Don’t call it a drought. Call it a water supply shortage.
Given that most of the shortage that will probably lead to water rationing next year is being caused by a decision by a federal judge that puts the welfare of a tiny fish called the Delta Smelt over the needs of the residents of Southern California, the member agencies buying water from the Metropolitan Water District (MET) want customers to know that the shortage is not being caused by a lack of rainfall.
At least not this year.
The Valley Center Municipal Water District is one of several dozen agencies that are at work on ordinances that will begin to tighten the screws on the supply of residential water beginning next January.
Farmers, who buy “surplus” water under a program under which they get lower rates in return for agreeing to take less water during shortages, have already had to cut their water usage by 30%.
Next year everybody else’s turn could arrive—although residences will never be asked to cut to the same extent as farmers.
Agencies that buy water from the San Diego County Water Authority, which itself buys from the Met, may not be subject to quite the same cuts as other agencies. That’s because the SDCWA also buys water from other sources that may not be subject to cuts.
The ordinance that the water district is looking at would have four levels:
Level 1) Watch Condition—Voluntary conservation measures. This is currently the level that VCMWD is operating under.
Level 2) Alert Condition—Mandatory conservation measures up to 20%. At this point the district would stop processing new developments or annexations.
Level 3) Critical Condition—Mandatory conservation measures up to 40%.
Level 4) Emergency Conditions—Water Code Section 350 implementation, which means water only for public health and safety.
Compliance with water shortage requirements will first be brought about by stiff increases in the price of water.
If that doesn’t work criminal penalties, including jail time for repeat offenders, could be employed.
The district will also rely on neighbors to inform on neighbors if they see water being wasted.
Even if customers stay within their rationing limits, the wasting of water will still be restricted.
The staff of the water district expects to have a model ordinance to present to the board at a meeting later in the summer.
The public will also get a chance to put in its two cents worth at a hearing before the board actually adopts the ordinance.
This week the Valley Center Planning Group was left with a big plate of egg on its face and a resolution that it has to undo.
The advisory group Monday night at a meeting at Lilac School, attended by over 300 residents, passed a unanimous resolution that, in essence, accused the County and Supervisor Bill Horn of lying about it ever having supported the now notorious Road 3A, a two-mile segment which would allow 3,000 new homes to be built near the intersection of Old Highway 395 & I-15. The resolution called the new community: “Hornsville.”
It demanded that the Board of Supervisors remove the specific plan amendment (SPA) and road segment “from the map until it has gone through the normal public hearings and due process.”
It asked the DA and California attorney general to investigate the process by which the specific plan amendment was slipped into the process. The full text of the resolution is provided on The Roadrunner Web site:www.valleycenter.com.
On Tuesday morning the planners were scrambling to buy it back—or the most damning part of it—the part where the planning group said that it had never passed a motion approving of the road.
It actually did, although it didn’t approve it at a special meeting that it held in April 2006. It approved it at another meeting later that same year.
It never, however, approved a concept for paying for the road by building 3,000 homes.
And it had already proposed a different evacuation route for residents of the Cole Grade area using the existing West Lilac Road.
County Dept. of Planning & Land Use senior planner Bob Citrano listened patiently Monday night while planner Andy Washburn presented a timeline in which he seemed to demonstrate—by referring to the planning group’s minutes—that the group never adopted 3A.
Citrano was standing next to his boss, Devon Muto, and was 20 feet away from Washburn during his presentation.
He listened through two hours of passionate statements by residents.
Citrano listened while the group discussed wording of a resolution that claimed that the road segment was slipped into the circulation element for the General Plan Update that the planning group voted for in April of 2006, but was never formally brought before the planning group for a vote.
The resolution used phrases such as “it appears that the County deliberately kept the VC community uninformed,” and “it appears the County intentionally hid and renamed the road segment.”
Citrano listened as the group unanimously passed the resolution.
After the meeting was over the senior planner approached Washburn, and, as Washburn describes it, “Citrano mentioned that he thought he had come back to the VCCPG and gotten approval for a Road Network Plan that included Road 3A.”
Washburn added, “As soon as I got home, I checked. He’s correct. At the July 10, 2006 VCCPG meeting, Bob Citrano gave a presentation on the August 2006 Land Use maps and the Circulation Element Network (which included Road 3A).”
Washburn provided a copy of the July 10, 2006 resolution to The Roadrunner and added, “So while my report was correct: We didn’t endorse Road 3A at our Special Meeting on April 24, 2006; it is incorrect to say that we never supported it.”
The Roadrunner asked Washburn if he thought Citrano set him up.
