The November city council meeting opened with a presentation by Sue Reed of the Special Olympics of Southern California. (video link 2:45 mark)
Seven of the athletes posed with the council for a photo.
PUBLIC COMMENTS (video link 9:00 mark) • Monty Goddard talked about new taxes (Measure AA) and incorporation. • Ken Mays noted that live streaming of meetings still weren't in place, discussed fire codes, and information signs. COUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS (video link 19:45 mark) Council communications are where the council members recap their activity of the last month. I don't usually report on this part of the meeting, but Tim Walker used part of his time to shake hands with me (Joseph Morabito), wish me success and give me a gift of some chocolates; a classy move.
Tim Walker and Joseph Morabito shake hands. Photo courtesy of Scott Rux.
Item 2.1 HUD Assessment Survey (video link 28:50 mark) Back in September there was an online survey the city asked the residents to participate in (link to blog about it). The goal of the survey was to get public input on issues most concerning to the community.
Highest needs per category.
There were many charts generated from this study found in the agenda packet (link to agenda packet) skip down to page 109 for this item and goes to page 165.
Wildomar Rap opinion time Only 94 people participated, and if we parse that a bit further I'm guessing that the number of residents that are not dialed into city issues would drop below 50. Voter apathy (or just apathy in general) is a real thing, the majority of people leave it to others to make the decisions. That's all well and good, and one vote/opinion may seem insignificant, but it's from the collective data that policy is made. If you don't participate, the data is incomplete, but the decisions still have to be made.
2.3 Fire Prevention Fee Proposal (video link 37:00 mark)
I read this as a good thing for the people of Wildomar. If you have a project that needs input from the fire department, now you won't have to traverse up to Riverside (often multiple times) to get that box checked off your paperwork.
This project is at the early stages. Various versions of it have been around for many years. In short, it's a large development (think Windsong Valley) that is going to be nestled between The Farm and the pending MSJC campus.
Map of Area, blue star is the project.
This has a long way to go. I'm curious about the ingress and egress (what will La Estrella to Salida Del Sol to Clinton Keith turn into?) and also if they're going have shopping amenities like a previous version talked about?
For more details, check out the video or the blog about the October planning commission meeting. (link to blog)
3.2 Holiday Light Contest (video link 1:01:00 mark)
There are two categories of the contest that you can enter into. The first is traditional, the second is Clark Griswold. In short, one is decoration with a basic approach and the other is with an over the top approach.
Here's a look at what the Clark Griswold competitors are trying to match.
Key dates: Entries will be accepted through Thursday December 6th, and the winners will be announced at the December 12th city council meeting.
•Special Meeting on Monday, December 10th to swear in new councilmember Joseph Morabito, and say a thank you to outgoing councilmember Tim Walker for his years of service to the city.
•Measure AA will go into effect around April (at the soonest) with the first revenues hitting the treasury in June of 2019.
• Photo Contest for the 2019 calendar. You can submit up to two photos, and one can be chosen. For assistance or for more information, please contact Janet Morales at jmorales@cityofwildomar.org or 951-677-7751 x210.
This will be the last of the Wildomar Rap blogs about city council meetings. There are just too many potential conflicts of interest to continue, plus it takes a long time... time that I'll be using to prepare for the meetings. I was asked about video taping meetings, and I really hope that we can all work together so that there is no interruption in making the video(s) available. From what I was hearing, it sounded like video is slated for January (not sure what that entails). Outside the chamber I heard the Mayor suggest that this could be bumped up to December, I hope so.
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There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate. – Erroneously attributed to Charles Dickens Most things are better than Wildomar Rap, even with chocolate.
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 highlights of the meeting include: • The approval of the proposed one additional cent sales tax increase for the November ballot. (now it's up to you to decide) • There are only four candidates (for three seats) for this year's city council elections. (unless someone shows up at the last minute) • The city was given an award by WRCOG (Western Riverside Council of Governments) and Wildomar has made the next step in buying our street lights from the power company.
Mayor Ben Benoit displays the "Gold Award" plaque presented by WRCOG.
