By DAVID ROSS
The VC CSD (soon to be VC Parks & Rec.) appears to be less than entranced with the idea of taking over a planted median in the median strips that will soon (some day?) divide Valley Center Road.
Some governmental agency will be required to maintain the plants or rocks or whatever will be on the median once it’s built. The County has agreed to pay for a sprinkler system for the median, but it won’t take responsibility for maintenance.
The CSD has been approached several times on this subject.
All the directors agree that it would be nice to have a planted, landscaped median bisecting the center of town. But they don’t agree that they should be responsible for keeping it up.
“I still think Valley Center is better served by a median than not, but Valley Center is not served by us being the lead agency,” VCCSD Gen. Mgr. Joyce Johnson told the board at their January meeting.
One director, John Scibilia, was even more emphatic:
“It seems to me that we shouldn’t spend any time on this. We are in parks and rec. How is being responsible for a bunch of strips of road have anything to do with parks and rec? We’d have to have traffic control. What do we get out of it?” he said.
Director Ron Lamb was more sympathetic to the idea, but not if it creates an unworkable problem for the district.
“All we can give them is the legal wherewithal to create the agency, like we did for lots of other groups. Who’s going to do it?” said Lamb.
“The good of it is that you can come through Valley Center and have a big black road or you can have a median strip. If we can foster cooperation with the garden club or with the high school ag department it could be a very nice thing.”
Scibilia countered, “I don’t see how we could allow just anyone to work in the median. This isn’t the sort of thing where you could have volunteers to work in the middle of the road. For traffic control for one day it will cost $500. You can’t just send a bunch of Scouts or the garden club out to the median to work,” he said.
“As a parks and rec district I don’t see how we can be responsible for something like that. Here we don’t have the money to spend on acquiring parks and they say we’d have to spend money to maintain this.”
“If John is right about traffic control I’d have to bow out of this,” Lamb said.
Director Greg Marcon agreed that using volunteers to maintain the median is impractical. But he added, “If that’s the only way to get vegetation on that center median then we should do it.”
Cities can plant elaborately landscaped medians and maintain them because they have “deep pockets,” according to Scibilia.
“When you talk about the middle of the road you are talking about a whole new ball game,” he said. “Right now we can’t figure out to pay our bills as it is. It’s a big liability to do something like this. A total liability for anything that happens.”
The County has said it will plan the landscaping of the median, and provide initial funding for the low maintenance types of plants.
But if no agency in town is willing to take over the strip, it will be paved over, Mrs. Johnson told the board.
Although the board took no position at its meeting, Scibilia said he would introduce a motion at the next meeting to wash the district’s hands of the matter.
Lamb agreed that they should invited the groups in town that are trying to get the CSD involved to that February meeting.
“We’ll invite these groups and if they haven’t got a plan, we’ll vote for your motion,” he said. He turned to Scibilia. “I appreciate your input. I don’t like it, but I appreciate it.”
Scibilia added that the County could be forced to put in the median and maintain it, “if there was enough political pressure put on them.”
Scout Project
VC Eagle Scout candidate Dale Turori told the board about his proposed Eagle Scout project, to refurbish the arbor at Adams Park.
Posts holding the arbor are loose, he said. He wants to put cement bases under them for support. He also proposes replacing part of the frame, which is old and rotting. He hopes to get size six by six and eight by eight lumber donated.
He estimates the project will take a day. He will have to get money for the materials donated and plans to ask the VC Lions for the donation.
Director Greg Marcon praised the young man. “Valley Center works because of people like you,” he said.
Trails
Newly elected VC Trails Assn. Chairman Diana Sourbeer reported that she and several others are working on the circulation element of the General Plan 2020 update for Valley Center. Work on this is being done by a subcommittee of Valley Center residents.
She reminded the board that the VC Planning Group has previously approved a trails map, but only for public rights of way.
She has also been attending meetings of the public facilities committee of GP 2020. The County has told that group that trails won’t be covered in the section of the update devoted to “public facilities,” but in the section that talks about “community character.” That section will make reference to the trails map that was approved last year by the planning group.
The practical effect of this is that trails won’t actually be covered by GP 2020. Instead, the County plans to do a community trails plan for every community separate from the General Plan.
So far the County has neglected to tell most of the agencies that have any interest in trails about this, said Mrs. Sourbeer.
Trails in San Diego County are seen as a volatile political issue.
