Apartment project vote ends in a deadlock and is sent on to the council to sort out.
2.1 Villa Siena Apartment Project
This is for 170 units on Prielipp Road.
The big questions revolved around a zone change request by the applicant from a density of 5-8 units per acre to 14-20 acres per unit.
What are some of the pros and cons of higher density?
Traditionally, the pros were that apartments were the places that young people would have as their first homes, along with those that couldn't afford to buy, or even rent, a house. Also people that only had temporary plans to be in a given area. Usually not a place that people would set down roots.
The cons include higher volumes of traffic, and uses of emergency services compared to less densely populated areas.
Do the traditional roles still apply to apartments these days?
When I was first on my own, a one bedroom apartment (really a unit in a triplex) in San Clemente cost $500 a month. A small house in the same area would easily have been over $750 a month, even if you could find one, and a tract house would easily have been more than $1000 a month. Therefore, someone that was just starting out in life, their best bet was to rent an apartment.
Fast forward to today in Wildomar and a 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 1800sf house in Windsong is being advertised for $1695 per month. On the same website (realtor.com) there is an apartment, in the same area as the proposed project, that is advertised for between $1757-$2096 for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1215sf apartment for rent.
I'm not sure who is renting apartments at that price. Certainly not the average high school graduate like back in the 1900's.
At least the way it shakes out in Wildomar, apartments are more expensive than houses to rent, and not a solid option for those on the lower end of the economic scale, even if you're generally in favor of such projects.
Does that mean we're supposed to nix all proposed apartment projects that come through the planning department? Seems unreasonable to suggest such a thing.
The area that this is proposed for, will be a bustling area in the next ten years once the MSJC campus goes in, and the Rancon Medical And Education Center. There is also an assisted living area in the works just to the west of this project.
It all comes down to your philosophy of how Wildomar should develop in the years to come. Unless you're a No Appartments, None of the Time type of person, they have to go somewhere in the city. If you look at that area, it's already pretty much developed in a non rural and non tract home way. It's near the Inland Valley hospital and Kaiser Permanente, Southern California Edison, and other large tilt up style commercial buildings near the freeway.
Seems like a natural place for very high density housing, unless you're against all such projects in the first place, considering there is already plenty of VHDR apartments already in that area.
Ok, with all that said, the final vote was a draw. 2-2 with commissioner Gary Brown being absent (hope he's not ailing). Based on the last meeting that this came up in, I'm plunking down my chips that he'd have gone with a "no" vote had he been in attendance.
Thing is, the commission could vote 5-0 on an item and the final decision rests with the council, and they can overturn it. It'll be interesting to see how they deal with this at the November 12th meeting.
"No" votes were from the newest member of the commission John Lloyd and Chairman Veronica Langworthy. The yes votes were from Stan Smith and Dan Bidwell.
Longtime resident out at The Farm, George Taylor, spoke during the public comments section and after he reminded us about the Wildomar being the "high density capital of the world" and the "fast food capital of the world" he made a fair point worth considering.
Apartment dwellers do not put down roots and statistically crime normally goes up in high [density] areas. Changing from 5-8 units per acre to 14-20 certainly doesn't help that cause. When we talked about the traffic study and we talked about the environmental impact —really it's the human impact that is the problem.
— George Taylor
It's going to be interesting to see how that end of town functions ten years from now once it's mostly built out.
2.2 Zoning Ordinance Amendment
This was in relation to the recent lawsuit that we settled, that cost us $200,000. ($120k to the AIPs attorneys, and $80k for our guys). Nothing more to report on this that wasn't said at the city council meeting but I did want to share commissioner Stan Smiths thoughts on it (click here for a link to that blog and video of the council comments).
Personally I think it's a travesty on the part of this Alliance. We have individuals that come in here, and pretend that they're friends of the city, and they turn around and sue. It's really all about money. In my opinion they're not interested in what happens in, or benefits Wildomar.
— Planning Commissioner Stan Smith
3.0 Election of a New Vice-Chairman
This is to fill only a few more weeks when they'll be electing a new chairman and vice chairman in December. Though there was a tongue in cheek move to place absent commissioner Gary Brown into that spot, Dan Bidwell was happy to take the post for the remaining duration of the term.
Before the meeting began, new commissioner John Lloyd had already been sworn in. I was hoping to get a pic of it in real time, but scheduling made that impossible.
