Last Up Date January 14th 2010

Getting Along:

The first issue that I would like to address is that our town council members must learn to get along.

We need to agree to disagree and find a common ground within compromise in order to serve our community.

This holds true for our community members alike. We are all part of this community, we all have a voice! We all have the right to our opinions, however at the same time we all need to learn to get along with one another in order to accomplish the important things that make up our community, after all we are all neighbors and as neighbors we should respect one another.

All for one, one for all!

Community Standards District

The Intent and Purpose of a Community Standards District is to establish and to protect the community’s unique appeal, including its rural agricultural character. Basically, a Community Standards District is a Land use document.

We refer to these standards as "Activities".

In short, "Activities" are basically rules that are defined as to what we as a community have determined to be those freedoms that we can enjoy on our own property. While they are not intended to "prohibit" a resident's activity, they do remind us that we all voluntarily agree to abide by certain rules of conduct - that's what civilization and neighborliness are all about. This include the use of the property in general, everything from living conditions, noise, disturbances, personal property, what we are allowed to build on our property, running a business or a farm, the animals we own and their purpose, the way things are displayed, stored and the way we use them. The list goes on but I think you get the idea!

These "Activities" also coincide with the defined laws and codes written by our county and allow us to modify those codes in order to suit our community needs, provisions and rules that we live by.

The codes that I refer to are the codes that have been written by the Los Angeles County, these codes are governed by different departments of Los Angeles County which include, the Department of  Regional Planning and Development, the Department of Building and Safety, the Health Department, Animal Control etc. etc.

Some of the codes written by Los Angeles County are sketchy at best and for the past couple of years the County of Los Angeles have interpreted these codes to their advantage and have cited many of our community members for what they refer to as "Unapproved Activities".

For the past couple of years our community and our town council has been overwhelmed with problems associated with our current CSD's - they do not provide enough protection for the residents of our community. As a result, hundreds of citations have been issued, most of them based on anonymous complaints. The county has demanded that people must remove containers, trucks, cars, and other items that the county finds objectionable, even though there the county codes are silent on the specifics. The county demands "non compliance fees," and threaten thousands of dollars in fines and potential jail time if compliance is not reached within 30 days.

Recently our town council put into place a committee of community members and officials to address these issues. The committee will craft language that will amend our current community standards and, when approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, will provide the additional levels of protection for all residents and property owners.

Now that this committee is progressing very well, our town council can get on to new business and other issues that need to be addressed in our community.

Any and all community members are welcome and urged to attend the CSD meetings.

I Hope to See You There!

State Route 138 is an east-west state highway generally following the northern foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains of Southern California, 138 goes right through Littlerock and will be in the process of being upgraded soon!

Our town of Littlerock may be an eye blink to some commuters that travel hwy 138 but we call it "HOME"! Our town council needs to make sure that Caltrans Sticks to the Plan!

It is vital that we make sure that while construction gets underway that it does not disrupt Littlerock's economic life! Our local businesses are very important and we need to make sure that travelers and our local community members have access to our local businesses and that Caltrans understands this. There is a general plan that outlines the scenic properties and infrastructure that is to be put into place that was agreed upon several years ago between Caltrans and our town council. Because of our current economy there are portions of this plan that may have no funding and therefore there is the possibility that the plan would not be completed within the guidelines that where agreed upon.

(Photo by Michael P. Neufeld.)

Our town council will need to be vigilant in regard to solving problems that may occur and to keep a close watch to insure that the job is done right. There is a good possibility that we will need a committee to oversee this project and if elected, I am one that is willing to chair this committee! The next Transportation Summit, chaired by Supervisor Antonovich at FS 129 is in January 2010 - the newly elected members of the Littlerock Town Council will be there to help insure that the 138 Improvement Project through Littlerock is at the top of CalTrans to do list.

Littlerock Library

Parks and Recreation

In order to balance the budget, California State legislators have been or are thinking of "borrowing" local property tax money that normally goes to our local library's and parks and recreation departments.

This not only effects the operations of these facilitates but takes away from our extended learning and children's programs.

At this point for the County Library system that would mean $6.6 million dollars.