But the big impact of the meeting came from the seven Briarwood neighbors that spoke during public comments about the effects of a nearby homeless encampment on their neighborhood. (Briarwood is east of Kaiser off of Prielipp Rd)
• Becky Frederick mentioned that the troubles began about a year and a half ago. They've since started a neighborhood watch, have an active facebook page to communicate with each other, cameras, and residents that walk their pets in the early morning hours to shew away suspicious people. She added, "but we really need help in our Briarwood community." • Kim McKinneytalked about homeless guys harassing people at the hospital waiting room and in the Albertsons shopping area as if they owned the place. • Paul Shield shared a story about a guy trying to enter his front door in the middle of the night (see edited video below). • Chelsea Bachinski shared a compelling story about encountering the man from the attempted break-in, mentioned above, then called the police. The upshot of her story is that the Wildomar Police didn't get back to her for several hours, and by that time, the issue had been [somewhat] resolved by the Murrieta Police. She added, "I don't know if it's going to take someone to be killed or to be attacked, but I'm a small individual that could possibly get hurt on my way to work (she starts very early in the morning) and I don't want that to happen." • James Juco, a 20 plus year resident, told of how his mother-in-law's car had been stolen, then later found at the homeless encampment. In the car, they found stolen goods, credit cards, purses, drugs and she still hasn't had her car returned. • Danielle Pedroso her mother was the victim of the car theft mentioned above, and she works at a dental office in the Albertsons shopping center. She talked about the homeless problem there, where they will often be sleeping in front of the office door. The account of how a homeless guy was washing himself in the flower bed near her place of business was galling, to say the least. She also related a story about some very suspicious, and dangerous looking, homeless people that had been at Denny's while she was there.
Councilmember Marsha Swanson jumped in, already apprised of the situation, and assured Danielle that Denny's management was working with Wildomar Police to prevent a recurrence.
• Colleen Wisdom told the council about the theft of tools from her husband's truck, and how the lock to the gate to her backyard was missing and the gate left open... which was worrisome since she has a pool. (the reason the padlock was not secured was to allow the pest guy access to the backyard that day)
At this point, Mayor Benoit broke with protocol and responded to the speakers. (For those that don't know, there are statewide rules that prevent discussion of matters that are NOT on the agenda commonly known as The Brown Act).
• "[Sadly] you're not the only group that has come in and complained about that particular camp, the industrial park just to the west of you, along the freeway, has also come in and explained to us that they are seeing rising theft and tracking it back to the same homeless encampment by the hospital." "That property owner has not been the most cooperative. We've had issues getting him to sign some letters to say "homeless people cannot be here" [...] he hasn't signed those letters to my understanding." "He has also not been trimming the trees like some of you've asked. He'll tell you that he's not allowed to trim the trees. There are limits to the tree trimming because it is an environmentally sensitive area, unfortunately [...] of course they (the homeless) are down there trashing the area. You can't win with some of these state laws." • "I want to come out and meet with you guys. Maybe an HOA meeting, I'd be happy to come, we'll bring Dan Anne, our police chief back there, along (pointing to where he was sitting in the audience)." "We have a Coffee with the Mayor [event] and Dan Anne [too]; we just had one a couple of weeks ago and we have another one coming up. I encourage you to come there too."
— Wildomar Mayor, Ben Benoit
Wildomar Rap opinion time
Coffees are nice, but The Bean can't accommodate very many people. There are about 15,000 registered voters in the city, and if only one or two percent show up. That would be 150 to 300 people. Even one-quarter of one percent would be about 35 people. Yes, it can be a logistics nightmare to put together and fully advertise a town hall meeting, but that is the proper forum to discuss the homeless issue if you want public input. Like it's been stated before, this issue is well beyond the scope of our city. It's a problem that has been created in the last few years by poorly thought out legislation and propositions. The kicker was Prop 47 which was allowed to be absurdly nicknamed The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act. What a joke, it should have been called,TheDestruction of Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act. That gem passed with a 59-41 margin. I don't blame our officials for a problem that other people created. I see this as a difficult situation that will (most likely) only get worse before it gets better, but they need to remain on top of this and be seen as being proactive, even if most of it will only be for show. These issues need to be headlines in a city-based newsletter, and discussed at town hall meetings, as well as be included in social media administered by the city.
