By DAVID ROSS
VC’s Terry Van Koughnett has been named project coordinator of an effort to find housing for 30 (and possibly more) fire survivors of the Paradise fire.
The number of families affected by the fire is over 500 by some accounts. Many are from the Rincon and San Pasqual reservations, which were both particularly hard hit by the blaze.
Some families were reduced to living in agricultural containers or staying with relatives or friends, often sleeping on floors or outside in hammocks.
On Friday Interfaith Community Services, a non-profit, non-sectarian social service agency headquartered in North County, held a Paradise Fire Collaboration Update Meeting at the VC Library.
The Collaboration Project goal is to provide 30 housing units (towable trailers or 5th wheels) for families affected by the fire, and to provide initial financial assistance for rent and utilities. There are actually 42 families on the list. They eventually hope to find funding for them also.
Ownership of the trailers will be transferred to the families after nine months.
According to Van Koughnett the families being helped are those with no access to aid other than from FEMA.
Friday’s meeting was attended by Don Norman and Manny Walker of FEMA, Olivia Leschick and Geri Geis of the VC-Pauma School District, members of the public and local churches, and Interfaith Project Coordinator Terry Van Koughnett and Grants Administrator Craig Jones.
Over $300,000 has been earmarked for the effort with $200,000 coming from the San Diego Foundation and $100,000 from a private donor.
With Van Koughnett spearheading the effort, Interfaith is working to acquire the 30 trailers and selecting home site locations around VC and Pauma Valley.
Van Koughnett and his wife, Mimi, have been involved with the local Teacher Parent Club for several years and helped set up a fire relief effort here in town.
The Collaboration Project is targeting families who have children in the school system.
Olivia Leschick, special projects director for the VC-P school district, has been working with displaced families from the beginning of the fire. According to her the district’s initial goal was to ensure that the families, many of whom spoke only Spanish, would be linked with agencies that could help them, so they could continue their schooling.
Several bilingual instructional aides and teachers volunteered their time to do this.
The district sponsored two meetings attended by the Red Cross and FEMA and provided translators. It also set up sites at the schools to provide similar information to families.
Once initial aid was provided, “Our goal became to refer them to agencies that could help them long term,” said Mrs. Leschick.
That brought the school district together with the Interfaith Council, VC Fire Relief, Migrant Education, FEMA and St. Francis Episcopal Church.
Since the appointment of Van Koughnett as director, Mrs. Leschick says, “We’re working with Terry with the home sites and would prefer to have the families housed in areas closet to their area schools,” she said.
According to Leschick, Van Koughnett is “aggressively looking for thirty sites. He’s obtaining the trailers and looking at home sites and campgrounds where the hook-ups and utilities are available in order to expedite families to be placed before the holidays,” she said. “With the impending rains we really want to make sure that the families get placed quickly.”
Van Koughnett added that he is also looking for private properties for the displaced families.
He needs trailers less than eight years old for the displaced families.
The age is important because many families are being relocated to area campgrounds, which can’t service the older model trailers.
“It’s quite a challenge,” says Van Koughnett, “because the stock of trailers in this area has been depleted. We decided that the eight year limit was needed to give people the flexibility of going to a campground. If we give them a trailer older than that we haven’t really done that much for them.”
When sites on private land are provided the age of the trailer isn’t as important.
He’s being forced to look outside of this immediate area to locate the appropriate trailers.
Persons with trailers available or who would be interested in having a family located on their property should contact Terry or Mimi Van Koughnett at 751-8692.
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Faith Much and Diane Conaway are working to consolidate the lists of families who need assistance so that aid can be directed to those families that need it the most.
The local Adopt-a-Family project is being coordinated by Barbara Adair and Cindy Marcon.
At Friday’s meeting Don Norman of FEMA announced that their stay in Valley Center has been extended until Jan. 9 to give victims more time to apply for benefits.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) this week announced that the registration period for individuals and business owners affected by the Southern California fires has been extended until Jan. 9.
FEMA maintains a presence in the Local Assistance Center in Valley Center on Cole Grade Road & School Bus Lane.
