• Video Hardware Installed

Wednesday night’s City Council meeting will be the debut of the City’s video/streaming of the meeting.  The previous video efforts were demos.  

In the demo videos, only six of the seven chairs on the dais could be seen. Now all those on the dais can be seen and the presentations can be toggled on and off as they appear.

What a Wildomar city council would look like if The Simpson's were watching.

Almost one year (2-14-2018) after Council provided direction to staff to provide this service for the community, it will be completed. To which I say, Thank you very much.

Much appreciation!

Under the project management of Tina Roney, the City owned hardware was installed by CBC technical and the operating services are provided by RivCo TV (riverside county staff).  

Use this link to get to the Wildomar video page.

PEG Channel broadcasts will start in the next several months. Budget funding was approved for all City Council and Planning Commission meeting coverage.  

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The art of simplicity is a puzzle of complexity.
– Douglas Horton

The art of Wildomar Rap is a puzzle of complexity rolled into a tortilla and zapped in the microwave for 45 seconds.

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• League of California Cities Academy Winter 2019

Q: What does a new council member learn at a League of California Cities training academy?

A: Way more than a human can actually take in during a two and half day period, though we give it our best effort.

Taken during the mock city council meeting of Dysfunction Junction.
The arrow indicates where I was sitting. 

Right out of the gate was a 2 hour session on Sexual Harassment Prevention. This is a must have for all local agency officials, and must be completed every two years.

One of the many slides seen during the presentation.
Note to adult bullies: grow up and cut it out already.

Most of the things presented were common sense to me, but it was good to be reminded —in very clear terms— what constitutes harassment, and what can happen once that charge gets leveled. 

In all honesty, I don't get why any of the above would be part of the workplace.

After a fifteen minute break there was a two hour session that started with a 30 minute skit. The skit was of a city council meeting at a wonderful city named Dysfunction Junction.

There was the city clerk, city manager, city attorney, the city council (with such classic names as Da'Bully, Newbie, O'Pleeze, Knowitall, and Mayor My-Way) and then two active members of the public. 

It was as humorous as it was informative. Thankfully, from my experience in Wildomar, none of the exaggerated comportment of the characters resembled what goes on during a city council meeting here. 

To round out the first day, there were three more classes.
•  Effective Advocacy & Key City Issues
•  Your Legal Powers and Obligations
•  Part 1: Financial Responsibilities, City Revenues Workshop

The next day was filled with six more sessions.
•  Part 2: Financial Responsibilities, City Revenues Workshop
•  Policy Role in Land Use Planning
•  Your League and How To Use It
•  Inquiring Minds Want to Know (questions from newly elected officials to those that have been around awhile)
•  Relationship Between City Council and City Management
•  Communications and Civic Engagement 
This centered on social media, and how to avoid mistakes using it. Something very important for all electeds, but especially for me since I do engage in social media and [still] write a blog about local issues (more about that in a moment).

A good rule that I follow is the last one.

This was a 90 minute session that could easily have been 3 hours. Issues about blocking constituents, hypotheticals about "likes" and possible Brown Act violations, and dozens of more things for officials to keep in mind. 

Being a public official has long been likened to living in a fishbowl.

The laws are ever evolving when it comes to social media, so those that are willing to dance in the gray areas may be ok today, but that doesn't necessarily apply to what a jury might conclude tomorrow.

The final half day was a two hour, doors locked so you can't get in our out once it started, legally required training:
How to Build and Maintain the Public's Trust: Practical Ethics and the Law (AB 1234)

I'm clear for another 728 days.

Again, this was filled with valuable information that should be common sense to the average person, but also covered a lot of things most people wouldn't think about. 

There was a lot of emphasis on gifts to elected officials. The key takeaway was, DO NOT ACCEPT [most] gifts. Tickets to events have gotten a lot of officials into trouble over the years.

That means that if you go out to eat with the same group on a regular basis, you'd better be tracking the amounts if someone else is picking up the tab. It's just better to pay your own way for such things.

The second half of the ethics training dealt with the Brown Act, and what its purpose is. This part of the training, which was opened to all officials in this half of the state, was conducted by Wildomar city attorney Tom Jex and our assistant city attorney Erica Vega.

This is the best definition of the Brown Act I've ever heard.

The above description of the Brown Act is a great reminder that the government is owned by the people and should be controlled by the people. 

I liked what was termed as The Golden Rule: The public expects local officials to act ethically, whether or not doing so is required by law. 

This is more proof that if you want to serve the community, you'll being doing so from inside a fishbowl.

At the conclusion of the academy/training I was pretty pumped up (and not because there was a bottomless Starbucks urn at every session). 