I encourage you to watch the 22 minute video to get a feel for what the Briarwood community has been dealing with.
The only other meaty issue (Item 2.1) was the final approval of the additional one-cent local sales tax ballot proposal. For some reason, I thought it was going to be a long and drawn out matter, but it was over and done with... including public comments (2) and council discussion, in under 15 minutes. That item picks up at the 21:00 mark of the video below. Public Comments: • Monty Goddard discussed his tepid support for the tax increase and that even with the increase, we won't be able to address [all] the needs of the city.
• Joseph Morabito (me), candidate for city council, supported putting the measure on the ballot, and encourages the voters to approve it... but understands if the voters are sick of tax increases and choose to vote it down. That if the city needs an increase in revenue, why continue to block the commerce of a legal commodity (cannabis)? The only comment from the city council on the item came from Tim Walker. He talked about being a conservative, "I don't like taxes". That encouraging commerce and businesses in town was, "the way to do a city". Then touched on differences between the county and Wildomar. Please watch the video (starting at the 30:45 mark of the video), I'm not really sure what his point was as he seemed to touch on many things. In the end, he was for putting the question on the ballot.
"I'm not a one cent guy, never have been, never will be, but this is a fact that the city has to take on and it's got to be the voters that decide it. My personal opinion is that I don't like taxes." "I said from the get go, the only way you're going to make a city thrive, is by commerce, commercial businesses. But the people in our audience here, and people in this area sue everything. Stall everything, and cause nothing but grief in the city."
"Then everybody comes to us and says, "why can't you do this, why can't you do that?" well, there's your reason right there. If we're not fighting the lawsuit —perfect example, the Subway on Bundy Canyon. One business in a big complex. One! Because he fought that fight for a year, and still ended up paying for something that didn't even need to be done. It's over and over again in the city (the lawsuits)." "All we can do as a city is make it easy for businesses to get here and get started and produce income, that's how you raise tax money." "When it comes to the sheriff's, yeah, Riverside County has one to whatever —whatever the ratio is, of course they have that, but they have a lot of money too, besides what we have. [...] To compare us with the county, [that has] billions of dollars, and a small city with not so much, and fighting the fight, and fighting to get people to open here (businesses), to get commerce going, and collect income. That's how you do a city."
— Wildomar City Councilmember Tim Walker
Wildomar Rap opinion time
Tim, when it comes to your points about the city getting sued all the time... yes, welcome to cityhood.
Pro Tip:ALL CITIES GET SUED at least as often as Wildomar does. If defending lawsuits is enough to derail a city from fully functioning, that should be a clear indication that the long ago naysayers of cityhood may have had a point after all... but we're here now.
Allow me to suggest that we add "We always get sued"to the list of things that none of us in town EVER want to hear again. The other key comment that needs to be sent to the showers is, "Governor Brown stole $12M from us." Those statements are about as pertinent as saying "Ralph Garr hit a home run in batting practice"(something that occurred in 1977).
Councilmember Walker wasn't part of the WIN committee, so maybe he doesn't remember their claims that becoming a city wouldn't come with tax increases.
That's why Monty Goddard was discussing the dismal ratios of sworn officers to residents in the city, and then comparing them to what unincorporated areas have in 2018. I believe his numbers were:
In the county, they have 0.75 officers for every 1000 residents, and Wildomar has 0.54 officers for every 1000 residents.
Since no one on the council disputed Mr. Goddard's numbers, I take it that they are as solid as the rock of Gibraltar.
The video below is (HOPEFULLY) the last that I'll have to upload to keep my pledge of posting all the meetings until the city starts live streaming them... that's supposed to be in September... we shall see.
The other items on the agenda were things covered in previous planning commission meetings. The new sign that Inland Valley Hospital will be getting, and how the city will be dealing with EOTs (extension of time requests from developers).
During the City Manager update, three things were shared. 1) There will be an adult coloring group at the library on September 4th.
Come one, come all!
2) Astronomy Night is coming up: August 18th, at Marna O'Brien Park. 3) City Clerk Debbie Lee announced that there are only a total of four candidates that have qualified for the three city council seats (districts 1,3 and 5).