“Due to the continued volume of enrollment and applicants who are still being found eligible for some level of assistance, the decision was made to extend the deadline," said State Coordinating Officer Dallas Jones of OES.
Applicants are also encouraged to register by using the FEMA toll-free registration number at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362). The TTY number is 1-800-462-7585 for those who are speech or hearing impaired.
Recovery specialists are available to take calls from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Residents already registered for disaster assistance with FEMA can call to update their application if necessary.
“We want to make sure that all applicants receive the aid for which they are eligible and extending the deadline will allow extra time to pursue all the levels of assistance that are available," said Federal Coordinating Officer William Carwile, III, of FEMA.
Applicants may qualify for assistance under several federal and state programs. These include temporary disaster housing assistance; U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), low-interest, disaster loans for homeowners, renters, and businesses of all sizes; and grants to meet disaster--related needs not covered by other programs or insurance.
Federal and state disaster assistance covers basic needs only and will not normally compensate for an individual’s entire loss.
For applicants and business owners who have insurance, federal and state programs may help pay for basic needs not covered by an insurance policy. Residents should contact their insurance agent in addition to calling the FEMA registration number. Some disaster aid does not have to be paid back, while other forms of help may come in the form of low-interest loans from the SBA.
Unlike the Cedar fire, where the person whose actions caused the blaze is intimately known, almost to his preferences in breakfast cereals, the cause of the Paradise fire is still officially “human caused,” and that’s it.
“We don’t have enough evidence to back up a report of arson yet,” California Dept. of Forestry Capt. Gary Eidsmore told The Roadrunner this week.
Eidsmore is the sole CDF investigator assigned to ferreting out the cause of the blaze that burned over 200 structures in the VC, Rincon and San Pasqual reservation areas.
In the case of the Cedar fire, authorities knew the name of the hunter who got lost, and whose signal fire sparked the blaze, almost from the beginning.
“In my case we’re going by word of mouth,” says Capt. Eidsmore. “We have ruled out lightning strikes on power lines and determined the cause to be human.”
The investigator is wearing down shoe leather tracking down leads and interviewing people who might have information that would lead to finding the person who caused the fire, whether by accident or on purpose.
“We do have some leads. We could wrap it up tomorrow or next year. We do have some individuals we are looking at,” he said.
The fire began about 75 feet from Valley Center Road on a dirt road that runs behind Mazzetti’s Market, at the base of Snake Mountain.
That dirt road has been the locus for several fires in the past, said Eidsmore. It is also a place dirt bikers frequent. Those two facts are not unrelated.
Is it outside the realm of possibility that a dirt bike could have caused the fire in the early hours of Oct. 26?
Not at all, says Eidsmore. ATVs are known to ride late at night.
If you have any information about the Paradise fire, call Capt. Gary Eidsmore at 619-590-3121.
A group of volunteers wants to make sure our kids who lost their homes have a bright Christmas.
A community wide Christmas Party is being planned for Saturday, Dec. 13 at VC Middle School.
Residents are invited to enjoy Christmas music, make crafts, taste Christmas cookies and share in the goodwill from 2 -5 p.m. Santa will make a visit at about 3 p.m.
Fire victim families are encouraged to remain at the middle school to share a special time with Santa between 5-6 p.m.
Rainbow Tropicals has donated live potted Christmas trees to each of the families and several groups have gathered ornaments. Santa's elves have been very busy wrapping gifts especially for the children who lost their homes. Gift distribution to the fire victims will take place between 5-6 p.m.
Volunteers who want to donate Christmas cookies, wrapping paper, candy canes, cocoa or help with a craft with the children call Diane Conaway at 749-2888 or Lilly Weeda at 522-1043.
Unwrapped toys suitable for children may be dropped off at Chicago Title, Coldwell Banker or Shoemaker Realty in Valley Center, and Merrill Lynch, Prudential or RE/MAX in Escondido.
Organizers hope to have a gift for each of the more than 150 children up to age 17 who lost their home due to the fire.
