• Parks Schedule 2015

Tonight was a Wildomar Parks Subcommittee Meeting. The two members of the committee are Council Member Marsha Swanson and Mayor Pro-Tem Bridgette Moore.

Lots of good information from the agenda and the public speakers. The agenda covered special events,  park rules and policies, and signage.

Here is the proposed schedule of special events for 2015. The firm list will come after the city council votes on it.

Also mentioned were two Astronomy Nights Aug 22nd and Sept 19th. 

Last year Wildomar had many good special events; start saving the dates now. 

•   •   •

The part of the meeting that dealt with park rules was fun and lively. When you get down to it, respectful people DON'T need rules, and disrespectful people couldn't care less.

Rules are here due to those that have no regard for others, and those people (to be read pejoratively) will only follow rules if there is an authority figure there forcing them to conform to community standards. If your ears are burning, then YES I'm talking to you.

The topic of flying drones was brought up. A person that lives near the park had a guy flying a camera equipped drone hovering near his backyard fence. He went over to the park and found a guy with a suitcase worth of computer equipment that controlled it.

I'm thinking that your right to fly your camera equipped drone, ends where my backyard begins.

The other rules were pretty stock and standard... though some of the wording led to some discussion.

Alcohol was discussed... can you imagine a kid's birthday with the adults kneedeep in a hops fueled bender? Glad that one got laughed out.

Also things like golfing in the park, along with archery, and "games of hazardous nature".

"Games of a hazardous nature" sure seems wide open for interpretation.

What does it take to be considered "Hazardous"?

A toddler being hit in the head with a frisbee, is that hazardous? Sure it was an accident, but seems "hazardous" at the same time... that could also apply to a baseball or a football that takes unpredictable bounces.

Parks aren't perfect, and there is a certain amount of shared responsibility when sharing a park with others. To paraphrase one public speaker, we don't want parks where about the only thing you can do is walk in and walk back out.

As for "Signage" it was regarding the wording that will be put on rules signs that will be at the park. Unless these kinds of signs, with rules, are new or something... I don't remember ever seeing any in any park I went to when I was growing up (though I did see those types of signs at public swimming pools). If they were there, I didn't even notice them.

Point being, signs have no real meaning to kids that have parents that don't teach them respect for others. So rules signs are basically something for kids to tag since they won't be reading them, much less being concerned about how their actions will negatively affect others. The other kids already know right from wrong and won't need to read them either.

A look at what the signs will look like. Including the non emergency number to report problems.

Also mentioned was the development of a skate park on the north side of Corydon at Lake Elsinore's Serenity Park. Construction is to begin this year, and there's talk of a bicycle area too.

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Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.
― Dalai Lama XIV

Wildomar Rap loves wine and cheese, just not cheesy whining!

• A Bit of Real News and a Bit of FaceBook Drama

Let's start with something real.

Earlier in the week I bumped into Ken Mayes at Windsong Park. I had just driven by Marna O'Brien Park and seen that the Freedom Swing (the wheelchair swing) was not up. So I asked him about it. For those that don't know, Ken spends a vast amount of time researching things regarding our parks and I respect the effort, and his interest, even though we often don't agree on things.

He forwarded me a copy of a playground equipment report from an October 19th inspection.

October 19, 2014   

City of Wildomar 

Attn: Les Chapman 

23873 Clinton Keith Road Suite 201 Wildomar CA  92595 

Re: Playground Inspection of Wheelchair Swing  

Dear Mr. Chapman,  I wanted to thank you for the opportunity to provide inspection services to your City.   Enclosed you will find the playground inspection reports for the wheelchair swing at Marna O’Brien Park.   

Today, Mr. Dante Jackson and I looked at installation of a wheelchair swing to determine if the swing itself meet playgrounds standards.  The details of the inspection are located in the attached checklist report.  Unfortunately, it appears that during installation the swing structure was installed too close to the existing swing structure.  This has created an intrusion into the existing swing structure’s use zone.  The use zones are identified with green string which was measured out today during the inspection and is viewable in the attached reports images.    

Of major concern is the surfacing protection material.  The material appears to be located directly on a concrete pad and does not appear to be of sufficient depth.  A surfacing impact attenuation (head drop) test should be performed in the event that this material is going to be kept.    

At this time, the wheelchair swing does NOT meet playground safety standards and will require some repairs, relocation and surfacing impact testing prior to being utilized.  As Mr. Jackson and I departed today, one of your staff members was on site to remove the structure.    

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at 310.947.9348 or via email at steve@wilmes.co   

Sincerely,    

Steven C. Wilmes, PHR, CPSI, RSSP, ARM-P CEO

(The entire report is 13 pages and filled with pictures. Those interested in it, need to request a copy from the city.)

