Monthly Archives: August 2015

PLANNING COMMISSION VACANCY IN WILDOMAR

On September 24, 2015 the resignation of Planning Commissioner Bobby Swann III was accepted by the Wildomar City Clerk Debbie A. Lee, CMC.

Kicked under a bus
The above is a personal opinion of what happened to the previous occupant of this position

A vacancy exist which will be appointed by Mayor Pro Tem Moore. The term of this vacancy is an unexpired term which will end in December, 2016.

On September 26, 2015 at a Special City Council Meeting for the City of Wildomar by 4-0 vote it was directed that applications be accepted until 5:00 p.m., on Monday September 28, 2015.

http://www.cityofwildomar.org/uploads/files/minutes/08-26-15-cap.pdf

The Planning Commission is comprised of five members and serves at the pleasure of the City Council. Each Council Member appoints a member to the Planning Commission,
which is then voted upon by the entire City Council.
Planning Commissioners will be expected to attend regular
Planning Commission meetings. Planning Commission meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month, starting at 6:30 p.m.

Qualifications for Planning Commission are:

1) Must be a registered voter in the City of Wildomar;

2) Must be a resident within the City limits of Wildomar;

3) Must be a resident within the City limits of Wildomar for the year immediately preceding the inception of his/her term; and

4) May not be an employee or officer of the City of Wildomar.

If you are interested in applying for the position of Planning Commissioner, please complete the application and supplemental questionnaire (must complete both forms) which can be picked up at City Hall, 23873 Clinton Keith Road, Suite 201, Wildomar;
Call 951/677-7751 and an application will be sent to you; or download it from the City’s website at
www.cityofwildomar.org.
All applications must be returned to the City Clerk no later than 5:00 p.m., on September 28, 2015

For your convenience both forms are available for download below:

Application Form

http://www.cityofwildomar.org/uploads/files/documents/PC-Application.pdf

Supplemental Questionaire

http://www.cityofwildomar.org/uploads/files/documents/PC-Application-Supplemental.pdf

OVERSIGHT BURIED AN NOBODY CARES

Thursday night August 27, 2015 was supposed to be a rescheduled Measure Z Oversight Committee Meeting.

Guess what ?

As of 7:13 pm on Monday August 24, 2015 with less than 69 1/2 hours to go there is no agenda posted on the City of Wildomar Parks Website.

Per the Brown Act notice must given 72 hours.

In the dark

With the Measure Z Oversight Committee in turmoil and almost no one giving a rat’s behind its beginning to look much like the year 2000.

WHAT’S MORE IMPORTANT IN WILDOMAR

Could it be that the City of Wildomar does not wish to answer questions about which is more important. Has this resulted in the cancellation of the previously scheduled Measure Z Oversight Advisory Committee meeting, without explanation. This meeting was originally scheduled for July 23, 2015 but will now not occur until August 27, 2015.
(The meeting schedule was established by the Measure Z Oversight Committee during the February 28, 2013 meeting “It was the consensus of the Committee to have regular quarterly meetings on the fourth Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m. in April, July, October, and January.”)
This decision can be found in the following:
City of Wildomar Measure Z Oversight Committee Minutes of February 28, 2013 found in the Measure Z Oversight Advisory Committee Agenda Packet for the July 25, 2013 Meeting – Consent Calendar Item #1.1 page 8 of 36 of the pdf.
Page 2 of the February 28, 2013 minutes General Business Item #2.1 Committee Member Orientation
Strange that the link to this file on the City of Wildomar Parks Website @ http://www.cityofwildomarparks.org/ is broken so I will provide the pdf I have on file.
7-25-2013 Agenda Packet

During the July 2015 meeting a questionnaire was to be discussed which each committee member was to have filled out beforehand and returned to the city manager in time to be included in the agenda packet. This questionnaire was prepared supposedly so that each member could visit each of three parks and give an end of the year assessment of each.
A similar assessment made in July of 2015 was not submitted to the city council nor seen by a majority of the public until the annual report was completed in February of 2015, a full 7 months after the end of the fiscal year.

A portion of this form deals with what each member considers to be personally important as they are to complete this assessment individually due to the “BROWN ACT” which prevents more than 2 members discussing committee business.

As this meeting has been cancelled for another month and the end of the fiscal year has come and gone I will give you my take on the present condition of Wildomar’s parks.
This article will concentrate on Marna O’Brien Park as this is referred to as the Premier Sports Park in town and it is the location of most of the events conducted by the city.

Let’s start with “You be the Judge” of what is more important.
Are New “Home Plates” important for the 3 baseball fields that started out in need of replacement 1 1/2 years ago and now don’t exist as the following series of picture show.

