• City Council Meeting November 2025

Kenny Mayes was honored by the city. 

(more at the bottom of the blog)

Lynne Mayes holds the proclamation that was presented by Mayor Ashlee DePhillippo, his son is holding flowers. Behind her is the old street sign with the Mayes family name on it.

TOP NEWS FROM THE MEETING

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• Public Works Update
• Robert Flores goes from interim to permanent Community Development Director
• Graffiti Trailer
• Additional Part Time Code Enforcement Officer
• Fence Around Flood Control Basin (Bundy Canyon and Monte Vista)

Meeting Recap

There was a lot of good information in the Public Works update. 

• The Palomar Road widening is two months behind schedule. Look for it to be finished in February of 2026. Part of the delay is a gas line that needs to be moved on Gruwell. 

• Wildomar Trail/I-15 restriping is inching closer to the finish line. Working with Caltrans can be painstakingly slow.

So you know, the issue is that the road isn't currently wide enough to restripe the lanes with Caltrans's minimum requirements. It's about a foot short to accommodate restriping that would create an additional westbound lane from Margaret Lane to the freeway.

The city has submitted plans to Caltrans with widening in mind, but Caltrans keeps returning them with "comments" about the design (anything short of a yes is problematic in my book). 

There was no date given as to when Caltrans would approve the design. During the question period I asked, "We know Caltrans is going to dictate the tempo of this, but do our plans look like they're going to eventually pass muster with them?"

I understand why staff has to be guarded in their answers, but the answer I got didn't leave me feeling overly confident that this matter will be resolved anytime soon. Take a listen to the video and draw your own conclusions.

part of the presentation

• Bundy Canyon and Clinton Keith widening

For those who may not know, both of these projects have been in the works for years and years. 

We got past phase I of Bundy Canyon a couple of years ago, and after the kinks were ironed out (literally), it's a good improvement. Phase II will be from where construction left off to The Farm Road. 

Phase III (from The Farm Road to the city line with Menifee) is being planned, but I don't see it on the visible horizon yet. 

Neither project has been sent out to bid yet. Cutting to the chase, I'd be very surprised if there is any actual construction before we get to 2027. 

Video of Public Works Update

Robert Flores takes the job of Community Development Director. He oversees many areas, including the Planning Department and Code Enforcement. 

I've had the chance to work with him for many months now, already well-versed in Wildomar. Hopefully, he's not reading this (don't want his head to overinflate lol), but I've heard great things from many people outside of the city apparatus when it comes to working with him. 

Even as an interim, I saw him at city park events. Not something I remember too many times from others in the past.

New Graffiti Trailer 

I look forward to hearing reports as to how often this gets put into action.

Additional Part-Time Code Enforcement Officer

There was a bit of discussion about when to add this new position, but it got the green light to fill now. 

Part of the discussion was regarding the idea of having a workshop where we can dig deeper into what areas of code enforcement should be dealing with. 

Fence or not to Fence

Last year we voted 4-1 (Morabito, no) to spend many hundreds of thousands of dollars on a decorative fence around the new flood basin at Bundy Canyon and Monte Vista.

Thankfully, the next month we reversed that. 

It came back to the agenda because it needed to be finalized that we were not going to spend money on it. 

Here's a link to a blog dealing with it from July of 2024

https://wildomarrap.blogspot.com/2024/07/city-council-meeting-july-2024.html

 

Wildomar Rap opinion time

I'd like to add a write-up of Kenny Mayes here. 

I learned of his passing shortly after it happened. I reached out to his widow, Lynne, and offered her my condolences. 

I told her, "Though my initial instinct would be to write a tribute to Kenny in my blog, I have no interest in using his passing as a reason to get clicks, or, more importantly, cause any level of grief to you."

She was appreciative of my words. 

Now that this was part of a city council meeting, I'll add some reflections here. 

I first became acquainted with Kenny through his comments/writings at The Patch in mid-2013, and right from the start, we seemed to be on opposite sides of the argument... no matter what it was.

If you search his name and Wildomar Rap, there must be at least 50, if not 100, times his name comes back. 

