The city of Wildomar officially turned 11 years old today.
John Lloyd keeps the line of bell ringers moving in an orderly fashion.
Wildomar Elementary had about 30 to 40 people in attendance, around its historic bell, for this year's ceremony.
The crowd was addressed by former Mayor and City Councilmember Bob Cashman, who is currently the president of the Wildomar Historical Society... which was serving up slices of watermelon and root beer floats.
Wildomar's first mayor, Bob Cashman, gave a brief history of the bell.
Here are some interesting facts about the bell • It weighs 640 pounds. • The bell is made of cast iron • It had to be lifted about 40 feet in the air to be installed in the belfry. They built a structure next to the tower, and along with a crane, got it up to a platform and then slid it across to a structure that resembles the existing one, that was atop of the old school. • The bell used to be rung at the beginning of school. It alerted the students to line up for class. The bell was also rung at recess, the end of recess and at the end of the school day. • There are two time capsules under the Bell to be opened in 2058.
Wildomar will be having a birthday celebration on Saturday, July 13th... I think this day was chosen because it's my mom's birthday too. ☺ It's going to be a great time at Marna O'Brien park to be sure. Live music (Cougrzz Rock), TapSnap Photo Booth, face painting, car show, local vendors, carnival games, and more... mark it on your calendar now!
• • •
A bad neighbor is a misfortune, as much as a good one is a great blessing. – Hesiod Wildomar Rap tip of the day: If you're the former, it's never too late to become the latter.
This blog was produced for viewing on a desktop or a laptop. Though it's been optimized for smartphones, the formatting can look odd on a smartphone or if you get this delivered through email (such as missing video links). Link to proper format.
The Wildomar Chamber of Commerce has merged with the Murrieta Chamber of Commerce to now be known as The Murrieta/Wildomar Chamber of Commerce.
This building will still be active under the new combined chamber of commerce.
Q: Why might this matter to the average Wildomartini? A: It really doesn't matter to the residents here. How do I know it? I've been a member of the Chamber for the better part of the last three years, and sadly, there hasn't been the type of grassroots participation that I'd expect to see if I had a brick & mortar type of business looking to expand its bottom line. The yearly dues were reasonable, but I didn't really see any advantages from belonging to the Chamber (from a business perspective) as the years have gone by. Don't get me wrong, the handful of regulars that did attend the monthly breakfasts, mixers and ribbon cuttings are great people and fun to chat up. Thing is, a high percentage of those people are the ones that are seen doing the heavy lifting in other organizations throughout the city too, and it's been quite obvious while I've been around that the load had been taking its toll. In other words, more locals need to start stepping up into leadership positions if they want this community to thrive.
Looks like it'll be time to roll out some new promotional videos shortly. The video below was produced in Spring of 2015.
A Chamber of Commerce is first and foremost an institution that allows for networking among local businesses. Second, it's part of the face of the community it serves. If membership isn't high enough, it's reasonable for a local business to forego joining, which only lends to the downward spiral that convinces others to not join or re-sign when their dues are up.
This baby is going to be a collectors item in 50 years.
In the short time I've been a member I've seen the monthly Wake Up Wildomar breakfasts go from Denny's to The Landing Zone over to Tacos Tijuana then to The Corporate Room and now... I don't know where they are. Last I heard, they were going to be at the VFW.
With each move that was made, the number of the usual attendees continued to diminish. At one point breakfast at Denny's would bring in more than 30 people, sometimes closer to 50 and the breakfast at that time cost $12 for members. By the time it was being held at The Corporate Room, the usual attendance didn't even hit 20 people, even though the cost of breakfast had been reduced down to $10 for members. How can you switch venues, arguably to a better meeting place with a lower cost, and STILL see attendance flagging? I'm sure that there could be many opinions regarding the whys of it all, and the Chamber has long sought ways to bring back interest, but obviously to no avail.
As an example, the chamber was in charge of ticket sales to the yearly Wildomar Night at the Storm Game.
With a chamber that was at or around 200 members, I always found it pretty lackluster that 100 tickets couldn't be sold. That includes tickets to friends, family and the general community.
It was a fundraiser, and a robust chamber would have found creative ways (strong arming if necessary) to get the totals closer to 500.
Whereas, a large chunk of the tickets that were in the Wildomar section seemed to have as many people on the city staff present, as from local businesses that were chamber members.