I'm a big "credit where credit is due" guy and Ken Mayes expressed concerns, over many issues with the swing, including the material under it, at various city meetings.

At this point, I want to point out the obvious. No one is trying to discredit Ashley Fox's idea for the swing or her tremendous efforts in raising the money for it. If you've read Wildomar Rap this year, you've seen that I'm a big supporter of hers. She did great. 

Also, it must be noted that the swing has been repeatedly vandalized, something I had been concerned with and had written about it after it was installed.

I asked Assistant City Manager, Dan York, what should I make of the report. He told me that part of the issue is that, though the swing meets requirements in the state that it was produced in (Ohio I believe) our California safety laws are different. There are a few adjustments to it that he has on the drawing board, and until they get it sorted out, the swing had to be taken down.

They also need to reorder a few pieces from it that have been stolen.

You can see where the padding has been stripped away in places.

It's a shame that we live in a world where people have to destroy things that benefit the community, but that is our reality, and we are going to have to make the swing safe for operation and from vandals when it's not in use. Dan York is the right man for the job. He'll find the best answer, and we'll see the fix soon.

•    •    •

Now time for the FaceBook drama.

First, let me say, that without the first version of the Wildomar FaceBook page, I probably wouldn't have gotten involved in the city. I also wouldn't have met many of my neighbors and others in the city either. 

That said, those of you that stay away from the Wildomar FaceBook pages (there are more than you can count these days), or facebook in general, are doing yourself a huge favor.

The Wildomar facebook pages are often filled with: things for sale; inane topics like "Why did KFC close"; or idle gossip and child level name calling. 

Imagine the dog head tilt look I gave a few people in the lobby of City Hall before the last City Council meeting, when I was asked something like... "Did you bring your gloves with you?" Followed by chuckles.

Ummm... errrr... what?

Contrary to popular opinion, I don't live on the internet, and since early Summer, I've left the various Wildomar group pages, since I find they are about a 90% waste of time (No Offense Sheila, Michelle or Kevin).

Check out the screenshot that my wife took of part of the conversation in question.

Hey Michelle, when it's in written form it's libel. When it's spoken, that's when it's slander.

Apparently, the accusation is that someone took down some of Gary Andre's campaign signs, then after the election put them back up. I guess to make it appear that he didn't take them down or something. 

Imagine my delight in reading my name associated with criminal activity. At least they didn't accuse me of child molestation or bank robbery... yet!

This topic had a thread of nearly 100 posts before it got deleted... still not nearly as many as the KFC thread or the Walmart thread. I am not part of that group so I didn't even know it existed. My wife is part of the FaceBook group in question, and did take a ton of screenshots with her Samsung Note II —I just didn't care enough to read through that dreck. 

Suffice to say, that having some failed local politician calling me out by name was the highlight of my day. I can't imagine how depraved a person would have to be, to blithely cast out such erroneous and libelous accusations. 

NO WONDER WHY YOU LOST YOUR RE-ELECTION BID IN 2010. 

The only "sick bunch of people" are the ones that LOST yet again. They have nothing of value going on in their lives, and instead of looking for ways to help the community, they look for ways to sue and divide it. Nice life.

As I told a few people. I can't imagine even thinking of such a stupid caper, much less actually doing such a thing. I then said, "If I had been 14, then I might have done it". When I was 14, it was 1979 and there were no CCTV's around. But I'm not a teenager, I'm a grown man with functioning reasoning skills.

Even if, EVEN IF... I thought of something as daft as that, I know the laws and have NOT forgotten the trouble that former DA Zellerbach got into for similar actions. For the longest time, I've assumed that there is a camera on every corner, and there is NO way I'd risk my good name on something so dumb. 

I'm sure I'll be getting a formal apology from Sheryl Ade any moment now. 

Hardy Har Har... I kill me sometimes.

It would take class to apologize... but someone with class wouldn't have made such an inane remark in the first place. As I was telling someone, that kind of comment was no surprise. It's what she does.

If, however, she would have posted something like: "Just wanted to congratulate the three top vote getters for a well run campaign. The electorate has spoken and even if Gary Andre and Israel Leija's votes had been combined... they still would have come in 4th. Best wishes." That would have been a surprise.

Thankfully she didn't post that kind of reasoned comment.  The utter shock from reading such a thing would have been enough to stop my heart mid beat.

——

If people choose to comment. Stay away from personal attacks... especially the agent orange or draft dodger card, or the concubine card (including any variation thereof). The air in Hemet tends to thin the skin of people. So show some respect or I'll delete your comment. 

•      •      • 

If at first you don't succeed... just pretend that you did succeed and slander all those that tell you otherwise.

