Dear Editor,
The RHA Candidate Night Forum in Rossmoor last week was informative, and many thanks to the Rossmoor Homeowners Association for sponsoring this event every election cycle. What struck me in particular were the candidate forums for the 45th Congressional District, and the 1st Orange County Supervisor District. Both featured one of the candidates, and an empty chair. For the Congressional race, challenger Derek Tran was present to make opening and closing statements, and to answer questions submitted to the moderators; Congresswoman Michelle Steel was absent. For County Supervisor, challenger Frances Marquez was also present to introduce herself and answer questions; Supervisor Janet Nguyen was absent.
Why the incumbents failed to show up is unclear. Maybe they were afraid to answer hard questions, or maybe they felt that their status as incumbents gives them a pass. Either way, their absence was notable, and might reasonably warrant a vote of no confidence.
Michael V. Sanders
Rossmoor
Irresponsible leadership of the RCSD
Our vote is the only way we can stop the Rossmoor Community Service District’s deceptive and authoritarian approach to governing that has been a hallmark of the service district under the revolving leadership of Tony DeMarco, Michael Maynard, and Jeffrey Barke.
A glaring example of DeMarco’s poor leadership and subterfuge played out when he steamrolled over previous commitments for capital improvements at Rossmoor Park dating back to 2019 and 2020 (canopy and playground) and gave Pickleball priority, placing it steps away from homes in a small neighborhood park, against all sound reasoning.
First and foremost, at public hearings, the community was told for months that PB courts would be built with state grant money. There was never any grant money – in fact, PB was never even budgeted for – but DeMarco, along with Maynard & Barke, broke their promise to the community and voted to proceed with PB anyway.
Director DeMarco, displaying a stunning lack of due diligence, determined that noise, traffic and congestion weren’t a problem because he didn’t personally witness problems to that effect. In fact, there were many factors to consider regarding impact to the community; parking/traffic/safety along Hedwig/Foster, which sees 6,000 vehicles a day; no measuring of days/hours of peak play, number of players, resident vs nonresident activity, walk-ons vs paid, and any sort of concrete financial analysis.
The board did hire a sound consultant, but because the consultant’s study was limited to a single snapshot in time, and the “sound study” did not provide full data as to decibel levels – no doubt because the RCSD didn’t want to pay for a more thorough study – the RCSD purchased a $50 decibel reader from Staples and had an untrained park employee record the decibel level of PB at various times, declaring, in technical speak, “It’s hard to measure, but it’s not that loud.”
Director DeMarco then VOTED TO RESURFACE THE BASKETBALL AND TENNIS COURTS 2 – 4 YEARS EARLIER THAN NECESSARY because it was the only way they could paint the surface of PB courts under the guise of “doing it all at once.”
The deception continued when the Budget Committee, chaired by DeMarco & Maynard, created a $50,000 budget allocation out of thin air a few weeks before the PB vote, ultimately spending almost twice that, and all without effective sound mitigation.
DeMarco refused to recognize that dozens of PB courts are within a 2-mile radius, but, rather, because a minority of Rossmoor residents were too burdened to travel 1 or 2 miles outside of Rossmoor, he felt placing PB, literally, just steps from homes was warranted – despite every reputable sound consultant’s advice that residential homes should be no closer than 300 to 500 feet from PB. Director DeMarco compared his vision of Rossmoor Park to Lexington Park in Cypress, which has a parking lot with 244 parking spots, while Rossmoor Park has no parking lot at all.
DeMarco invited neighbors around the park to voice their complaints as the only way they’ll know if PB is intrusive, and then when dozens of complaints came pouring in, DeMarco decided they were irrelevant because a lot of them were from the same people (as in the park neighbors and tennis players using the courts).
Director DeMarco ignored the advice of a local real estate economist who said homes that close to PB courts could result in loss of value, saying he just didn’t believe it.
This has never been about whether PB is a fun, family-friendly, healthy sport. Everyone agrees it is. It’s about responsible leadership, transparency, and commitment to the community as a whole. PB never belonged in a small residential park so close to homes, and every bit of objective data from across the country made that clear to Directors DeMarco, Maynard & Barke, and they did not care.
Although this comment focused mostly on Rossmoor Park and PB, it is emblematic of irresponsibility that may affect other areas of RCSD’s supervision and, hence, affects potentially many other Rossmoor residents in the future.
Respectfully,
Michele Fieldson
Rossmoor
Rossmoor is no longer a peaceful place thanks to Director’s agenda
Dear Editor,
When leaving our house to take a walk last night, my husband and I were reminded how the quality of life as residents who live across the street from Rossmoor Park has been profoundly diminished—This as a result of Demarco’s self-serving push to put Pickleball in the center of our small residential park. He doesn’t live near this park and he made well sure it didn’t land anywhere near him—the ultimate NIMBY principle.
As we walked out our door, our previous pattern on a beautiful 8:30 p.m. evening after a long hot weather spell would have taken us to stroll the perimeter of the park. But we were forced to turn the opposite direction because of the inescapable incessant shrill pop pops of pickleball that rattle the nerves on an otherwise perfect Friday evening.
Many of you readers may not know about the lack of due process in pushing this project through, but bullet points are:
1.PB was NEVER BUDGETED FOR! They lied about using grant money to pay for it. In fact they recklessly spent $100,000 for pickleball instead of earmarked park upgrades that have not yet been addressed/completed.
2. Demarco should have recused himself because his wife was a vocal advocate for PB, indeed a participant assisting the acoustic consultant—Demarco refused to recuse.
3. Together with RCSD directors Maynard and Barke, DeMarco dismissed all of the warnings (including a petition from dozens of north Rossmoor homeowners) of pushing PB onto a small residential park. The worst predictions have all come to fruition. Notably, the rights of neighbors to enjoy peace and tranquility in their homes, the tennis community who has been driven elsewhere to a large degree because of fewer courts and the noise of PB, and the dangerous traffic and illegal parking that makes pulling out of driveways on Hedwig a T-bone collision RISK every day.
4. Demarco dismissed recommendations of RCSD’s two acoustic consultants for 12ft (not 8ft) sound barriers on ALL sides of the PB courts (not just 1 1/2 sides). They also dismissed the consultants’ recommendations for limited hours of play to allow for quiet hours when people are home (such as early mornings and evenings, and some holiday respites), and to use quieter paddles. Demarco and pals claim —to their ears—PB noise and traffic is just not a problem. [Commentary — high frequency hearing loss is common in men with advanced age].
I am bringing the matter to light because we have a consequential vote coming in November (or sooner with mail-ins and drop-offs). We must vote Demarco out and avoid another 4 years of disregard for all of the Rossmoor residents and for due process.
There are many other cases of poor governance by DeMarco, including squandering public funds on activities outside RCSD’s jurisdiction. No doubt, Mr. and Mrs. DeMarco would insist that there are a number of Rossmoor residents who want pickleball, and while that is true, it is a tiny minority of Rossmoor’s 10,000 residents. Many of the players come from outside the community. The majority of Rossmoor residents care more about the crime and traffic safety.
So beginning at 7 AM and ending at 9:15 PM, 7 days a week, including holidays, Rossmoor Park is never going to be the destination of choice for my husband and my evening stroll.
Sue Kaplan
Rossmoor