We usually would go round and round, with him on one side and me on the other, but in reality, if you can picture a football field, he was on one forty yard line and I was on the other. 

Both really being in the center, just a bit to one side or the other, neither holding extreme views.

Here's a link to a blog where Kenny and I exchanged some views on the topic of local tax increases. If you click the link, go to the bottom where the comments are.


I can remember when I was running for city council in 2018 and the city still didn't livestream the meetings (I had taken it upon myself to videotape the meetings and then upload them to YouTube for the public).

Kenny told the council that he wouldn't do any more public comments until they started to livestream.

I remember writing in this blog that he had miscalculated, that he should have gone in the other direction... threaten to speak on each and every item, with borrowed time, until they agreed to livestream the meetings.

Sometime around July of that year I went up to him after a city council meeting and asked him to break his self imposed moratorium on not offering public comments. 

I drew this back in 2018. 

Fast forward to last year, and I remember getting a little choked up when seeing him at a park event, obviously in the middle of a battle that would eventually take his life. 

He was at the park anyway. I went up to him and chatted. It was a pleasant exchange, but within a month, he and I were back at it on social media, as if it was still 2015. lol

Kenny Mayes was a man well worth remembering. 

Video link to Mayor Ashlee DePhillippo's presentation to Kenny Mayse's family

The meeting was adjourned in memory of Kenny Mayes.


Programming note:
Next month's meeting (December 2025) will be a week early. The first Wednesday instead of the second Wednesday. 

• Wildomar Official Threatened

Reporting Supervisor: Lieutenant Jeff Reese

File # WI253130039

Details:

On Saturday, November 8, 2025, the Lake Elsinore Sheriff’s Station’s Special Enforcement Team (SET) received information regarding a city of Wildomar public official receiving threats of a criminal nature. The SET deputies immediately assumed the case, and during the investigation, the suspect Cody Salazar, a 38-year-old resident of Murrieta, was positively identified as the individual making the threats. 

On November 9, 2025, the SET deputies located and arrested Salazar without incident. Salazar was booked into the Cois Byrd Detention Center for making criminal threats to a public official.

This is an ongoing investigation, and no further details will be released. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact Deputy Noel at the Lake Elsinore Sheriff’s Station at (951) 245-3300.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office takes a zero-tolerance approach to threats against public officials and any member of the public. These types of incidents will receive our full attention, and all investigative steps will be taken to identify and hold accountable individuals who think this type of behavior is acceptable.

As a reminder, "Community Policing" involves partnerships between law enforcement and community members. Business owners and residents are encouraged to report criminal activity directly to law enforcement by calling Sheriff's Dispatch at (951) 776-1099 or 911 in an emergency.

Wildomar Rap opinion time

Quick reminder: the people elected to Wildomar's city council are just regular people in the neighborhood. We're literally your nextdoor neighbor.

We've volunteered to represent the community. It's a privilege and an honor to serve, and it's not as if the residents have to be cheerleaders, you don't have to like us at all... but don't threaten our safety. 

I'd like to get deep into details, but this is an ongoing investigation, and therefore, I won't. 

I will say that this kind of uncalled for action is one of several reasons why many people choose to stay out of politics, even at the local level, including little ol' Wildomar. 

• If you vote for Prop 50, you're voting for more Tres Lagos

This is my opinion.... imagine that. 

If you vote for Prop 50, you're voting for more Tres Lagos being put into neighborhoods... don't lie to yourself, you just are. 

If you're not sure what Tres Lagos is, it's a high-density, low-income apartment complex that Sacramento put into one of Wildomar's nicest neighborhoods, where the city council had no say in the matter.

The thinking that has helped me to arrive at such a conclusion comes from years of observing how the California Democrats, who have been controlling Sacramento nearly my whole life, have NO interest in your personal opinions when they conflict with their highly crafted worldview. 

They do what they want, and you must like it. That is their usual speed, and the further away one gets from Sacramento, the less they care for our needs. 

They have a long and proven track record of quashing local control.

You have permission to NOT vote as a partisan when it comes to Prop 50. The people spoke back in 2008 and again in 2010 (props 11 and 20). 

