I received the following comment from an anonymous person who seems against having prayer spoken at our city council meetings...

I was watching the U tube video on the new Menifee city council meeting. I was really shocked that they included a prayer. Are we going to be a city or a local club! I believe that if we are a bonified city - we should have separation of church & state. No prayer can cover all the beliefs of the new citizens of Menifee. I have been to other cities council meetings - and they do not pray.

The new city council should respect the beliefs of all the citizens of Menifee and omit the prayer.

Here's my take on this...

I think the prayers that John Denver has been saying at the start of each meeting is just fine. First, these prayers are not endorsed by the council, because none of the council members have voted to officially endorse them. These are not official city prayers.

Second, no one is being to forced the bow their heads and say, "Amen", when Denver says a prayer. You just need to afford every American some respect when they express their religious beliefs. Everyone has a belief of some kind, whether it's a belief in God, a belief that there is nothing, or even if they'd like to believe but don't know what. If you were to express that thought in public, you'd want your space and time to do so also.

The commenter also brought up "respect", and all I can say is that respect is a two-way street. If you want someone to respect you, you have to respect them. I'm sure if you recognize Denver's wishes to express his religious beliefs, he'll recognize yours.

Lastly, this commenter brought up the subject of "Separation of Church and State". I'll challenge that person to find this statement in the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, or any other federal document. It simply doesn't exist.

That statement was made by Thomas Jefferson, while he was President, in a letter that he wrote to a church, promising them that the United States would not endorse any church as its official state church.

For that matter, the City Council, and the City of Menifee, is not endorsing Denver's prayers as being official. They're simply recognizing his First Amendment rights. Every Menifee resident can do the same thing, by using their three minutes of public comment. Denver gets the priviledge of doing this at the start of the council meeting because he earned that priviledge on election day.

Labels: City-Council

I attended the city council meeting this evening.

There were three sessions. The first was actually a public workshop, starting at 5:00pm, where the City Attorney taught a course on the Brown Act. I didn't attend this.

The second was closed session, where the council met with real estate agents on acquiring property for city buildings.

The third session, was the "main" city council meeting, starting at 7:00pm. This session was moderately attended, not as heavily as the previous meeting of July 23.

Race for Humanity 2009

The first part of the agenda was to modify the agenda to allow Lori Stone, Jeff Stone's sister, some lengthy time in promoting her event, Race for Humanity, which takes place on April 25, 2009. It's goal is to raise money for some of the local charities. She passed out fliers detailing the event, and urged people to participate. She also wanted to ask the City Council for its participation in granting permits to close off some city streets, to accomodate the 5k & 10K run.

Because the run goes around Menifee Lakes, streets in and out of the Lakes will have to closed to protect the runners. This will be the third year for Race for Humanity.

Future City Council Meeting Location

The Council discussed where the next meeting would take place. They all agreed that the next meeting should take place at the same location, at Mt San Jacinto College. The date will be August 27, Wednesday. However, Darci Kuenzi appealed to have to the meeting after that, Sept 3, at Quail Valley Elementary School. She cited the good gesture it would create on behalf of the Council to bring the meeting to Quail Valley, and give the residents of Menifee and Sun City an opportunity to see what a great community Quail Valley has going.

Public Comments

Lesa Sobek, Director of Public Affairs for the Menifee stake of The Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spoke to welcome the City Council and the public to partake in the church's free pancake breakfast in celebration of their new church on La Piedra Rd. She cited some statistics on how big the LDS religion is, saying that it's the 4th largest Christian faith in the USA, with 800,000 members just in California alone, and with 6,000 in Menifee. Considering one city council member won his seat by less than 100 votes, it might be a good idea to attend.

Teddy Hamui, who works for Menifee Partners, a locally-based commercial development company, addressed the Council by extending a handshake. His company is building an 88,000 sq. ft. commercial retail center on the south-east corner of Scott & Haun roads, containing mostly small shops, like fast-food, haircutters, sandwiches, etc. Since the city is incorporating, his company now needs to establish a friendly relationship with the city council in order to get permits.

