MAILBAG - June 28, 2001

I am writing you in hopes of gaining some attention to our

neighborhood. Realtors have informed our neighborhood the city is

responsible for repaving the alleyways and our streets.

In turn, we have written the city numerous times in hopes of gaining

their attention. Several years back, the streets of our neighborhood were

repaved. However, we all waited for the city to return and repave the

alleys. The city never came back and our alleys have not been repaved

since our development was built in 1973.

In addition, since our alleys are our driveways, our children run,

play, develop and grow up on them. Furthermore, they are in such poor

condition it has become dangerous and disastrous.

Because of holes, general wear and tear and huge gaps, adults and

children have fallen. It is an alarming concern for us all, since more

and more families are experiencing injury and safety concerns.

As a neighborhood, we do our best to keep it clean of debris, glass,

trash and anything else that may cause harm.

Our property taxes have risen and risen, and newer home developments’

alleys are well-groomed. Our sidewalks are constantly being ripped up and

worked on, but why hasn’t anything been done to improve our alleys? And

now they are beautifying Beach Boulevard center islands with large trees

-- where does it end and our needs begin?

Also, are we asking too much to have the street sweeper come down

through the alley on their way to clean the street? We all see they come

down the street to turn around and clean, but how about if they come down

the alley first to clean on their way there or on their way back.

(Depending on what side of the day it is) We care about our homes and

community and hope that you do, too.

This holiday weekend, I will be circulating a petition in the

neighborhood to address the above issue. I will be forwarding it once

again to the city. But is it going to be enough?

NOELLE HIPKE

La Cuesta Homes of Huntington Beach

Playhouse situation unfair and unreasonable

Regarding the Huntington Beach Playhouse, I am very concerned about

what I see.

If we as a city assess the playhouse with a square-foot rate

calculated on the entire overhead of the library services department or

base it on the full cost for loss of imagined income if the theater could

be rented full-time to “profit” groups, we would have to calculate the

art center on its square footage of the entire overhead of the Community

Services Department.

Also, we would have to assess our beaches on the square footage and

overhead of its department, and all groups and services would have to be

assessed likewise.

If this theory is accepted, our community centers would never bring in

enough revenue to cover their expenses, the library itself would not

exist, nor would any other community service our city chooses to offer,

and we would not pay taxes. (Could this be true?)

These kinds of situations should be assessed based on the “relevant

cost” -- the cost to the city that would go away if the service or event

went away. We cannot charge community services and nonprofit groups with

irrelevant costs.

To do so would eliminate all community services and groups.

The playhouse has been a successful and solvent group for more than 35

years in our community. This group of volunteers wants nothing more than

to continue to bring our community quality entertainment and education at

a reasonable price. We cannot turn them into fund-raisers for the city.

This is not fair, and it is not reasonable.

DAWN STANTON

Huntington Beach

Bond failure hurts the future

As longtime residents who put our now-grown sons happily through the

Huntington Beach schools, we are ashamed of the apparent greed and

selfishness of the citizens of this community for twice now rejecting the

reasonable and realistic Huntington Beach City School District’s

propositions for rehabilitating and upgrading the physical plants of

these aging facilities.

In Duane Dishno, we have been fortunate to have had one of the truly

outstanding educational administrators in the state --skills and results

we closely observed. And while his early (and frankly unfortunate)

retirement apparently has nothing to do with these defeated propositions,

if we continue to ignore his educational achievements despite these

facilities, the negative, long-term implications will become clear for

our children, particularly as the population mix continues to change.

While we generally support few bond issues -- for heaven’s sake and

Dishno’s legacy -- when this proposition comes to a vote again as it

surely must, don’t fail our children. They are our future.

DEE AND RICK TAYLOR

Huntington Beach