Wildomar Rap  has never dined on sour grapes, though he hears they are a delicacy in Hemet.

• The APEs Do Another Dump

The APEs are really going bananas now (you knew I wouldn't be able to resist that cheesy line for much longer). Yep, a few minutes before the Planning Commission meeting was called to order, Ray Johnson waddled into the chambers and handed a stack of papers to Alfredo Garcia. Who in turn handed them to assistant city attorney Erica Vega, who then passed them out the the commissioners.

Oh Joy, wasn't that clever and fun.

Oh you guys...

In the video you'll see Ray Johnson break out his junior G-Man badge and pretend to be an expert, then get a facial by the project's civil engineer, then by the city engineer, followed by the planning commission.

At first it looked as if the council was going to punt. Chairman Stan Smith first suggested to "take a motion to continue to a later date". Which is all that the APEs wanted in the first place. Then commissioner Bobby Swann spoke up and disagreed. He got the ball rolling that led to the commission voting on the issue, and NOT kowtowing to the ill conceived whims of those far removed from elected office.

This was in regard to the Shell Station, and a drainage pipe. If you really care, watch the video... my recapping of it would never be able to do it justice.



After the meeting was over, the topic of changing the rules for when documents are allowed to be delivered, was batted around in the foyer. Based on what I'd heard, I'd like to suggest that the city council require that ALL documents, pertaining to whichever coming city meeting —MUST be in— no later than 72 hours before the scheduled meeting... or NO dice.

The APEs act like children, but who can blame them in reality? Our rules allow them to do document dumps, and since they have no actual backing in the community, who can fault them for constantly going to that same worn out play.

Remember Shaquille O'Neal? Weak teams couldn't defend him, so they went to the Hack-A-Shaq move. Which was no more than bad sportsmanship that the league's rules allowed, yet were NEVER intended to be part of the game.

The APEs are nothing but rock throwing Hack-A-Shaqers, that's their only move, and they know it... it's up to the council to remove as many of the rocks, that are in easy reach, as they can.

You may be asking, "What is a Wildomar APE?"
The Wildomar APEs are a group that calls themselves Alliance for Intelligent Planning. They spell it AIP, and I pronounce it like it looks, but change the spelling to the common word we all know —APE. In short, they are a group that tries to block almost every project that gets introduced in Wildomar through litigation, or threats of it.

•     •     •

Without Miss Miller in attendance, tonight's comedy relief was provided by George Taylor, long time resident out at The Farm. He decided to chime in about potential food establishments in town... he'd like a Golden Corral... but I'm with Israel Leija and I want a Norm's. No matter how you slice it, George is tired of all the fast food places in Willy'Mar.

▼

What this blog should have been about is a great new project just east of Inland Valley Dr. 

Rancon Medical Office/Retail Project. 

It's going to be 11.62 acres, 13 parcels, 96,240 square feet of medical, office and retail uses located at the southwest corner of Clinton Keith Road and Elizabeth Lane.

But instead we get to talk about the same tired people pulling the same tired stunts. Let me ask you a fair question.

Ready? 

Just how STUPID are those people? Seriously, the election is a mere four weeks away, and they desperately want to get their candidate, Gary Andre, elected. Yet they keep this kind of thing going?

I guess they've never heard the old adage.
It goes like this: Don't break the law, when you're breaking the law.

What that specifically refers to is when a person is driving drunk (breaking the law) and then showing even worse judgement by then speeding (also "breaking the law").

To apply that theory to the APEs, and their incessant need for grandstanding, I have to ask this... didn't they think their recent actions might blow up all over their candidate? They even had Gary Andre be the water boy, and carry the documents, that he then dumped on the council —himself.

There goes Plausible Deniability right out the window.

I'm just mesmerized at how idiotic they all are. It has to be some kind of red herring... some kind of clever gambit, because NO ONE IS THIS STUPID in real life... are they?

Oh well, we have a City Council meeting in less than a week... I can't wait to see more from Team APE... I just hope they don't disappoint by not coming up with more of their typical awesomeness.

•     •     •

How true it is that so much of the harm that is done in this world does not result from evil motive, or a bad intention, but out of sheer boredom.

If you haven't already found Wildomar Rap on facebook, there's still time to do it. Click here and get on board.

• Local "Activist" Jumps The Shark

I was talking to my brother the other day, he moved away from Wildomar two and half years ago but still works here. He was talking about the school he works for looking to build a new campus and he told me, "Our school is being threatened with a lawsuit by that lady that sues everyone."

It must be awesome to have such a reputation as that. Can you guess who he was referring to?

She stylizes herself as a "Local Activist" though all she's done for the community is sue us repeatedly. It started with suing over Wildomar going from district based city council seats, to one that is open (she keeps appealing though she lost that one).