Waffle Bottom Homeplate med-baseball-softball
Cost = Anywhere from $80 – $150 each add new pitching rubber for $25 each for a total cost of between $315 – $525 3 ball diamonds could have been partially refurbished

P01-26-15_09.13[1]
Taken in January of this year notice its upside down

P01-26-15_09.14
This is for pitchers with a mean left handed curveball

Take in March of 2015

Take in March of 2015


Not even on the field any longer

PTDC0320
Whats left a little more than a year after the parks where “rehabilitated” and re-opened on April 12, 2014

In Wildomar it appears its more important that people remember who is responsible for local control therefore more important.

Bronze Plagues costing the taxpayer $1,947.24
http://media.wix.com/ugd/28672a_0c8d622872cb4492bd14c318dd5f0d72.pdf

Page 24 of 69 of the pdf (Page 2 of Community Services Expenditures found on page 20 of the report)

Found on the wall of the utility building

Found on the wall of the utility building


A replacement for the original plaque.

A replacement for the original plaque.

A name on one of the plaques is responsible for the infamous “40K Anonymous Donor” announced for the “Great Day of Service” held to rehabilitate the parks.
http://patch.com/california/lakeelsinore-wildomar/anonymous-donor-steps-up-for-wildomar-parks-fundraising-continues-with-upcoming-events

The anonymous donor turned out to be
http://patch.com/california/lakeelsinore-wildomar/anonymous-donor-for-wildomar-parks-identified

YOU – The Citizens of Wildomar

So suspect is the expenditure of this $1,947.24 that it appears in the final audit for 2013-14 (which ended on June 30, 2014)
A voucher #203507 dated July 3, 2014 is found in the Voucher List or Warrant Register of July 3, 2014. (Three days after the end of the fiscal year) This item is scheduled for pick up on July 15, 2014 a full 2 weeks after the close of the fiscal year.

Confused, so am I.

Warrant
b. A voucher authorizing payment or receipt of money

When a city starts to stretch out the year, first by a couple of days, where does it really end.
http://www.cityofwildomar.org/uploads/files/minutes/07-09-14-cap.pdf
See Agenda Item #1.5 of the Consent Calendar Page 37 of 358 of the pdf.

Rather than almost $2,000.00 for plaques the city might have considered replacing the backboards for those ball diamonds along with the home plates and pitchers rubbers

P07-03-15_9.13(1)

Or the end caps to the bleacher before someone cuts themselves on the sharp screws.(At least remove the screws) These end caps have been missing since before opening day.

Many of these have been missing since opening day

Many of these have been missing since opening day

Possibly replacing the U-Bolts holding the backs on the bleachers before the trampoline action destroys them.
PTDC0313
Notice the bars across the back are now swayback

Let us continue with what is more important in Wildomar.

Destroying the ADA required accessibility with the removal of a ramp into the Tot-Lot so that a poorly designed apparatus could be introduced and later removed after a Certified Playground Safety Inspection (CPSI) inspection determined it had to go.

P09-16-14_07.00
Notice the ADA ramp and the springer toy are now both gone

Replaced by this
PTDC0342

Haste allowed this “nice idea” to go awry with no planned supervision and poor installation.
P10-02-14_15.55
A week after installation the cross bar is turning down

This could be caused by the uninstalled hardware
P10-09-14_14.26

Even at that within 2 weeks
P10-13-14_09.23
Part are breaking and within one and a half months

P12-07-14_10.58

Following a CPSI inspection on October 19, 2014 a Sunday morning GONE Adding insult to injury the city is attempting to charge the Measure Z fund for this inspection while dividing it up amongst three parks. Voucher 204135 was written on December 8, 2014 for $587.25 and shown on the 3rd quarter report as $192.75 for each park.

Prior to the October inspection of the Tot-Lot one was done, begrudgingly, in August of 2014. The begrudging comes when this inspection was not performed before the parks reopened as promised in a press release of March 6, 2014. The cities insurance carrier PARSAC granted monies for this much needed inspection.

In the August 6, 2014 inspection it was noted that the Marna O’Brien Tot-Lot lacked the necessary signage. Page 6 of the report states:
Add signage which lists: age group, supervision recommended, and to remove helmets and drawstrings. The signs also need to warn of hot surfaces.
This was never completed.

Wildomar's sign

Wildomar’s sign


Canyon Hill Park, Lake Elsinore (Front)

Canyon Hill Park, Lake Elsinore (Front)


Lake Elsinore (Back of sign)

Lake Elsinore (Back of sign)

The signs in Lake Elsinore are located at the primary entrance to the TOT-LOT before a child has a chance to reach a hot surface.

More important in Wildomar was for someone to get a merit badge by delivering to the citizens another well thought out and executed project.

Taken July 17th

Taken July 17th


This is less than three weeks after installation

The list goes on and on. The end result is the citizens of Wildomar are getting short changed as usual so that some individuals can pat themselves on the back and claim a job well done.