When the final decision was made The chatter about a possible merger had been swirling around for many months. In fact, I thought it had already been decided upon back in Summer, but it hadn't until the last board of directors meeting, which was Monday, October 23rd. I was one of three non board members to attend. The other two were former city councilmember Bob Cashman, and long time resident Casey (not sure of his last name). We all made our opinions known during the public comments portion of the meeting. Essentially there were two prevailing points of view that I observed. The first was from the "Wildomar is its own community" contingent. The other "Yeah, but this is about building business networks" side of things. If the chamber were just another social/service club then I'd completely side with group A. However, the premise of a Chamber of Commerce is to find ways for its members' businesses to grow... not just have breakfast together once a month.
Had the chamber stood pat, and not done something to show its business members that they are trying to fulfill their mission, I'd have not re-signed as a member. It just didn't make business sense trying to justify the dues that didn't increase the flow of traffic.
The only real issue I had with the meeting was that it was a closed door meeting once the public comments were taken. Not open to the public, and not open to general members either. Often times a closed session makes sense, but what was going to come of allowing the three old guys to stay and watch? However, since there was the threat of litigation, from more than one person, I can see why the board would seek to make that effort a little more obstacle laden. After the meeting I was apprised that the vote was 6-2 in favor of the merge with George Cambero and Tim Underdown voting in the minority. The merge will take place November 1st. I started this blog by asking, "Why might this matter to the average Wildotuckian?" and the answer is still the same. It really doesn't unless you are directly connected to it. A handout entitled EXHIBIT "A" was given to those in attendance of the board of directors meeting. I found several parts worth highlighting.
4) Actions shall be taken to reserve and hold the name "Wildomar Chamber of Commerce". 5) The board of directors of the [new chamber] shall consist of [at least] 20% representation from Wildomar (defined in the bylaws of a resident or business of Wildomar). 6) The [new chamber] shall maintain the offices at 33751 Mission Trail. Hours shall be Monday thru Friday 10am to 3pm [with some fluctuation of an hour earlier or later depending on circumstances]. An area in the lobby of the Wildomar Chamber offices shall be set aside for the history of Wildomar and the Wildomar Chamber.
7) The programs of the [new chamber] shall combine mixers and breakfasts [into one] and include the following events:
• Coffee with the city
• Lunch with Friends
• Power Partners
• New Member Orientation
• Walk Abouts
• Economic Development I sure hope that many of those events are actually in Wildomar... I'm not sure how enthused I'll be if I'm expected to drive 20 to 30 minutes (considering traffic) for breakfast, lunch or a mixer.
The one that really gets me is being protective of the name "Wildomar Chamber of Commerce". Apparently there was chatter among some that were ardently opposed to this merger, proposing to start another Wildomar Chamber of Commerce. I get why the merged chamber wouldn't want that, but let's look at that closer for a second. The existing chamber all but failed, and was on its way to completely failing (that's the only legitimate reason to merge in my view... which happens to feel more like being swallowed up by a larger group to me... but I digress), and without intervention, it was going to go down the tubes. Imagine the undertaking necessary to create a new Wildomar Chamber of Commerce, and without any of the existing businesses or executive board members. Who would run it? Who would join it? The answer is NO ONE. Certainly no where close to the current number of members, which isn't all that impressive if you're expecting excellence from your business dollars. If it had been up to me, I would have allowed the name to be used by the hangers on that wanted to dig in their heels as a realities title wave crested overhead. What's the worst that would have happened? I see two eventualities. A) They would bomb out (100% chance) or B) they would be successful (0% chance). I guess there is room for some middle ground here, but a new chamber run by the old guard would have been about as viable an organization as the Historical Society or the group that claims leadership over the trails in this town.
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What used to be known as The Wildomar Chamber of Commerce was really just a private organization, not unlike the Elks, the VFW or Little League. Though the aforementioned organizations serve Wildomar in their own ways, they don't levy taxes on us, and if you're not an active part of them they could completely go away and most people wouldn't notice. They aren't on the same plane as the city council, the school board, the water board (or the like) that actually do affect all the people in their areas. It'll be interesting to see how many current members are maintained by the new super chamber and if they can grow their Wildomar based numbers beyond what they've been. I'm still on the fence about it. The costs to be a member of the Murrieta Chamber are more than double what they are in the old Wildomar Chamber so an increase in business would be a must to be part of it. Below are some links with differing POVs on the value of a Chamber of Commerce in today's world. American Express article: Have Chambers of Commerce Jumped the Shark? Daily Herald article: 6 reasons why businesses should join a local chamber of commerce
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A committee is a group of the unprepared, appointed by the unwilling to do the unnecessary. – Fred Allen Wildomar Rapis the epitome of the unnecessary, but isn't a committee and was self appointed.
