a deceased equine". Speaking of which, how long ago did Mike and Doug leave - 7 years ago? As I suggested, you might want to address that question to Mike, who, if I remember correctly, you were quite friendly with. I am a bit surprised that you didn't ask that question a long time ago.

FolsomJunior (or whoever logged in using that name last night) I will take it as a compliment that my name was not deleted from the quote.

So, I look forward to seeing all of you at the Council meeting tonite!

I guess this means I am back to being Fiesty Kerri.

Happy Valentines Day!

[ducky]

Kerri, I said I appreciate your "candor." You might want to lighten up on the scolding. Sometimes the opinions and discussion on this forum do lead to something being brought to the council's attention like, for instance, the garbage can ordinance.

You won't see me at the council meeting. I just don't find a council meeting a very romantic locale for a wedding anniversary. Not that I'm inclined to go any other Tuesday night. I've moved on to other causes where I feel I can make more of a difference.

Best wishes to Ms. Lofgren in her future endeavors.

[Terry]

Kerri, I said I appreciate your "candor." You might want to lighten up on the scolding. Sometimes the opinions and discussion on this forum do lead to something being brought to the council's attention like, for instance, the garbage can ordinance.

You won't see me at the council meeting. I just don't find a council meeting a very romantic locale for a wedding anniversary. Not that I'm inclined to go any other Tuesday night. I've moved on to other causes where I feel I can make more of a difference.

Best wishes to Ms. Lofgren in her future endeavors.

I don't see where Kerri was "scolding" anyone. She was responding to each person's specific issues. And it seems that unless some issues are resolved fully to the satisfaction of a particular individual, they continue to be issues, instead of acknowledging that there needs to be compromise.

[camay2327]

Kerri, thanks for coming online. I always appreciate it.

Nan and I will be going out to Scott's SeaFood for Valentine's dinner tonight so will not make the meeting.

[Robert Giacometti]

Usually, I have a knack for causing the end of a blog by posting - I guess it did not work this time.


FDNY - right on the money!

Robert - what is the title of this blog? You and I have talked about affordable housing on the phone, and in person, and I have explained here and elsewhere that the City acted in accordance with our past "Housing Elements", the state did not require updating of the documents for many years, Folsom had always been viewed in a different light given that the prison is located here and we used to actually get credit for the prisoners, and over the time period during which the State was not requiring revisions to the housing elements (pretty much state wide), Folsom ends up in the spot light (higher housing prices than the rest of Sac County, great place to live, highest median income.....), political winds change statewide, especialy where housing is concerned and Voila, lawsuit from an ultra liberal organization downtown - Gee, why might they sue the upscale town that was about 65% Republican at the time? Soapbox comes to mind - oooops, somebody already said that - if you are looking for a campaign issue, might I suggest you find another one? As my favorite professor in college used to say, "That would be flagelating a deceased equine". Speaking of which, how long ago did Mike and Doug leave - 7 years ago? As I suggested, you might want to address that question to Mike, who, if I remember correctly, you were quite friendly with. I am a bit surprised that you didn't ask that question a long time ago.

So, I look forward to seeing all of you at the Council meeting tonite!

I guess this means I am back to being Fiesty Kerri.

Happy Valentines Day!

Since the topic was about the City Manager leaving and then others including the Bee discussed some of the issues Martha had to deal with, its seems logical to include Affordable Housing.

Yes, Kerrie and I have had numerous conversations about this topic.

Something Kerrie left out, was that when Legal Services started their search of documents they discovered a memo from a Senior Manager, from the Mid 1990's, indicating that it was their belief that the city was not in compliance with the Affordable Housing element. Unfortunately, this was the smoking gun that caused the City to "give away the farm and pay for the closing costs" to settle the lawsuit. We can all draw our on conclusions why.

Our own Staff knew we weren't in compliance back in the mid 90's.

Steve Miklos, acknowledged at a council meeting in I believe July 04 that the Council did have opportunities to address the Affordable Housing issue during rezones of the remaining major Development projects. yet despite trying, they couldn't reach an agreement to get it done. I may not have liked his answer, but I do appreciate his being" forthright".

Another Council member was speaking at a meeting that I attended and indicated the reason why "We" were building so many apartments in the late 90's was to avoid building Affordable Housing in our new subdivisons.

Former staff have consistently acknowledged that everybody knew we weren't in compliance with affordable housing...yet no one wanted to address it.

Kerrie, why do you insist on defending something everbody else seems to acknowledge and accept?