Erica Ryan, also a member of the trails group, told directors, “They have been mandated by the supervisors not to put in ‘work’ words in the general plan such as ‘you will build a trail.’ Supervisors have limited the type of language.
Mrs. Sourbeer shared a report she had downloaded from the Center for Disease Control that talked about the health benefits of regular physical activity such as walking, and suggested that one way to enhance public health is to advocate creating walking trails and creating or enhancing other non-motorized transport.
The group is trying to get a grant to fund the demonstration trail that it will be putting in around the VC ballfields.
Although they are waiting for funding, the group feels that they can at least start with clearing the trails area.
“Couldn’t we get started with some elbow grease?” asked Ryan. “We want to get going and show some action.”
Mrs. Johnson said they would have to do that by working around the Little League schedule, but that she would check to see what times are available.
Ron Lamb suggested that the trail make an accommodation for the latest invention that many people feel will revolutionize individual travel: IT or Ginger.
“You need to make an adjustment if that is not allowed as one of the forms of transportation on the trail,” said Lamb.
Ryan said she would define IT as being something that is between walking and riding a bike.
Name Change
The long, drawn-out process of changing the VC Community Services District’s name to Valley Center Parks & Recreation is continuing slowly.
Mrs. Johnson reported that the district finally linked up with the County Recorder to record the change. The State government is sending a specific form that must be filled out before the change can be legal.
But the form they are waiting on the longest is the one from the Internal Revenue Service.
“That’s the one that will take forever,” said Mrs. Johnson. The bank account the discount maintains can’t be changed until the IRS gives the go-ahead.
“I have a laundry list like this,” said Mrs. Johnson indicating her arm. “A good number of people know that we are parks and rec. The response has been very good,” she said.
Officers Retained
“You’re doing a really good job. I can’t complain at all,” Greg Marcon said in supporting the re-election of Eric Jockinsen as chairman of the board.
Marcon was retained as vice chairman.
It’s too early to say whether avocado and citrus crops were badly damaged by the three days (and in some cases five days) of freezing temperatures last week.
But what could further endanger local crops is the fact that the water district won’t be getting any imported water for Feb. 4-14. Spraying trees with water during a freeze is one effective method of fighting fruit damage. That option won’t be open to local growers during those ten days.
Al Stehly, a grove manager who manages between 500-600 acres, told The Roadrunner, “There was some damage last week. Some people are having to pick their avocado crop which is a loss because they are picking it earlier than they want to.
“I haven’t heard of anybody yet who got frozen so bad they couldn’t salvage their fruit. I’m sure there are some pockets of it.”
Stehly added, “I haven’t seen any citrus damage yet although I’ve seen some tip burn on the leaves.”
Freeze damage can happen in an hour, or over several hours. It’s a factor of temperature and time. The lower the temperature and the longer its duration the more damage.
As Stehly puts it, “Eighteen degrees for an hour is a lot worse than seven hours at twenty-eight.”
The most effective method for fighting freeze is to spray fruit with water. Since ice does not get colder than 32 degrees, it forms a protective shell around the fruit.
“Since we have our water shut off for ten days we don’t want a real bad freeze to happen this week.”
So far, the experts are not forecasting freezes in the next few days.
The days when farmers relied on the U.S. Weather Service to provide timely freeze warnings is long past.
Years ago local farmers used to consult Wilbur Shigehara, longtime meteorologist at the U.S. Weather Service’s old office near Lindbergh Field. Shigehara retired eight years ago and the freeze warnings went to private enterprise.
“Wilbur was a gentleman,” recalls Bob Hutchings, who has been in the grove business about half a century. “A great source of knowledge. He’s been missed.”
Today growers subscribe to Fox Weather Services, which unlike what the name suggests, has nothing to do with Fox News. It is run by Meteorologist Allen Fox out of Oxnard.
Fox told The Roadrunner. “Right now we’re in a Santa Ana wind. As long as the wind’s blowing that makes it better for freeze conditions. However, it’s right before a Santa Ana and right after that we have to watch for freezes. Particularly in the center valley. Farther up the hill, around Fruitvale Road and toward the CDF station, it’s warmer than in the bottom section of the valley. Sometimes there can be an eight degree difference in temperature. We’re going to get a cold front pass through late in the week and then later go back into some freezes. We’re still at risk for freezes in February.
Compared to some killing freezes of the past, last week’s wasn’t that bad, says Hutchings. “Although it was bad in pockets. You can have one tree that had damage and one right next to it didn’t. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen something like that.”