Tonight was an historic night in the city of Wildomar.
The council chambers were decorated for Christmas as Bob Cashman sat at the dais for the final time.
Our first mayor, Bob Cashman, spent his last moments at the dais as a city council member of our fine city. He led the group in the pledge of allegiance, then made his way to the microphone in front of the audience. This was a special city council meeting that only had two items of business. Bob's farewell speech, and the swearing in of Bridgette Moore and newly elected, Dustin Nigg. I was asked to take video of Bob's speech. Below will be a link to the entire 45 minute talk. He started off by joking, "I've prepared a very long speech." Well, I thought he was joking. I was prepared for about 15 minutes, with 20 minutes being tops. It lasted about 55 minutes and I think I got it all... thankfully I brought two cameras.☺ He gave a complete history lesson about his days in Wildomar. Many interesting facts about how Wildomar became a city, and how if the process had been started a few months sooner or later than it was, it would never have happened.
In the audience were the surviving members of the WIN committee (Wildomar Incorporation Now) and even the previous county supervisor, Bob Buster, was in tow.
WIN Committee 2016. WIN stands for Wildomar Incorporation Now.
Once that was concluded, it was time to swear in new Councilmember Dustin Nigg. He was there with his family and friends. Afterward he gave a very classy nod to Bob Cashman for all he'd done for Wildomar. "I'd like to give Bob a round of applause. Seriously, the work he's done since '78 is astronomical and I thank you for your service, and I would not be where I'm at right now if it wasn't for you. So, thank you." —Dustin Nigg, December 12, 2016 A moment later saw Bridgette Moore take the oath of office for the third time, at her side was her husband Stewart. "To my right is my husband Stewart, because without him —really, I could not do this, because I am away from the family and home a lot. If I did not have his support... I wouldn't be able to do this." —Bridgette Moore, December 12, 2016 Now with all the easy stuff out of the way, time to tackle some fun issues... next on the city council agenda: 3.1 Urgency Ordinance - Temporary Restrictions and Regulations on
Non-medical Marijuana Facilities and Private Marijuana Cultivation.
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“No one ever complains about a speech being too short!” — Ira Hayes, 1923-1955
There was only one item on the agenda for this meeting, it was a street lighting acquisition update. Before that there was a presentation honoring new Eagle Scout Kedan Quintana, representatives from William Collier Elementary spoke about their school.
Mayor Bridgette Moore and Eagle Scout Kaden Quintana.
Fire department update
In the report Battalion Chief Todd Phillips mentioned the fires that displaced the Deanna Ramirez family and burned El Comal restaurant.
The cause of fire at the Ramirez residence was undetermined. El Comal is still under investigation but he had this to say about it.
My understanding is we got a really good jump on that for several reasons. One, the business owners had come in that morning to open up the restaurant and smelled natural gas. So they contacted the Gas Company. The Gas Company got there and smelled smoke and noticed the fire and reported it. Right about that time a sheriff's deputy also saw the smoke coming from the roof and reported it.
Chief Phillips also spoke about an accident on the freeway that involved one of the fire trucks.
On October 2nd, Cal Fire Riverside County firefighters responded to a non injury traffic collision, on Interstate 15 southbound north of Bundy Canyon. Engine 94 from the Canyon Hills station was assisting the parties moving their vehicles to the shoulder of the freeway when the engine was struck by a vehicle traveling southbound. This collision involved another vehicle, which was struck, which resulted in two minor injuries and a moderate injury.
Nobody was seriously injured. Battalion Chief Todd Phillips
Public Comments • Glenn Copple invited people to attend the Original Christmas Tree Lane ribbon cutting at the Lake Elsinore Outlets on Friday, November 25th at 10:00am. • Kenny Mayes urged the city to get onto social media, mentioned his concerns about Measure Z not being equally applied to apartment/condo complexes and insufficient library fees on new construction.
I agree with Kenny on the social media thing. I understand that the city staffers are already being worked hard (as a taxpayer I wouldn't want it any other way) but having a facebook page would not take anymore time than sending out the emails already does. It doesn't have to be elaborate. Just an update a couple of times a week.
As far as Ken's concerns about Measure Z, I guess he has rejected the city's explanation of how those monies are being collected from apartments.