I have a better idea of what the job of city council member is now. It's far more complicated and nuanced than what it looks like from the outside, even if you'd been blogging about it for five years before getting elected. 

From those classes (which were filled with hours of valuable knowledge) three basic ideas rose to the top for me.
1) City council is the "What" and city staff is the "How"
In short, that means we come up with the policies (the what) and then it's up to the city manager and staff to implement the policy (the how). There can be some gray area where the line is, but it's best to understand and respect the different roles we play.
2) Active communication builds trust 
This has always been the keystone to my desire to be on the city council. There may only be a relatively small percentage of the community that cares about what goes on at city hall, but we still need to provide the information as if every last man, woman and child is hanging on every word.
3) Newly elected officials need to understand that they are no longer activists
That doesn't mean we are to forget the issues that prompted us to run, but to understand that particular items/issues are just a fragment of the job that was won on election day. It's no longer about focusing on a narrow agenda, but seeing the bigger picture.

In this photo I'm holding up two certificates. The blue one shows that I attended the Sexual Harassment Prevention training, and the yellow indicates I attended the Ethics training.

I'm still navigating the waters of engaging in social media and writing a blog while being an elected official... I'm learning that there are a lot of chances to make mistakes and I really don't want to end up as a headline.

The goal is to keep the community informed, be a voice for those that have questions or concerns and to be easily accessible. 

For those that have known me, you've seen that I don't shy away from responding to questions or comments on the internet. 

Wildomar Rap's internet comment policy
I've never deleted or otherwise censored comments on this blog or on the facebook page for this blog (oh wait, I do remember one time that happened back in 2014). My policy has always been to let your words speak for themselves. If you want to be abusive to me, that's fine. 

However, if you're abusive to others on any page that I control (including my official page), and especially if there is implied violence, your comment will be censored.

Other than that, I live in a fishbowl now and have to expect that people will be angry with me from time to time (possibly all the time for some). I celebrate the first amendment, and welcome your comments, even the ones that are intended to tear me a new one.

At the same time, I'm not going to get into comment wars online. You're entitled to your opinion, and it's not my job to change your mind or argue with you. 

I'm always available to meet and discuss things in greater detail, either at one of the local coffee places, or city hall. In addition to this blog (which I'm not sure how it will look as the time goes on) I have a facebook page where I post information dealing with city issues. 

I invite you to "follow" or "like" the page. You don't have to be in my district. All the city council members represent the entire city.

Link to facebook page.

Addendum: My wife was asking me about the newsletter I said I was going to be publishing if elected. I don't want to ignore that, but details are still being gathered.

Use this link to sign up for the "newsletter".

Until the city chooses to put together a dedicated compendium of current things in Wildomar, as a single monthly newsletter, use the link above to sign up for the city's email information service. The same information will be delivered, just bit by bit instead of in a longer format edition.

Also, the city has activated its facebook page and that can serve as another source of information to the community. If you haven't signed up yet, click the link below to do so.

Use this link

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When a man assumes a public trust, he should consider himself as public property.
– Thomas Jefferson

Though The Sage of Monticello didn't mention blogs, Wildomar Rap has always considered itself as public property... sort of.

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• Various and Sundry Things: Volume 10

Just a few items.
1) I'm happy to announce that the city of Wildomar has activated it's official facebook page. 

Click to go to the city of Wildomar facebook page.

It's a place that you'll be getting updates about things going on in the city. City events and other topical issues. I invite you to click the image below and "like" or "follow" the page if you are a facebook user. 

There are currently 254 likes... let's see if we can get that up to 300 by the end of the weekend. ☺

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2) You may have noticed two new restaurants that are getting close to opening in Wildomar. Both are located in The Barn shopping center, and are right next to each other: Mrs.7 Pho (Vietnamese food) and El Burro Taco Shop.

New eateries getting ready to serve Wildomar.

No one was at the new taco shop when I stopped by, but I was able to snap a photo of the interior. Looks like things are coming along quickly, but I didn't get an estimate of when they'd open.

It's starting to take shape.

I poked my head into Mrs.7 Pho and asked if there were any estimates to when they'd be opening. I was happy to hear the answer of, "in a couple of weeks".

Pho (pronounced more like FUH) is a modern day comfort food in my book.

I look forward to giving both places a try. 

As it is, Mrs. Wildomar Rap (AKA Grace) was suggesting that we start a series of blogs for 2019 where we tour all the eateries in Wildomar. That might be fun... and delicious too.

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The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.
– Henry David Thoreau

If you've taken the time to read Wildomar Rap then you've shown it has value. Thank you. ☺

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• Parks Visioning Workshop Part 3

Another step in the long journey towards more parks in Wildomar.