• • •
"Some people see the world as it is and ask why. I see the world as it could be and ask where will they all park."― George Bernard Shaw
The Farm had their 11th annual chili cook-off and craft fair today, at Miller's Mill. I don't know what I was expecting, but they sure had my eyes popping out —and not just from some spicy chili. What a great community The Farm is.
First you go to the judging table and get your hand stamped and receive a ticket. One vote per customer. Afterward you go around to the various teams and they'd hand you a sample size that Costco would be envious of. Though it was a packed event, the teams brought plenty of their chili so that everyone got a taste, and in many instances, an extra taste to boot.
A look down one of the two rows they had.
I was trying to count the number of teams that were there (or course I could have gone to the judges table, but that would have been too simple). So I asked Mayor Pro-Tem Bridgette Moore if she knew, and her response was classic.
I know there were at least 12, because that one (number 12)was hot!
— Bridgette Moore
Team 6, the one that I happened to vote for. I loved the unique flavor, especially with some sour cream and cheese.
Part of the festivities were how the booths were decorated. Many of the participants were in farm style regalia too.
Most original "Chili" was the desert chili.
There were 18 teams that competed for People's Choice for best tasting chili, and 23 crafters.
A panoramic look of some of the craft displays.
The crafts were inside, that's also where you could buy a hot dog for a dollar or get water for free. Several talented people had their crafts on display. I was the dutiful husband as I waited patiently for my lovely wife to brows to her heart's content.
A panoramic view from the crafting area. Click image to enlarge.
What a fun event!
1st place chile, Nancy Moore, Navy Moms chili, booth 4.
2nd place for chili, The Recreation Committee, Flashback to the 50's, booth 2.
3rd place for chili, the Sampson Family, booth 17.
Special thanks to Mary Haire and Beverly Bakeman for helping me with some vital info here. ☺
• • •
"Next to music there is nothing that lifts the spirits and strengthens the soul more than a good bowl of chili."― Harry James, Band Leader
A terrific accomplishment by all that were involved in the construction of Sycamore Academy. On April 9th I wrote a blog about the ground breaking, and now on October 16th they're having a ribbon cutting. If that isn't impressive enough for you, they've actually been having classes for nearly a month now.
A look from behind Barbara Hale as she was addressing the crowd.
Director/Principal of the school Barbara Hale, spoke and received certificates from State Senator Jeff Stone's office and Mayor Pro-Tem Bridgette Moore gave a certificate on behalf of the city.
It takes a team effort to build a school. This was far beyond a team effort, this was a band of heroes, our own Fantastic Four. The leader of that Fantastic Four is the lady by my side, Barbara Hale. Without her "never say die attitude," without her relentless engergy, without her passion, we would not be here at this point; and we really need to acknoledge that. I've been at this for thirty years and I've never had a client that was this adamant, this professional, and this energetic to get this done... and we're blown away. We've never had a school go [up] this quickly.
-Tom Kruse, PJHM Archetects
Grant Hamel, of Hamel Construction, holds up a gift from the school showing a before and
after of the project entitled "From Dirt to School in Five Months." Barbara Hale is on the left.
Just in case it isn't already known. Sycamore is a public charter school, not a private school. Any student in the district can apply to attend.
Bob Cashman, Bridgette Moore, Roland "Skoom" Skoomavitz (w/scissors), Grant Hamel, Tom Kruse, Clyde Han.
This is truly a terrific campus. It's so nice looking it almost hurts your eyes. Someday the current students will tell stories to their grand kids, of how they used to attend school in a shopping center, and then found themselves on a Cinderella like campus the next school year.
A look from behind the guests during the ceremony.
Looking down at the new playground equipment from the ballfield.
A look at the facade of the school.
Rooms are separated by"barndoors" that are on tracks for easy opening and closing.
Below is a picture of their walking track and sports field. The track is about as wide as a sidewalk and snakes around in a loop that is at least a quarter of a mile.
Isn't that a great view that the students will have once the field is ready for use?
My brother Jeff is part of the team at Sycamore Academy and he was showing me his office. That building was just cleared for them to use today.
I'm the one with the awesome forehead and a number on my shirt.
Jeff and Joseph Morabito.
He hadn't even been in the multi-purpose room (seen behind the ribbon cutting) until today nor has he been up to the field yet. It's still fenced off, and as you can see. It doesn't have any turf yet, but such things are to be expected when getting a new school ready for students in record time. Things like administration offices are a luxury... but now they're up and running.
