• City Council Meeting August 2017 2.0

I wasn't really sure why there was a need for a second city council meeting in the month of August before the meeting, and after it was concluded, in under an hour, I still can't figure out why the agenda couldn't have been included in the prior or next meeting(s).

At that, I did find a few nuggets of info worth sharing that I gleaned from the meeting.

Public Comments on Non Agenda Items.

On behalf of Wildomar Little League, Mason Ballard presented a plaque of appreciation to the City Council. He and his family are relatively new to Wildomar, but he has shown outstanding levels of alacrity when it comes to The W. 

We need more people like him, and his wife Lisa, stepping up and helping out. In the short video you'll get a feel of his infectious good will as he recites the Little League pledge.

Let's segue to a prediction of the end of the world.

Miss Miller informed us that, according to a youtube video, the world is coming to an end during the month of September... at least that's what I got out of her sermon like comment. 

She also was plugging a demonstration she has planned in Temecula. If you are looking to tap into your inner SJW (Social Justice Warrior), then you'll want to be at Butterfield Square this Saturday night. By the by, she actually walked away from the microphone with 30 seconds left on the clock.

I guess that means she won't be attending the free concert in the park at Marna O'Brien that is slated for the same day and time. D'oh!

If you haven't been on Youtube lately, we have the phenomenal [sic] of the events of Revelations, perhaps culminating September 23rd, 2017. Supposedly the Sun turns black for three hours, the battle of Armageddon as the woman flees into the wilderness begins the tribulation.

I know some of you read the holy book and Revelations, and so the woman in the desert in the prophesy is symbolic of the nations fleeing from the wrath of armed and violent nations, America being the worst.  —Miss Miller, August 30, 2017

Her speech, which had NOTHING to do with the city of Wildomar, went on for another minute but I lost interest after her verbose anti-American barrage (It's an easy bet that Colin Kaepernick is her favorite football player).

I don't like to get religious, because we all have different beliefs, but you opened the door Miss Miller, so I'll walk through it. I was raised with the bible as the center of the family, and I guarantee you that you are NOT Christlike on any level. Give your lame attempts at preaching a rest... or save them for the snakes you've seen "slither from one hole to another hole across the street."  (an actual quote of hers from January 2017, link to blog covering it)

If you'd like to see her dire predictions, as the rest of us did, watch the video below. Always entertaining, and always for the wrong reasons.

Now for something of substance:

The Grand Avenue Multi-Purpose Trail Project is on target to begin in September and be completed by March. The funding for the entire project ($1,080,050.00 was procured through various grants).

Link to March 2016 Blog covering this topic

However, my favorite part of the project, the proposed roundabout at Sheila and Grand, is now on the shelf. Lack of funding is what nixed it. Thing is, now that it's off the table, don't look for it to ever come back to the drawing board.

Who doesn't hate the stop sign that is currently at this intersection?

The only other item of merit that I found interesting is that the State has changed the official term from "Second Unit" to "Accessory Dwelling Unit" (ADU) for something the rest of us call a "Granny Flat" or Casita.

Earlier in the year, the State of California passed a bill aiming to curb unnecessary burdens that local municipalities put in the way of people trying to build such a structure. 

Most of it is laudatory, but the part I couldn't help but get floored by is that the DIF fee (development impact fee) is $12K. 

That's even if the ADU is inside your home. I can picture a lot of people risking a code violation in order to save $12,001 if they're building this within the walls of their home.

I've included the three minute video of Planning Director Matt Bassi's presentation. 

A couple of screen captures stitched together in photoshop.

Business Insider article on the topic of ADU's in California

☺

Now for an "Oh Geesh" moment

During the consent calendar portion of the meeting, agenda items that generally don't need rehashing, five people pulled items. Most were talking about the Grand Avenue Multi-Purpose Trail that will be coming our way.

They all seemed to favor it, but still wanted to kvetch about apparent imperfections in the plans. In my former life I washed windows and there are few things less fresh than the comedian that comes up from the other side of the glass, points to the window and uncorks the very worn out, "Hey, you missed a spot!"

Yes, the dude was very clever and original with that remark (insert eye roll here)... as were the other five guys that had said it earlier that day. 

Hey, we all can find faults in nearly everything if that was our purpose in life, but what the hell benefit would there be in that course of action? 

Thinking outside of the box... if the goal is to repel people, then it's a terrific plan of attack.

The person that I always enjoy watching as she speaks during public comments is WIN Committee original, Gina Castanon. I can't figure her out. Is she nervous or actually as surly as she comes off?

She is also a prime influence in Wildomar's Historical Society, and when I went to one of their events (the yearly ringing of the bell at Wildomar Elementary in 2016) I was threatened with a lawsuit. LOL... but seriously, I just wanted to buy one of those root beer floats y'all were selling. 

After that, I better understood Stan Smith's nickname for that group: 
The Hysterical Society

I've had a few other encounters with her, and each have been almost as inexplicably negative as that one was. 

Which brings us to the point from the meeting. She got borrowed time, for a total of 6 minutes (points to her for only using four and a fraction of them), to complain about parts of the trail that must narrow to 8 feet in certain spots (also known as pinch points) where there just is no wiggle room.

Lo and behold I have video of the July 2016 Trails Meeting that she alluded to and was able to pull out Tim Walker's quote... so there wouldn't be any confusion as to what he actually said.

The long and the short of it was that a trails subcommittee meeting, that should have taken 30 minutes lasted more than 90 minutes... (what's new, right?).

Nearing the end of a tediously long meeting Tim Walker said, "If it comes down to people suing I'll tell you one thing right now, the city council —at least I will vote— to close some of the trails that are pinch points. If I'm afraid that people are going to sue me on a pinch point [...] I'll vote to close the thing."

Tell me again how that isn't reasonable, and the correct way to take care of the city's interests, if unavoidable litigation is hanging in the balance?

Here's a link to the blog discussing it.

I've made two videos on the topic. 

The first has just the salient parts of the issue. Starting with Castanon's claims that Walker's comments were "inappropriate" at last year's subcommittee meeting, and that he "would rather see the trails closed down and avoid litigation if that's going to be a liability issue" (again, as if that would be a bad move if it came down to it). 

Then Tim Walker's response, and a snippet from Mayor Walker dating back to last Summer's meeting. All a bunch of needlessly wasted time, but the types of nonsense that is the usual board of fare at Wildomar city meetings.

Just in case someone wants to accuse W'Rap of giving misleading reports, the second video includes Gina Castanon's entire comment from last night, Tim Walker's response and a response from City Engineer Dan York without edits. You watch, you decide.

The rumor mill has long had it that she is planning on running for city council next year. Could you even imagine it? 

Our city council has been so boring over the years that I've been attending city meetings that I'd find it to be hilariously awesome if she were to run, and exponentially more so if she were to win.

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What is the future? Isn't the future, after all, the fabric we weave out of the strands of the present? So, if you know all the strands, all the threads, and all the stitches, why isn't it possible to foresee the design? 

– EG Marshall (CBSRMT 1974)

Wildomar Rap reminds you that if you knew the future, such as who was going to run for city council next year, life would be pretty boring.