June 21, 2006 - Top Stories
The water district will soon send letters to gauge the interest of “South Node” commercial and residential landowners in connecting to an expansion of the Woods Valley Ranch Water Reclamation Facility (sewer plant). Landowners will have 60 days to respond.
The cost for the full system: treatment plant, collection system, reclaimed water distribution system, operational storage and wet-weather storage, which may be built as early as 2008, could range from $11.8 million to $48.5 million.
VC Municipal Water District directors Monday heard a status report on the South Node Wastewater Master Plan. They approved sending letters to landowners to see if they are interested in committing non-refundable money, possibly as much as $10,000 apiece, to fund the next step.
Matt Tebbetts, of Kennedy/ Jenks, the consultant who has worked with VCMWD since January to develop the master plan, made the presentation.
Some Background
The interim plant at Woods Valley treats 50,000 gallons per day (gpd). A permanent 70,000 gpd plant is expected to be completed by the end of 2006. It will accommodate the Woods Valley development. An expansion to accommodate the planned Orchard Run development is being designed. It will expand the plant by 77,000 gpd to a capacity of 144,000. A discharge permit for that expansion is expected to be granted by the Regional Water Quality Control board in August.Treated effluent from Woods Valley Ranch will go on the WV Golf Course. Reclaimed water from Orchard Run will be pumped back to irrigate common landscaping on Orchard Run.
Those Left Out
The South Node expansion will accommodate landowners left out of the first two stages. The question is how much expansion is needed? The staff figures that the expansion must serve between 313 EDUs (equivalent dwelling units) and 1556 EDUs.The map of properties that could connect is based on General Plan 2020 estimates—a figure contested by the VC Planning Group, which wants less density. Tebbets showed a map that indicated parcels whose owners have showed a lot of interest and who are close to plant (identified as “the core group”), and properties further out that would be more costly to serve. The maximum expansion would be 225,000 gpd, but staff doesn’t expect it to be that large.
A limiting factor is how much treated water can be accommodated by the golf course. “What’s important is to take a realistic look at the water balance on that golf course, especially during wet weather periods,” said Tebbets.
More reclaimed water customers are needed to expand much beyond 313 EDUs, he said. There is room for wastewater from the minimum sized project “but not much more,” he said.
Gen. Mgr. Gary Arant, in a separate interview with The Roadrunner, commented, “Some of the reclaimed water from the South Node Expansion is expected to go on the golf course, but it is likely that other disposal sites will have to be identified.”
Another factor is wet weather storage. The State Water Quality Control board requires 84 days of effluent storage during winter.
Storage sites exist on the Woods Valley and Orchard Run properties. More sites would be needed for an expansion, according to Tebbetts. The question is whether that storage must be located within the sewer service area, he said.Arant told directors, “In the presentations we made before the planning group, some people expressed the notion that all of the facilities should be in the Village [the southern node]. Our position was that we didn’t think county policy dictated that but we would if it was required. Some argued that all of the effluent generated in the Village should be disposed of in the Village. I don’t think that is feasible.”
Three storage options are being studied:
• Immediately west of Orchard Run. This site is both convenient and close at hand.
• North of Lilac Road on Water district property. This is a difficult site because the district has other plans for the land.
• Far west, in an ag area, currently the site of the El Medina Nursery. No contact has been made with any land owners about using their land for this purpose.The estimated cost to build the minimum expansion is $11.8 million, or $37,800 per EDU. Estimated cost for the maximum plant is $48.5 million with a unit cost of $31,200 per EDU.
Goals
Once letters of interest are sent and returned, the district will hold meetings with property owners, probably this summer.
The plant’s capacity should be determined by this fall.
A final draft master plan will be brought to the board for approval by the end of 2006.
An environmental impact report and master plan should be approved by summer of 2007.
Staff hopes to get an updated discharge permit by the summer of 2007 and complete an assessment district to pay for the sewer by the fall of 2007.
Complete plans and specifications would be completed at the same time, with construction to be completed during 2008.Interested landowners will be asked to provide about 25% of the ultimate expense. This unrefundable deposit will fund environmental and engineering services needed prior to bond sale. Said Arant, “At some point we have to define the project, and the property to be served, which will translate into capacity and size of seasonal storage. We would expect that property owners will commit to the project.”
He warned, “At some point we are going to say ‘After this date, we will move forward.’ ” A deadline will be set. “Then we will decide what size, or if we have a project or not. Once we go on that road, if someone raises their hand and says, ‘Oops I want in,’ we will have to tell them that the train has left at that point.” He added, “We have property owners who have been consistently interested and we are counting on them. Now the trick is to find out who else will make that level of commitment.”
Totally Voluntary
No one will be forced to join the sewer. Asked specifically about that issue, Arant said, “County I-78 policy says we will not force property owners into the assessment district. County Counsel’s opinion says you can form a district with holes in it.” Such landowners won’t have to pay an availability charge, even if they are surrounded by the assessment district.Arant looks forward to the informational meetings. “We really want a high degree of understanding on the part of the property owners,” he said. The final amount that will be asked of landowners up front has yet to be refined. If, once those costs are disclosed, not enough property owners join up, that might kill the expansion.