With the bad economy the County Library system has already absorbed $9.4 million dollars in reductions.
If the State takes all of their money, the County will have no choice but to reduce hours and even close some facilities.

Borrowing County funds will not solve the State's problem it will only sustain it for awhile!

We as community members can pitch in and help by raising money for the extended learning and children's programs provided by our county. With this action we can help take some of the financial burdens off of our County in order to use their general funds in keeping our facilities staffed and open to the general public!

Remember, the Littlerock Library serves a larger geographic area than any other library in the county system.

Everett Martin Park is the Rodney Dangerfield of Los Angeles county Parks - as Bill Guild would say "it gets no respect". A simple comparison to Jackie Robinson Park, Sorensen Park in Lake Los Angeles, and Pearblossom Park, will reveal the problems. Everett Martin Park has no permanent staff, no meeting facilities, and few community programs. Named for pioneer and civic leader Everett W. Martin, this 6.68 acre park began with the May 29, 1974, dedication of the Swimming Pool and Bathhouse, which had been a long-time dream of the foothill communities of the Littlerock area.

My father Bill Hillinger published the Disaster Preparedness program for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. He was the Incident Command System and Emergency Services Officer for S. B. County Fire Department.

San Bernardino County is the largest county in the United States and is extremely diversified in regard to the terrain and the communities that it encompasses it. Each community had its own plan, a document that specified exactly what that community should do during disasters of Fire, Earthquake, Flood and even Terrorism.

These plans laid out how to evacuate not only the family but livestock and what each community member should have in regard to their own personal survival, They also specified what the community as a group should have in place for survival just in case they were cut off from the rest of the world for several days, weeks or even months.

The community of Littlerock has several routs out of the area, but what happens if the infrastructure out of Littlerock fails?

What happens when community members start running out of their personal emergency supplies?

What happens if we have no communication, no electricity, no water, no food, no emergency services and no way out?

My father instilled these ideas in my way of thinking and because of my training I believe that we need a community plan!

When it comes to some of the issues I have mentioned above Everett Martin Park should have a community facility to accommodate those who might become homeless. When it comes to our CSD's, Everett Martin Park should have 3 to 4 shipping containers for storage of food, clothing, water, medical and breathing equipment, tools etc. The park's swimming pool should be repaired and have water in it at all times for drinking.

We need to partner with the Red Cross and offer emergency medical workshops and classes for our community members and we need to put a Certified Emergency Response Team in place.

I along with my running mates all believe that we as a community need to start putting our heads together in order to come up with a plan and we needed to do it yesterday!

I hope that we never have to ever go through a major disaster, however the more prepared we are as a community the better off we will be if we as a community are prepaired!

It takes a lot more to run a town council then what most people might think.

There are supplies, telephone and rental bills that need to be paid and much, much more!

There are also special community projects that are sponsored by our Town Council throughout the year that also need either start up cash or funding all together.  

Currently we have an event coming up on October 9th 2010 at Everett Martin Park, this event is a good place for us to start. It includes live entertainment, vendors, swap meet along with a classic car show, and other forms of entertainment.

This event is a good example of what we can do to raise funds and we need to do a lot more of them.

As an independent promoter and spokes person for several charitable organizations, I believe that all it takes is a little creativity and community participation to raise the needed funds for the continued existence of our Town Council. I have a lot of experience when it comes to promoting special events and I am willing to help our Town Council with their events whether elected or not!

For more information go to: http://www.moldyshows.com

I've been publishing web sites and social networks for may years. Littlerock's chamber of commerce has a wonderful little web site, however I believe that our Town Council should have one of its own that not only features information about our town but also has a community bulletin board or social network that community members can post their concerns and discuss issues that are pertinent to our community.

I would be more then happy to put something together for our community. The internet is here to stay and is a wonderful tool when used properly.

For examples please visit my web site by clicking on this link!

I can touch on a lot more issues that are facing our community and I'm sure that you as a community member could too.

All I can say that now in my position I will do my best to serve our community and the issues that are brought to the town council.

There is one thing that I can't stress enough. That we all as community members need participate, we need to learn how to get along with our neighbors and in some cases, learn how to compromise with one another in order to get things done.

Sincerely,