LOCAL ELECTIONS / MISSION VIEJO CITY COUNCIL : Multimillion-Dollar Projects Major Issues in Campaign

The wisdom of several multimillion-dollar projects planned by the City Council has become the campaign theme for nearly all the candidates running for two council seats this November.

“The number one issue is the big spending habits of the City Council,” said candidate Gary Manley. “They waste money through mismanagement. It’s not that I’m opposed to most of the projects; I’m opposed to how they’re doing them because these things could be accomplished with a lot less money.”

Seven candidates are running for the two council seats, including incumbent William S. Craycraft. The other seat is that of Councilman Robert A. Curtis, who is not seeking reelection.

Along with Manley, Craycraft, Edward Kearns, Lawrence Smith and Joseph Lowe say they would push to cut out or reduce spending on several projects pushed forward by the council in the past year. Candidates Don Heffern and Sherri Butterfield support full funding of one or more of the major projects but urge caution with overall spending.

But city officials point to Mission Viejo’s large cash reserves and maintain that this city of 73,000, which incorporated just over four years ago, badly needs these projects, which include:

* Plans for an $18-million City Hall, which were defeated by voters last June. A ballot measure on Nov. 3 will ask residents if they want the right to vote on any future plans for a City Hall.

* A library that would cost about $7.6 million, including land. Voters will be asked to approve a $5-million construction bond on Nov. 3.

* Land for an animal shelter, which the city recently agreed to buy for $1 million.

* Other programs include a proposed rail station that could cost about $5 million.

But the candidates point to 1997 as a doomsday year when tax advantages Mission Viejo earned from the state as a newly incorporated city will expire. That will mean a loss of about $3.5 million annually, city officials say.

Although the city’s finance staff said the funding loss will only affect capital improvement projects--revenue sources for the operating budget will still be in place--council candidates say Mission Viejo could be in trouble by 1997.

Several candidates say the animal shelter, rail station and library will be used by residents of other cities and the costs should be shared.

“I know the commuter rail in particular is a regional facility that several cities should kick in for,” said Lowe, who sits on the city Planning Commission. “We should deal with it as a regional issue and reduce its cost.”

Council members, however, are taking exception to what they see as campaign year council-bashing.

“It’s nothing more than campaign rhetoric,” Councilwoman Susan Withrow said. “It’s very easy to attack those who are seated rather than ride on your own merits.”

With the city reserves estimated at about $16.3 million compared to an operating budget of $23 million, Withrow said, talk of impending financial doom is “a total fabrication.”

The city has taken steps to ensure its financial stability, including contracting for a report to help prioritize future capital expenditures. The city also is working to attract large commercial interests to Mission Viejo. Home Depot has announced plans to open a store in the city, and negotiations are ongoing for an auto mall.

A clear indication how voters feel about spending will be the library ballot issue. Opponents say that at 25,000 square feet, the proposed library is too expensive and too big.

“I support library expansion,” Craycraft said. “But with the cloudiness of the financial future for all cities in the state, we cannot afford to put massive bonded indebtedness on the taxpayers for 30 to 40 years in the future.”

But Heffern said postponing the library and other projects will cost the city more eventually.

“The community needs a new library and the longer you wait to construct it, the more it will cost later on,” he said.

For Butterfield, who served on the library committee for the past year, the need for full funding of the facility is clear. The current library has outgrown the building that was built in 1971 when Mission Viejo’s population was less than 20,000.

“We need this library desperately,” she said. “If people have to choose between me and the library, I hope they choose the library.”