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L-R Michael Maynaed, Jo Shade, Tony Demarco, Mary Ann Remnet and Nathan Searles at the RCSD Dec. meeting.
The Rossmoor Community Services District welcomed a new member at its December meeting, accepting the results of the November elections in which two incumbents were re-elected to four-year terms and one new member to its Board of Directors won a position vacated by Dr. Jeffrey Barke.
Mary Ann Remnet is the district’s newest Director, joining incumbents Tony Demarco and Nathan Searles in taking the new oath of office from State Senator Janet Nguyen, who will soon take the Oath of Office as Orange County Supervisor serving District One.
Although Rossmoor is one of the largest residential communities in the area (with approximately 11,000 residents, it refuses to become an incorporated area, governed instead by a Board of Directors with powers of administration given the board as the state’s recognition as a special service district.
Most of its services are delivered by countywide governance, including the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Orange County Supervisors, and for traffic control, the California Highway Patrol.
The five-member board meets once a month to use its limited power to administrate the district.
Maureen Waters, a Rossmoor resident, spoke during public comment to implore the new Council to put aside the strife that lingered during the previous Council.
“Now that the election is over, and all the mud-slinging done, that the Board of Directors and the community can come together and unite. So congratulations and let’s just unite,” she pleaded.
Waters, also thanked the Orange County Sheriff’s Office for really stepping up patrols in the area.
She thanked Capt. A. J. Patella of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. “It may be my imagination,” she said, “but in the last few months, there really has been more of a share of presence in our neighborhoods,” she said.
“Now, if we could just get the CHP to have a presence in the neighborhood regarding traffic issues, running stop signs, and speeding, the usual things, it would be great for Rossmoor,” said Waters.
Capt. Patella, who was in attendance, coordinates police protection for all of the service districts in North Orange County, said in December he was the RCSD’s defacto police chief.
He reported that catalytic converter thefts were down in 2024 and said porch piracy was down or non-existent during the holidays.
“I’m not sure if that is due to people simply not reporting it because it is so easy to get Amazon to replace it,” he said, urging residents to “just report it.”
Patella also announced that due to “technical/security issues way beyond my understanding,” the sheriff’s blotter will no longer be distributed “for the foreseeable future.”
“A lot of people in the community are used to sheriff’s blotter,” he said.
President Michael Maynard asked for a deeper understanding of the “technical/security” concerns preventing the dissemination of the blotter.
“It’s a good question,” said Patella, “but it’s a fairly recent development and because we’re trying to fix it, I think everybody’s just kind of holding their breath and hopefully, we can get something up and running.”
Director Jo Shade asked Patella about two odd crimes involving Tesla cars. Shade said she heard of incidents in Rossmoor and one in Los Alamitos where tires were stolen from Tesla motorcars and the cars were left jacked up with blocks, absent their tiers.
Patella said he had heard of no other such incidents.
“I saw the same things and I did my research on it, and I could not find any other incidents in any data set,” the Captain said.
Citing rising policy costs for healthcare agree, the Directors discussed how to adjust their policy premiums and coverage for employees and their families.
Demarco said the excessive display of noncompliance to local traffic signs and other factors may warrant a second look at traffic improvements for Rossmoor.
He and Searles make up a Director’s ad-hoc traffic committee that is still meeting with Orange County traffic officials looking for solutions, he said.
Although the new members were sworn in, the Rossmoor CSD does not reorganize until its meeting in January, which occurred on Jan. 6.