“I don’t know how to answer that because I don’t know what his motivations were,” said Washburn. “I can speculate and imagine a situation where he might, by inaction, let something happen that he would feel better with, but that’s speculation on my part. I can’t feel I was set up, because I have nothing to base it on. But, it wasn’t like he wasn’t twenty feet away. I wish that he had said something.”
During his presentation Washburn had criticized the idea that 3A would help fire evacuation because it would add another 10,000 residents onto roads already strained during emergencies.
“In order to build 3A we would need 3,000 roads. Would you take W. Lilac or a road that has 10,000. One wonders whether road 3A would actually hinder fire evacuation,” he said, to wild applause.
As noted, most of the meeting was taken up by public input from the public. About two dozen spoke. None were in favor of the SPA or the road.
The planning group left little doubt where it stood since it tolerated, perhaps unknowingly, tables with Recall Horn petitions and petitions against the 3,000 home proposal inside the hall.
Through it all, sitting at the back of the auditorium, looking impassive although a little bit stunned, was Horn’s land use aide, Dustin Steiner, who undoubtedly had a lot to report to his boss on Tuesday morning. No less stunned looking were members of the planning group, who seemed amazed at themselves for what they had just done.
Some of the speakers’ comments follow:
Larry Glavinic: “What we are hearing from this SPA is essentially a new community for Valley Center.”
One speaker referred to 3A as: “Horn’s Horrendous Highway.”
Angela Goldberg: “I don’t think there’s any way to put lipstick on this pig.”
Ruth Harber: “How does this community plan to give water to another three thousand homes?”
Several speakers, such as Laura Kendell, asked that the relationship between Horn and the developer who bought property in the area of 3A be explored.
A nursery owner said, “With water shortages in place why would we burden ourselves with more development?”
Judith Silverman: “I don’t think it makes any sense to escape a fire into an area where 3,000 homes will be competing with you.”
Carol Prime asked for those who supported the planning group’s motion to stand. Almost everyone stood.
Jon Vick: “This is a sleazy, under the table back office deal that destroys our community.”
Craig Johnson: “Hornsville is the beginning of the end of Valley Center…There is disaster planning and there is disastrous planning. This is the second.”
Sandy Smith: “I shudder to think how many more homes we need in order to get all the roads that we actually need. With this there is no controversy in Valley Center. We ALL hate it!”
A Valley Center family, Hans & Raquel Britsch, who own a cactus nursery that would be bisected by the proposed road, also spoke.
Mrs. Britsch said that when she first found out about the road, “It was unbelievably heart breaking. The worst moment in my life.” She said she was never contacted by anyone from the County about it. Instead they were told by the developer.
One of Valley Center’s most prominent businesses, Bear Valley Farm Supply, has closed its doors—the victim of high feed prices and unfair and illegal competition.
The retail farm supply business, which first opened in 2002, and whose “Got Feed?” sign on the side of the building was known to all, has locked up its gate and the owners, Eric & Kim Laventure are looking for someone to buy the business.
The Laventures lease the property on the Cole Grade extension.
“We’ve closed the store and are looking for someone to buy it or do something different,” Mrs. Laventure told The Roadrunner Tuesday.
“Mostly what it comes down to is that grain prices have gone up so much,” she said. “The biggest problem that we’ve had is the illegal hay sales that have gone on down the street.”
She pointed to a competitor who is selling hay out of his residential lot on VC Road.
“Many of us who sell feed have complained about that to County Code Enforcement. That’s been going on for two years and it’s taken a chunk out of all of our businesses,” she said.
The increase in gasoline prices has not helped. Nor has the widening of Valley Center Road, she added.
“You have to be able to cover your overhead. Life is in the details and when the details don’t add up to where you can make it cost effective and service your customers there is nothing any longer left.
“My family has to come first and the relationships that you form with your customers, you have to take care of your family first,” she concluded.
The business has, over the years, endured challenges such as the Exotic Newcastle disease quarantine, which stopped chicken sales for several months, and two catastrophic wildfires.
The business was also transitioning from supplying a largely agricultural clientele to residential customers.
The owners were both very much involved in the community and during the 2003 fires they fed 250 horses at Aerie Park.
The VC-P School Board has given the governing board of the All Tribes American Indian Charter School one more month before voting on revoking its charter and offered it a deal to stay open:
1) Become a private school.
2) Fire the current principal, and founder of the school, Mary Ann Donahue, and hire a professional school administrator.
The board made this decision at last Thursday night’s meeting.
This extends the deadline for the board to make a decision to July 26.
The charter school operates under the aegis of the school district, although it gets its funding from the state.