By DAVID ROSS
Planning Group Chairman Larry Glavinic has held the gavel for nearly five years. Monday night he told fellow planners that he’d like to give up the job in January.
“Unless something really unusual happens I will not volunteer my name to continue in this capacity,” Glavinic told the board. “Start thinking about a replacement. We have a lot of good people here.”
Election of officers will be held during the January organizational meeting. Also selected will be a chairman, vice-chairman, parliamentarian and nominations subcommittee.
Design Board
The group voted to nominate John Ruggieri, an architect with 25 years’ experience, to fill the vacancy on the VC Design Review Board. The vacancy was created by the resignation of Phil Geddes, who was chairman of the board for several years.
The board passed over applicants Craig Johnson and Dan Thornton, who both helped write the guidelines more than a decade ago. They followed the recommendation of the nominating committee, which felt that Ruggieri’s qualifications were too significant to ignore for the five-person board which reviews all commercial designs and residential developments within the Country Town.
Planners Eric Laventure and Rich Rudolf argued that County rules for the position require that at least one professional architect be on the board.
Planners Mel Schuler and Craig Adams said they ought to be able to nominate anyone they chose. Schuler and Hancock, who is the current design board chairman, later abstained from the vote.
“Most of you know that Phil Geddes has been trying to get someone who is an architect for two and a half years,” said Rudolf “We don’t have anybody with Ruggieri’s qualifications on this board. It would be a marvelous addition.”
Ruggieri needed eight votes for his name to be forwarded to Supervisor Bill Horn’s office, where Horn will decide whether to follow the recommendation.
Ruggieri, who moved to VC nine months ago, said he moved here, “primarily to get back to my wife’s roots.”
Ruggieri is senior vice president of planning for ProjectDesign Consultants. Some projects he is working on the redevelopment of the San Diego Civic Center, and is in charge of the Rancho San Juan Specific Plan.
He was also principal in charge for providing conceptual urban design for Phase II of the Mall of America in Minneapolis.
Open Forum
During the open forum two residents spoke briefly.
George Weir, a local road contractor, asked the board to do what it can to pressure the County Dept. of Public Works not to permanently remove the K-rail divider on the Valley Center Grade.
Workers began removing the cement dividers on Monday.
Weir noted that a decade ago then Supervisor John McDonald responded to the requests of the community to do something to stop head-on collisions. For ten years the divider has done that.
“How many more of our friends and neighbors must die before Supervisor Bill Horn acts,” asked Weir.
“Our small community is trying to recover from the tragic Paradise fire and the deaths of two of our neighbors.” Weir recalled that before the divider was installed that the grade used to be referred to as “Blood Alley.”
He added that he has asked what contingency plans there are to respond to accidents that occur now that the divider is being removed and had been told there are none.
“How is this possible? I know the project. I been in road building for 25 years. . . .I’m very passionate about this. Build the K-rail now during construction. It will cost four to five times as much to put it in after construction.”
Jon Vick thanked those who have helped gather letters of support for applying for grant to replace and plant new trees to take the place of about 500 that are due to be removed when Valley Center Road is widened.
“We’re at the very tail end of putting together the California state grant for 260,000 to move the old trees and replant the new trees. Anybody who would like to write a letter of support, we would welcome. We need the final letters of support in the next few days,” said Vick.
Community Concerns About Road Divider
Glavinic said he would like for the VC Road Safety Subcommittee to look at the issue of the K-rail on VC Road.
Sandy Smith, chairman of the subcommittee, said that they recently met with Doug Isbell, deputy director of the Dept. of Public Works. It was Isbell last month who said that the County has no plans to have a road divider on VC Road. DPW is following county road standards in making that decision, he said.
However, Smith quoted as Isbell as saying “We have heard the concerns loud and clear.” They plan to bring something back to the committee in March of 2004, said Smith.
The next meeting of the road safety subcommittee will be Jan. 14, 7 p.m. at the lower elementary school.