Ron Ulibarri, a candidate for Menifee School Board, capitalized on the opportunity for some free publicity, by introducing his candidacy to the audience. Ron is a former teacher, and currently runs a real estate business, Infinite Realty & Loans. I asked him to send me to a description of himself and his background, which I'll publish. And by the way, any candidate for school board that serves Menifee is welcome to send me a description, as lengthy as they want to write it, and I'll publish it.

Rob Hagenour (sp?), who is with Helix Environmental Consulting, addressed the Council by reminding them that as a government body charged with approving development projects, they'll need to obtain environmental impact studies, and that his company just so happens to specialize in conducting those studies. He left the council with some brochures.

Chuck Ruetter, a past board member with the Sun City Civic Association, and who described himself as being at one time an active member of the cityhood drive, asked the Council when they planned to define the city council districts. Mayor Edgerton deferred to the City Attorney, who said that it was something they would begin addressing sometime after October 1, 2008 (which could be anywhere between October 1, 2008 and the next 100 years). Ruetter replied back that he became opposed to the cityhood effort after he learned that so many people wanted to elect councilmembers at large. But since the voters approved districts instead, he's now gung-ho with cityhood.

Louis Mazei, a previous candidate for city council, addressed the Council by saying that he supports John Denver's statements from the previous meeting, and that he supports Jason Reeves' opinion piece published in The Californian. I'm not exactly sure what statement from Denver he's referring to, particularly since he left the meeting immediately after finishing his address. But I'm guessing it had to do with Denver's opinions over his election to city council and his continuing leadership role with the Chamber of Commerce. Louis went on to ask the Council to instruct the local Post Office to issue a directive advising Sun City, Quail Valley, and Romoland residents that they can now use "Menifee" as their mailing address.

Super Senior Program

Organizers of the Super Senior Program, a program run by the Kay Ceniceros Center, that pairs seniors with high school kids willing to help them out with stuff, asked the City Council for an official endorsement of their program. Darci Kuenzi made a motion to give the Program the city's stamp of approval, and the rest of the councilmembers followed through. The Super Senior Program is now officially endorsed by the City Council.

If you have a charity that needs an endorsement, it sounds like the city is handing them out.

The City Needs a Bank

City Manager George Wentz addressed the council asking if they have any comments or concerns about selecting the city's official bank. His financial assistant, Gary Thompson, put together an RFP (request for proposal), which he will be sending out to local banks. The council didn't have any, and so it sounds like Thompson will be looking for a bank.

Interim City Clerk

George Wentz also asked the Council to relieve Scott Mann from his duties as the Interim City Clerk. Wentz will assume the task of hiring a permanent city clerk. Mann reported eariler this afternoon that the previous e-mail addresses he set up (MenifeeCityClerk@mchsi.com) and (mannformenifee@mchsi.com) are no longer working, since he now has a new one (smann@cityofmenifee.us).

Interim City Treasurer

Wentz also said that he now needs to hire an Interim City Treasurer, which will take on more duties on financial matters. He wants to appoint Gary Thompson, who currently consults for him. Thompson is the guy who prepared the fiscal analysis for the Menifee Valley Incorporation Committee.

City Manager's Report

Wentz continued on to say that he's working on building the city's new website. It should be online by this Monday.

He'll also be attending the California League of Cities meeting on Sept 23-24.

The issue with the County Code violations, that the County levied on a bunch of Menifee-area businesses off of Zeiders Rd has been resolved. Basically, the matter has been dropped, to sum it up.

Wentz also met with the Sheriff to discuss law enforcement in the new city. This is probably mostly about law enforcement in the interim until after the city decides whether to contract permanently, or build their own department.

He also mentioned working on getting liability insurance for the new city, and meeting with folks from the State Board of Equalization (sales tax revenue).

City Councilmember Comments

Scott Mann gave his thanks to the city staff for their hard work.

Darci Kuenzi asked that the Council begin looking for the permanent meeting location after October 1, assuming the city doesn't have a permanent building secured by then.

Fred Twyman asked that the Council develop a timeline on creating more community advisory groups.