The city clerk will be available tomorrow (August 10th) to accommodate any latecomers. Just remember, you're going to need to get 20 valid signatures to qualify, and if you're still considering a run, you're cutting it very close. If there are no further candidates, that means Ben Benoit (District 1) and Marsha Swanson (District 5) will not face a challenger. That's really pathetic when you also throw in that Bridgette Moore didn't face a challenger in 2016, and for all intents and purposes, neither did Dustin Nigg in 2016. Why is there such deep apathy here? It appears that the only contest will be in District 3.
the matchup will be upstart challenger Joseph Morabito
vs
longtime incumbent Tim Walker
On your marks, get set, GO!
I have to give the smile edge to Tim, and his ability to balance his glasses on his head, but I think my beard gets the nod over his. Plus, check out my industrial strength forehead, not to mention that it's hard to go wrong with a lovebird as a sidekick.
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One last note:Wildomar Marketplace will be this Saturday, August 11th, from 9am to 2pm. There was some doubt as to whether or not this was going to happen in Wildomar (something about ordinances) but due to the efforts of city councilmember Bridgette Moore, she was able to keep it in town; nice work. Now time to get that ordinance done, so something so basic doesn't have to be fraught full of grief along the way.
UPDATE
Due to the fires, the Wildomar Marketplace had to cancel for August 11th.The next scheduledWildomar Marketplacewill be October 13th.
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"I'm all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools. Let's start with typewriters." – Frank Lloyd Wright Wildomar Rapis the first to point out that blogs are written with keyboards, not typewriters.
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.
A very long meeting translates into a relatively short blog. There were only two key agenda items here, and only one of those came with any hint of controversy: the additional penny sales tax coming to the November ballot. The meeting started with State Senator Richard Roth leading the packed house in the Pledge of Allegiance, and then went into a presentation where the city thank the Senator for his work in getting the long missing VLF funds restored to the city.
State Senator Richard Roth holds up the plaque honoring his efforts on behalf of the city.
Three Eagle Scouts were recognized by the council, one project involved repainting the water tower at Marna O'Brien park. Please see the video for more details.
back row: Tim Walker, Bridgette Moore, Dustin Nigg, Marsha Swanson. Front Row: Brenda Denstadt of Congressman Calvert's office, Mayor Ben Benoit, Eagle Scouts Monty Donovan, Grant Manley, Noah Hendley.
The next presentation was a proclamation of Parks Make Life Better Month, and key city staff that make the parks hum took some time to pose for a picture.
Back Row: Tim Walker, Bridgette Moore, Dustin Nigg, Marsha Swanson. Front Row: Janet Morales, Ben Benoit, Daniel Torres and Cameron Luna.
The Chief of Wildomar Police, Captain Dan Anne, along with city building inspector Martin Haeberle, gave a homeless update. In short, they were discussing the difficulties involved in tackling the issues involving homeless encampments and what the city is doing about it.
Wildomar Rap opinion time
It's real easy for those of us in the general community to get loud about the homeless encampments, and the degradation to the quality of life that comes along with them. I've been very vocal about it, and I've not met a single person that isn't upset about them.
The tricky thing is, what can actually be done in the State of California about it? Nearly nothing, considering the various laws and propositions that have been past since 2010.
So it's fine to be angry, and to remind the local officials about it as often as you'd like, but it's good to also remember that there is next to nothing that can CURE the problem. Bandaids, one after another, are about the only current remedy out there.
As it was pointed out by Captain Dan Anne, being homeless isn't a crime, and solicitation is a protected form of speech that can be controlled to a degree (where and when) but cannot have a blanket ban applied.
For the full (22 min) presentation, please watch the video below.
At this point, the city council meeting was put on pause while those in attendance were invited to get a slice of cake to celebrate the city's 10th birthday.
City Clerk Debbie Lee cuts the cake. You can also see some 10 year pins on the table too.