After the ribbon cutting it was fun to share some of Sycamore's spread, various antipasto trays with many varieties along with fresh fruit and cookies too, with my brother along with Bob Cashman and Bridgette Moore. Also at our table was Mark Dennis, Coordinator of Community & Media Relations of the superintendent's office.
I was enjoying the conversation about a project that our City Councilman Bob Cashman is working on, dealing with a plane that may have belonged to Amelia Earhart.
One our city leaders couldn't make this event. Being part of the Wildomar Chamber of Commerce, and Waste Management now having an extra seat at their table, I was invited by Clara Vera to join them.
The overcast morning started with coffee on the veranda. Imagine the looks on Wildomar city manager Gary Nordquist's face when I thrust out my hand to shake his. I'd just done the same thing the night before at the city council meeting. Same went for Mayor Ben Benoit.
After checking in I found my table. I was expecting to see Cheri Zamora from the Chamber. Whereas Katie Boothby, also of the Chamber, was expecting to see Bridgette Moore. Plans change, c'est la vie. ☺
During breakfast there were five speakers that each spent about 10 mins or so discussing their specialties.
The speakers were 23rd District Senator Mike Morrell, County Supervisor Kevin Jeffries, State Board of Equalization Diane Harkey, Riverside County District Attorney Michael Hestrin and Executive Director of RCTC Anne Mayer.
Keep in mind that I'm not a partisan, and though I can see reasonable points from some of both side's arguments, I can also see glaring weaknesses. This seemed a lot like I'd picture an RNC breakfast to go. At times, a bit one sided for my liking.
"There are two competing ideologies that I see up in Sacramento. One is the free market, people like me. The second is Progressivism. Our governor calls himself a progressive, as does our Speaker, and the Senate Pro-Tem. And Progressivism means they believe in the expansion of the bureaucratic system. It means socialism lite. They believe the governments should control all things, plan all things, distribute all things and even own all things."
Sorry, but I had to tune out after that bit of extreme partisanship. He can't actually believe that Dems think the government should "own all things"... can he?
Might as well say the Dems also want to sell your first born into slavery and have prima nocta with all new brides too. (I really hate this kind of over the top hyperbole... no matter how dismal the Dems in Sac-to are)
A look at Supervisor Kevin Jeffries as he speaks about challenges in Riverside County.
"I don't say this lightly, the next two years, the next twenty-four months in the county of Riverside is probably going to be one of its toughest times, at least equal too, the great recession we just encountered. Not because of a lack of revenues but because of increased spending on automatic pilot. The county budget is roughly five billion dollars a year. Our challenge is our expenditures are growing faster than our revenues. They're committed mainly to public safety. Every city across this county is encountering this same challenge. The cost of public safety is growing faster than the revenues."
"Taxes are the only area of the law where the burden of proof is on the tax payer. The burden of proof is totally on our constituents. So we try and help in our office to meet that burden of proof or the requirement."
(apologies to Diane, but there wasn't much from her time behind the microphone that translated well into blog form)
"I want to give you a little rundown as to what's happening with AB 109, which is realignment, and prop 47 which is another part of realignment, and our overcrowded jails. Let me start with the jails. The jail problem has been growing and it's a problem of mismanagement by the county. We have about 3,000 jail beds in riverside county for a population of almost 2.3 million. To give you some perspective, we have a higher population than San Bernardino County but they have double the bed space. What happened with realignment and why Riverside County was hit harder than almost any other county was that we already had overcrowded jails before realignment happened.
We are approaching the early release of 40,000 inmates in Riverside County. When I say "early release" I'm not talking about people that are waiting for their trial, I'm talking about people that have committed, been arrested, been prosecuted, been sentenced to years in jail and released becuase of the federal mandate to ease overcrowding. Let me give you a sense of where we stand right now on how low the capacity is for the population. Currently, when an individual is convicted of a car theft, considered a low level felony and can only be punished in the local jail [not prison]. Currently, the average time for a car theif —typically they get a two year sentence— They're spending about 10 to 14 days in our jails."
(personally, I'm not a fan of criminals. Much less habitual offenders. We're going to rue the day that we allowed three strikes to get dismantled.)
