• City Council Meeting June 2024

It's been a while since Wildomar Rap covered a city council meeting, so let's just hit the basics and see what happens. 

  

TOP NEWS FROM THE MEETING

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• Election update
• Restriping Wildomar Trail right turn only to the freeway
• Agreement for law enforcement services FY 2024-25 through FY 2026-27

Meeting Recap

City Clerk Update

Highlights from this item include news of all the past agendas and videos city council meetings will be online on the city's website by August 1st.

Also the announcement of the coming election for districts 2 and 4.

Districts 4 and 2 will be up for grabs this year.

If you're interested in running for a seat on the Wildomar City Council, and you are a registered voter in either districts 2 or 4, filing will begin in about six weeks. 

If you're in one of the other three districts, you'll have to wait until 2026 when they are up.

Link To Districts Map

I've not heard whether Councilman Dustin Nigg will seek reelection, but have heard that at least one challenger is interested.

Mayor Bridgette Moore is running for reelection and I've heard that there is a challenger to the seat in District 4.

NOTE: As is customary for Wildomar Rap, I'm planning on offering "Better Know A Candidate" blogs to all candidates running. 

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Firewise and Community Risk Reduction presented by Chief Olson and My Safe Riverside Team.

Check out the website for what mysaferiverside.org has to offer.

With Summer about a week away, it's always good to be reminded about fire safety, don't be a victim. 

https://mysaferiverside.org/

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Item 2.1 is a yearly update regarding Delinquent Trash Service Charges.

In short, it's a law that you MUST have trash service. I remember finding that odd, and a little irksome when I first heard about it ten years ago. 

It's a health and safety issue for the entire community.

Imagine the one neighbor who says he'll take his own trash to the dump... but doesn't. Or does, once or twice a year. As the garbage piles up on his side of the fence, it becomes a haven for all types of vermin.

There are currently 683 out of about 9,957 residential accounts out of compliance for a total of $330,000. That's about 4%.

Wildomar Rap opinion time

Often times this is due to a renter who doesn't pay and the landlord gets tagged for the payment. If you're a landlord, pay the bill yourself and just make it part of the monthly rent payment; problem solved. 

3.1 Resolution Authorizing Issuance of Special Tax bonds, Series 2024 for Community Facilities District No. 2022-3 (Verano)

These bonds will be paid for over thirty years by the seventy-plus new homeowners in the development of Monte Vista called Verano. 

Screenshot from the meeting video

I asked, "How “on the hook” is the city of Wildomar?"

"Absolutely no risk to the city on this," was the answer from Administrative Services Director, Heidi Schrader.

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3.2 Amendment to Personnel Rules

This was a routine item where the city was making sure our workplace rules were in compliance with the state, and to approve a 3% COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) for staff. 

Graphic from the staff report

As it happens, the official rate of inflation for our area was determined to be 4.3%.

The curveball came from Councilman Dustin Nigg when he wanted to go beyond the staff recommendation of 3% and completely match the 4.3%.

There was a bit of discussion, and Councilman Joseph Morabito (me), I made it clear that I wouldn't be in favor of that change.

Recognizing that I was about to be playing the role of one, Ebeneezer Scrooge, I said, "I wouldn't be in favor of that, you can put the kick me sign on me if you want."

We ended up passing the 3% COLA as was in the staff report. 

Wildomar Rap opinion time

I'm all for paying the city employees a proper and competitive wage, and that includes a COLA as agreed to. 

My point during the meeting (which begins at the 1:28:00 mark of the video) was that the suggestion of going above the 3% would have needed to be on the agenda, and not just a suggestion on the fly. 

I'm willing to listen to the merits of the issue and discuss the pros and cons. I'm very unlikely to ever approve something involving taxpayer's money without fully deliberating it. 

We've all been living through these inflationary times. This COLA isn't the only way that a city employee can get a bump in their pay. There are also pay increases tied to performance (like any other job) and promotion. 

