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| The sign you'll see at the edge of the new park while construction is going on. |
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Ok fine, it's not in Wildomar, but it's literally less than a stone's throw from Corydon, which works as a border between Lake Elsinore and Wildomar, so I'm calling dibs for Wildomar anyway. |
| Serenity Park is located just north or Corydon, on Palomar. The red arrow indicates the 2.8 acre expansion. |
There was a brief ceremony where four of the council members spoke at a portable lectern, then meandered over to a prime spot for a "first shovel" shot... which had six people in it.
From left to right in the video link below is LE Councilmember Daryl Hickman, his name escapes me, LE Councilmember Steve Manos, LE Mayor Brian Tisdale, LE Councilmember Natasha Johnson and LE Mayor Pro-Tem Bob Magee.
I caught up with Lake Elsinore Mayor Brian Tisdale to get the lowdown on this park expansion.
From left to right in the video link below is LE Councilmember Daryl Hickman, his name escapes me, LE Councilmember Steve Manos, LE Mayor Brian Tisdale, LE Councilmember Natasha Johnson and LE Mayor Pro-Tem Bob Magee.
Above is a video of the 5 minute event.
It's not bad for being shot on a Samsung Galaxy 7, but since I didn't bring a tripod (who knew I was going to videotape it?) it was a bear to edit out the camera shake.
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| The view of the area, through the construction fence, from the corner of Corydon and Palomar. |
It's a 2.8 acre expansion. It's going to include a BMX feature, dog park, parking lot. Phase 2 includes some amenities down there (referring to the existing parts of the park) such as shelter for the skate park and the for the benches.
Lake Elsinore Mayor Brian Tisdale
The timeline on this project is 120 days.
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| There were several well established trees that were spared the blade of the backhoe in this project. |
Tisdale went on to say, "It benefits the whole community. We're right at the corner of Wildomar and the county. This is about kids playing and that's always been —Bob [Magee] and I, that's always been our contention, give them something to do then they won't graffiti they won't do other things."
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| Panoramic shots are always a bit dicey, but here is a look L to R (north to south) of the whole area. |
He kind of chuckled as he coyly asked, "[Do you mean] the 530,000 square feet sports center?"
It's on twenty-three acres located right next to the stadium near a veterinary clinic. The ground breaking for that is estimated to be around March of 2017.
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It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the Spring, who reaps a harvest in the Autumn.
– B. C. Forbes, 1880-1954
Wildomar Rap generally doesn't bother with seeds and just buys small plants in pony-packs instead.
– B. C. Forbes, 1880-1954
Wildomar Rap generally doesn't bother with seeds and just buys small plants in pony-packs instead.
Couple of things not mentioned here or in the P.E. article.
ReplyDeleteThe land for this became available as a result of eminent domain.
This project is costing 800,000 dollars for just under 2.5 acres. This money is from CFD 2005-1 2006 Series A (Serenity) which is a $8,165,000 33 year bond.
I'll post LE Councilmember Bob Magee's comments from the facebook page here for non facebookers to look at.
Delete"Kenneth Mayes The owner of the property offered it for sale. We secured an appraisal, entered into negations and made an offer that was ultimately accepted. At no time was Eminent Domain mentioned, considered or even discussed. The City Council does not support Eminent Domain.
On the finance side, the Serenity CFD bonds were refinanced at a much reduced interest rate without extending the term. All effected property owners received lower property tax bills beginning in December of 2015 as a result of this refinancing. Part of the savings in the cash refund, yielded the funds to purchase and build Phase II at Serenity.
So, lower taxes and a second phase to a park that can be enjoyed by all! Sounds like a win-win!"
Original exchange can be found at this web address.
https://www.facebook.com/WildomarRap/posts/1084429601671737?comment_id=1084501351664562&reply_comment_id=1085045248276839¬if_t=share_comment¬if_id=1477674230959016
Here is my response to Mr. Magee
DeleteOn March 10, 2015 the City of Lake Elsinore passed Resolution 2015-019 A Resolution of Necessity and Authorization to Commence Eminent Domain Proceedings to Acquire Real Property Necessary for the Expansion of Serenity Park. What was a property owner to do other than cave or face horrendous legal fees fighting the city.
As to Mello Roos bond money being used, you see a good thing I see a bad thing.
What it boils down to is Mr. Magee lied about Eminent Domain never being mentioned or discussed. As to being being supported by the Lake Elsinore City Council the vote was 5-0 yes vote which included Mr. Magee
Unlike Mr. Magee I'm a big fan of [justified] imminent domain. Nothing worse than some asshat that wants to hold up progress for the community by refusing to let go of a sliver of land at market price. The days of the railroad forcing settlers off their land for peanuts are long gone, and to think that a community should suffer due to the intentional shortsightedness of a lone individual is appalling to me.
DeleteUnlike wildoslavia the City of Lake Elsinore has video of their council meetings. On March 10th of last year the entire city council voted to start eminent domain proceedings for that property. Not one council member objected to this process. The claim that it was never mentioned or discussed is a lie. I guess Washington D.C. doesn't have a lock on that phenomenon (lying- a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive) and the people around here just look at these lies a normal part of daily business.
DeleteWildomar needs a rec. Center and a pool... Just saying...
ReplyDeleteWe could use an entire parks and rec department too. It's all about the almighty dollar and how few of them we have in Wildomar.
DeleteThanks for reading and commenting.
Good luck getting that. The Serenity Park expansion is going to cost just over One Million Dollars. $220,000 for the 2.7 acres and another $800,000 for improvements which include parking lot, restrooms, bike park and dog park.
DeleteWildomar could save some money and make it an eagle scout project like many of the improvements currently in our parks.
It's Wildomar.... I mean unless the correct name is not important. Than why did someone complain so much when the Library was not named the Wildomar Library?
ReplyDelete