John Denver asked that the Council host a contest to create the City's official logo, perhaps inviting local students to submit artwork, and offering a prize for the winner.

Wallace Edgerton expressed his gratitude to everyone who attended for showing their interest in the new city.

Labels: City-Council

The Menifee City Council is holding a public meeting tonight.

It will be a three part meeting, where two of the parts are open to the public.

1. (Public) - 5:00pm to 6:30pm - Study Session, conducted by our Interim City Attorney, to explain the Brown Act.

2. (Closed) - 6:30pm to 7:00pm - City Council to discuss details on acquiring real property.

3. (Public) - 7:00pm to ? - City Council holds its regular city council meeting.

The public meetings will be held at Mt San Jacinto College, at the Learning Resource Center Building, Community Room #105.

A copy of the agenda can be downloaded here...

http://www.menifee247.com/menifee-city-council-agenda-2008-08-13.pdf

Labels: City-Council

The Press Enterprise published some more facts about campaign contributions into the Menifee City Council....

http://www.pe.com/..../PE_News_Local_S_scampaign06.4912d27.html

They looked at more contributions from developers into the hands of Darcy Kuenzi, Scott Mann, and John Denver.

They noted that Wallace Edgerton took in no contributions, and Fred Twyman didn't report any because he had less than the $1,000 reporting threshold.

The Press Enterprise also put some emphasis on the fact that GST Consulting contributed money to Kuenzi's campaign, and that the Menifee City Council later hired GST Consulting to be their financial consultant.

But I don't think there's really anything to read into that. GST Consulting was the same company that did the fiscal analysis for the Menifee Valley Incorporation Committee, as well as the Wildomar Incorporation Now group. I tend to think that GST Consulting would have been hired anyways, if they didn't contribute.

The Building Industry Association of Southern California contributed quite well to the campaigns of Kuenzi, Mann, and Denver. The BIASC is a lobbyist that represents the interests of home builders, with some 2,100 builders represented. You gotta wonder what kind of return on investment will the BIASC be getting back from those three.

Labels: City-Council

I attended this evening's city council meeting. It was a packed house with every seat filled. This room was smaller than the ones at Kay Ceniceros Center and the Paloma Valley High School Theater. And close to the end of the meeting it got hot and muggy in there as well.

Newport Road Realignment

Juan Perez, from the county transportation department was the key speaker. He started off by describing road improvement projects all through Menifee and surrounding areas. And there's quite a bit going on...

• Murrieta Rd Widening - located between Ethanac and Rouse Rd, to begin Fall 2009, cost $6 million.


• Newport Rd Bridge - improvements to the bridge and interchange over I-215, to beging Spring 2011, cost $40 million.


• Scott Rd Widening - between Briggs and I-215, to begin Winter 2008, cost $7 million


• Scott Rd Bridge - over I-215, improvements to begin Summer 2011, cost $50 million


• Bundy Canyon Rd - improvements between Murrieta Rd to I-215, beginning Summer 2010, cost $50 million


• Leon & Rice Roads - connector roads between Domenigoni Pkwy and Simpson Road, beginning Spring 2011, cost $40 million

As for the Newport Road realignment, Perez went through the process of explaining why we're at a stand still. It's basically two things, one the developer backed out. But two, because it's a really difficult project.

It sounds like it all hinges on moving these two reclaimed water mains. Those mains belong to EMWD, and the county can't move without their coordination.

The other biggie is that the new Goetz Rd Bridge is very difficult to build because the elevation of the existing bridge is much lower than the elevation of the realigned Newport Rd. Building this bridge requires having to shut down Goetz Rd. And they can't shut down Goetz Rd unless they open up the realigned Newport Rd to use as a bypass. And of course, they can't open up the realigned Newport Rd until they relocate those two reclaimed water mains. So, it all hinges on the water mains.

But worse yet, the county will likely have to go after the developer's $17 million bond money. However, Perez said that when they file a claim to get the bond money, the bond insurer will likely deny the claim, and the county will have to seek legal recourse to get it. That could take between 18 to 24 months to do.