FREEDOM SWING REDUX

Swing 3

The City of Wildomar currently has a Public Works Advertised Project (Request for Proposal or RFP) to re-install the ADA swing at Marna O’Brien Park.
The last time this swing was installed in Marna O’Brien Park it was referred to as the “Freedom Swing”.
Its last appearance was for 22 days.

P12-07-14_10.58

Not having learn anything from past experience the City of Wildomar will once again attempt to place the ADA, Wheel Chair or Freedom Swing in one of the cities public parks
Interesting to note is unlike other RFP’s this one has no engineers “Estimated Cost”.

The first installation of this swing was removed after a Certified Playground Safety Inspection performed on October 19, 2014 (a Sunday morning) determined the swing DID NOT meet playground safety standards as called out in the Public Playground Safety Handbook Publication #325 issued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. This publication has been made law in California with the codification in the Health and Safety Code section 115725-115735.

wheelchair playground summary 10-19-2014 Draft

This RFP contains no drawings, it does contain Specific Directions for the bidder in “Exhibit – A”
One such direction is to refer to manufacturer’s installation for swing support and hardware.
If one looks at the “Playground Inspection of the Wheelchair Swing” on page 8 of 13, installing this swing per the manufacturer’s instruction will lead to the same conditions, use zone D1 for one, that failed inspection previously.(D1 use zone is found on page 41 of 60 of Publication #325)
Without re-engineering this apparatus it will never meet this requirement.

The RFP does contain a photo to show the numbered points in “Exhibit A”
RFP Exhibit A1

Exhibit – A makes mention of a new 20 foot by 30 foot slap, which according to the manufacturer is too small. Only by 2 feet but the rules are not written in a foreign language.
RFP Exhibit A

The RFP can be obtained from
http://www.ebidboard.com/public/projects/index.asp?mbrguid=78F3B83E-667B-4756-AC3C-6EC28409B5A2

Use Zone 1

Installing this apparatus in a public park without constant supervision by park personnel, with its many deficiencies, is a choke away from a lawsuit.
P10-12-14_09.30[1]

This device is more suited to someones backyard and not a public park.

AN ASSESSMENT OF THE BROWN HOUSE

Below are two reports required by the County of Riverside before the “Brown House” could be moved from it original location on Grand Avenue. The house was moved in January of 2006 from its previous location northwest of McVicar and Grand Avenue to its present location, currently called Baxter Rd., and is clearly visible from the freeway.

Brown 2

Brown 3

Read this information carefully and then you be the judge as to whether you wish to invest your time, energy and money into saving this structure.

Brown House

The first link opens a PDF. of the Cultural Resources Assessment done for the developer in April of 2004, it is 13.5 MB in size.

Cultural Resources Assessment 2004 Brown House

The second link opens the PDF. of the Historic Resources Assessment Done in October of 2004 for the same developer, it is 1.7 MB in size.

Wildomar Assessment Final Rpt_2004

Both of these reports are fraught with inaccuracies. Neither one truly answers the question of when this house was built or when additions were made.
An interesting factoid about a historical building “Easterbrook” in Wildomar is found on page 5 of the first report along with a glaring inaccuracy concerning the history of that same building, namely the person credited with building it was not born until 6 years after it was reportedly built.

The second report states that Dr. Brown with his wife arrived in Wildomar in 1890.
All 4 children were born in Ohio starting in 1891 – 1897.
as verified by “Ohio, Births and Christenings, 1821-1962”
It is reported that Dr. Brown started his practice in Wildomar in 1890.
Dr. Brown graduated from Starling Medical College, Ohio in 1886 but was only granted a certificate to practice medicine in Wildomar, California on April 7, 1896. As reported in the Pacific Medical Journal, Volume 39 (Page 330)
https://books.google.com/books?id=n75XAAAAMAAJ&lr=
Search for Oscar Brown, he is found on page 330

Press and Horticulturist – Dec 4, 1897
Dr. Brown and family have settled in their new home on Olive Street. (Now Pecan St. in Wildomar.)
Wildomar Dec 8 (Special Correspondence) Mr. Burnham, who has cancer of the eye, has decided to have the eye removed. Dr. Brown was to have performed the operation yesterday, but postponed it until today, as some things he needed did not get here.

Press and Horticulturist – Dec 18, 1897
Dr. BROWN has bought the HAMPTON place. Consideration $650

The Press and Horticulturist can be read at
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2468&dat=18850806&id=ciszAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9QAGAAAAIBAJ&pg=1263,516533&hl=en

Another report was generated in 2006 but is not listed here.
This report was done by
JOSH SMALLWOOD, RPA of Hemet California
Photo-Documentation and Consultation with Local Community: Rudolph J. Brown Ranch, 22060 Grand Avenue, Wildomar, Riverside County, California (2006). Historical Archaeologist responsible for completing the photo-documentation and plan-view drawings of existing buildings at the Rudolph J. Brown Ranch in anticipation of the relocation or removal of the buildings as part of a proposed residential development project.