After attending the last “Wildomar Community Parks Funding Measure Citizen’s Oversight Advisory Committee” which was attended by all of 2 citizens, one being myself, I came away with some questions which I asked to be answered at the end of the meeting, as the usual format for the City of Wildomar was in place, a three minute diatribe before an item is discussed.
During the meeting it was discussed that a porta-potty would be placed at Windsong Park. It would be a newer type of restroom facility, in place of the single unit that was used in the past. Like the one that was apparently tipped over a number of times and eventually set on fire costing the city $775.00 to replace. This newer type unit would be placed on a slab and possibly contain facilities for both sexes along with a place to wash up afterwards.
The question I asked was “ Is there a stub-out for a sewer connection located at Windsong Park and if so where is it?”. It occurred to me that before a slab is placed it should be somewhere close to this possible future sewer connection so that money is not wasted when the park is eventually connected to the existing sewer system, which should be less costly than the monthly fee ($140 per month)to empty the single portable units.
Some may ask why I would ask this question, the answer is HISTORY: Having moved to this valley before the “Windsong Tract” was built, I remember the controversy surrounding the requirement that parkland be dedicated, with the developer balking because we had no park district to accept and maintain it. The land was eventually dedicated in March of 1989 with this statement on Tract map 23196 “We hereby dedicate to public use for Park purposes, Lot 58. With that dedication the developer was required to provide all utilities to the site per the Quimby Act, along with the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District requirement that when a sewer line is placed a stub-out or future connection be place to every parcel along its route.
I was assured that this would be looked into and an answer forthcoming. I also followed up with the Chairman of the Oversight Committee via e-mail a couple of days later. Its now 2 weeks later with no answer. So much for asking city officials.
They have a porta potty up at the Santa Rosa Plateau (probably more than one) and it seems to be fine. We can’t govern from behind, and worrying about an incident from years ago, as long as we learn from it. The one at the Plateau is within a framed structure, and it seems like a good alternative to nothing. Sure, I much prefer a real toilet, but those come with their own problems and expense too.
Joseph
I don’t have a problem with Porta-Potties in general. What I have a problem with is the city spending vast amounts of money placing a slab to site the unit they were discussing without locating the sewer connection that is supposed to be along the property line. It is also possible to hook a portable unit to the sewer system, though the initial cost is higher, which in the long term will cost less to operate and be more environmentally friendly especially if reclaimed water is used to flush.
These are pertinent questions about Windsong Park which should not be politicized and should be investigated and answered.
The answers should give rise to additional questions about the long term planning for the support and maintenance of the park. This is the kind of information and adequate planning that has been missing from our parks planning all along. It would seem prudent to know if there is actually the required stub out, where it is, and how much it would cost to make the connection – with that information in hand plans could be made to allocate Measure Z money for the improvement. Thank you, Ken, for bringing this information out in the open so that the city can take advantage of it.
Martha
The questions about what is there and where it is located should have been answered when the City of Wildomar took over the park system from the County of Riverside. Haste Makes Waste.
There are a lots of things which the City of Wildomar failed to do over the years since incorporation, and we as a city will have to waste a lot of taxpayers’ money to correct many of these oversights. The questions you pose should have been asked and answered a long time ago. Wildomar has a lot of catching up to do in many areas. I suppose there are those who will complain about my mentioning that fact, but it has been my experience that you have to recognize and understand a problem or deficiency before you can correct it. A certain amount of information and facts are needed to successfully plan ahead.