So Perez said they could obtain Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fee (TUMF) funds to finance a "Short Term" solution.

The Short Term solution will open up the southern lane of the realigned Newport Rd. This southern lane is wide enough to allow bidirectional traffic. They can do this without having to build the new Goetz Rd bridge. The existing Newport Rd that we're using now will be renamed to Normandy Rd, and will still carry traffic. The exception is that Normandy Rd will end at Berea Rd. It will not continue out to Murrieta Rd.

Perez didn't say if this Short Term plan will happen. He kinda proposed it to the city council. I got the sense that the County is not really moving forward on Newport Rd, and that this is all being handed off to the new city. Maybe I'm not totally correct on that, but that's my sense.

I did speak out, however, and addressed Perez that the Short Term plan he described was actually the official plan that the developer was putting into place. I said that we ought to move forward on it, on the grounds that all road construction done thus far was done based on doing exactly what he described. Perez acknowledged that. I guess it's up to the city at this point?

Another commenter suggested that all those other road improvement plans (what I noted above), are projects scheduled for years later. Therefore, why not use that money to improve Newport Rd, since it's about 80% completed already. I didn't exactly get what Perez said to that effect, but it sounded like he said the money for those projects is not exactly in hand at this point, it's just projected costs.

If the city moves forward with the Short Term plan, we can have traffic moving on the realigned Newport Rd within 6 months of starting the project, assuming we have the funding in place.

Meet & Greets

John Denver announced that the Menifee Valley Chamber of Commerce is putting together a "Meet & Greet", presuming for the members of the Chamber. City council members are invited to come speak to Chamber members. This is scheduled for Sept 10, at 7:30am.

Denver also said that the Masonic Lodge is doing a Meet & Greet, and that this one is open to the public. Apparently, food will be provided. I didn't hear Denver give a date and time on this one.

Workshops

City Manager George Wentz announced that there will be a series of "workshops" that will educate the public on how our new city operates. These workshops will take place on days when the city council has their public meetings, but will occur prior to the meeting. Such topics will include rules and proceedings, the roles of city council members, city manager, etc. More information on these workshops will be forthcoming.

City Website and E-mail Addresses

That "more information" will be published on the city's new website, which should open up for official business in a couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, Wentz announced that city council members already have their e-mail addresses, and that these e-mail address are in use now...

Wallace Edgerton - wedgerton@cityofmenifee.us
Darci Kuenzi - dkuenzi@cityofmenifee.us
Fred Twyman - ftwyman@cityofmenifee.us
Scott Mann - smann@cityofmenifee.us
John Denver - jdenver@cityofmenifee.us

If you want to e-mail a city council member, you now know how.

I'm assuming George Wentz is gwentz@cityofmenifee.us

Wentz went on to say that all city staff and elected officials will have the same format of "first letter and full last name, with "cityofmenifee.us" at the end.

Public Safety Ad Hoc Committee

Mayor Edgerton announced the creation of a Public Safety Ad Hoc Committee. Scott Mann and John Denver will sit on this committee. However, nothing else was said. I'm assuming more information will come out on this later.

Cityhood Inauguration Committee

Darci Kuenzi announced the formation of the inaugural event committee. Read the announcement here...

http://www.menifee247.com/2008/07/cityhood-inaugural-event-committee.htm

Public Comments

Mary Porter, who owns a towing service in Menifee, located by Zeiders Rd (just south of Scott, west side of 215), said that she and several other business operating in that area was cited by the County Code Enforcement with administrative code violations. Some were served in person, others were served by just hanging a notice on their fence. I didn't quite understand the details of the violation, but they were all in common. The notice asked her to vacate the premises by August 10. I asked her to send me the full details, which I would republish here. But I did listen to Porter speak with our City Attorney, who said the code enforcement notices didn't look legit. The attorney felt it was an improper way to get these small businesses to leave in order to make room for an new office building.

