By Brooklynn Wong
Happy New Year, Buena Park! 2019 is now upon us. As my first full year living in and covering the city, 2018 was quite the initiation.
Knott’s got a new rollercoaster, the city’s philanthropic organizations were generous yet again, and a coyote scare swept the city this summer, and still rears its head periodically.
Big-name Mike Huckabee came to Buena Park to speak at the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast to the delight of many, but protestors who deemed Huckabee controversial also turned out. One council member-elect even boycotted the event.
The annual festivities like Silverado Days and the Candy Caneland and Craft Faire succeeded again and made Buena Park feel like a small town.
We had a dramatic municipal election that attracted the attention of some national news outlets.
And now we have a “new” mayor—Art Brown has previously served six terms—and two new ambitious City Council members in 24-year-old law student Connor Traut and attorney Sunny Youngsun Park, who still faces charges for sign-stealing during the campaign.
So what does 2019 hold? For starters, as they do every year, the mayor and city manager will give a more comprehensive outlook at the State of the City Address and Luncheon next month, on Feb. 6, at the Knott’s Berry Farm Hotel. Items due to be addressed include the city’s fiscal status and what’s happening on the entertainment corridor.
Grange Hall 39, an Anaheim Packing House-style selection of eateries is something to look forward to. Construction is underway at Buena Park Downtown, and spaces are filling up. The developers say they want it to harken back to Buena Park’s days of old, when fruit stands and “grange halls,” where fieldworkers and the community gathered, lined Route 39. Though an opening date has not been given, all signs point to it “coming soon.”
Silverado Days will be in its 63rd year, Candy Caneland and Craft Faire its 49th, and the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast its 41st. That’s quite a legacy of community togetherness.
And an unfortunate topic, but one at the forefront of all Orange County officials’ minds, is the issue of homelessness. Expect a new shelter to be built in Buena Park that will service several North Orange County cities. Buena Park has handled its homeless relatively well. Former Mayor Virginia Vaughn said time and again that other cities have looked to Buena Park as a model, for relations between the police and the homeless, and for its numerous organizations that work with people to provide assistance.
But District Judge David O. Carter has demanded a region-wide effort to provide more beds for the homeless. After the Santa Ana Riverbed was ordered to be cleared, lawsuits came down saying that there were not enough other places for them to go.
Carter concurred, and has said that before cities can enforce their anti-camping laws to keep public spaces looking clean, more shelters must be provided.
And citizens have been upset, as the homeless have become more visible and public areas have become less appealing as places to take the family. They have accused law enforcement of not doing its job.
But this positive development likely coming in 2019 comes via a grant. Buena Park has been identified as a logical place for a new shelter and it will be fully funded at no cost to taxpayers. Though it still technically needs to get public approval, the shelter is expected to be built in mid-2019 at 7101 Lincoln Ave.
A public open house a couple of weeks before Christmas providing more information on the shelter revealed that some citizens are not happy about a shelter in their city.
However there are some important stipulations that will keep the shelter clean and safe. It will not allow walk-ins. Each client will be a referral from law enforcement or social services. They cannot be convicted sex offenders or violent felons.
Individuals from Buena Park will have first priority in getting beds there.
And with more beds, the police will be able to resume enforcing anti-camping ordinances in Buena Park. More homeless will be taken care of, and fewer will be in parks, on sidewalks and in front of businesses, interfering with residents.
This will be addressed further at the first City Council meeting of this new year, on Jan. 8. The public, as always, is encouraged to attend, to hear more information and to provide input.
So let’s seek the good of our city together this year, be kind to each other, stay engaged in city happenings, help those less fortunate and keep doing the things that make our historic city feel like a tight-knit small town.