After the cake break, it was time for Public Comments on non agenda items. This was a long meeting, and it was determined that to save some time, all public comments were going to be reduced from 3 to 2 minutes (26 speaker slips had been turned in). That put a crimp in many people's well honed comments, but everyone rolled with it. There were seven comments, though the seventh one came more than an hour later since the speaker slip got lost in the rest of the stack. 1. I missed the name of the first speaker; it sounded like Arleen Crossinelli, but the topic was homelessness in town and the negative effects on her business. 2. Eric Dye spoke about the impacts of homelessness on his business. 3. George Taylor thanked the council for the repairs on Bundy Canyon, and invited them to The Farm's 4th of July parade. 4. Miss Miller vowed to save the oak trees on Bundy Canyon, even if she had to tether herself to one of them. 5. Monty Goddard spoke about CSA 103 and the Cervera greenbelt and his dissatisfaction with how it was handled and the lack of communication from the city on it. 6. Ken Mayes mentioned several items including food truck ordinances, Malaga Park and the new multi-use trail on Grand asking about their maintenance. He asked about CSA 103, and when will it be determined that it will either be on the tax bill or not. PV Maintenance invoices for streets that don't exist and when will Coffee With a Cop return. 7. Joseph Morabito spoke about his candidacy for city council, and that he wants to see better communication from the city to the residents.
2.1 One Cent Sales Tax on the November Ballot This item took up a lot of time between presentations, public comments, council discussion and the vote. I'll give the highlights, but all that you need to know is that if you're a registered voter in Wildomar, you'll be asked to decide if you're willing to pay an additional penny sales tax on goods purchased in town, or not, this November. Public Comments Of the seven that spoke, no one was cheering for a tax increase, but two were opposed, and the other five were good with putting the measure on the ballot. • Gina Castanon • Ken Mayes • Monty Goddard • Joseph Morabito • Patrick Ellis • Andy Morris • Brad Nee The police and fire departments each had a presentation illustrating the response times over the years, various resources and what it would take to provide better coverage.
It's stunning how much things cost in the world where public employee unions run the show.
I'll add the basic comments from each of the council members from their discussion time just before the vote to approve. Most were just about a minute long. Watch the video for the full discussion.
Of course no one likes taxes. [...] Andy Morris said it perfectly [as to] why we became a city, [it] was [for] local control. When we became a city, and point-blank [...] they said we could become a viable city, and no one knew that the next year we were going to go into a downturn (the Great Recession) that would totally affect us. no one knew that we'd have all those lawsuits, constantly. One lawsuit would be done on a Thursday and the next lawsuit comes in a Monday. Then no one knew the governor was going to steal $12M from us. So, in ten years we sure have overcome a lot of challenges. Like I said, "No one likes taxes" but this is something we need, and we need this going forward. We need this revenue, every year, going forward for the safety and the quality of life for all the residents.
— Bridgette Moore
To me it's kind of cut and dry. The people, the voters that live here will have the opportunity to decide if they want [the additional tax]. If they don't want it, cool, we'll figure it out another way. If it passes, I like the idea that it being a general tax [...] if the money's not spent correctly, then guess what, I won't get re-elected. That's the way it's supposed to work. If the citizens decide they don't want it, they don't want it. But I think it's prudent of us to spend the money [to put it on the ballot], have some kind of confidence that this will pass.
— Dustin Nigg
I tend to agree with my other council members, nobody wants more tax, but it's going to be necessary for the voters to make that decision.
— Marsha Swanson
Wildomar Rap opinion time
There are a couple of ways I can handle trying to transcribe the comments from Tim Walker below. The problem I run into is that he meandered on for almost five minutes, and seemed to be directing a portion of is comments at me. Since I'm running for his seat on the council, it would be completely in bounds to highlight the things he said here, but at the same time, it could be seen as self serving and a cheapshot by some. So I'm going to refrain from exploiting them in this blog by NOT transcribing them. I'll just add a couple of his comments that pertain to the tax. If you are interested in the rest of it, which if you're a voter in District 3 you should be, they begin at the 51:40 mark of the video and end at the 56:10 mark. You watch it, and you decide if his comments speak to you or not.
I would never make a decision to put a tax on people —ever! So, my thinking is, that's why we put it on the ballot.
I'm not for a tax, but I will put it on the ballot because if everybody wants it, then I'll be willing to pay the one cent, it doesn't bother me at all.