Anne Pica, addressed the council by asking certain members to resign from their posts on the Menifee Valley Chamber of Commerce, saying it presented a conflict of interest. Darci Kuenzi spoke out saying that she doesn't hold a position with the Chamber. She was at one time a paid employee of the Chamber, but that's not the case anymore. Mayor Edgerton asked John Denver if he wanted to comment. Denver responded angrily, that he had no intention of leaving the Chamber, and that he has already sought a legal opinion, and that he was in no violation. At which point, Denver responded back to Edgerton that he shouldn't have to respond to such questions since they have nothing to do with getting this new city going. Edgerton responded back that the people have a right to say whatever they want being it was a public comment session, and that he was only trying to give Denver an opportunity to say something, if Denver wanted. Edgerton went on to say that it was the duty of the council to serve their "bosses", and pointed at the audience. To which the audience clapped in appreciation.

Bill Zeidlik spoke up asking the council to establish an advisory committee to review all the existing projects (I'm assuming he meant business and residential projects), and advise the council on which ones should be disregarded, and which should move forward. I didn't really hear the council say anything constructive on this, but I'm assuming Bill will be in touch with the powers at be.

Bob Duke, a resident of Romoland, and a member of the Romoland MAC, who happens to live just north of the Menifee city boundary (north of Mapes Rd), asked the city council to consider incorporating the additional areas of Romoland, Homeland, and Green Acres into its sphere of influence (SOI). He said he's not representing a concensus, however, he did speak with other residents all of whom agreed on becoming part of Menifee's SOI. They suggested a fear of being swallowed up by Perris or maybe Hemet, and would rather have the protection of Menifee. Mayor Edgerton looked over to our City Manager, George Wentz and said that he was already looking at establishing a SOI. Wentz nodded in agreement. So it looks like we're already eyeing some more land.

City Manager's Progress Report

George Wentz presented a Power Point Slideshow which outlined all the things he's been doing this past couple of weeks. I have to say, it's all stuff that will put most of us to sleep. He's getting a location for a city hall, he's getting benefits and retirement packages put together for employees, and I'm afraid I didn't write everything down. But suffice to say, he's doing all the tedious work that earns him the big bucks.

Next Meeting

I don't have date yet on the next meeting, however the council moved to conduct these meetings twice a month, instead of every week. They will now be held at this same location at Mt San Jacinto College, and at 7:00pm.

If these meetings attract more people, they won't have room for them. And I hope they turn up the AC next time.

Labels: City-Council

Just another reminder about the city council meeting tonight, at the Mt. San Jacinto Community College, Learning Resource Center Building, Community Room #105, 28237 La Piedra Road, Menifee, CA 92584.

There will be a public comment session at 5:00 pm, after which the council meets in private to discuss acquiring some office space.

The public is invited back later that evening at 7:00pm.

Juan Perez from the county transporation department will speak on the Newport Road realignment.

You can access agenda here...

http://www.menifee247.com/menifee-city-council-agenda-2008-07-23.pdf

Labels: City-Council

The Menifee City Council is holding its next meeting on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 at the Mt. San Jacinto Community College, Learning Resource Center Building, Community Room #105, 28237 La Piedra Road, Menifee, CA 92584.

The meeting will convene at 5:00 pm with public opportunity and comment, after which the council will meet in private to discuss the acquision of some real estate (perhaps for city hall?).

The public is invited back later that evening at 7:00pm.

Juan Perez from the county transporation department will speak on the Newport Road realignment.

There will also be discussion of new e-mail addresses for city council members, and proposed website address.

The Mayor will also announce the creation of a Public Safety Ad Hoc Committee.

Copy of the agenda in PDF can be downloaded here...

http://www.menifee247.com/menifee-city-council-agenda-2008-07-23.pdf

Labels: City-Council

Just a reminder, tonight is the Menifee City Council meeting.

It starts at 6:00pm, and is held at Paloma Valley High School, in the theater.

George Wentz, our interim City Manager will give an oral presentation on the tasks and schedules towards building a city government.

There will also be discussion on the Ad Hoc City Inauguration Committee.

A copy of the full agenda can be found here...

http://www.menifee247.com/menifee-city-council-agenda-2008-07-09.pdf

Commenters Wanted!