• Andy Morris invited residents to discover the Rotary Club. 3.1 Street Light Acquisition This is one of those wonky topics that the average resident won't be too concerned with, though it's a great move that will save us all a lot of money over time. In short, Wildomar will be buying the street light poles from SoCal Edison and retrofitting them with LED bulbs (requiring the city borrow $1.7 million). This is being done by all the surrounding cities and the cost savings will be substantial over time. A 30
year cash flow model of costs to purchase, retrofit, maintain and finance yields a net
savings to the City of $650,000 at year 15, $1.9 million at year 20 and $5.8 million at
year 30. Below is a link to a video that was played for the city council to demonstrate the differences between the current lighting and the proposed lighting. If you can't see the video, try clicking here. The city council members will be taking tours in a test area to see the different lighting options available. In January this item hits the council again and more will be learned then. City Manager Report A special city council meeting will be held on Monday December 12th to simultaneously say goodbye to Bob Cashman and swear in new councilmember Dustin Nigg. At the meeting Bob Cashman will give a short presentation about his years working on the behalf of Wildomar. Added to the Community Calendar is a Holiday Lights contest. If interested in participating in this, give the city a call as at the publishing of this blog the link hasn't been created yet. 951-677-7751
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Do not say a little in many words but a great deal in a few. ― Pythagoras
Wildomar Rap often strays when trying to implement Pythagoras' wisdom.
Other than a library update and recognition for Fire Captain Ed Estacio there were no presentations, a bit different from the hour's worth the month before. ☺
Peter Cracchiolo and his concerns about the quality of work and the dangerous conditions on Lost Road.
Ginny Kishbauch spoke about worsening conditions in her neighborhood.
Kenny Mayes consent calendar issues and needing more than three minutes to comment on multiple items.
Mireya Gresham from Sycamore Academy spoke on many topics, including a new parking structure they intend to build, an upcoming History Showcase and a pet food drive where they collected 2000 pounds of food for AFV.
Check out the video to hear the speakers in their own words.
Consent Calendar
This is where items end up that are supposed to just need a rubber stamp, and not full discussion by the council or the public. Still, a councilmember —or a member of the public— can ask to have items "pulled" and discussed.
Though I agree with Ken Mayes —that too often weighty items end up on the consent calendar, I'm not sure what difference it would make if they were listed elsewhere. Often councilmembers will "pull" an item for discussion and members of the public have the same right.
When he pulled several items (1.6, 1.7, 1.8, and 1.9) all I got out of his comments were that —at least it appeared to me— that he was against widening Bundy Canyon because it would make crossing the street more difficult for wild animals that have been here longer than any people.
"[To] provide a connected pathway for the wildlife that has existed here for eons, long before man came around, created a roadway of carnage and destruction, which you now want to enhance by widening."
Kenny Mayes
Mayor Bridgette Moore pulled an item for further discussion.
1.9 Regional Homeless Alliance
In the meeting Brian Ambrose of Murrieta and Steve Falk of HOPE spoke the local efforts mentioned in the PE article.
This is a noble cause, where local municipalities are getting together to address homelessness in the area. Something that is anticipated to worsen as time goes by due to a severe housing shortage. The concern I have with such endeavors is funding. It's NOT a city issue, and the way that the state has jacked around with the funding that counties get, I'm not so sure that it's a county issue either. It was established that it costs "nothing to join" the collaborative.
Beyond "nothing to join" it should never cost the people of Wildomar an additional dime. If monies are to be needed, I suggest they be taken from the CDBG funds and from no other source... come hell or highwater. 2.1 Allocation of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funds for
Fiscal Year 2017-2018 Every year, the City of Wildomar has the opportunity to apply to the Riverside County
Economic Development Agency (EDA) to receive an allocation of Federal Community
Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. Up to 14% of the CDBG funds not to exceed $20,360 was up for grabs. In the end it was split 51-49 between the Assistance League and COPS for Kids. HOPE didn't see the deadline coming and failed to submit their paperwork for part of the pie. Merit Housing, which operates Wildomar Senior Assisted Living, walked away with nothing. 2.2 Zoning Ordinance Amendment - Construction and Public
Hearing Notification Signage Code Amendment.
In short, this was tabled because what the planning commission came up with, and what Councilmember Ben Benoit had in mind were vastly different.
On the left is approximately what Councilmember Benoit (8'x4') had in mind and the one on the right is akin to what was presented to the council (4'x4').