The district has had issues with the school since its founding over what it considered slipshod financial accountability. This has reached the point where the State of California has demanded that the charter school return $140,000 that it paid because the charter school allegedly overestimated the number of children attending school there.
Both the charter school and the district are currently being sued by a former office employee at the charter school whose lawsuit alleges that she was asked to falsify enrollment figures.
The school board last month held a hearing on the issue which was attended by many residents and tribal leaders, all of whom asked that the district not close the school.
They argued that many of the students who attend there would have no other place to go if the school closes. They also point to several graduates, including several who are now attending college.
Several tribal chairman asked that the school administration sit down with them and come up with a solution to the problem.
Supt. Lou Obermeyer told The Roadrunner last week that the board is insisting on a change in administration of the school and appointment of a “competent administrator.”
Failing in that change, she said that the district would insist that the charter school operate as a private school, removed from its relationship with the school district.
Studies show that exercise increases children’s ability to learn and decreases behavior problems—healthy bodies equal healthy minds.
But, just as adults struggle with motivation, so is the struggle to motivate kids. That is the solution Coach John Franey set out to find when he created Coaches Club at the Lower Elementary School.
Coach Franey dreamed up the idea to have the kids walk before school with the goal of collectively walking enough laps to walk all the way to Washington D.C.
He created a map of the United States in the hallway of the school, and as the kids walked, they tracked how many miles they had traveled to their goal of reaching the East Coast. Along the way, the students learned about the states they were traveling through, capitols of the states, math skills as they calculated laps into miles and geography as they posted their progress.
Although their original start day was delayed due to the October fires and the poor air quality that followed, the kids started walking in late November and quickly accomplished their goal of walking enough miles to get to D.C on the map. They then set the new goal of walking back to Valley Center by the end of the school year…and they accomplished that on Friday May 30.
The entire school embraced the coach’s idea starting with Principal Wendy Heredia. Teachers incorporated lessons into the classroom and even joined the kids each morning walking. Parents supported the idea by giving incentive gifts for each mile the kids walked, like little Mile Medals charms and supplies for on-going encouragement.
Amy Archipov, TPC (Teacher Parent Club) President said, “anything the coach needs for the kids, it’s his.” One student, third grader Jose Velasco, says his parents were so excited about the program that his dad paid him $.60 per mile that he walked so he could buy his own Wii game system.
As the program got started, Day Custodian Bill Rebenschied, saw the kids arriving off the buses and beginning their walks, so he started bringing out the sound system to the track and playing music for the kids.
He noticed that more got involved and even picked up the pace to the music. “It just made it a little more fun, and kids that were sitting on the sidelines got involved,” Rebenschied said. Even the librarian Marsha Pay and the food services got into the act. Through their Wellness Program funds, food services was able to give the coach Disney Gift cards and awards to be given to top walkers.
Principal Heredia arranged for “Dr. Nick” Yphantitis, author of the book My Big Fat Greek Diet and founder of HealthSteward.com to speak to the kids and congratulate them on their big accomplishment as they were given their awards at a June 10th award ceremony for the whole school.
Coach Franey says, “Four hundred students at our school were a part of Coach's Club, and we had an average of one hundred and twenty five students participate each day! We had Coach's Club on fifty eight mornings this year, completing 24,376 laps, equal to 6,094 miles. We traveled across the country to Washington DC and then back to Valley Center!”
Top runners from each grade level finished with the following totals: 2nd Grade: Chelsea de Luna - 111 laps - 27.75 miles; Dylan Gustine - 67 laps - 16.75 miles.
3rd Grade: Jackeline Collazo - 294 laps - 73.5 miles; Raul Ruiz - 340 laps - 85 miles.
4th Grade: Helen Lopez - 300 laps - 75 miles; Lucas dos Santos - 337 laps - 84.25 miles.
“It is a tribute to the hard work that our students put into accomplishing not only our school goal of traveling across the country, but accomplishing their own personal goals for miles traveled. Coach's Club has truly made a difference in their lives!” says Coach John Franey.
Georgine Thomas recently celebrated a significant birthday (she won’t say which one). She decided to take a ride on a Harley before she got any older.
The Valley Roadrunner
P.O.B. 1529, Valley Center, CA 92082
Tel. 760.749.1112 Fax 760.749.1688
Website: www.valleycenter.com
Email: editor@valleycenter.com
Copyright © 2008, Palomar Community Newspapers, dba Valley Roadrunner. All rights reserved. This content may not be archived, retransmitted, saved in a database, or used for any commercial purpose without the express written permission of the Valley Roadrunner.