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Friday, February 05, 2016

Documents provide interesting Y.L. snapshots

My weekly checks of agendas, meeting minutes, reports and other documents from the boards, commissions and committees making up Yorba Linda's governmental structure often turn up facts and statistics that provide interesting snapshots of the community.

Here are some of the latest:

--Individuals, businesses, PTA groups and service organizations have donated $357,052 to Placentia-Yorba Linda school campuses since the beginning of the school year, most in the $100 to $1,000 range, with some larger $5,000 to $15,000 sums from PTA fundraisers.

The district stretches budget dollars with a $99 Amazon Prime membership to take advantage of low-cost vendors and free shipping. Lower prices for fresh fruits and vegetables for student meals come from “piggy-back” purchases with a Hawthorne district Sunrise Produce contract.

--Arrests for driving under the influence on city byways totaled 52 for the last six months of 2015. Most arrests were in the 20 to 29 and 55 to 65-plus age groups, followed by ages 40 to 54, then 30 to 39.

During the same period, 1,032 traffic citations were issued, 568 for hazardous violations (moving and radar offenses) and 464 non-hazardous (equipment, registration, seat belt). Fifty-nine collisions were reported, 17 with injuries.

--Plans for an outdoor sports facility at Canyon Hills Friends Church featuring a 3,000 square-foot sports court and other structures were approved by the Planning Commission. The panel also approved a 14-child day care facility at 4972 Ohio St.

Although twice delayed, plans for a staffed recycling center in the rear parking area of the Stater Bros. market on Yorba Linda Boulevard are expected to be presented in the future.

--Travel and conference expenses for Yorba Linda Water District directors totaled $3,806 for October-December 2015, $190 for meals and travel to Fountain Valley meetings and $3,616 for fees, meals, lodging and travel to three-day conferences in Las Vegas, Palm Springs and Indian Wells. July-September 2015 expenses were $2,946.

During the same period, directors were paid $13,800 for attending 92 meetings at $150 per meeting, a bit less than the $16,050 earned for 107 meetings for the previous three months.

--Mosquito and dead bird samples are checked for West Nile virus by the county Vector Control District. Last year, 15 of the 425 birds tested came from Yorba Linda, and of 97 virus cases in humans, three were city residents. Countywide, 577 mosquitoes and 84 birds tested positive.

Residents who find a bird that died in the last 24 hours and, without touching it, place it in a plastic bag can call 714-971-2421 extension 117 during business hours to coordinate a pick-up for possible examination.

Among 35 members of the district's board of trustees is Councilwoman Peggy Huang, who is in the second year of a two-year term, appointed by her council colleagues. Trustees are paid $100 per meeting, usually monthly.