3.4 Fencing Options for Bundy Canyon Rd. and Monte Vista Dr. at the future Riverside County Flood Control Lateral C Basin 

In short, there will be a flood control basin at the corner of Bundy Canyon and Monte Vista. Flood control would pay for, and be responsible for maintenance of the fence if we were to opt for chain link.

The cost difference wasn't the primary force getting me to vote no, but it was right up there. 

The city has the option to upgrade to a Wrought Iron Fence with 8' Pilasters. The additional money would be about half a million dollars, and then the maintenance would transfer to the city.

Here is what the wall will look like, less the trees.

This was approved 4-1 with me voting against it. 

In my experience, wrought iron fences look really good... for a really short amount of time. They generally look like garbage within ten years. Even if maintenance is performed religiously, it still deteriorates, and it's not as if maintenance is cheap for a public entity like a city. 

The flood control basin is outlined in red. Curiously enough, there's a chainlink fence with green plastic inserts the entire stretch where the yellow line is. 

So, though I was very much in favor of the upgraded fence when I first heard about it, I couldn't support paying half a million dollars for this upgrade knowing it would come with increased yearly costs to maintain, and most likely the cost of replacement in 15 to 30 years. 

Look for construction to begin around the end of the year, and last for a year (for the entire basin project, including the fence).

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3.5 5-Year Capital Improvement Program

There was a lot of information in this item. I invite you to watch the video at the link below. What I'd like to share here is information on Wildomar Trail heading east approaching the southbound onramp.

Here's to hoping that Caltrans responds sooner rather than later.

The stripping is horrible

There is room to make a dedicated right-turn-only lane, but working with Caltrans is always a lengthy process. 

Mayor Bridgette Moore asked staff to provide updated information on it. 

"It’s in the budget and working with Caltrans. Hoping to have it completed by the end of the fiscal year."

Then I asked for clarification since "the end of the fiscal year" is a year away (June 30, 2025). Staff assured us that they were pushing Caltrans to get to this as quickly as possible.

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3.6 Agreement for Law Enforcement Services FY 2024-25 through FY 2026-27

SUMMARY: The Agreement provides Municipal Police protection through the Riverside County Sheriff's Office. 

DISCUSSION: The Agreement provides 60.5 patrol hours daily. The Agreement dedicates one Traffic Motorcycle team, two Community Patrol Officers, and two Community Service Officers. 

FISCAL IMPACT: This agreement commits the City to three fiscal years of policing services. The estimated impact over this period across all funds is $20,465,111. For FY2024-25 the total cost estimate for police services is $6,492,175. 

Statistics can only be compiled on REPORTED crimes. If it's not called in, it doesn't get included. If you see something, do your part and report it. 

Here's a link to the slides from Captain Rayls's presentation. A lot of good information can be gotten if you're interested.

Link to presentation slides

Last bit of business on this item. There was one public comment (see video below). We cherish our First Amendment rights as Americans, and that is doubly so at local government public meetings.

Say whatever you'd like. It's your right.

If you're delivering a public comment on non-agenda items, then the range is wide open, and the city council is forbidden from responding... the Brown Act prevents it.

However, when it's an item on the agenda, the rules of engagement are different, and in this instance, the speaker asked for our thoughts as she concluded her remarks.

In brief, she is one of those "defund the police" types. As mentioned a moment ago, the beauty of free speech is that it protects poorly thought-out ideas, and people are entitled to espouse nearly anything they want.

It wasn't a surprise to hear her say the following: 

"I am glad that we are not adding more police to our budget, that we're staying the same. I'm content with that. I do want to remind folks that safer communities are the ones that offer more services, more resources, not the ones that are policed more. 

Police officers respond to crime, they don't prevent crime. And also that the statistics that you saw [in the presentation] are national [...] across the country, not just in Wildomar. 

So it seems like crime in general is declining. 

And, um, my final question for the council is, "How do you feel about being policed by a Sheriff's department, Riverside County Sheriff's Department, that is led by a racist Sheriff who's constantly being investigated for corruption and violation of civil rights? [...] There are probes, there are investigations, there was a Sheriff's [deputy] involved shooting that ended in a fatality in Corona this week. ”

—Rosalba Valdovinos

 

She had asked for our reply, and I was happy to oblige.