"Congestion and the lack of transportation choices impact us all, and we can't build our way out of it. Unfortunately, for transportation, when it comes to Sacramento and Washington, we're expending all of our efforts just trying to survive. On a local level we are thriving. We are relying on Measure A Sales Tax. Measure A Sales Tax receipts have returned to the pre recession levels and that's terrific news, however we're at a point where those Measure A dollars are almost the only dollars we have."
(I'm just glad that I don't use the freeways much. The one thing you'll be able to count on is that the freeways will always be a bear for the rest of our natural work lifetimes. Better to just live in your car at work, and visit the family on weekends ☺)
There were cards on the table for people to submit questions. After hearing Kevin Jeffrie's remarks about the cost of public safety I scratched out a question.
Emcee Gene Wunderlich chose mine toward the end of the event, and he directed it to Supervisor Jeffries.
"while we love our police and fire fighters, when are we going to tell their unions that enough is enough, to both their salary increases and their bloated retirement packages?" What do you tell our cities moving forward?
Supervisor Jeffries
"To be brutally honest, more bad news. Welcome to California. Riverside County budget, the general fund, is now committing, I think, 65% to public safety. It was in the fifties not too many years ago. While the cities are feeling significant pain for the cost of contracts with the county, the county has the same thing. For the near future, pretty much all the public safety —pretty much all of the unions— come up next year, 2016, for contract renegotiation[s]. It's not a time I look forward to being on the board of supervisors, but it is a possibility that we have to try and convince our employees that we're in for a very tough time for several years and we need to hold the line and minimize any increases. That is going to be some of the toughest negotiations the board has had since my arrival."
After the summit, I approached the Supervisor and what I got from him is that this is going to take a long time to sort out. I'm guessing the better part of a generation, if not longer. I'm pro cop (and fireman), and I think they deserve good pay and benes. I just don't see how the constant escalation of costs can be paid for without some serious give on their end.
Two last notes • I saw Lake Elsinore council member Brian Tisdale and told him I'd been following the saga of how their city picked up the dropped ball (AKA Komen Race for the Cure) that Temecula had tossed to the side. He reminded me that his city doesn't cave to pressure and though the vote had been 3-2, that was more about paying for it, but they all supported having the race in their town. We also touched on how there is a volunteer connection with his wife and Komen, but I knew that was always a non issue. • Last, I had a chance to shake the hand of DA Mike Hestrin. If only he knew the hours of joy his candidacy gave me during the Spring of 2014 as my character, Rae Anne Resident was constantly endorsing him over at Patch before they changed their comment section and banned "her".
Rae Anne and Cliff owned Patch last year, and I'm sure that Sister Matha misses her most of all.
• • •
The doctor must have put my pacemaker in wrong. Every time my husband kisses me, the garage door goes up.—Minnie Pearl
A Wildomar Rap, in parochial school, is when a nun displays such quickness and force with a yard stick, that the epidermis jumps off your knuckles just to avoid contact.
It was a fairly long meeting since it was actually 2 meetings in 1, starting an hour earlier.
The first meeting was billed as a Study Session with both the city council and planning commission at the dais. It dealt with frequent requests to change the general plan, usually from lower density housing to higher density housing. The key area being discussed tonight was on the east side of the freeway on Baxter.
A look at the council members and the planning commissioners.
Bob Cashman didn't come to this meeting since his property is too close to the area in question.
A developer would like to develop a large percentage of the area that fronts the road, but to make it feasible he can't keep the lots at an acre. There are new laws (newish anyway) that don't allow septic tanks on properties that are less than 2.5 acres, and since there isn't sewer already in the area, the only way to make it practical is to jam more houses into smaller areas.
If you know me, you've heard me poo-poo the idea that Wildomar is "rural". However, that side of the freeway IS rural and I'm glad that the council and commission seemed to put up a slow sign, if not a stop sign, to just turning that area into more tract housing.
You can see the "Spaghetti" in the lower left corner. AKA Windsong Valley.
Had to love council member Tim Walker's description of "spaghetti" when describing subdivisions. It used to be "cookie cutter houses" now it's "spaghetti" because on a map, the streets make more of a design than empty land.
There was a call from some that if this area was going to be rezoned, then the entire general plan should be redone. Har Har... that's only about a $2,000,000 dollar hit. Even to do a mini general plan for the area in the above map is estimated to cost between two and three hundred thousand dollars.