“If we start to see the participation levels go south, we will have a heart to heart with the core group and tell them and ask them ‘where are you?’ We can design a project to any scale, it’s just a matter of the costs,” said the general manager.
Students walk in the procession Thursday night
Rincon Tribal Fire Dept. opened its brand new fire station, the largest in the area, Friday with a ceremony and luncheon attended by about a hundred fire professionals, VIPs and tribal members. But the proceedings had another point. Tribal Chairman John Currier took the opportunity to heavily criticize the governor for his attempts to make casino tribes “pay their fair share.”
Tribes already do that, he asserted. The opening of a fire station that will not only serve Rincon but Valley Center, Pauma and the surrounding areas, is an example of that. Another example is that the reservation is upping its commitment to fire protection from $500,000, which it has been paying San Pasqual Fire Dept. to $4 million annually for the station, plus $1.5 million annually for trucks and equipment and $1.5 million for operations.
The station will house three companies of eight firefighters , providing 24-hour coverage. Next to the station the tribe is finishing work on its general services administration building. The tribe also pays salaries of three deputies assigned to the reservation. “Those salaries come from gaming revenues, not tax dollars,” he said.
“The Rincon Band along with other California tribes, challenges Governor Schwarzeneg-ger and his administration to respect the congressional will of Washington, DC and support Indian people in California who provide good jobs and services to their communities. It’s time for the governor and his advisors to take off the blinders and admit to the voters of California—tribes like Rincon are paying for our fair share by investing in our local communities,” said Currier.
He criticized the governor for “attempting to extort taxes from tribes” in violation of federal law and added, “Rincon doesn’t challenge the governor because it’s an election year, we challenge him because it is the right thing to do.”
Currier noted “It’s because of gaming revenue that Rincon has been able to build this station.” This is the tribe’s third grand opening, he said. The first two were grand openings of the casino and expansion. “No single event in our tribe’s history has ever been more important [than this],” he said.
Currier made a point of praising former Gov. Gray Davis for his stance towards Indian casinos and contrasted that with Gov. Schwarzenegger’s. “Thanks to Gray Davis who negotiated a compact that has left the tribe as the main beneficiary of our gaming revenues as Congress had intended. We have been able to make this commitment to our people and the local communities,” he said.
The chairman presented a check for $100,000 to local Sheriff’s Lt. Sean Gerrity. The money was to help make up for the extra expense the VC substation incurred when two reservation residents were killed in a shooting in February. Gerrity quickly reacted with an expanded presence that helped pacify the neighborhood.
Gerad Rodriquez, Rincon fire chief, introduced the fire companies that will staff the station. Carmen Spurling, District Director of State to Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante brought greetings and a plaque congratulating the tribe on its new station. Sen. Jim Battin (R- 37th District), showed up to present and plaque and to give a small speech. Sen. Ray Haynes, who represents this area, was not present, although he sent an aide. Battin, a legislator who has supported Indian gaming in California since its inception, quipped, “It seems that every time I come to Rincon something new is going on.”
He agreed with Currier’s comments, and said that local communities like VC don’t get gaming impact money because the legislature is sitting on it. “Yet it’s local communities, not Sacramento, that are impacted by gaming.” He added, “It’s important that people understand that nothing in the tribal state gaming compacts says that Rincon has to to build this, or give back to the local community. And Rincon is not unique.”
Battin said he and other Republicans who feel as he does are trying to influence the governor to change his policy towards tribal casinos. “I believe the governor is having a change of heart. We’ve been working very hard to make it so.”
It’s a warm Saturday morning and the cast and crew of The Sound of Music arrive in front of the gym, where the high school drama room is, for one of the last rehearsals before the show opens this Friday. The rehearsal is at 9 a.m., and all are there early. All except the person with the keys to the building where they are going to rehearse. He hasn’t showed up.
One of the performers is Marsi Carr, owner of a music studio in town, who, in addition to being the show’s vocal director and coach also plays the Mother Abbess. We move to a little band of shade next to the gym and I ask for her impressions of the show, which is opening this Friday and will also play Saturday and Sunday (see below). It’s a challenge, she explains, to learn six part harmony, in Latin and with nuns from first grade to adults. To help them (because most of them learn by ear) she recorded their parts for them on a CD. She says they are doing a fantastic job.
“I’m impressed with the quality of the people who are putting this show on, from the actors to the people who are doing set design,” she says. “I think the show is going to be terrific! But people have got to know that they only have one weekend to see it. I’m hoping for a great turnout.”
The word goes out that there has been a mix-up and that the teacher who was supposed to provide a key to the gym had to turn in his keys at the end of the school year. So the group is in a pickle. But, not missing a beat, musical director Marc Wasserman marshals the cast and directs them up the stairs to the Maxine Theater. They will rehearse in the open air while someone tries to track down Gary Pay, the school district director of grounds, who will have the key to the gym.