• 2008: Voters approved Proposition 11, the "Voters First Act", which created the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission to draw state legislative districts. It did not, however, give the commission authority over congressional districts.
• 2010: Voters passed Proposition 20, the "Voters First Act for Congress". This measure expanded the Citizens Redistricting Commission's power to include the drawing of congressional districts, removing that responsibility from the state legislature.

How do you view new laws?

Many laws come about due to an emerging need that hadn't clearly been seen in the past (imagine proposing laws regarding the internet back in the 1970s... that would have been daft).

Other laws come about through social engineering, and depending on your political philosophy, that's either a good thing or a bad thing. 

Nearly 800 bills made it into law this year.

My view is that most people, even in deep Dodger Blue California, are in the "big middle" of the political spectrum, and fewer are part of one extreme or the other. 

However, the voting record in California begs to differ and suggests that the average, at best, is center-left to solidly left. 

Just look at the garbage that comes out of Sacramento, highlighted by the (nearly) criminal Prop 50. 

Gavin Newsom has NEVER cared
about "democracy". Only furthering his career.

The Democrats' favorite mantra is "democracy," though I can count several examples of them trampling all over "democracy," with Prop 50 the most egregious example in California. 

But let's not forget some other things that have sprung directly from the desk of Governor Newsom

The very first thing he did when he came into office was to negate the results of a democratic election. 

In 2016, California voters considered two competing death penalty initiatives: 

• Proposition 62 (failed): This initiative sought to abolish the death penalty entirely and replace it with life in prison without the possibility of parole. Voters rejected this measure.
• Proposition 66 (passed): This measure aimed to speed up the death penalty appeals process by placing time limits on legal challenges and reassigning initial appeals to trial courts. Voters approved this measure, and its constitutionality was largely upheld by the California Supreme Court in 2017. The transfer of inmates to other facilities (mentioned above) was an implementation of one of Prop 66's provisions. 

He essentially did the same thing after the 2024 election, where 68.4% of the voters approved the public safety measure, Prop 36, and then Newsom refused to properly fund it. 

Even the LA Times castigated Newsom's actions regarding Prop 36.

Link to LA Time Story 

However, he did find over $300 million to fund the Prop 50 ballot measure. 

With that as a foundation, let's look at a new bill that Newsom recently signed into law. 

All the above was to lay the foundation for the new anti-neighborhood bill that was just signed into law

SB 79   (Wiener D)   Housing development: transit-oriented development.

This measure would require cities to approve ministerially higher-density residential projects up to 7 stories near public transit stops if a city is located in an urban transit county or a county with more than 15 rail stops. 

While cities in nonurban transit counties, located within a quarter mile of specific transit stops would have to approve residential projects by-right up to 5 stories tall regardless of local zoning codes, limit the use of local development standards on the proposed project, and grant authority to transit agencies to establish development standards on residential development on property the transit agency owns or leases within a half mile of a public transit stop on or before January 1, 2026.

*ministerially means NO public input and no votes by a planning commission or city council.

•

Elections have consequences; don't get suckered into the nonsense from the Yes on 50 campaign. 

If you've seen the video ads, you've seen some of the most dishonest political rhetoric of all time. 

((Can you tell that I am NOT a fan of Governor Gavin Newsom))

• City Council Meeting October 2025

It was a very light meeting this month. Still, there were a few nuggets to share.

TOP NEWS FROM THE MEETING

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• See-Click-Fix App
• Palomar Road Improvements
• Shed Set Backs
• Shipping Containers

Meeting Recap

1.8 See Click Fix and CivicRec

These are two apps that will facilitate reporting issues around town (potholes, et al) and will be available in either the Google Play Store or the Apple Store. 

This isn't an official image.

If you're from SeeClickFix,

you're welcome, and feel free to use it gratis.

CivicRec is a recreational software that helps with facility rentals of all sorts. It'll streamline the current process that's in place and also offer a calendar of things happening throughout the year.

There was some initial confusion as to how the public would use the SeeClickFix app. At first, it seemed as if there'd need to be two different approaches to reporting matters in the city. 

One for code enforcement, and one for public works.

