September 20, 2006 - Top Stories
A break in a six-inch high pressure natural gas pipeline at Valley Center Road & Mirar De Valle shut down traffic on VC Road Monday afternoon until nearly 6 p.m.
Traffic was backed up all the way into the City of Escondido on the grade and down to Hwy 76 in the other direction.
The break occurred about 2:30 p.m. and was caused accidentally by the contractor for the VC Road widening during storm drain construction.
Dan Thornton, who has his Oak Realty and Financial Services office at the corner, told The Roadrunner, “I was in my office working when I heard the pop and swish noise. Next thing I know the fire department and SDG&E showed up.”
There was one medical condition as a result of the break. An SDG&E repairman who was responding to the leak had what may have been a heat-related condition. He was treated at the scene for difficulty breathing.
Power company crews worked to fix the leak and the road was closed at Woods Valley Road on the south end of VC Road and Lilac Road at the north end.
VC Fire Chief Kevin O’Leary told The Roadrunner that SDG&E arrived about 3:30 p.m.
They were unable to splice or crimp the break at the source and had to shut off the gas further up the road at Lilac.
This gas shutdown affected businesses along VC Road, such as Fat Ivor’s and Papa Bear’s, and the development along Mirar de Valle.
O’Leary notified the school district so school buses could be diverted from the scene.
There was initially a small popping explosion when the break occurred. However, there was likely no further danger of an explosion from the leak, said the chief.
Until the lines were shut down the danger of fire existed.
During the incident the chief remarked, “Fortunately there is no occupied structure, just a hole. We would be able to contain a fire.
“The nice thing about natural gas is that it is already in gas form and dissipates quite quickly,” he said.
SDG&E got the line shut off at 5:40 p.m.
If you want aboard the new Southern Node sewer expansion attend an Oct. 11 informational meeting at 6 p.m. at the water district office.
Notices to property owners along VC Road will go out this week, inviting potential participants to the October meeting.
At the meeting staff of the VC Municipal Water District will gauge the interest of property owners along VC Road in becoming part of the proposed South Village Water Reclamation Expansion Project (the official name of the Southern Node sewer expansion).
They will have until Nov. 17 to reserve a place in the expansion. To reserve a space they will be required to pay $2,500/EDU (equivalent dwelling units).
Staff will report back to the water board later this year. A sewer assessment district will be proposed based on how many say they want to join, and how many EDUs they want to buy.
Water district directors Monday heard the first progress report since they voted to adopt a dual track for the Southern Node. This allows private owners Bell, Alti and Olson to proceed with their private sewer expansion while the district gauges interest for an assessment district for a public water reclamation plant.
Note: sewer plant and water reclamation plant are synonymous terms in this case.
VCMWD staffers have met twice with the Bell, Alti and Olson group since they proposed going forward with their project in tandem with the district project.
The private group doesn’t want to wait before proceeding. They have a commercial project in mind that includes a Major Market.
The district engineering staff Monday presented a timeline for the public side of the project.
September 29, 2006-Notice letters of the Oct. 11 meeting go out to property owners.
Oct. 11, 2006-Informational meeting at district office.
Nov. 17, 2006-Deadline for receiving capacity reservation agreements.
Dec. 18, 2006-Staff reports to the board on the capacity reservation response and determination of project feasibility.
The Nov. 17 deadline is critical to assess the level of interest and feasibility of the public project.
The Bell, Alti, Olson project could eventually be folded into the public project after this assessment is made, or continue forward on its own.
Staff estimates that a minimum public participation of 150 EDUs is needed for the public project to be feasible.
This project consists of the expansion of the plant, the collection system, wet weather storage and reclamation system.
It will proceed based on the zoning and density of the current VC Community Plan, rather than the zoning of General Plan 2020, which has some years remaining before it’s likely to be adopted by the Board of Supervisors.
The $2,500/EDU from interested land owners will pay to finalize the project’s master plan, prepare an environmental analysis and waste discharge report and form an assessment district.
Staff members will be able to answer questions at the Oct. 11 meeting to help people make a decision on how many EDUs they may need.
