On February 12, 2014 one of the City Council Persons asked why none of the parks were open and how long it would take to at least get the Basketball and Gazebo areas open. This Council Person was assured it would happen within a couple of weeks.
I just went by the Three Parks and Welch Field, couple of weeks after that council meeting. Status: Same as it has been since the GDS. Nowhere close to opening.
Windsong Park, the one official park with access to Reclaimed or Recycled Water, still has an enormous mound of bark in the middle of the future grass area. No Hydroseeding has been done therefore no grass for at least a couple of months.
To be fair the City Manager did say that this park would open when a Security Company had been hired and the current fence removed which could be anytime between now and the new official opening day on April 12th for the City of Wildomar Easter Egg Hunt.
As it looks on February 25th
Another view of 25th
The Pile
The Pile and the Reason it Should not Exist. Where’s the Grass ?
Welch Field, currently leased to the City of Wildomar, for ?
These two ball diamonds which have access to Reclaimed Water are in the process of growing a really nice crop of weeds. There has been some cleanup done as the Measure Z sign is gone and piles of rubbish have been removed.
One would have hoped that the City of Wildomar who plans to spend $10,000 for the cities birthday out of Measure Z funds would have spent a little to plant a proper field. This was originally promised to be done before the three parks were closed for renovation so the citizens would have a place to play.
As it looked 2 months ago
Fields 2 months ago
Nice crop of weeds. Play Ball
Marna O’Brien Park has had the most time and money spent on it, what with the ball fields all groomed and ready to plant, just waiting for rain as it would be irresponsible of the city to use potable (drinking) water for grass in the middle of a drought especially when the farmers in the state are facing mandatory rationing. Its good to see that maybe City Officials get it.
Hopefully they will also get the importance of fixing the drainage system before the Regional Water District San Diego comes down on them like a ton of bricks for there failure to implement the requirements for post construction BMP’s which include stenciling all parking lot drains with “Only Rain in the Storm Drain, installation of a bulletin board containing educational material, maintenance of the filters required, etc. These items were originally the responsibility of the Riverside County EDA but the City of Wildomar claimed they were able to manage the parks on their own, so now its there responsibility.
Regency Heritage Park, this is going to be the most interesting of all the facilities currently operated by the City of Wildomar.
This parks currently receives unfiltered drainage from 3 separate directions, due to the City of Wildomar and Riverside County Flood Control not properly maintaining their respective MS4 (Drainage Sytems). Because of the maintenance failures this park is currently buried in sediment. Some work has been done to remove this material but a whole lot more still needs to be done. The “Dog Park” area is in shambles due to its being located at the outflow end of the park where the flow backs up due to PPP. The water doesn’t flow it trickles out creating a lake at that end of the park.
The future of this park remains in question because now the County of Riverside has plans to build Open Channel A, a drainage system as part of the Lakeland Village Master Drainage Plan which is working its way through the approval process. This 42 foot wide channel will start at the South East end of the park flowing North West thru the entire length of the park and continuing to Corydon.
Sediment Removed
Sediment to be removed
Beginning of “Open Channel A”
I was at the Welch Fields this week (near the cemetery) and I couldn’t believe what I was looking at. I sort of know some of the recent history of WLL, but still can’t believe those fields are so choked with weeds. If you were to remove the fences, I’d have believed that was a field in the Dominican Republic.
As far as Council Member Tim Walker wanting the basketball courts and gazebos opened sooner than the official reopening… I don’t know what more a council person can be expected to do in a similar situation. As for the “why” of it, I can’t imagine a legit “why” when it comes to Marna. I get why the other two can’t be opened yet… but Marna would be easy enough.
Joseph Morabito – you are assuming that opening Marna O’Brien’s basketball and gazebo area is different than opening these areas at any of the parks. Every parks that is opened is going to require there be a security patrol in place to check up and lock/ unlock either the gates at Regency Heritage or the restrooms at Marna O’Brien. Just because there was a stink raised over security at Windsong Park before the fence is removed doesn’t mean its not required at the others.
As to what could a council person do, for one thing this city has 3 council members that profess to be park advocates, the one that spoke up at the meeting and the two that are on the sub-committee, seems to me that is a majority which could have pressured the city manager to come up with a date certain, rather than a maybe in a couple of weeks. This city has known since November of 2012 that there was going to be money to re-open the parks and items like what preformance requirements for a park security contract should have already been worked out leaving only the bidding process left to do.
Welch Field and Little are a big disconcerting, the City of Wildomar leased the two ball fields over a year ago, for what reason ? One has to wonder. Did the City of Wildomar lease them to use, as promised by the City Manager when he stated they would be ready to use before the parks closed for rehabilitation, as additional park facilities for which the City of Wildomar budgeted $22,000 in 2013-14 and another $25,000 in 2014-15. Or did the City of Wildomar lease them so that Little League would not have to remove their equipment as specified in their contract with the Cemetery District. With the City failing to improve these fields and Little League preparing the fields on their own, its looking like it was a favor to save someone or some group some money and embarrassment.