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Mitre -Ramirez, Norma <br />From: Christina Dorsa -Smith < <br />Sent: Sunday, October 1, 2017 8:31 PM <br />To: eComment <br />Subject: Quality of Life/Safety Threats in the City of Santa Ana <br />Mayor Pulido and City Council Members, <br />I am writing this email to let you know of my concerns regarding the current state of our City and my increasing <br />lack of confidence in what is being done to ensure safety as well as quality of life for our residents. I am on the <br />Morrison Park Neighborhood Association board and writing to you as a long time Santa Ana <br />resident/homeowner - 40 years total. <br />I have been well aware of the reputation that Santa Ana has had and have always been able to defend and <br />counter most negativity. I have loved living here in the City of Santa Ana and in the Morrison Park <br />Neighborhood. My ability to support and defend the City has diminished greatly and I now question my <br />commitment to remaining a resident. I am also sorry to see some wonderful neighbors move out of Santa Ana. <br />The rights of the 'unsheltered' homeless have been elevated while the rights of other citizens have been put in <br />jeopardy. Attending meetings at City Hall brings increased concerns of safety. This is also the case of the bike <br />trails and some parks within the City. I can no longer walk the trails due to safety concerns with homeless <br />encampments. <br />I strongly hope that the Homeless Emergency Ordinance Section 10-554 - Unpermitted Services in the Civic <br />Center - No person, entity, organization or business shall provide food, medical or social services in the Civic <br />Center without first obtaining the written permission of the City Manager, or their designee, and any <br />applicable licenses or permits required to provide such services or access to Civic Center property. The purpose <br />of this section is to ensure that all services are provided in an organized manner by those who have the proper <br />experience, credentials needed to provide the service and who have submitted a setup and clean-up plan. - is <br />approved as soon as possible and then possibly extended to any'unsheltered' homeless encampments withing <br />the City. The negative unintended consequence of the actions of those providing, food, clothing and other <br />0> — E%A C <br />The trees in our parks are dying or dead. The head of Parks and Recreation spoke at a meeting recently and <br />said there was no money to remove or replace trees. There is money; however, in a'liability fund' if someone <br />gets hurt by a tree falling. So we would rather wait until someone gets hurt than be proactive in taking care of <br />the trees that are in our parks? Couldn't it also be true that it will be more expensive to replace trees at a later <br />time? We were also told that the parks are over-whelmed by the current amount of residents that use them. On <br />top of this, the City is considering the approval of more high-density and low income housing. What effect will <br />that have on our parks and how will that be handled? <br />The fact that the current council supported continuing with the termination of the ICE contract without any firm <br />ideas of a new use of the facility proves that there is no forward thinking, proactive planning or positive <br />management leaving the City in a budget crisis. Isn't poor management one of the reasons the past City <br />Manager is no longer our City Manager? <br />The proposals that have been shared at various meetings may be a step in the right direction, but are not nearly <br />enough. Action is needed to restore confidence in those that are running the City. <br />