Now the Planning Department will take what they learned from tonight's meeting and will incorporate it into how they do business.
☼
In the actual city council meeting it started with a presentation. A certificate of appreciation for Vantage Oncology.
Vantage Oncology
In the consent calendar there were a couple of agenda items that council member Bob Casman wanted to discuss. It was about Community Facilities Districts (CEDs). This is a bit wonky, but in the end I agreed with him.
The gist of the argument was that new housing developments will be saddled with two taxes, that aren't allowed to be called taxes, but are still money you owe the government or you face the wrath of big brother if you try and skip out on them.
Some CFDs allow for much needed infrastructure to be paid for over many years, sort of like a bond. Sometimes they come off the books, and sometimes they just take up permanent residence on your tax bill.
Part of these special taxes are to pay for police. On the surface it sounds great. Make the new people pay their fair share you may be saying... but is their share fair?
I don't know how it's fair when a tax is subject to going up every year, that most of the rest of us don't pay, to pay for something we all need (the police and fire services).
There are good arguments on the CFD side, but I can't get past a few islands of development paying many hundreds of dollars a year more than I pay in Windsong Valley. Even their property taxes will be dwarfing mine. Hey, don't get me wrong, I love having someone else foot the bill... it just isn't right.
Council Member Marsha Swanson made a good point when she said that the fees and taxes aren't hidden, and those that buy into such developments will know fully what they will be paying. True enough. Looks as though my house just got a little more valuable by doing nothing more than getting a day older.
The next thing on the agenda worth mentioning was item 2.4
This is about the much needed Lateral C-1 storm drain. There has been one holdout for months. It's gotten to the point that the city has started eminent domain proceedings. Most of the deal has been worked out to acquire the needed land to complete the job, but something has made the property owner dig in his heels.
Mayor Ben Benoit has offered to speak to the owner in efforts to avoid the legal action. Let's hope that works, otherwise the project will be pushed back at least another five months. There will be a special council meeting in two weeks to finish dealing with this issue.
Now for the big news, the news you've all been waiting for. How we, the people of Wildomar, got soaked for $120,000.
Bet that got your attention. I'll give you a brief recap, but I've included the 7:35 min video so you can take it all in yourselves.
We authored a document, that the state mandates cities have, called The Housing Element. After much wrangling, we got ours in on time and APPROVED by the state (a major pat on the back moment).
However, the disgruntled misfits that make up Alliance for Intelligent Planning (pronounced APEs) thought they knew better than the professionals at the state level and so they sued.
They lost on all parts of their suit, but one. Where the judge told the city they should tighten up the wording in one part of the document. For that, the city is now paying the apes 120 large. Well, the money is going to their attorneys, where it goes from there... nobody knows.
Listen to the video to see why we are smiling (through gritted teeth) to pay them that money instead of potentially squandering $400K with further fruitless litigation.
Council Member comments on the item.
Bob Cashman
I think we'll have to pay this.
Tim Walker
This was a hard nut to swallow. Knowing fiscally we couldn't afford to keep going farther and farther into this (fighting the lawsuit). These are the things that nobody else gets to see, unfortunately, with the closed sessions items when we deal with all the stuff like this. So you don't know what the sweat and the tears were [like] in the room to have to come to these conclusions to end up paying extortion money. As far as I'm concerned it's extortion.
What really bothered me with this whole situation is that the judge says, "You just need to prop up this little section, just a little bit more with a little bit better language."
Is that worth $120,000?
Marsha Swanson
This was one of the hardest decisions we've ever had to make. When you think of one or two people can cost the city $120,000 when we desperately need every penny, every dime that we have.
Bridgette Moore
This doesn't change anything. Our 700 page plan was approved by the state. We did nothing wrong, this does not change anything but we have to do it (pay the settlement).
(To the city manager Gary Nordquist) Who's the signer on their side?
(Nordquist's response) [former Wildomar Council Member] Cheryl Ade.
Ben Benoit
This is one of those times that you have to hold your nose and move forward.
But if that doesn't make you want to go out and give the nearest ape a bear hug, the question was asked, "How much did we spend on that lawsuit?"
City Attorney Thomas Jex sheepishly replied, "In the neighborhood of $70 to $80,000."
So, because a former city council member can't get over the fact that she got bounced off the council at the electorate's earliest opportunity (2010), the residents of Wildomar are going to have to tighten our belts to absorb this mindless, but necessary expenditure.