Longtime Wildomar parks leaders pose for a picture.
Bridgette Moore, Tim Underdown and John Lloyd.

This blog will be a very brief recap of the most recent Parks Visioning Workshop and a video link to the 20 minute presentation.

I counted about three dozen residents in attendance, and another dozen or so staff members at this workshop. It was the largest crowd of any parks visioning meetings I'd been to. 

Like past parks visioning workshops, there was a presentation and then time for questions and answers in the back of the room around large posters of parks designs.

A handout like this was filled out by those in attendance. The idea was to place a number in the boxes of which you'd like to see developed first.

The parks will come on line in phases over time, but nothing has been approved thus far. Costs weren't gone over in detail at this meeting. Some cost estimates are $15M for the 27 acre park and $7M for the 11 acre park. (Thanks for asking those questions Kenny)

Before getting loose with, "that's too damn much money" understand that there are grants available for much of the funding. 

Plus, nice things aren't free.

This will be coming to city council sometime in late Spring/early Summer. That presentation will be comprehensive and livestreamed.

To get more details, watch the video or take a look at the past blogs on this topic.

There have been five previous blogs that got labeled "Parks Master Plan" dating back to October of 2014. 

The first can be found in the link below and the others can be accessed by clicking on the "Parks Master Plan" tag at the bottom of the blog.

Link to march 2018 blog about the park workshop

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Wait for that wisest of all counselors, Time.
– Pericles

Wildomar Rap is still waiting.

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• Protest At Busy Intersection

I was about to go shopping at Barons when I got a text asking if I knew why Frontwave Credit Union (Wildomar's newest banking entity located in Wildomar Square) was being protested. 

I did a brief google search, but got no answers so I figured I'd just go over and ask them what was up... after shopping that is.

As seen at 2:30pm from ARCO across the street.

I parked by Taco Bell and walked up to the half dozen or so picketers (if that's a fair description) and asked what the protest was about. I don't know what I expected, but clear/detailed answers weren't in the cards.

Pro Tip: If you're going to protest, be able to answer why you're there/what the issue is... just a suggestion, but a pretty solid one if you ask me.

Once I realized I was asking the wrong person (it took me about 3.5 seconds) I asked who was in charge. I was pointed to a couple that were on a return trip from the AM/PM Mini Market, laden with snacks and beverages, when I asked them about their protest.

There was a bit of hesitation and what seemed like looks of distrust.

I let them know that I do a blog in town and that people were interested in what was up. Seemed like a golden opportunity to tell their side of the story if they wanted to. 

I didn't get any detailed stories from them, but they did tell me that they were protesting the corporate office, and it was over wages. That was truly the gist of it.

I asked if they were from the area (I told them they were in Wildomar, in case they weren't sure) and I was told they were from Moreno Valley. I asked if they'd be back tomorrow to repeat the protest, but the leader said she didn't know yet.

Frontwave was closed due to the MLK Jr holiday, so I couldn't ask them for their take (Sorry Alina).

Many of the "protesters" were busy on their phones on the backside of the banners.

I'm learning new stuff all the time these days... and today I learned that people will drive an hour to protest something they can't really put a finger on when asked about it. I hope whatever the wage issue is, that it gets resolved soon.

If this seems like a case of paid protesters to you... you're not the only one to draw that conclusion. 

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If you don't heal what hurt you, you'll bleed on people who didn't cut you.
– Unknown

Wildomar Rap isn't a bleeder, and doesn't plan on becoming one anytime soon. 

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• City Council Meeting January 2019

It was a relatively short meeting, adjourning by 7:45pm. The key topics from my perspective were agenda items 1.6 (not discussed), 1.7, 3.1 and 3.2.

Before any of those items, there was a presentation where 2018 Mayor Ben Benoit handed the gavel over to 2019 Mayor Marsha Swanson. 

This is a screen capture from the live video.

Item 1.6 
2 Vacancies on the Measure Z committee.

Link to Measure Z page on city website.

This is a great chance for you to get more involved in your community!

Link to application

Link to Measure Z calendar.

Item 1.7 Amendments to Personnel Rules
This dealt with increasing the amount of sick time city employees can accrue. 
This starts at the 31:00 mark in the video below. Council discussion begins at 42:20.

This was a very heady item that ended up being voted on separately (from the rest of the consent calendar). 

The key sticking point for me was boosting the accrued sick time that an employee can bank went from 320 hours to 640 hours. In the original language an employee could cash out 50% of 320 hours and the proposal was to bump that to 100% 0f 640 hours.

