Buena Park City Council

A candidate for the Buena Park City Council is scheduled to appear in court today on felony charges that he lied about where he lived when he filed papers for Tuesday's election. The district attorney's office Thursday filed the charges accusing Steve A. Grasha, 26, of perjury and filing false nomination papers. The charges allege that he gave false information about where he lives on both his voter registration filed in July and his candidacy documents filed in September.

City Council members have decided against using city funds to buy themselves Palm Pilots. Mayor Art Brown introduced the idea a couple of months ago and again Tuesday during a study session. He thought the digital organizers with Internet capability would be an efficient tool for council members to coordinate their schedules and allow staffers to better monitor their whereabouts. Brown said the devices cost $150 to $500.

The city is planning to join the Orange County Regional Airport Authority, which will make it the 10th municipal member, officials said this week. Council members this week asked the staff to prepare a resolution for a vote on Jan. 5. The authority is actively promoting a plan to build a commercial airport at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station when it closes in 1999.

Council members today will consider changing the city's First Time Home Buyer Program, which aims to help residents raise down payments toward the purchase of a house. Since 1990, the city, in conjunction with the Federal Housing Administration, has offered loans to low-income, first-time home buyers. One condition of the program was a prepayment penalty of 2% to 10% imposed on those who sold the home within five years of buying it.

The City Council this week endorsed plans to bring urban rail service to the city. In a unanimous decision, the council supported the Orange County Transportation Authority's rail master plan, which would link several cities by increasing bus and rail service. Under the plan, Buena Park is being considered to receive both commuter and urban rail systems providing access throughout Orange and Los Angeles counties.

The decision to close the city's Fire Department and join the countywide Joint Powers Authority has divided City Council candidates here as neatly as any canyon firebreak. Half of the eight candidates fighting for three open council seats said the controversy propelled them to run for office, and they have vowed to bring the city department back. The remaining candidates insist that the Fire Department issue is a "done deal" that few residents care about.

Buena Park City Council members elected colleague Don Griffin this week to fill the position left vacant by the death of Mayor Pro Tem Jesse Davis. Griffin, a former Buena Park mayor, will be the city's mayor pro tem until general elections in November, City Clerk Alcene Cain said. First elected in 1974, Griffin has since been reelected twice. His current term on the council expires in November of 1987.

Reverse swastikas were painted on campaign signs of a candidate for the Buena Park City Council over the weekend, authorities said Sunday. Between Friday night and Saturday morning, three of nine campaign signs belonging to Max Schulman were defaced with large red swastikas, Buena Park Police Lt. Tony Kelly said. Police have no suspects in the vandalism. An investigation is continuing, Kelly said.

The Buena Park City Council unanimously approved 3-year labor contracts with its Police and Fire departments that call for raises of 5% in the first year, city officials said Tuesday. Under terms of the contract approved unanimously by the five-member council Monday night, employees will receive a 5% increase over base salary retroactive to Nov. 1, 1988, said Lawrence Temple, director of the Department of Administrative Services.

The City Council will vote on renewal of a one-year contract with Pattie Davidson and Associates for operation of the city's Convention and Visitors Office during tonight's council meeting. The office's goal is to promote Buena Park's hotel, motel and entertainment properties.

Buena Park city leaders on Tuesday turned down a proposed $50-million complex including what supporters say would have been the nation's most lavish Hindu temple, a 20,000-square-foot structure of golden walls and spires visible from a nearby freeway. At a tense, crowded public meeting, the Buena Park City Council voted to oppose zone changes necessary for the project to proceed.

With three seats available and only two challengers, at least one of the three incumbents in this year's City Council race is destined to win. Paul D. Gonzales, 40, a businessman, and Dannue L. Mayo, the 47-year-old head of a nonprofit youth group, are challenging the incumbents, primarily on cuts made to civic programs during lean years. But an improved local economy is giving the incumbents something to fight back with.

Forgoing a competitive bid process, the City Council has agreed to pay a cardiology clinic $12,745 to ensure the city's 79 police officers stay fit. The council on Tuesday waived the usual process of seeking competitive bids because the Orange County Heart Center, which has held the contract for three years, provides a cardiologist to personally monitor treadmill tests for officers older than 40. The center also holds three years of data on officers' health.

City Council Candidates The following candidates are vying for two seats on the Buena Park City Council on Nov. 3. Donald L. Bone Age: 49 Occupation: Incumbent and former mayor; painting contractor Background: Seeking second City Council term; founding member of the Child Abuse Prevention Center; former trustee, Fullerton Joint Union High School Board; founding president, Buena Park High School Aqua Boosters; works with Corazon organization to build houses in Mexico for needy families.