Thankfully, City Manager Chris Mann made it clear that there will only be one interface for residents once the rollout of this software is complete.

The timeline is within six months that these apps should be operational.

1.17 Budget Adjustment - Palomar St. Widening

This item was on the consent calendar (routine matter) but I asked for the item to be pulled to hear the staff report.

Cutting to the chase, there are no cost overruns and the project is on time (to be finished ). The reason for this item is that it straddled two different fiscal years, and there was more work added.

Gruwell will be getting some modifications to smooth out the curve that leads into Orange Street.

2.2 Development Code Amendment No. 2025-05A (Sheds & Accessory Dwelling Units)

The ADU portion of this was bringing Wildomar codes into compliance with new state codes. 

The setbacks are going from five feet to two feet for side and backyards. 

If you have a shed on the front portion of your property, they aren't allowed on the property line.

The last item I'm highlighting came during the City Manager's Report: Shipping Containers.

The current rule is that you are NOT allowed to have a shipping container on property that is smaller than five acres. 

I don't know how many five-acre parcels are in Wildomar, but I can tell you most that have shipping containers on them aren't anywhere near five acres. 

Usually, there isn't very much discussion on City Manager items, but this one went on for more than ten minutes with the creation of an ad hoc committee comprised of Dustin Nigg and Bridgette Moore to investigate the matter further. 

If the video link isn't working, try this link.

The video is cued up to the City Manager's Report

Since it's an ongoing matter, I'll save deep analysis for a later time, but I can say that I'm interested in taking a deeper look into this since so many are well out of compliance (having a shipping container on less than five acres), and I don't think it's fair to them to leave them in limbo.

If you have opinions one way or the other on shipping container ordinances, please email the subcommittee with them. 

You can send your emails to the city clerk (jmorales@wildomar.gov) and ask her to forward them to the subcommittee.

• Special City Council Meeting September 26, 2025

Congratulations, Chris, or should I say, "Mr. City Manager!"

The only item on the agenda was to ratify the new, four-year contract for Wildomar's 6th City Manager, Chris Mann. 

I look forward to working with him even more now that the "interim" restraints have been removed. Let's go get 'em!

There were two votes that were part of the process.

One in closed session, which was reported out as 5-0 to select Chris Mann to be the permanent City Manager.

Joseph Morabito and Chris Mann at the 2025 Temecula State of the City event.

The second vote was regarding the contract, it went 4-1, with Councilman Joseph Morabito (the guy writing this blog) voting not to approve.

My reasoning didn't change from my no vote back in April when Chris was hired on as Interim City Manager. 

To respect the process, and the law (the ever-looming Brown Act), I can't get into the particulars of how the contract was cobbled together (closed session restrictions), but I'll sum it up this way while being as nice as I possibly can be...

Five amateurs were dealing with a professional, and in my estimation, it's evident in the final product, i.e., the contract. 

Note to self, too many chefs ruin the stew, or is it supposed to be the "pudding"?
Key to the cartoon, Joseph Morabito is the odd man out on the left side. 

To be fair, the negotiating subcommittee of the Mayor and Mayor Pro-Tem, spent a lot of time during this process, and were able to change the first iterations of a contract from something that would have been rejected 5-0, to one that passed 4-1.

For many observers, when both sides of a negotiation don't get what they wanted at the outset, that signifies a good deal.

Key details of the contract:
• $281,000 with an automatic COLA based on CPI

• Four Year Deal

• 12 Month Severance, Paid Monthly (hopefully never needed)

• Automobile Allowance: Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) monthly

• Deferred Comp: The City shall annually contribute into the qualified 457 account in the City Manager’s name the maximum annual contribution, including any age-related and “catch up” provisions.

The first year is an additional $20,000 (low estimate on my end) and once he reaches age 50 (in two years) an additional $7500 per year is paid by the city.

Link to full contract if you'd like to take a look at it.

Wildomar Rap opinion time

I can almost hear it now, "Hey Joseph, why are you speaking out of both sides of your mouth here?"

"How can you congratulate the new City Manager and at the same time vote against the contract?"

Easy, two different things can exist at the same time. 