Property owners have five weeks to decide how much they need and whether to go forward.
It may be a tough decision. Once you buy a certain number of EDUs you are stuck with them.
However, the district is contemplating an “EDU bank” that will allow those who buy more EDUs than they can use to sell the surplus to those who buy too few.
“But once the EDUs are gone, they are gone,” Gen. Mgr. Gary Arant warned.
He told the board, “We’re going to come back to you in December not just with a status report but whether we think there is a viable project.”
The district won’t allow more EDUs to be purchased than is allowed by CURRENT zoning, not by the zoning and density contemplated by GP2020.
“If we allow people to buy more EDUs than the county allows, that’s growth inducement,” said Arant.
John Fuller was officially installed as VC postmaster Friday by San Diego Manager of Post Office Operations Jim Olson.
Olson confided that “John was my utility player,” who had been sent to some of the toughest assignments, the jobs other officers might not like to have.
“When I asked John if he would take the post office in Murrieta, he said ‘Yes sir.’ ”
“I’m not in the Marines,” Olson told him jokingly.
Then a few days after taking over the temporary post at Murrieta, which apparently is a very challenging posting, “John called and said, ‘Can I change my decision?’
“John is a good soldier for the organization,” Olson told Fuller’s co-workers at the VC post office.
After being sworn in, Fuller introduced his wife and two daughters, and a very special person who made a lot of difference in his life, his drill sergeant in the Marines, Mike Lischin.
Fuller praised his staff. “This is a great crew. I’m blessed. They do a great job. I just have to get out of their way!”
He takes over from former postmaster Joe Prentice, who retired, and from previous officer-in-charge Mary Pfeifer, of whom he said, “Mary had this office going to such a high level!”
Many other area postmasters attended the installation, including Pfeifer, who is now postmaster at Pauma, Lisa Di Paolo, Palomar Mountain postmaster and former VCPO officer-in-charge Candi Watson who is now Bonsall’s postmaster.
Fuller began working for the Postal Service in 1988 as a letter carrier at the Fallbrook Post Office. In 1991 he was promoted to delivery supervisor at the La Mesa Post Office. He went on to become a customer service supervisor at Fallbrook Post Office in 1993 and has been working as a customer service supervisor at the Sun City Post Office since 2003.
Fuller had plenty of temporary assignments that include station manager, route inspection team leader, route examiner and officer-in-charge at the Fallbrook and Murrierta post offices.
The Postal Service is Fuller’s second career. He spent 23 years as a U.S. Marine, with duty in Vietnam, California and Japan.
Gov. Schwarzenegger has signed a bill carried by Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth that will allow VC-P school district to sell surplus property and put the money from the sale into the general fund.
Supt. Lou Obermeyer told The Roadrunner, “We are only planning to sell up to ten acres. This bill gives us the flexibility to use funds from the sale of surplus land, which are normally restricted, on “one-time” purchases such as replacing school buses. We are delighted with and thankful for the support from the senator.”
The bill (SB 1488), originally written to help the Santee school district, was amended to allow VCPUSD to sell some surplus property and retain the proceeds.
Normally school districts are not allowed to sell land previously purchased for facilities at a profit.
Selling the property will help the school district to dig itself out of the fiscal hole that was created when it received less money from federal impact aid than was expected.
Dr. Obermeyer has traveled to Washington D.C. this week with a group of other educators to lobby the federal government on this issue.
Palomar Mountain School
In January 2007, the senator will be carrying a small-school funding bill to assist with the Palomar Mountain School.
Originally, Hollingsworth sought out a bill already introduced, since the VC-P school district approached his office after the bill introduction deadline. He sought to amend the language of another bill to include the VC-Pauma Valley Unified School District.
Senator Denise Ducheny introduced SB 1367 for Coachella Valley Unified School District, and she was happy to amend the small-school funding bill to include VCPUSD. However, she deferred to the bill sponsor—which was the school district. The Coachella district’s consultants said amending the bill to include another school might harm success of the bill.
That bill (SB 1367) did pass and awaits the governor’s signature.
The Valley Roadrunner
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