Back in July, I added a photo to the Wildomar Rap Facebook page. If you visit that page you'll see how I enjoy changing the banner photo on a somewhat regular basis.
The photos are nearly always of one view of Wildomar or another. The one in question was at Marna O'Brien park looking through the breezeway to the hills.
The original caption was, "One of my favorite places to be in Wildomar."
Shortly after the photo was uploaded I got a comment from a resident on the photo that went like this, "It would be mine too if the parking lot had lights on at night! Especially on a very crowded night like the Wildomar Bash."
I'll add screenshots of the conversation, but if it's difficult to read on your device, please click this link to read it as it was on Facebook.
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From the screenshots above if they aren't legible on your device.
Now I've spoken with the main park's person. I'm glad that you brought this to my attention because now I know I am up on the issue.
To make a long story short, the replacement bulbs in question are obsolete. The city is looking to retrofit them to LEDs, and that has been an eye opening process as they've been learning about mistakes that other cities have made in this process.
The lights won't be retrofitted this calendar year, but they are looking to do this in the first quarter of next year.
That's not to say that they aren't working on the issue, but it needs to be part of the budget and approved. All that takes time.
I hope this helped answer your question about the lights in the parking lot.
—from the screenshots above
Then, in a further update that I received from City Manager Dan York, I got a few more details that I can share with the community as to what's being done about it.
Marna O'Brien Lighting
We are in the process of Requesting Quotes to retrofit the lamps at the park.
FAQ's: we have 32 lights in the parking lot and 57 lights on the pathways. The budget allocates $10,000 our current estimate to be confirmed by quotes is closer to $17,000. Our goal is to have the lights updated before day light savings time.
This is one example, among countless dozens, of similar questions and concerns that I've helped get an answer to since being elected to city council in back in 2018.
There aren't a lot of things that a member of the city council has power over, but we do have power over getting information out... even if the answers aren't always what we're were hoping for.
The campaign has begun and really heats up from Labor Day through most of October. I'll be looking for endorsements from residents in Wildomar. If you've been helped by me, or are otherwise happy with my work on city council, and would like to share your experience, I'd be very appreciative to be able to use your story in a Facebook post.
For comments, questions and concerns please reach out to me at my campaign email josephmorabito2018@gmail.com, my city council Facebook page with this link, or if you'd like to talk on the phone, here's my number (951) 285-1663. (leave a message, and I'll be sure to return your call)
There's always room for improvement, but based on the stats from Safewise.com, it's time thrust out our chests and stand proud and tall!
As you can see in the image, Wildomar jumped up 21 spots to hit #22.
Gotta love being ranked above places like Dana Point, Eastvale and Irvine. Not to mention that Temecula, Menifee, Canyon Lake and Lake Elsinore didn't even make the list.
The only local city that ranked safer than Wildomar was Murrieta.
California’s 50 Safest Cities of 2022
(the population is followed by the median income)
#1 Danville 44K $160K
#2 Rancho Santa Margarita 47K $121K
#3 Moorpark 36K $107K
#4 Aliso Viejo 51K $112K
#5 Yorba Linda 68K $129K
#6 Laguna Niguel 66K $108K
#7 Poway 49K $107k
#8 Mission Viejo 94K $118K
#9 Rancho Palos Verdes 41k $138K
#10 Thousand Oaks 126K $109K
#11 San Ramon 76K $109K
#12 Murrieta 117K $90K
#13 Santa Clarita 221K $99K
#14 Lake Forest 86K $109K
#15 Temple City 35K $78K
#16 Lincoln 48K $88K
#17 Camarillo 70K $93K
#18 Chino Hills 84K $106K
#19 Oakley 42K $104K
#20 San Juan Cap 36K $91K
#21 Simi Valley 125K $99K
#22 Wildomar37K$74K
#23 San Marcos 98K $80K
#24 Dana Point 33K $99K
#25 Irvine 297K $105K
#26 Eastvale 65K $119K
#27 Santee 58K $87K
#28 Encinitas 63K $116K
#29 Cupertino 59K $171K
#30 Folsom 82K $114
As it happens, I had made a screenshot from 2021 when we were ranked #43.
It takes a team effort to make a city safer. It starts with the desires (the demands) of the residents and it takes a responsive city council that listens and changes the policies that need tweaking (beefed up code enforcement working as a team with RSO and SWAG).
Though I've never met a single person that enjoys paying taxes, the big turning point was when the voters chose to add an additional penny per dollar sales tax back in 2018 by passing Measure AA, with 58% of the vote.
That has allowed the City of Wildomar to focus on many quality of life issues that it simply couldn't address in the past.
(I can't imagine our city without the improvements the additional tax money has made possible)
Are we done?
Have we crossed the finish line?
No way, no how... not even Murrieta would say that about their city.
There's always room for improvement, but what a great leap forward we've taken in just a few short years.
There are lots of other interesting stats found in the link below.
First, look at the median incomes of the safest cities and you'll see that Wildomar managed to get up there despite our lower median income.
Our median income, reported as $74K, was the lowest in the top 30 rated cities. Don't get me started on where we rank when it comes to the size of our tax base and city budget.
Yet, still, we ranked 22nd.
That's worth repeating.
Second, very often we'll see things that upset us about our city or neighborhood on social media. When we hear about someone's car or trailer being stolen, a catalytic converter being stolen, we get angry... and rightfully so.
I'm not looking to minimize such things when I point out that crime is something that has been plaguing society since the caveman days... that's why we have a police force in the first place.
Then throw in the new approach that Sacramento has when it comes to crime and punishment and it gets very challenging for the law abiding to stay safe.
As we have learned from Neighborhood Watch meetings, don't make yourself an easy target (sometimes easier said than done) and if you are victim of a crime (or see one) be sure to report it to the police.
Posting it on Facebook or Nextdoor doesn't count as "reporting" it.
Just for fun, let's compare Wildomar to Lake Elsinore at the website bestplaces.net. As you can see, they are below the fifty percentile too.
When you look at these FBI stats from bestplaces.net you see why Wildomar is ranked among the safer places to live with a score of 12.8 out of 100 for violent crime. (The closer to 0 and further away from 100, the better).
For those that may not know, my name is Joseph Morabito and I've been writing Wildomar Rap since 2013. I also have the honor of being Mayor Pro-Tem of Wildomar this year and I'm on the ballot for re-election this November.
Let's keep Wildomar going in the right direction. Please vote for me this November.
This blog is indeed an advantage for me to get my message out to the voters.
My phone number is (951) 440-2284 if you have questions that you'd like to bounce off me... that's what I'm here for.
Email at jmorabito@cityofwildomar.org
If you call, leave a message.
These days I don't answer unknown numbers... I'm tired of being warned about my warranty being ready to expire.
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