Hutchings recalls some past freezes when he had to run sludge pots ten nights in a row. “This time I just had to run the wind machines,” he said.
Some of the hardest hit avocado groves were in the Lilac Road area, he said. Temperatures there dropped down as low as 25.
“You can see the burn on the groves,” said Hutchings. But it’s too early to tell how much damage the freeze caused.
Damage to fruit is caused when cold ruptures juice vesticles. Stems turn brown and eventually the fruit falls off the tree.
Citrus is hardier but damage doesn’t show up for some time. “If we don’t get any more freeze we could be all right,” said Hutchings.
By DAVID ROSS
At least two Valley Center residents will be paying close attention to the March 5 primary: Fifth District Supervisor Bill Horn and one of his two challengers, Patsy Fritz.
With the primary in March instead of June, people will have just enough time to become aware of the electoral season before it’s gone.
Voting is just a month away, and Horn wants to wrap it all up in the first round by winning 51% of the vote. Things are heating up.
Horn already has a war chest of $250,000 which he collected all last year. Mrs. Fritz will try to chip away at that heavy cash lead with her fund-raiser and salute to Indian veterans this Friday night put on by Pala Reservation Chairman Robert Smith and entitled, “A Gathering of Eagles.”
Barnard has just a few thousand dollars so far.
Meantime, the war of words has begun, including that most volatile modern political fighting word, “racist.”
Horn, Fritz and the third member of the electoral troika, Kevin Barnard of Harmony Grove held their first debate on Roger Hedgecock’s radio show on KOGO Monday afternoon.
Horn rested on his record and the County’s excellent fiscal shape and fended off spirited assaults by Mrs. Fritz, (who not only took off the gloves, but also sported a couple of brass knuckles), and a mild, soft green agenda by the new Sierra Club favorite, Barnard. Of course, Horn doesn’t have to land any haymakers of his own. He just has to keep anyone else from landing one.
Mrs. Fritz came out swinging at the very beginning and kept it up until the end, when she accused Horn of gerrymandering (Hornymandering, she called it) his district to cut the ratio of Hispanic voters to white voters.
For his part, Horn said he had sacked Mrs. Fritz when she was on the planning commission for “inappropriate” behavior.
Asked why voters should favor her, Mrs. Fritz declared: “We need a supervisor with ethics and experience.” She touted her own experience on the planning commission, San Diego Farm Bureau and San Diego Taxpayers’ Assn.
“I’m demanding a code of ethics,” said Mrs. Fritz. “If the voters are ticked off that supervisors can rake in thousands of dollars from developers and then turn around and vote for their projects, I want their vote.”
She also brought up last year’s charge that Horn had helped create a “toxic workplace” which led to an out of court settlement with a former female employee by the Board of Supervisors.
“If you disgusted with out of court settlements, then vote for me. I’m not a politician. I’m a farmer,” she said.
Kevin Barnard said he lived in Harmony Grove and has been a police officer for 20 years. “My job has been to protect your family and property.”
Barnard observed that “traffic is out of control. We are sprawling all over ourselves. We need to build our wealth and not destroy our property values.”
Horn hung his electoral hat on the fact that San Diego County was just given the highest rating for economic stability in the state and third highest in the nation.
He said the County will be getting $30 million of tobacco settlement money for the next 30 years.
“Our county has been called a model of government innovation. We have some serious issues and one of those is transportation. Horn pushed his idea of a north south freeway.
“Two hundred thousand cars a day drive on I-15,” said Horn. “Forty one percent of them come from the Murrietta area. A bypass freeway would free up I-15.”
Taking a swipe at Barnard’s slow growth environmentalist stance, Horn said, “Fifty percent of this county is already government owned. I that Mr. Barnard is the Sierra Club’s answer to Jerry Harmon [Horn’s opponent four years ago].”
Turning to Mrs. Fritz’s accusation that the County inappropriately paid an out of court settlement to a female employee, Horn dismissed it.
“I’ve run against Patsy before, the case had no merit.”
The candidates were asked why the taxpayers gas taxes should pay for diamond lanes that most of them are not allowed to use.
“We’re one of the few counties with diamond lanes that you don’t pay for. I think we need more lanes and a new freeway in the I-15 corridor.,” said Horn.
Barnard dismissed another highway as “land speculation that will build out the area. We’ve got to improve I-15 and we’re going to have to change to workable mass transit.”