— Tim Walker
Coming into this eight years ago, when I first got on this council, even then I knew we might have rocky roads ahead. When the state took the VLF out from underneath us, it put us on a really difficult path. We've just finally got that back, but we're $12.5M short, that we'll never get back any other way. I feel very strongly that this is a way for us to move that pendulum back the other way, and we've got to.
— Ben Benoit
3.3 Ordinance regarding aggressive solicitation This was the other key agenda item of the night. To get more details, please read the previous blog that previewed the agenda item. LINK I don't know why I thought it would take more time than it did, it's not like it could be controversial on any level, but I thought bringing in a much needed ordinance that aims to address the homeless issues would take more time.
Wildomar Rap opinion time
I want to thank the city for getting this step accomplished. Like it was mentioned above, we need to know that there is very little that can be done to actually solve the homeless situation in our area. Especially based on the rules of engagement put into motion by elected officials many levels higher than our local leaders.
I didn't render out a specific video for this item, it's in the "everything else" video at about the 1:04:00 mark.
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Love is friendship set on fire. – Jeremy Taylor Wildomar Rapis confused as to why setting friendship on fire equates to love. I've seen such up close, and wouldn't concur.
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.
If you're signed up for city emails, and you read them, then you've already read about the road improvement projects going on.
Below is the direct wording from the email with pics I took today.
The City of Wildomar is under contract with Hardy & Harper, Inc. to construct CIP0048 Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Improvement Project. The work was scheduled to begin on June 18, 2018, and construction is anticipated to be completed by July 20, 2018. • Clinton Keith Rd – Completed
The ragged road in front of The Barn, near the corner of Clinton Keith and Palomar heading westbound got a fresh pave job. Photo by Wildomar Rap
• Grand Ave – Completed
It starts at the intersection of McVicar and Central and continues south in large swaths. Photo by Wildomar Rap
No more broken asphalt in this area. Photo by Wildomar Rap
This area remains as it was. Photo by Wildomar Rap
• Inland Valley Rd – Clinton Keith Rd to Prielipp Rd (Night work June 26-June 28, 2018 7PM – 5AM)
All the bad areas of Inland Valley Road were fixed with this repaving project. Photo by Wildomar Rap
• Bundy Canyon Rd – Oak Circle Rd to The Farm Rd (Day Time July 2- July 3, 2018 8:30AM to 3:30PM). There is no road closure proposed with the project. The project will close one lane at a time and use a flagging operation to direct traffic through the construction zone. The project construction is funded by SB1 – The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 (new gas tax). Construction of this nature creates a hazardous environment for those construction personnel and for persons not related to the construction. Please use extreme caution when traveling on the various streets during construction. We place a high priority on public safety and ask your help and cooperation with these issues. If you have any questions or concerns you may contact Hardy & Harper, Inc at (714) 444-1851 or the City of Wildomar at (951) 677-7751. WR NOTE: There was no mention of when the lines would be repainted on either Clinton Keith or Grand Ave.
Wildomar Rap opinion time: The above is good, solid communication from the city. Now let's up the game and have it archived in the form of a city newsletter/blog (with in house photos too). And instead of sending out the emails when the work is done on three of the four items (it was dated yesterday), how about before the first paving job starts?
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Does $67,648.34 of grant money (one time) really have an "approximate value" of $200K per month?
Something that flew under my radar came from the May city council agenda, on the consent calendar (which is the place that agenda items go that are not intended to get council or public comment) was the rebranding of Baxter Road. I emailed all five council members about this. Just looking for some basic info as to when the public was going to start to see some movement on the transition. Hi [insert council member name here],
I didn't see the consent calendar item in May about the funding for sign changes regarding Wildomar Trail and branding of the water tower. I've always liked the idea and am glad to see it happening. I want to write a blog about it, sharing what's coming, and if you can add any details (when it's supposed to happen) that would be helpful.