One thing to keep in mind here is that if a person uses their sick time, then there is no accrued sick time to bank. 

The idea is to use the banking of sick time as a carrot to persuade an employee to not call in sick if they can work through a time they aren't feeling 100% on a given work day.

The difference between cashing out unused sick leave the year it is earned, and waiting until the end of an employee's tenure with the city is that it will be paid based on the final wage/salary they were earning, not the wage/salary of the year the sick time was originally earned.

The rationale is to remain competitive with other local cities, and what they offer. That way we don't lose quality personnel to other municipalities that can offer a better compensation package.

I used a sports analogy. (Better get used to it, because I like to do that a lot... even from the dais) ☺

There was a chart that showed how this is addressed in Eastvale, Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Murrieta and Temecula.

Comparative chart with other local cities.

The sports analogy was that we, Wildomar, will always be a "small market team" (think Minnesota Twins or Pittsburgh Pirates) and we can't compare ourselves to the New York Yankees or LA Dodgers (Temecula, etc). 

We'll never be able to compete with those other cities when it comes to what we can offer employees. 

What we can offer is a fair compensation package and a different pace, but if a larger city can offer more money (like the Yankees or Dodgers can), and top dollar is the key factor for a said employee, then they'll understandably take the better offer. That's just life in a small market.

There was a distinction made between the executive and management employees, and the rest of the city employees. The proposal is to allow the executives and management to get 100% cash out from day one. The other city employees follow the table below.

Longevity has its advantages.

When it comes to the regular employees, it would take someone being continuously employed by the city for 15 years to get to the 100% mark. 

Maybe it's because I've never been an executive/manager (I've been my own boss since I was 22), but I don't see why a distinction should be made. 

If the idea is to incentivize the NON use of sick leave, then why wouldn't we extend that to everyone?

We have a small staff, and we prefer it when they don't feel compelled to use the sick time that they might otherwise exercise.

It could be argued that allowing them to accrue sick time over that span would work as an incentive for them to avoid using sick time over their career when they're feeling subpar, but still able to work. A bonus of sorts. 

Bonuses are good things. Who out there doesn't like to have them offered for work well done?

The vote was 3-2 to table the item.

A motion was made by Councilmember Ben Benoit and seconded by Councilmember Joseph Morabito.

The keys of the motion were to have staff present a chart with, not only the sick time hours, but also those of vacation time to better compare and understand where we're at compared to other cities.

There was an explanation as to why this type of item was on the consent calendar and not a regular agenda item: This type of item has been brought to the city council 11 times since incorporation, and other than when it was being created as an ordinance, it's been on the consent calendar.

I respect protocol, but as I stated from the dais, I'd prefer this type of item (that deals with proposed changes in monetary outlay) to be a regular agenda item with a staff presentation. I need to know what I'm voting on. 

Item 3.1 
Resolution of Intention to Change the Name of Five Contiguous Interior Residential Streets to One Continuous Street Name: Wildomar Trail

As of today, there is no date set for when this name change will occur.

Item 3.2 
FY 2018-19 Mid -Year Budget Report
The key notes are that we voted to add to our first responders in the 2019-2020 fiscal year are as follows.

• For Police, the addition of a motor officer and a community patrol officer. Proposed FY 2019-20 cost would be $565,000;
• For Fire, the addition of a Medic Squad. Proposed FY 2019-20 costs for three additional staff for the Medic Squad would be $783,700;
• One-Time Costs for Police would be the purchase and equipping of a motorcycle. Proposed FY 2018-19 cost is $50,000.
• One Time Costs for Fire would be the purchase of the Medic Squad vehicle and related equipment. Proposed FY 2018-19 costs is $225,000

•

The video feed begins well before the meeting started. Skip to the 14:45 minute mark to get to the beginning of the meeting. 

Bookmark the following link that leads to the City of Wildomar's video page: 

https://livestream.com/accounts/26084177/Wildomar

Note: these early video feeds are still in the beta stage of things. The camera was a temporary camera (as seen in the photo below) and a permanent camera will soon be installed. The live feed will eventually include the presentations that can be seen on the four monitors in the council chambers.

Red arrow indicates temporary camera location.
Kenny Mayes decked out in solidarity with his "French brothers" protesting high taxes.

Which was the basis for the line of the night uttered by resident Monty Goddard when commenting on the proposed traffic patrol officer in item 3.2: 

"This is one of the rare occasions when... the protestor from France and I are in disagreement." 

That bit of levity can be seen at the 1:08:30 mark of the video.

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What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.
– Pericles

Next on Wildomar Rap's to do list: learn how to weave.

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.