Shopping Center
Shopping Center Subcommittee Chairman Sandy Smith reported that the committee met Tuesday, Dec. 2. The developer of the shopping center, Herb Schaffer, attended and discussed the feedback on the project that the committee had forwarded to the Dept. of Planning & Land Use in April.
“Some of the easier ones,” will be incorporated into the design when the developer submits a tentative replacement map in April.
There is no outcome as yet on the County’s requirements that Schaffer’s company pay for most of widening of Cole Grade Road if he goes ahead with the development.
The County is allowing Schaffer to submit an alternative study of traffic impacts that would take into account Schaffer’s claim that most of the traffic to the center will be local residents who won’t be traveling to Escondido to shop.
Schaffer and the County are in negotiations on this point, said Smith.
Standing Rules
Planners held a long discussion on the Standing Rules Subcommittee’s proposed revision to the bylaw, which have not been updated since 1994.
Most of the rules changes discussed had to do with setting the number of meetings that a member can miss before being replaced as well as setting a drop dead deadline of 10 p.m. for ending meetings.
Planners had lots of suggestions for revising the revisions. Chairman Glavinic suggested that the subcommittee return next month after taking the suggestions into consideration.
Reclamation Plant
Planners also approved modification of the Woods Valley Ranch’s wastewater reclamation plant’s major use permit.
Previously the developer had approval for one large building for the plant. Since that major use permit was approved the property was acquired by its current owner, Newland Communities Inc.
With advent of new technology, the new applicant has filed for a new plant, three smaller and more efficient buildings.
Pat Jewell, district engineer for the VC Municipal Water District, which will operate the plant once its built, told the group that the change will result in a more efficient plant than originally planned.
“It’s a far better situation when they are smaller and open and not necessarily inside of a building.
Planner Jim Yerdon pointed out that the original plant was supposed to look something like a barn.
Frank Shoemaker, the planner reporting on the change, said the three builders would be lower profile, although they will be visible from Valley Center and Woods Valley Roads.
The plant as planned will serve 260 homes with ten equivalent dwelling units (EDUs) allocated for the golf course. Any expansion will require a change in the major use permit and a new EIR. However the plant is built so it can easily be expanded to serve a small number of homes and businesses.
Jewell explained that the newer technology will be less likely to create odors than the original. The odor will be occasional problems, “but it should be years between,” he said.
Sandy Smith commented, “I don’t care if it’s in a building. I just want it to look rural.”
The group approved a motion by Yerdon to approve the application with the proviso that the exterior be consistent with VC’s Design Review Guidelines.
Auto Repair Shop
The group approved plans for an automotive repair shop on the corner of Valley Center & Lizard Rock Road.
The applicant was Robert Moreno, and the owner of the property is Ronald Selkovitch.
This project was first heard in May when the board voted against it because of concerns that automobiles from Moreno’s towing service would be stored there.
In the meantime the County informed Moreno that his project was approved. However that approval was made without the proper legalities, so it returned on Monday to the planning group.
Moreno’s engineer said that the land has been in escrow for 11 months and that Moreno needs to get his approvals or he will lose the property.
Robert Hancock, chairman of the design review board, said that the board had looked at the project informally and had many problems with it.
“There’s a relationship between the site, the design and the street that has been completely ignored. The plan shows no imagination. It’s just a metal building.
Everybody wants to change everything,” said Moreno’s engineer. “We need to move on on this project.
Frank Shoemaker, the planner assigned to research the project, commented, “VC has very little commercial usage and this is the proper usage. There have been problems between the planners and applicant and these are being addressed in design review.”
Rudolf said he wouldn’t vote for the project until his concerns about offs-site parking are addressed.
However, the County does not allow unrelated developments to be linked.
Adams said they should vote on this project on its merits alone.
The motion by Shoemaker was to approve the project subject to completion of CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) and a new noise study and approval of the VC Design Review Board.
Voting for the motion were Adams, Glavinic, Laventure, martin, Schuler, Shoemaker, Smith, Washburn and Yerdon. Adair and Morasco were absent. Voting no were Hancock, Montgomery, Prime and Rudolf. Adair and Morasco were absent.
The Valley Roadrunner
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