3.1 FY 2016-17 First Quarter Budget Report
The key takeaways from this item were the city getting a CSO officer (at about $100K "fully burdened") and whether or not to fund a city social media program.
If you didn't read the agenda packet, you didn't know that a "social media program" was going to be mentioned.
The agenda only said this:
3.1 FY 2016-17 First Quarter Budget Report
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the City Council review
and consider approval of the Fiscal Year 2016-17 First Quarter Report.
The social media program got hung up on the proposed cost of $10,000.
As much as I've always thought that the city having an official FaceBook page would be a good thing, I don't think so if it's going to cost us any more money in man hours.
This is Wildomar, not a city that is full of hustle and bustle, where there might be a need to constantly update info to the public. We don't even have a parks and rec department at this point.
What I noticed was that there was a lot of miscommunication between the staff and the council and even among the various council members. They are all bright people, but it's obvious from the video that they weren't on the same page most of the time.
I'm including a video of the council discussion on the item. It lasts more than 15 minutes but it gives some insight on what happens when the council doesn't agree on a topic. (There are edits in the video. Since this item dealt with three things, I edited out the portions that weren't about the facebook policy, and I had to change the battery in my camera once.)
I'm glad that Councilmembers Swanson and Cashman were able to derail this and hopefully it can come back as a workshop project that invites interested residents to participate. It was more than apparent that they wanted additional details before voting on such a program, and to be part of the policy making process itself.
It would be nice to have a facebook page, but not to the tune of $10,000. This city is so strapped for money as it is. Is $10,000 —against fixing his road (points to Mr. Cracchiolo) to put a FaceBook page in?
Councilmember Marsha Swanson
After the meeting there were many good ideas that were touched on for a future FaceBook policy, and what the approach should be. Last, a small amount of googling landed me at several sample policies after entering "sample social media policy for cities"in the search bar.
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“Brigands demand your money or your life; women require both.”
— Samuel Butler, 1835-1902 Wildomar Raphas neither the time, nor the inclination, to worry about your money or your life... I'm currently occupied with answering to Mrs. Wildomar Rap about such things.
This meeting didn't have a definitive start time. Usually, closed sessions (where the council meets with the city attorney to discuss issues not ready for public dissemination) are held before or after the set time. The agenda for this meeting read: CLOSED SESSION - 7:00 P.M.
SPECIAL MEETING IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE
CLOSED SESSION.
The reason that this meeting had to be scheduled in this uncustomary fashion was that they needed to guarantee a quorum would be in attendance to vote on item 2.2 General Municipal Election – District 4. Without three members voting for it, there would have been an election in District 4 with only one candidate, Bridgette Moore, listed —which would have wasted precious taxpayer money. With only one candidate, why go through the dog and pony show of a meaningless vote? Normally, it wouldn't be a problem getting the requisite number of votes, but Councilmember Marsha Swanson is away on a Summer vacation, and Mayor Moore can't vote on the item since she is the subject of it. Councilmember Bob Cashman couldn't promise to make it back from his day at work in time for a regular start time of 6:30pm, or even a postponed start time of 7:00pm. The next best option was this format. The first thing that came out of this meeting was from the closed session. SoCal Environmental Justice is suing the city and Strata Baxter (the Baxter Village project). The council voted unanimously to defend against it. 2.1 Roth Senate Bill 817 This is our annual attempt to regain our confiscated VLF funds. If the governor signs it, it would be an addition of about $1.9M to the annual city budget.
There was some discussion about if there was a quote in print, from Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, about why Governor Brown keeps vetoing this same bill year after year. Councilmember Cashman said he'd heard about it, but never saw it in writing.
I couldn't help myself, so when it was public comment time, I reminded the council that there is a direct quote from the Assemblywoman in some local blog discussing it.
Below is the excerpt from Wildomar Rap's blog of October 2015.
Wildomar Rap:
Bringing it back to legislation, maybe you can talk about SB 25 which was going to help Wildomar. I don't know if it's even worth trying anymore with the current governor.