"I 100% repudiate your assessment of our Sheriff, he's not a racist. I get it, you're entitled to your opinion, but that is not shared by me, and probably not anyone up here (the rest of the city council)."

See the full exchange in the video below.

Here is a story about the incident that she mentioned in her comment.

A Riverside County Sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a woman in Corona while authorities claim she and a man were attacking him and the man was reaching for his gun early Tuesday morning.

The woman, whose identity was not released, was shot at about 1:10 a.m. in the 1000 block of West 6th Street in Corona, the Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.

A deputy was in pursuit of “subjects [that] took off running” as he tried to talk to them, and as the deputy turned a corner, a man “lunged at him, and a fight ensued,” officials said. The deputy’s identity was also not released.

“While the deputy was engaged in a struggle with the male suspect, a female began assaulting the deputy, and a deputy-involved shooting occurred,” the release added. “The female suspect was struck by gunfire. The deputy continued to fight off the male suspect, who was attempting to take his firearm, until good Samaritans arrived and assisted in detaining the male suspect.”

A Sheriff’s Department spokesperson declined to say “why the deputy wanted to speak to the people or provide more details on how the good Samaritans assisted,” The Press-Enterprise reported.

Sheriff’s officials said the woman was pronounced dead at a local hospital, though they did not detail if the deputy shot the woman intentionally, if she was struck inadvertently or if the gun was fired by mistake.

The deputy sustained moderate injuries, while the man was minorly injured.

The deputy has been placed on paid administrative leave as the state Department of Justice investigates the shooting.

LINK TO KTLA STORY

Wildomar Rap opinion time

At the city council meetings, and on official city time, we strive for decorum from top to bottom. Thing is, this blog is on my time and I'll respond to her from this forum. 

I first met Rosalba in October of 2023. The first thing after "hello" was that she was disappointed that I had closed the previous city council meeting with a moment of silence in remembrance of those who had been killed on October 7th. 

My closing comments at the October, 2024 city council meeting that she took issue with.

  

I’d like to close tonight’s meeting with a moment of silence and reflection in honor of the victims of the recent terrorist attack that took place in Israel. The unspeakable acts of depravity that were perpetrated upon living, breathing people like you and me, should outrage every person on this earth, no matter their opinions about the bigger struggles in the region.

I met and spoke with her for over an hour, and she was only interested in things that are going on outside of Wildomar. 

She has emailed me very many times to date, and each email has become less and less cordial in her attempts to get the council to weigh into international politics, and pass a resolution demanding a cease-fire in that war.

We've all gently told her that we, as a city, will NOT be weighing in on this matter. As we do our best to stay out of other things that are outside of our purview.

She's cited other cities that have taken such stands.

 

Great, in my opinion, they are betraying their voters by getting mixed up in issues that aren't pertinent to their elected duties, and often at a high cost in staff hours as they have to sit through six-hour meetings of people that travel from outside the area to grandstand on something the council has ZERO control over. 

As for her claims about RSO and Sheriff Chad Bianco it's your right to hate whoever you want to. You don't even need to base your hate on facts, feelings are enough. 

Regarding the recent story out of Corona, anyone who pays even the least amount of attention would know that after an officer-involved shooting, there are "probes" and "investigations" as there should be. 

Imagine being so agenda-driven as to draw nefarious conclusions based on everyday protocol.

As you've probably heard before, you can have your own opinion but you can't have your own facts. If you want to slander someone I know, expect a response. 

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The hope is to recap the meetings now that I don't have the added duties of mayor this year. This one went waaaay long, sorry about that. I'll try to tighten it up next time. lol

Here is a link to the video. It's interactive and you can navigate to each item from a table of contents on the right of the screen, or use the play bar to advance to a specific time in the video.

https://cityofwildomar.granicus.com/player/clip/973?view_id=1&redirect=true