We can agree that this issue cost us millions and millions of tax dollars. We spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy out Mike and Doug to bring in a new Manager with no experience.

Yes, I will be on my soap box when it comes to wasting tax dollars. I had been doing that for the 14 years before I ran for the council and I will continue to do this wether I run again or enjoy my time with my kids and/or spend more time Bass Fishing. I'm probably not going to change!

Kerrie, thanks again for your willingness to serve! I do appreciate what a thankless job you have....but I might suggest stop making the job more difficult than what it needs to be. Let us do that for you!

I hope it is a short meeting tonight.

Robert

[old soldier]

ducky, Kerri is not scolding she is being fiesty..there is a big difference and thats what makes her fun.
she is also not afreaid to tell us what she thinks which is more than can be said for the rest of the council.

they are either afraid to come on here or they think the readers and posters on my folsom don't carry any influence.

I kind of like the history lesson Robert gives about city managers of yester year. with a city growing so fast as Folsom most of them when they hear the word Frost thinks its something that kills their tomatoes. Most new folks probably came from places with worse traffic and can't see what is happening as folsom gets closer to gridlock during rush hours.

we should have another election coming up soon which should generate some sparks and fill the corners with signs of the developers favorites. I heard a rumor that former mayor steve was going to team up with the boy school teacher that ran last time so he could have another puppet on the council.

you would think a lot of this forum talk would rile the other council folks up to speak their piece.

hey guys are you men or mouses.....squeek up...

[ducky]

Please don't get me wrong. I also appreciate Kerri not being afraid to put her opinions in writing. Maybe I just took her "knack for ending a blog by posting" comment in the wrong way. Sorry, Kerry. I still like that you're feisty.

[Terry]

Since the topic was about the City Manager leaving and then others including the Bee discussed some of the issues Martha had to deal with, its seems logical to include Affordable Housing.

Yes, Kerrie and I have had numerous conversations about this topic.

Something Kerrie left out, was that when Legal Services started their search of documents they discovered a memo from a Senior Manager, from the Mid 1990's, indicating that it was their belief that the city was not in compliance with the Affordable Housing element. Unfortunately, this was the smoking gun that caused the City to "give away the farm and pay for the closing costs" to settle the lawsuit. We can all draw our on conclusions why.

Our own Staff knew we weren't in compliance back in the mid 90's.

Steve Miklos, acknowledged at a council meeting in I believe July 04 that the Council did have opportunities to address the Affordable Housing issue during rezones of the remaining major Development projects. yet despite trying, they couldn't reach an agreement to get it done. I may not have liked his answer, but I do appreciate his being" forthright".

Another Council member was speaking at a meeting that I attended and indicated the reason why "We" were building so many apartments in the late 90's was to avoid building Affordable Housing in our new subdivisons.

Former staff have consistently acknowledged that everybody knew we weren't in compliance with affordable housing...yet no one wanted to address it.

Kerrie, why do you insist on defending something everbody else seems to acknowledge and accept?

We can agree that this issue cost us millions and millions of tax dollars. We spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy out Mike and Doug to bring in a new Manager with no experience.

Yes, I will be on my soap box when it comes to wasting tax dollars. I had been doing that for the 14 years before I ran for the council and I will continue to do this wether I run again or enjoy my time with my kids and/or spend more time Bass Fishing. I'm probably not going to change!

Kerrie, thanks again for your willingness to serve! I do appreciate what a thankless job you have....but I might suggest stop making the job more difficult than what it needs to be. Let us do that for you!

I hope it is a short meeting tonight.

Robert

There are so many other cities in California that are out of compliance with affordable housing statutes. Folsom is not much different than all those other cities, we just ended up getting sued for noncompliance.

There are so many other cities in California that are out of compliance with affordable housing statutes. Folsom is not much different than all those other cities, we just ended up getting sued for noncompliance.

Here's California's latest report on housing element compliance. Go to the back pages of the report for the lilsting of cities to see which are and aren't in compliance.

http://www.hcd.ca.go.../he/2000hes.pdf

[Robert Giacometti]

There are so many other cities in California that are out of compliance with affordable housing statutes. Folsom is not much different than all those other cities, we just ended up getting sued for noncompliance.
Here's California's latest report on housing element compliance. Go to the back pages of the report for the lilsting of cities to see which are and aren't in compliance.

http://www.hcd.ca.go.../he/2000hes.pdf

Terry,

I would agree with you and agree with Kerrie's point about it being somewhat politically correct in suing Folsom. However, using the defense of everybody else is doing it ( or not in this case) usually doesn't hold up very well in court. If you add in the fact that our own staff wrote a memo indicating we were not in compliance and we had many opportunities to address the issue but didn't, put us in a vulnerable position.