Thanks to city manager Gary Norquist's steady hand on the rudder, we can pay this "extortion" (council member Walker's word) and still not have to dip into our reserves as many things will be cut back or pushed to another year.
Kind of funny to think of Ken Mayes' lament during the public comments that public record searches aren't being turned around fast enough... and he suggested we hire someone dedicated to that task.
Why am I thinking that my house would be safe if I were to bet it against a box of day old donuts that Kenny didn't participate in the failed letter writing campaign seeking our $2M per year back from the governor's clutches? I love unintended irony.
Information straight out of the agenda.
The Lawsuit and Settlement
After approving the Housing Element Update, the State Department of Housing and
Community Development certified it as in compliance with State Housing Law.
Thereafter, the City was sued by a group known as the Alliance for Intelligent Planning
who challenged the environmental analysis in the City’s EIR. After over a year of
litigation, a judge ruled that only one section of the 750 page EIR needed to be revised.
The judge ruled in the City’s favor on the remaining sections such as traffic, noise,
health risk, greenhouse gas and project alternatives.
While the City may not agree with this ruling, the City has entered into a settlement
agreement as a means to end the on-going legal costs and uncertainty of appealing the
decision.
Under the terms of the settlement, the City has agreed to:
1. Hold hearings on minor modifications to Chapter 17.305 – Mixed Use Overlay
District
2. Hold hearings on certain zoning and land use designation changes to the Baxter
Village project which are identical to the changes being requested by the
developer
3. Payment of $120,000 to the law firm representing the Alliance for Intelligent
Planning.
It is important to note that this payment is not a monetary award to pay for any alleged
damages. State law regarding the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
requires payment to the attorney in order to settle.
Benefits of Settlement
Entering into a settlement agreement does not mean the City did anything wrong.
CEQA law is technical, complex and unclear in many areas. The City believes that it
complied with CEQA law in all respects, but also understands that continuing the
litigation by appealing is both extremely costly and uncertain due to the unclear nature
of the law in this area.
Therefore, complying with the above terms is a better use of City resources than
potentially paying $400,000 or more to continue down the unclear path of litigation.
The best use of City resources is to end this litigation through settlement and use the
funds saved for more worthwhile and needed City projects.
By agreeing to this settlement, the City keeps its entire Housing Element project in tact
as well as the EIR. Importantly, the City will be able to remain in the 8 year cycle which
means it will not have to spend funds to update its Housing Element until 2021. Not
settling may have caused the City to have to update its Housing Element again in only 4
short years from the approval date – in 2017. Doing another update so quickly would
have cost additional time and expense.
Therefore, staff recommends that the City Council allocate the necessary funds to make
the payments required under the terms of the settlement.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Allocation of $120,000
This came at the end of the meeting and I found it to be a head scratcher. 3.5 Planning Commissioner Appointment
I figured this was a slam dunk (good thing I didn't wager my house against an opened can of warm Coors Light or I'd be sleeping in my VW Bug about now). Seriously, why would there be any debate about appointing John Llyod to the Planning Commission?
But there was.
Council Member Marsha Swanson, invoked a quote from local fussbudget Shelia Urlaub, from the special meeting dealing with the sudden vacancy on the commission, where she urged the council not rush to fill the vacancy.
Seemed like a reasonable suggestion, and if a guy like Israel Leija had been the only guy to put his name forward, I can see why it would be met with a big eye roll (no offense Izzy).
Let's all remember that the post is supposed to be filled by an interested member of the community. This isn't a professional position. We have pros in Wildomar, and they make pretty good money as planners. Their names include Matt Bassi, Alfredo Garcia, Mark Teague and I'm sure there are others but my memory is only what it is. The planning commission is made up of everyday people that are willing to put the time in.
Baseball Analogy Time
If you're keeping score at home, Bridgette lead off by nominating Mr. Lloyd, we'll call that a four pitch walk. Followed by Marsha who hit into a fielder's choice, but Bob Cashman laced a single in the five/six hole, when he strongly voiced his support of the applicant. However, Tim Walker promptly agreed with Marsha that we needed more time and more candidates (let's call that a dribbler back to the pitcher with the runners advancing).
