PVP Watch Newsletter - January 26, 2008
January 16th - RPV Council Meeting
Usually watching RPV Council meetings is like watching grass grow. Occasionally however, issues arise that make it interesting. January 16th was one of those meetings.
Councilman Peter Gardiner questioned nearly $30,000 in payments to PV Net. As some are aware, Gardiner has been questioning PV Net costs for some time - to no avail. Many will recall that IT costs / services provided by PV Net was a campaign issue.
The January 16th check register had a total payment to PV Net of $27,022.46. Of this $17,297.68 was for "Tech Support" for October 2007. As was reported by City Manager Carolyn Lehr services provided under this category were "Help Desk" and some other maintenance services. It has been previously reported by PV Net and City Hall that the PV Net billed rate is only $40 per hour. It is our understanding that there are less than 50 employees and no more that 80 workstations at RPV City Hall. Well....$40 / hour equates to 432 man-hours ($17,297.68 / 40 = 432.45). This results in an average of 5.4 hours of assistance per workstation (432.45 / 80). The December 4th, 2007 check register had similar costs for September "Tech Support". There are "IT" professionals subscribing to PVP Watch. We would appreciate comments from IT professionals as to the reasonableness of an average of 5.4 hours of tech support per workstation per month. Please send comments to - info@pvpwatch.com.
Back to the lively discourse of Gardiner vs. Stern & Long, During the meeting, Gardiner had voiced his concerns with PV Net costs. Mayor Stern and Councilman Long angrily objected to Gardiner's questioning of PV Net's billing. Stern & Long -- apparently still smarting over past remarks concerning their relationship with PV Net attempted to rebuke Gardiner for bringing up the PV Net issue. They received a heated response from Gardiner. Stern & Long used the excuse that the ongoing "Management Survey" would be providing answers to the "IT" issues and that they should await that report before taking any actions. The question is: will the Management Survey provide anything meaningful concerning IT issues other than further analysis ($$$) is recommended? Will the Management Survey suggest more or fewer City employees? Did this expenditure of taxpayer funds provide meaningful results? We understand the Management Survey is due in late February.
Update on Storm Drain Activities
McCarrell Canyon: As some will recall, the source of the overflow problem on PV Drive South, across from St Peters Church, during the 2005 storm was the McCarrell Canyon catch basin.
The cause of the overflow was a "plugged catch basin" caused by floating debris and boulders from the canyon lodged on the outlet grille preventing water from actually entering the storm drainpipe beneath the street, thus it overflowed.
Subsequently a "fix" consisting of a series of fence-like structures made of steel beams with stretched steel cable across the width of the canyon upstream of the catch basin was installed at a cost of approximately $120,000. While not as heavy as the 2005 Storm, this week's storm did have several substantial downpours. One of our PVP Watchers has been observing the McCarrell Canyon catch basin water flow and reports the "fix" that was installed since 2005 is working well. This week's storms did prove that the "fix" was able to catch debris and prevent plugging of the grille. There were only a few strands of weeds observed to be hanging on the grille the next morning.
Had the $120,000 been spent before the January 2005 storm RPV would most likely not be facing $12,000,000 in lawsuits. Of course, the Council did not seem to be as interested in fixing problems as they were in spending $300,000 of taxpayer funds promoting the unneeded Storm Drain tax.
PV High Athletic Facilities.
Recently PVP Watch received an inquiry concerning the PV High swimming pool project and what happened to the funds contributed. The short version as we understand the situation. The fund raising effort raised about $1,000,000 which was not sufficient to do the project as proposed. They went to plan "B" which was to reduce the scope of the project. Current plans are now in Sacramento awaiting project approval. Hopefully, plans will soon be approved and renovation will begin. One of the issues of school construction is that all plans must be approved by the State Architect in Sacramento.
Seniors / PVPUSD Parcel Tax Exemption
PVP Watch received the follow from one of our Newsletter subscribers.
"...I really appreciate the fact that you are doing a public service by helping seniors apply for their parcel tax exemption. However, if the governor's budget stands as proposed, our school district will be facing cutbacks, not just of frills, but of core educational functions. This is in spite of the parcel tax, Ed Foundation, and PTA fundraising. May we suggest to those who don't really need the $200 savings, PVP schools could really use the money.
People who have already applied for the exemption (or anyone else for that matter) can directly help our schools by making a tax-deductible contribution to the Peninsula Education Foundation, from where their donation will flow directly into the district budget.
I know this goes without saying, but it shouldn't just be a matter of whether one still has children in the schools. Good schools make for good communities, and good communities benefit all of the residents, young and old...."
The gentleman has a point. For those so inclined, the address for the Peninsula Education Foundation is - PO Box 2632 / Palos Verdes Peninsula, 90274 - www.pvpef.org
PVP Watch - Contributions
PVP Watch also welcomes modest contributions. If you like what you read, please consider a modest contribution, Checks can be sent to PVP Watch / PO Box 7000-22 / Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA 90274. All funds will be used to support the PVP Watch website and to help expand our Peninsula coverage.
Other Postings
RHE - Village Projects
RHE has tentatively scheduled a Jan 29 meeting in the RHE Council Chambers to solicit comments from area residents regarding potential items for a future policy development session. This will likely include condominium development in the "Village" commercial / residential district. Those with opinions concerning "Village" projects are invited to attend.
For more information contact Niki Cutler at (310) 377-1577, or by e-mail at:
nikic@ci.rolling-hills-estates.ca.us
Subscribers
The PVP Watch e-mail list continues to grow. For those who wish their addresses removed, please send notice to info@pvpwatch.com
PVP Watch strives to bring current issues to http://www.pvpwatch.com/. Those who have topics of community interest are encouraged to bring those issues to PVP Watch.
The Editorial Committee
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