Obviously, I'm out of step with the other four-fifths of the council on this. 

In my view, the contract is too rich for Wildomar. I saw that back in April, and my opinion didn't change over the Summer.

One argument, a pretty solid one if you're of that mindset, is that a city should hire someone for City Manager who will bring many years of experience, which generally comes with a high dollar payout. 

My argument has long been that Wildomar can't compete with larger cities, and it's folly to attempt to. Wildomar can prosper while staying in our own lane. The City of Wildomar is a good place, strike that, a GREAT place to work. 

If a prospective employee's career path leans more heavily in the direction of top compensation in their field, that's perfectly fine, but they'd be walking down the wrong lane if they're expecting Wildomar's name to be at the bottom of the check.

If what they value is a slower, more personal pace —the kind our small city offers compared to the 100,000-population-club cities, then Wildomar would be the spot in SWRivCo where they should look.

A N A L O G Y    T I M E

Here's Joseph about to wade into dangerous waters. 

No, not by talking about verboten negotiation details, I already said that wasn't going to happen... but even worse... POLITICS. 

Instead of a baseball analogy, I'm going to use examples from the current crop of national political figures. 

We know that there are young up-and-comers in both major political parties, no matter how much you may hate one or both of the options, (stick with me a sec).

In this analogy, I'm going to use JD Vance, or, if you prefer, Pete Buttigieg (don't get bogged down here, lol). 

These are considered to be talented people at the younger end of their political careers. For many, the two stand out as all-stars, with many suggesting them for the highest office in the land, though others argue they’re still in the formative years of proving themselves.

I would have preferred we go in that direction, an up-and-comer, because it comes at less of a price tag and at least the same level of work and dedication, as (in my estimation) the candidate would be doubly motivated to show their selection was the right one.

Try this on for size

Imagine if we had snagged Chris Mann for his first City Manager job back in 2019, instead of Canyon Lake, we'd have been getting the up-and-comer, which I believe such commodities still exist, and with the lower price tag I've been pointing to.

He's living proof of such... right?

► If AI can be trusted as a source

Chris Mann's first annual salary as Canyon Lake city manager, starting March 1, 2019, was $165,000. 

This was confirmed by the Canyon Lake City Council's approval of his first raise on April 1, 2020, which brought his salary to $165,000

Salary: In May 2022, following a performance evaluation, his annual salary was increased to $200,000. At the time, he was noted as the lowest-paid city manager in Riverside County.

But we're here now, and I'm confident that Wildomar will do well under his tutelage. My lingering reservations were never about his abilities, just the weight of the contract.

Joseph Morabito, the lone ‘no’ vote on the contract, volunteered to swap the nameplate from ‘Interim City Manager’ to ‘City Manager’ and was the first to offer a handshake, symbolizing unity despite his earlier dissent.

Yes, speaking in the third person is lame, but sometimes it just seems to fit better. 

Final note:

I caution you to NOT miscontrue the basic points above. 

I do not think Wildomar should seek to underpay city employees, just for us to recognize our limitations and work within that rubric. If, by chance, you missed that point, I apologize for any ambiguity. 

• Special City Council Meeting September 24, 2025

"City Council provided direction and reached an agreement with the interim city manager for a permanent employment agreement"

After a four hour closed session meeting, the Wildomar City Council came to an agreement to sign Chris Mann to a four year contract. 

It will be finalized at a special meeting at 4pm, Friday the 26th.

Look for the contract in the agenda packet, which should be released before the end of the day of September 25th. 

The bullet points include a salary of $281,000 for four years with 12 months of severance. 

City Attorney Thomas Jex reads the report from the closed session.

Below is the report from the meeting. No votes were taken just an agreement was reached by the council as a body.

"The City Council met in closed session with respect to the items on the closed session agenda, and the City Council Provided direction and reached an agreement with the interim city manager for a permanent employment agreement. 

Which will be on a regular meeting City Council agenda on September 26th at 4 p.m. So this meeting will adjourn to a regular adjourned meeting of September 26th 2025 at 4 p.m That concludes the report."

If the video isn't showing above, use this link.