That left it up to the clean up hitter Ben "The BenBino" Benoit. I talked to two people that were very interested, they came in and got applications, but didn't turn them in. I don't know what more we can do to get out the word that we're looking for a planning commissioner and John Llyod has stepped up. —Mayor Ben Benoit
I'll call that a Luis Gonzalez broken-bat Series-winning bloop single over a drawn-in shortstop Derek Jeter. Not off the wall, but enough to give the home team a 3-2 win.
Now that I'm done with the baseball analogy, I can say this. I thought the council discussion about only having two applicants was spot on. However, when it was clear that this vote was going to be a yes, I was dumbstruck that there were actually two nay votes.
In all seriousness (and returning to the baseball analogy for a sec), John Lloyd may not be Clayton Kershaw or Madison Bumgarner but he sure is a Don Sutton and a Wildomar Hall of Famer. This one will remain a head scratcher to me.
• • •
Baseball is like a poker game. Nobody wants to quit when he's losing; nobody wants you to quit when you're ahead.—Jackie Robinson
In Wildomar Rap's five part series on what does 'Thrown Under The Bus' mean, he reminds you that publishing quotes about people that sue the city is NOT an example of the idiomatic phrase in question.
After months of preparation, and many captain's meetings, the 2015 Relay for Life event was held. The location was in the picturesque setting of Canyon Hills Middle School, just off Lost Road in Lake Elsinore's back country, and the day was to be a hot one. According to the Press Enterprise it hit 97 degrees.
It started early on Saturday morning with an opening ceremony, which included a couple of inspirational speeches, including one where a long time survivor revealed that she had recently been re-diagnosed with cancer, a very sobering moment.
Next was a Survivors Breakfast hosted by Annie's Cafe.
Wildomar Mayor Ben Benoit, getting a nice suntan as he dishes up meals alongside Jan Vyse (Annie).
Once the survivors had eaten their fill, they opened it up to the rest of the participants for five dollars a plate. It's hard to beat that price for an Annie's Breakfast, and all the proceeds were donated to the event.
Then there was an opening lap that was led by the cancer survivors in attendance. They were easily distinguishable by the purple shirts they wore. The group was being videotaped by a low flying drone as it made its first circuit around the track.
The first lap is walked by cancer survivors. They were easily distinguishable by the purple shirts they wore.
The event went all through the day and into the evening which featured the Luminaria slideshow followed by a lap around the track in the dark. Lit only by white lunch sacks, that had been decorated with the names of loved ones that have battled cancer, and illuminated by glow sticks.
An example of a Luminaria.
Very moving to see images of people that have passed on during the slide show. Including those that passed this year, like honorary poster personTom Thomas, and local long time teacher (with a past in the NBA) Dave Meyers (who'd just passed away the day before of cancer.)
Also in the slide show were those that have survived bouts of cancer, which gave the assembled crowd reason to cheer.
The event ended with a closing ceremony around 9:00am Sunday.
Closing ceremonies with the various event leaders on stage.
The participant that put the most miles on his/her tennies was Ryan Kelman of Lake Elsinore. He walked a total of 32.2 miles over the 24 hour event. Not counting sleep time and other breaks, that's an average of about 5.3 laps per hour... EVERY HOUR for 24 hours. Well done!
I got some stats from event chair Chrissy Rohlmeier, resident of The Farm.
There were a total of 15 teams that participated this year out of the 22 that signed up (down from the 30 that participated last year).
The top team was Taxing for a Cure and they raised $4120.
The total for the event was $20,355, though that number will rise as the last of the tallies are tabulated. Wildomar Walkers raised $1208. Troop 2011 (sorry, I don't know their nickname) raised $963, Donald Graham Elementary raised $200 and I couldn't decipher how much the VFW raised. Note to self, make better notes.
Kathy Bundy, Bridgette Moore, Dan York and Ben Benoit at the Wildomar Walkers booth on Saturday Morning.
This event has a heavy Wildomar footprint (Wildomar Walkers, Troop 2011, DGE and the VFW) and some of the teams were mentioning it would be a nice move to have the event relocated to Elsinore High School. Not so much for the sake of the participants, but to get more foot traffic to enhance the fund raising opportunities. Canyon Hills Middle School is in a very nice setting, but it's well off the beaten path and there simply is very little opportunity for drive by visitors.
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An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day. ― Henry David Thoreau
Wildomar Rap is now available in three attractive varieties, including paisley, tartan and bold.
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