Mrs. Fritz agreed that “We all paid for the HOV lanes and we are not getting it. Everybody should have access to it and they ought to have an on ramp north of Miramar.”
She said she would like to see the escape lanes (next to the center barrier) used for regular traffic during high traffic times.”
“It would take 30 days to paint the freeways to where this could be done,” she said.
A caller asked why Horn opposes making the Bonsall Sponsor Group an elected body such as VC planning group.
Horn countered that several communities larger than Bonsall don’t have elected planning groups. He said he was satisfied that the Bonsall group represents the community.
Mrs. Fritz chimed in that “Horn won’t approve anyone to be on planning groups that won’t kiss his fanny pack!”
Horn then launched his own counteroffensive against his former appointee to the planning commission.
“Patsy was more planning commissioner and I showed her the door. She was making requirements of developers that was above and beyond the county’s purview. I asked her to step down,” he said.He said she had voted to require a developer to put in a park.
Mrs. Fritz countered that the County has that option and added, “It was a unanimous vote of the planning commission to require him to put in the park.”
“Frankly, you outstepped your bounds and that’s why you aren’t there anymore,” said Horn.
Barnard and Fritz zeroed in on the redistricting of the Fifth District last year.
Barnard criticized Horn for taking the process away from a committee “after six months of work by a well-chosen, honorable people, all this public testimony and at the last minute get this map that threw everything in disarray, I don’t know how you can justify that.”
“One of my goals was not to divide any city,” said Horn. “My plan came up to keep Carlsbad, San Marcos and Oceanside in my district. I had to lose 72,000 people and I chose to lose Escondido.”
“I don’t know how he came up with that framework all by himself after all that testimony,” said Barnard.
“I didn’t disregard the work that had been done,” said Horn.
“It clearly didn’t keep in mind the community’s interests,” said Barnard.
Mrs. Fritz declared, “What Horn did was to get for himself all the developable land for himself, so he could squeeze and squeeze the developers.”
She added that Horn’s new district had 10% more white voters than it had started with and 16% fewer Hispanic voters than it had started with.
Hedgecock asked her if she was calling the change in the district racist and she answered, “Yes.”
“You just don’t have the district that you wanted to vote in,” interjected Hedgecock.
“I think it is despicable to treat the Hispanic voters like that,” she said.
Horn said the balance of undeveloped land did not change under the new plan, and the “preexisting ratios of white and hispanic votes did not change from the original proposal to the final proposal.”
“Horn is not telling the truth on this issue,” said Mrs. Fritz. “The Hornymander delivered more white votes to him.””
It’s simply not true,” said Horn. “There are not more white voters and fewer hispanic voters in my district than before. That stayed the same. It seemed the best option instead of dividing Escondido.”
Barnard said, “Two viable candidates, Pfeiler and Harmon, were kept out of the district.”
Both challengers also criticized Horn for taking money from developers.
“There are two sides to property rights and there has to be some balance,” said Barnard.
“The first amendment gives you the right to speak with your checkbook,” countered Horn. “There are no illegal contributions.”
“Over sixty percent of Mr. Horn’s contributions come from developers,” said Barnard.
Mrs. Fritz got in her final dig: “Bill Horn doesn’t want to be our supervisor. Within a month of taking office he was banking his ludicrous senate race. His term is just a seven year publicity campaign.”
“Woods Valley SPA will draw a crowd,” VC Planning Chairman Larry Glavinic predicted this week.
The Specific Plan for the most visible development in VC has been the talk of the town ever since Newland Communities quietly admitted that it would not include a golf course, which has been part of the SPA from the beginning, a decade ago.
It will be discussed at Monday’s planning group meeting, 7 p.m., VC Community Hall.
Jim Delhamer of Newland Communities will give a presentation.
Delhamer is due to talk to the County about the legality of trying to get around the provision of the SPA that would appear to leave little wriggle room: Page 16 of the SPA says: “Development is expected to occur in phases, which will be accomplished by recordation of multiple final maps. The Central Neighborhood, as well as the Golf Course and Moosa Creek Land Use Areas, will be Phase I.”
Curt Gonzales, a senior planner at the County Dept. of Planning & Land Use, told The Roadrunner that County Counsel is investigating whether Newland Communities can build the project without a golf course.
Last week Delhamer told The Roadrunner that Newland had been unable to find any golf development companies willing to build a public golf course in the current economic climate. Newland closed escrow on the property where 270 units are planned.
The Valley Roadrunner
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