Melissa Melendez:
SB25 was a bill where they took away the [portion of the] Vehicle Licensing Fees that went back to the cities. Wildomar was one city, and Menifee as well, where when they calculated their budget, they calculated that money in with the other money they were supposed to be getting. Then the state, in 2011, took that money away, and so there went Wildomar's budget. There has been a bill three years in a row, my entire time in the legislature, they have done a bill to give that funding back, because it was promised to these cities. The cities didn't do anything wrong, they played by the rules, but the state took it (VLF funds) away. Three years in a row I helped with this bill and three years in a row the governor has vetoed it. Now I will tell you, and I don't mind saying this out in public, that I had a conversation with governor Brown a couple of months ago. We were at dinner, not just he and I it was a group of people((which led to some laughter among the attendees)). But it just so happened that he was sitting right across from me... I got the lucky seat. So I said to him, "Governor Brown, we have this bill coming up which will really helps two cities in my district [by] giving back their vehicle licensing fees. They were pretty hard hit, what are your thoughts on that?" And he paused for a minute, and he looked at me in his Jerry Brown way, and he said, "What was the percentage of votes I got in Riverside County?" ((The assembled let out a protracted gasp at that)) He actually said that to me. I was stunned, I said, "uhhh... Well... you know, it was probably higher in some other areas of the state." And he replied, "I think it was about 22 maybe 23%, so I'm not really motivated." So that bill is never going to pass (be signed into law), ever.
This item was just for the council to discuss it, no action was to be taken here.
Still, when I saw this posted on councilmember Benoit's facebook page today, I couldn't resist throwing my two cents in there too.
2.2 General Municipal Election – District 4
City clerk Debbie Lee gave the brief presentation to the council, less Mayor Moore (who had stepped out of the room for this item), the key factor was the cost. An estimate of $5k to $7k was given to hold an election in District 4.
When the budget was being made, there were no districts and the estimate for an 'at large' election was $35,000.
There were a grand total of three people in the audience for this "historic" meeting; Mr and Mrs Wildomar Rap, and Wildomar's Chief of Police, Captain Leonard Hollingsworth.
I was the lone public commenter. I told them that I'd run into a couple of councilmembers from neighboring cities, Greg August of Menifee and Maryann Edwards of Temecula. They were of the opinion that an election, even with only one name on the ballot, was their preference.
In fact, Greg August is also running unopposed this year and he was adamant about wanting to be on the ballot. He didn't want to be 'appointed'.
Councilmembers have a lot of responsibilities, but they don't have the same background as a city clerk —whose job it is to know the ins and outs of elections.
Debbie Lee made it clear that even write in candidates still have to qualify. They still have to pull papers and qualify, they just don't get their names on the ballot or their statements in the voter pamphlets.
She further wanted to speak to the related comments from Maryann Edwards and Greg August about it being better to be elected.
A nomination paper is an election. Those people that have signed that, have elected you to that office. It's not an appointment. I too was confused about that until, in my last city [that I worked for], it got clarified for me. The nomination papers aren't just names saying "yeah, go ahead" it's people electing that person. If you cancel the election and appoint Bridgette, what you're in essence doing is saying she has been elected, and she does serve as if elected; it's even in the election code that way.
Wildomar City Clerk Debbie Lee
Below is a video link that has the lone public comment, the council comments, Debbie Lee's comments and the vote.
Now Bridgette Moore gets to hold the titles of Mayor and Councilmember Elect until her next term begins in December 2016, when she loses the "elect" part. Congrats!
=================
UPDATE
=================
Candidate Linda Gonzales withdrew from the election on August 31st, but too late to save the election costs.
Here's a bit of unfinished business from the meeting that revealed the continued lawsuit against Walmart.
I was thinking about the road improvements slated for Bundy Canyon near the freeway. The improvements are to be completed before Walmart is allowed to open. There is no incentive for them to begin the road improvements (which includes widening, traffic signals and improvements to area drainage) while they are still in litigation.
Walmart has made it clear that it takes just under one year from first shovel in, to doors opening. It's a fair assumption to conclude that the road improvements would be finishing up around the same time that Walmart is ready to open.
Basic math tells you that if they'd have already started the process, then the countdown to the Bundy improvements would be underway. With a completion date of sometime in 2017. But no. Everything is on hold because a no name person in the community, that claims to be impacted by the project, has decided to hold things up. They know they can't win, but to some people, just the power of jerking with the masses is payoff enough for them.
So, when the Bundy Canyon improvements are delayed by a year or more, just remember that was a gift from the yet to be named litigant in the case.
• • •
I'm throwing rocks tonight. Mark it, Dude. — Donny, “The Big Lebowski” 1998
Wildomar Rap has yet to lose a bet when Casa de Rap is wagered against boxes of day old donuts, and not even when the ante is upped by a flat, room-temp Coors Light.
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