Many have suggested if we went to trial and lost, that our penalty probably would have not been as severe as we agreed to. A judge may even have voided all existing DA's and forced the City and developers to renegoiate these DA's to ensure that there was Affordable Housing included in ALL projects. this would have lessened the City's cost and we the taxpayers. Also, some public official may have been lambasted by Judge/court, so we paid dearly to avoid this.

My frustration over this is simply it wasn't the existing Citizens tax dollars that were being protected. We "gave away the Farm and paid the closing costs", this wasn't done to protect you and I.

Now as we look S50 and many of these same people are in the positions they are in, have you seen any piece of evidence that anything is going to be any different, given the fact that we have elected officials praising the person who was in charge during this process.

We can not change the past, but it is an indication of the future.

[econ101]

I see in the Sac Bee this morning that the former assistant city manager for Folsom received a great buyout to leave Folsom City Hall and then winds up making a ton of money in Elk Grove doing the same thing. It seems strange to me as a tax payer that all of these city officials are leaving right now.

On another subject; when is the city going to fix that huge bump in the road along Iron Point near Costco caused by the old railroad track? I left Costco the other day and almost crashed my car because of that traffic hazard. Someone at the city needs to fix that problem. Or is that person also leaving?

[camay2327]

econ101, have you called anyone at the city yet about this. That is the first thing you should do and then let us know what happens..............

You have to take the BULL by the horns around here to get anything done.....

[forumreader]

On another subject; when is the city going to fix that huge bump in the road along Iron Point near Costco caused by the old railroad track? I left Costco the other day and almost crashed my car because of that traffic hazard. Someone at the city needs to fix that problem. Or is that person also leaving?

What huge bump? There is a dip in the road, identified by signage. There are also the old railroad tracks, which don't seem to be any higher than other rr tracks.....I'm a little confused. My husband and I use that section of the road daily, and have not perceived it to be a hazard. Of course if a driver is going too fast.....

[econ101]

econ101, have you called anyone at the city yet about this. That is the first thing you should do and then let us know what happens..............

You have to take the BULL by the horns around here to get anything done.....

Great suggestion camay2327. I will call city hall and file my complaint and let everyone know what the response is on fixing the road.

[Robert Giacometti]

[quote name='econ101' date='Feb 26 2006, 07:57 AM' post='100681']
I see in the Sac Bee this morning that the former assistant city manager for Folsom received a great buyout to leave Folsom City Hall and then winds up making a ton of money in Elk Grove doing the same thing. It seems strange to me as a tax payer that all of these city officials are leaving right now.


Its time to open your eyes everybody!( Sorry Econ 101,I'm not directing this at you, just using your post)

Can anyone be surprised that the City Manager announces they are leaving and then restructures the Assistants Job right before they are leaving. Why would the Manager make these changes while they were leaving, Why not allow the New Manager the opportunity to work with someone who knows the history? I recall these were some of the reasons ( knowing the History) given for hiring the current City Manager, while buying out both former City Manager and Assistant City Manager, then not even searching for other candiates.

When the City manager leaves the ability to sign contracts will rest with the Assistant City Manager. I wonder if Mr. Estep would have been willing to sign the $300.00 an hour consulting contacts soon to be awarded to....guess who? ( Yes, there have been many different insiders predicting this as soon as the news broke)

Tgianco, you were wondering why the Chief of Police for Acting Assistant City Manager without any experience? Tony, you were right on....don't stop now! Remember the only person the City Council hires is the City Manager per our city charter, not the Assistant who will have contract signing approval during the vacancy of City Manager

If everything is going so well as the City Manager claims, Why would they need to restructure jobs on their way out? Isn't that a contrarian statement? Why have so many different managers and key staff left recently...if everything is going so well?

How long before the Chief of Police announces their retirement? Aren't pensions based on highest salary over the last 3 years? You scratch my back....I'll.......

The council needs to adopt an emergency ordinance "PROHIBITING hiring former city employees as Consultants for 3 or 4 years after they leave!

I'm sick and tired of all this talk about ethics, "core values" and integrity.....it was and has been a bunch of BS!

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK FOR YOU!