5 RUN TO FILL CITY SEAT HOSPITAL ISSUE FACING COUNCIL.

Byline: Jim Skeen  Staff Writer

PALMDALE - When Palmdale voters go to the polls Nov. 7, they will be asked to decide which of five candidates will serve the year remaining on the term of former City Councilwoman Shelley Sorsabal.

Running for the one-year seat are Alan Lee Jr., a municipal worker and union leader in Torrance; attorney Richard Loa; former Councilman Jim Root; Antelope Valley College student Matthew Van Dyk; and Jason Zink, a real estate agent.

Along with the usual issues of creating jobs and improving law enforcement, this year's candidates are debating where and how a hospital should be developed.

They also are taking a stance on Measure T, which asks voters whether to approve zoning changes and general plan amendments to accommodate an eastside shopping center that would be anchored by a Wal-Mart store.

Lee said he opposes the proposal by Prospect Medical Holdings Inc. of Los Angeles to build a hospital at Palmdale Boulevard and Fifth Street West. If the city is to provide financial assistance for a hospital, the facility should be be on the eastside, where it's most needed, he said.

Lee also opposes Measure T, saying it would replace good-paying jobs with those paying lower wages with fewer benefits.

``It's not a union issue; it's a quality-of-life issue,'' Lee said. ``We want real jobs with real wages and real benefits.''

In the area of creating jobs and generating economic development, Lee said Palmdale needs to change its image to outsiders, who view the city as a high-crime area in the desert.

``No one knows about Palmdale,'' Lee said. ``We need to be communicating effectively and consistently to let people know Palmdale is land rich and people rich.''

Lee also said he wants to see the city expand its parks and recreation programs.

Loa said he supports Antelope Valley Hospital's efforts to establish a full-service medical facility on the eastside, where a clinic is now under construction. Loa said he is uncomfortable with Prospect's plan because of a lack of documentation of its financial health and management experience, and is open to reviewing plans from other developers.

Loa said he supports Measure T, noting it would also provide for land donations for a school site and a city park.

``I'm in favor of revitalizing the eastside of Palmdale. One of the things lacking on the eastside is shopping. There's also a lack of schools and there's a lack of parks. Measure T addresses all of those issues,'' Loa said.

In terms of economic development, Loa said the city needs to be more assertive in marketing itself. He also wants the city to play a stronger role in expanding operations at Palmdale Regional Airport.

``Our airport is more accessible to the people of the San Fernando Valley than LAX because of the traffic on the 405 (Freeway). That is something we need to market and promote,'' Loa said.

Loa also said the city needs more patrol deputies on the street, at least one more park and expanded recreation programs, in cooperation with the school districts, to provide for youngsters.

Loa said the city needs to work to improve its transportation corridors, including Avenue S, Palmdale Boulevard, and Avenue Q.

Root said the city needs to be open to looking at any proposal for medical services and that it is not the city's place to dictate where Prospect should build.

``When we get five or six people lined up to build a hospital then we can start to pick and chose,'' Root said. ``They (Prospect) want to build in the central part of the city. I'll do everything I can to help bring in a hospital.''

Root supports Measure T, saying when the city's general plan was updated in 1993, the site was earmarked for a major commercial center.

``We, long ago, designated that corner for commercial development,'' Root said. ``It's not an issue of support for Wal-Mart, but an issue of holding with the general plan.''

On economic development, Root noted that during his last stint on the City Council, he pushed for the creation of the enterprise and foreign trade zones, which provide state tax credits and breaks on U.S. Customs duties. Root said the city is doing a good job and needs to stay the course.

``We have to keep plugging away,'' Root said. ``You're constantly tweaking the system because there's always new ways to market.''

In the area of law enforcement, Root said he is disappointed with the progress of plans to build a new sheriff's station and would try to get that effort rolling. He also wants the city to build at least one new park and to establish indoor swimming pools.

Root said he would continue city plans for the Courson Connection, turning the area between Courson Park and the Civic Center into a senior citizen-friendly area.

Van Dyk suggests the city could renovate the former Desert Palm Hospital, rather than building a medical center from the ground up.

Van Dyk said he is against Measure T because it would replace good paying jobs with those that pay less.

``It would cut down on the union jobs. We need to get more jobs that pay $20 an hour,'' Van Dyk said.

To spur economic development, Van Dyk said the city needs to approach businesses in the San Fernando Valley about the possibility of relocating or opening up sites in the Antelope Valley.

In the area of parks and recreation, Van Dyk said he would like to see the creation of a large park, similar to Lancaster City Park.

Van Dyk said he also wants to see the city help with the building of more high schools. The existing high schools are woefully overpacked, he said.

Zink said he supports the Prospect plan and criticized Antelope Valley Hospital's board for not stepping forward with plans to immediately build a Palmdale hospital.

Zink said he is voting against Measure T.

``There's not enough information on how a center that large would affect the community,'' Zink said. ``It's a quality-of-life issue.''

The Antelope Valley should pursue becoming its own county, Zink said. If elected, one of the first orders of business would be to start a study looking to see what return the region gets on its tax dollars from Los Angeles County.

Zink said the city should scrap the College Park plan to build a second Antelope Valley College campus along Barrel Springs Road and 47th Street East and instead push for the development of a campus at Fort Tejon Road and Avenue S-8.

``A college needs to be built where it has the greatest access. You don't locate a college up on a hill,'' Zink said.

Palmdale needs to offer subsidies to help bring in an airline and get the Palmdale Regional Airport going. Getting the airport operational would help spur economic development, Zink said.

Palmdale also needs to focus on e-commerce jobs and look to attract manufacturing jobs other than aerospace, such as the production of buses and passenger rail cars, he said.

In the area of parks and recreation, Zink said the city is not getting its fair share out of state bond measures and needs to pursue getting equitable distribution of those funds. Zink said he would like to see Palmdale create a large regional park like Los Angeles' Griffith Park.