Read about it in the Press Enterprise here.

From there, it has been one threat, or actual suit, after another against the city. To give her credit, she has had a couple of her suits adjudicated in her favor. Still, her batting average is well below the Mendoza Line, and it costs us, the tax payers of Wildomar, money to defend, in both attorneys and city staff hours.

Click here to read about the lawsuit she filed against us this January.

I'm not going to waste reams of cyber paper on her, but I will post a screen capture of her latest comments on a story at the, soon to be defunct, Patch. The reason that I'm doing this is so that you can judge for yourself if she is the person you want as your "activist" or not, and if you appreciate her judgment on things.

The story in question is about a seven year old girl scout that had a 59 year old man point a gun at her while trying to sell Girl Scout cookies at 11:30AM on Superbowl Sunday .

Here is a link to the story if you aren't familiar with it. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2551668/Girl-scout-seven-gun-pulled-knocking-door-suspect-trying-sell-cookies.html

Here is a link to the story on the Patch where her comments are... but I suspect that she will  be trying to delete her comments soon, so I'll post the screen shot just the same.
http://lakeelsinore-wildomar.patch.com/groups/trending-in-america/p/thin-mint-thug-cops-say-ca-man-points-gun-at-girl-scout-lakeelsinore-wildomar

She was asked if she was kidding.

To which she promptly replied:

This is an election year in Wildomar, and there will be three seats on the city council that will be up for grabs this November. There is a small sliver of Wildomarians that like what comes from "The Wildomar Watcher" [to each his own. I call that blog The Wildomar Timex] and they hope they can put people onto the council that will sit up and pay attention to her. 

 [Ummm... if we cared what she thought, wouldn't we have elected her when she ran?] 

I have no idea who to vote for at this point, but I can be damned sure that I will be looking askance at any candidate that she backs, and that actually accepts her endorsement. 

I just want ALL potential city council candidates to know who it is that might be giving you her thumbs up. 

Nothing personal Señora Timex, but you can't be both our 'self appointed "activist"' and 'someone that posts the things you do' without expecting to be called out on it. Hey, my comment section is open if you'd care to respond.

Oh, and I stole the title of this blog from Patch regular "Lotsahelp". It was just too good to pass up.

Last known picture of Lotsahelp

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• Three News Nuggets

First, Wildomar is being sued again. Let's throw a party... the drinks are on us!

For the lurid details, follow the link to the Press Enterprise article.

A group calling themselves,  brace yourself for high some level comedy , Alliance for Intelligent Planning. I don't know if they call themselves AFIP (which sounds like Aphid, and we all know how helpful those little pests are) or if they leave out the "f" from "for" and go with AIP which sounds like APE to me. 

I just call them the 3 CEQA'migos, since the only thing that seems to come out of their mouths is the word CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act). It came about in 1970, and was very much needed at the time. Since then however, as would have been predictable, it's been abused... and because of the glut of lawyers in Sacramento, it's next to impossible to get this thing the reform it and we so desperately need.

Read more about CEQA by clicking here.

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News Nugget Numero Dos

I just got a press release from the city, and we got our Housing Element approved and now we won't have the threat of the State coming in and dishing out penalties for failure to comply. 

 

Oh, but don't breath too easily... this is one of those "3 CEQA'migos" moments and they are suing us because of the Housing Element. That's right, they are suing us, the tax payers, because our elected representatives complied with the law. As annoying as they are, their little squeak is far easier to take than what the state would dish out for non compliance.

Li'l Willy Mar (Wildomar in human form) would get pounded by the state if we tried to jerk with them.
As distasteful as it is, we can endure the gadflies. Eventually they'll tucker out and be gone.

I'd be laughing too if it wasn't costing us money to defend it. 

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Three of Three

Next week is a special Parks Subcommittee meeting. On the agenda is whether or not the fence at Windsong Park should stay up or not. If you like this fence, and think it's a good idea to keep it up let your committee members know it. If you think it is an unattractive eyesore, that detracts from the community, and would like it to come down... as it was never there while the park was opened before, then  you need to email the committee and tell them that.

To refresh you memory, this is the fence in question. Any new fence will cost a lot of money, and need regular maintenance. Plus someone will have to open and close it every night. An expense we can do without.

I am against this fence, or any other fence going up there, and I'll be attending the Parks Subcommittee meeting next week [6:30 pm Tuesday, 1-21-2014]. Remember, actions speak louder than words (though an email is nearly as good) check the email links below to get your voice heard.

• Mayor Marsha Swanson 
• Bridgette Moore 

Just a reminder what the park looked like when it was opened and without a fence.

 

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