While the players organize to begin rehearsing, I corner another performer. This is Judy Kooyers, a Mary Kay dealer (who prefers the cash to the pink Cadillac). She’s playing one of the nuns. An anonymous or even “anunymous” nun. “I’ve been singing and dancing to music in my house since I was a child,” she says. But she never acted in a show before. “It’s always been a dream of mine.”
The show’s director, Chris Ryan, puts on a good face over the fact that they are forced to rehearse on a cement quad in front of the Maxine. “We’ll actually have a more realistic idea of the size of the stage,” he says. “Today is a fun improvisational rehearsal in the sun,” he says—without an orchestra, or restroom—now that’s dedication! They won’t be able to rehearse in the Maxine until the final week because of the high cost of using the theater per night. Everybody takes the minor inconvenience in stride.
“It’s a lot of work,” says Mrs. Kooyers. “But it’s rewarding to see it coming together. It’s like the maturing of a tadpole into a full grown frog. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Another nun, this one with a name: Sister Bertha, is played by Merle Van Cleeve. Before we get a chance to talk, Marsi Carr interrupts. “OK, let’s get everybody to do some Ha, Ha’s!” A group forms up along the windows of the Maxine, in the shade, of course, and begins to sing “Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. . . “ That’s a vocal exercise, by the way.
Mrs. Van Cleeve has appeared in a show before: Brigadoon when she was a teen. “It is great life experience being in a play,” she says. She explains that her character is “the mean one.” She sings a line to demonstrate: “She climbs a tree and scrapes her knee, her dress has a got a tear. . .” It’s been a challenge learning some of the lines because they are in Latin. Part of the play takes place in an abby. “I listen with head phones on my way back and forth to work in the car,” she says. She adds, “It’s a great cast of people. When you hear the songs now its gives you goosebumps it’s so good!”
There’s a stir among the cast. A custodian has arrived with the keys to the gym. Everybody breathes a sigh of relief. They head down the stairs back to the gym.
Going into the gym I catch Julia Boulos, who is playing the lead, Maria, the young noviate who is sent to be governess to the unruly but charming Von Trapp children. Unlike many of the performers, she has had lots of theatrical experience in her young life. She had lead roles in Beauty and the Beast and The Wiz at Valley Center High School. She is attending Palomar College and wants to pursue music and theater as a career. “I like this show because it has parts for many age groups,” she says. “Past shows that I have been in were pretty limited to one age group.” She adds, “I like the songs. It’s a cool, fun play.” She also is impressed by the cast. “They are really enthusiastic. To have a cast that’s really into the show is great.”
I go inside the gym and down the hall to the drama room, where they have already started rehearsing the first act.
The leading man is Craig Fowler, a resident of Fallbrook, where he works at a title company. He plays Capt. Von Trapp, the stern father with a hidden heart of gold. Fowler performs a lot with the Patio Playhouse and is currently in a show at Theatrx in Escondido. He’s been given special dispensation to take a week off to be in this show. Talking about his character, he says, “I like that he’s a very strong character who is eventually shown to be soft. Under the facade he is a caring father.” He likes the people he’s working with. “I’ve never worked with such a professional group. The way things are scheduled. The way everyone respects the director. If the director says to be there at 8:30 the kids are there. I love a structured production and this one is.”
Bill Kvitli, a well-known first grade teacher at the primary school, has the interesting task of playing several walk-on parts. Before this he appeared in shows at the Skyline Church in El Cajon. He also sang opera at San Diego State University. He didn’t try out for any major parts because it was the end of the school year and he couldn’t commit to a heavy rehearsing schedule. “I started out as one character and one by one several people quit . . .” he says. “I’m hoping that when people see this play it will inspire more men to try out for the next one.”
Joel Kooyers plays one of the truly unpleasant characters in a mostly happy play: Herr Zeller, the Nazi. He is sitting at a table, following along in his script as the Mother Abbess talks with two other nuns about “the problem of Maria.” In his real life, as opposed to his theatrical one, Kooyers is a licensed painting contractor who owns “House Painting by Joel.” This is his first play, although he has been involved in some church productions. “The funniest thing is—all of a sudden I’ve got a small part, but the small part has taken over my life!” he says. “I have a tape player that plays my part over and over. Suddenly, I realize that I’m going to be doing it before a real audience. I’m proud to be part of the first show of this group. I think it’s important enough that I’ll bet that ten years from now that The Roadrunner will run a story that begins, ‘Ten years ago the Valley Center Community Theatre put on its first show.’ ”
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This is your first chance to see the newly formed Valley Center Community Theatre in action. And, if not enough folks show up for this one weekend, it may also be your last chance. Unlike community theater groups in many towns, this one has had to raise a lot of money in advance to use the Maxine and for the rights to produce the play.The economics of fledgling theater groups is iffy. The days of “Hey, my dad’s got a big barn. Let’s put on a play!” are no more. If audiences aren’t big enough, that investment might just sink them. Which is a shame, because if the rehearsal I saw was any indication, audiences are going to see a very professional production with some extremely talented players.
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Tickets for the VC Community Theatre’s first production, The Sound of Music, are on sale at Country Junction Deli or call 751-9241. Show dates are June 23-7 p.m., June 24 -2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and June 25-2 p.m.
The Valley Roadrunner
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