Thanks
Joseph
Kudos to Councilmember Tim Walker for being the first to respond, and then followed up the next day too. "Yes we’ve been working on that for a while. Wrcog is helping cities with branding and they kick in some funding for these types of projects. I can’t remember which meeting it was but we have passed all this. That’s also who paid for the new City sings [sic] on the building." I asked if he had an idea when it would begin and he replied, "We are still waiting on Caltrans they have to do their share first. It’s going to [be] some time for them." Bridgette Moore also responded. She reminded me that the info was on page 512 of the agenda packet, and that the "project must be completed by November 15, 2018"
From west to east, then south the road names will be going from Central, Baxter, Porras, George and Shopping Center to Wildomar Trail.
The roadway name change first was brought up by Mayor Ben Benoit at the May 13, 2015 city council meeting, he was mayor that year too. (video at the bottom of the blog)
I'm all for the idea of having one of our off ramps, and key thoroughfares, named after the city. The part that gets lost on me is the need to attach a questionable value to the name change; a value that can't be redeemed at any bank. Back in 2015 I had a public comment about this, I suggested that if the "approximate value" of such rebranding really was going to be $100K per month, then we should sell the naming rights to Coca-Cola and make $1.2M per year. It was funny to watch the head shaking at my comment by staff (it's subtle but it's there), suggesting that I wasn't quoting their own agenda packet verbatim.
Now, the May 2018 agenda claims that wrapping the water tower is also valued at $100K per month. Preposterous!
Still, you can clearly read the claimed value of the tower wrapping... I think this project is a good idea, especially since the costs are being covered by another agency. It just doesn't need eyebrow raising claims attached to it in the process.
If those numbers are supposed to be real, how in the world is it that a struggling city like Wildomar hasn't looked into getting some of that back by way of selling the naming rights? Because that suggestion is equally as preposterous... offsetting penalties, play goes over.
Or just continue to repeat the same rhetoric, you choose.
Once we get past the silliness of the claimed value of rebranding, it's a good idea.
Location of the water tower in question, decked out in a Wildomar Rap wrap. I don't get how in the same paragraph the claim of $5000 a month and $100,000 a month are made. Must be new math.
This should have been trumpeted in the lead up to the May 2018 city council meeting. This is a win for the city. Why was this put on the consent calendar where the likelihood was that it would get no recognition? Which is what happened. This is another reason why I'm running for city council. Things like this need to be part of the full agenda and discussed in public. Worst case scenario, the city council meeting lasts another 9 to 14 minutes. Why should it be blogger guy that is getting this info to the residents of Wildomar, weeks after the fact, instead of the city itself?
Below is the video of the May 2015 agenda item. It's like a little time capsule that takes you back to the old council chambers. Understand that much of that item is NOT part of the rebranding. Item 3.3 from that meeting was also dealing with updating street signs too, which isn't happening now.
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Easy Pickin's?
It was disclosed to me that The Corporate Room was sent a letter by the city saying they aren't allowed to have the marketplace event anymore.
Credit does go to Councilmember Bridgette Moore for at least trying to intercede when at the last city council meeting she asked for an ordinance that would allow for such events during the Future Agenda items. I guess you got your answer...
This probably isn't a fair juxtaposition, but what everyday people in town see is that there is time to chase away a quality event in its nascency, while the homeless encampments remain for another day. "Ouch, that's not fair," some of you are saying. Ok, you got me, I have to agree that comparing the ordinances for events like Wildomar Marketplace to ordinances dealing with homeless encampments is like comparing hamburgers to rollie pollie bugs (yes, I just said "rollie pollie"). Homeless issues are bigger than cities and regions, and seem to have no real workable answers with the way the state (and the courts) are dictating things be done (or not be done, as the case may be). But comparing the ordinances that would allow something like the Wildomar Marketplace with ordinances banning trucks on Palomar, that are circumventing the codes day after day, and year after year... is definitely a Granny Smith v. MacIntosh moment if ever there was one.
My guess is that these guys have been there longer than Wildomar has been a city. I don't blame code enforcement, they need an ordinance with teeth in it before they can actually do anything about it.
Let's hope that the city kicks it into high gear when it comes to allowing such events as Wildomar Marketplace in the future.
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The windows of my soul I throw Wide open to the sun. – John Greenleaf Whittier Wildomar Rapneither throws, nor tosses nor hurls any windows... not even if they come equipped with the Vista operating system.
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