City departments to share tech support

A decision to merge computer systems and share technical support

between five city departments to cut costs drew protests from library

staff and residents who contend it needs its own specialized programs

and attention.

The City Council approved the plan to alter the city’s information

services department, which provides technological support to all city

departments, 3 to 2 Monday night to shave about $1 million from the

budget.

Instead of having separate employees performing similar functions

in different departments, a smaller team of technicians will be

cross-trained to serve all departments from a central location.

“I can’t not support saving $1 million when layoff notices went to

39 people last week,” Mayor Connie Boardman said.

The consolidation will also shrink the number of full-time

computer specialists at the library from three to one, said Janis

Ingels, director of Information Services.

A handful of library supporters spoke out against reorganization,

arguing that the library has special needs and would suffer if its

technology staff was reduced.

“Computer experts know about computers, but do they know about

library catalogs? I don’t think so,” Surf City resident Joan Rambo

said at the Monday night City Council meeting.

Combining the departments would benefit the outdated library

computer system by bringing it up to par with the other city systems,

Asst. City Manager Bill Workman said.

“The uniqueness of the library system is that it’s nearing

obsolescence,” Workman said. “We need to migrate into something more

generic and more commonly used.”

The library system serves the public in the library well now,

Workman said, but it takes a lot of time and energy.

“I think it’s going to be a change, but based on the current

financial system, it’s going to provide an excellent level of service

for the library,” Workman said.

After a debate, the council voted to approve the consolidation

rather than postpone the issue to study effects on the library with

the library board, as suggested by Councilman Dave Sullivan and

supported by Councilwomen Debbie Cook.

“I feel it’s going to irritate the library board that they haven’t

been a part of this whole process,” Sullivan said.

The reorganization will go into effect Aug. 1.

Coastline celebrates county’s visionaries

Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona, humanitarian Frank Jao,

philanthropist Olga E. Niebla and Thomas Parham, assistant vice

chancellor for Counseling and Health Services, were awarded Coastline

Community College’s 2003 Visionary Awards.

“It may be June gloom outside, but it’s June joy for us,”

President Ding-Jo H. Currie said at the college’s annual luncheon,

held to honor four people who have worked to improve the lives of

Orange County residents.

Coastline Community College educates 12,000 students at eight

different sites throughout Orange County -- Huntington Beach, Costa

Mesa, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach,

Seal Beach and Westminster.

“When we say that the community college value is the best bargain

in town, we mean it,” Currie said.

Niebla, a community leader with a focus on education and cultural

awareness dedicated the award to “students who work so hard to

receive an education.”

Carona, once nicknamed “America’s Sheriff” by CNN’s Larry King,

accepted the plaque on behalf of the entire Orange County Sheriff’s

Department and then dropped it. It can now sit on at least two desks.

He also presented the college a $5,000 award of his own on behalf of

the Mike Carona Foundation.

Jao, creator of the Asian Garden Mall, an indoor retail complex in

Orange County’s Little Saigon, oversees numerous real estate realty

services and investment companies. He is also a member of the

Coastline Community College Foundation’s board of directors.

“Thank you for reassuring me that giving back to the community can

make a difference,” Jao said, accepting the award.

Parham is a member of the National Assn. of Black Psychologists

and the American Counseling Assn. and host of the annual African

American Business Summit.

“There is no greater blessing than being entrusted with the

emotional, intellectual and spiritual life of young people,” Parham

said.

Coerper appoints new planning commissioner

City Councilman Gil Coerper announced Thursday that he would

appoint Community Services Commissioner John Scandura to fill the

empty seat on the Planning Commission.

The appointment was approved by the City Council on Monday night.

Scandura will fill the gap left by former commissioner Keith Bohr,

who resigned after allegations that he misused his position in the

city.

Scandura will resign from the Community Services Commission to

become a planning commissioner.

An eight-year Huntington Beach resident, Scandura served on the

Environmental Board from 1996 to 2001 and on the Bolsa Chica Wetlands

Restoration Technical Advisory Committee from 1997 to 2001.

He works for the Southern California Branch of the California

State Department of Toxic Substances Control as a branch chief of the

Office of Military Facilities. He holds a master’s in environmental

science and engineering and a bachelor’s in biological sciences.

Volunteers needed to transport Seniors

Surf City’s senior services organization is seeking a driver for

the city’s seniors.

The driver would take seniors to a number of places for

sightseeing, entertainment and family visits to hospital

transportation. Service is door-to-door.

Volunteer drivers for the Council on Aging Senior Team receive 10

hours of training, a city car, a two-way radio/phone for emergencies

and maps to guide them from place to place.

Transportation services are free to seniors. They are jointly

provided by the Huntington Beach Council on Aging, the Orange County

Transportation Authority, the Office on Aging, the Hoag Memorial

Hospital and the Council on Aging Senior Team volunteers.

For more information, contact Diane Swarts, Senior Services

volunteer coordinator, at (714) 374-1544.