And as such, I'll be out of town today so I'll miss what sounds to be a featured-packed city council meeting.

If you can attend this meeting, please do and post a comment on this article detailing what took place, such as the ad hoc inauguration committee, what George Wentz has to say about building a city, what the folks said in their addresses to the council, and whatever else you find "fit for print".

I appreciate everyone's help in keeping Menifee 24/7 a must-read on everyone's list of favorites.

Labels: City-Council

Was listening to Fred Twyman speak on Menifee Valley Talk Radio last night, and heard him mention that he wants to hear from residents on what we want for our new city.

I've heard other city council members say that they want to hear from residents, and the fact that they keep saying this, makes me wonder if anyone is communicating with them.

So here is my top three "to do" items for the city council...

• Bring in more high-paying jobs. I'd like to see more office buildings and industrial parks here. What can we do as a city to make Menifee an attractive place for companies to move to? I thought I heard Twyman say last night that Pardee Homes is backing out of building homes next to Countryside Marketplace. Good. Then let's build industrial and corporate centers all along the I-215 between Newport and Scott. We also have space to build along Hwy 74.
  
  As it is now, Menifee is a commuter town. We can't go on paying $4-5 a gallon for gas. We need to build jobs here.



• Gang task force. We need more police, but we need it where it counts the most. Gangs are what bring in the violence, the prostitution, the drugs, the tagging, and corrupts the kids. We need a team of investigators tracking every gang and gang member in this town, watching their every move, busting them everytime they make a mistake, and making Menifee an awful place for them to operate.
  
  I've already made my opinion known about traffic patrols. You can make arguments on speeders, child safety seats, lack of registration, etc. But having more cops hiding behind bushes and busting moms on their way to the grocery store is petty, compared to gangs moving into Menifee and recruiting your kids into their ranks.



• Infrastructure. Part of the success towards luring more employers into Menifee is creating the thoroughfares to improve the flow of traffic. Complete the Newport Rd realignment. Get the Scott Rd overpass widened. Extend Bradley all the way to Scott. Pave Holland Rd all the way into Canyon Hills.
  
  Improving the flow of traffic is something we're going to need for trucks to carry materials to and from the business and industrial centers. Employers won't move here if they can't move around in here.

There are other things I'd like to see done, but that's my top 3.

Knowing that some, if not all, city council members are reading this, what are your top 3 "to do" items?

Labels: City-Council

The city council reported just past 10:00pm yesterday, that they hired the firm of Winzler & Kelly, providing us with an interim city manager by the name of George Wentz.

This is basically the guy who runs the city, at least until we become a city.

Learn more about these guys here...

http://www.w-and-k.com/

Labels: City-Council

At tonight's city council meeting, the counil interviewed candidates for interim city manager. After the public portion of the meeting adjourned this evening, no interim city manager had been hired yet.

City Attorney Conflict of Interest

Jason Roth addressed the council with a question about a possible conflict of interest with the new interim city attorney. This attorney also acts as the city attorney for Canyon Lake.

He asked who would our city council consult with in case of matters involving a dispute with Canyon Lake.

Mayor Edgerton answered that they would hire a different city attorney just for that purpose. But he called on our interim city attorney, and posed the question to her. While I don't have "her" name, she responded that it's unlikely there would be a conflict of interest, since much of Canyon Lake's concerns are shared with Menifee's, such as Audie Murphy Ranch, Newport Rd Realignment.

In the matter of leaky septic tanks in Quail Valley, she downplayed the matter by saying that Canyon Lake has no interest in the water quality of its lake, since it doesn't own the lake. That was a comment I found rather difficult to accept, but she may be right since legally, the City of Canyon Lake has no responsibility. If people were to get sick from playing in the water, the legal responsibility falls on the Elsinore Water District.

I guess we just need to make sure we don't hire an attorney that also represents the water district.

Sales Taxes in Menifee

Nina Riley, a resident in Sun City, asked the council when will sales taxes be collected by the city. The Mayor couldn't give a specifc date, only that it wouldn't happen until after October 1, once the city becomes official. But even after that, he noted that sales taxes are assessed quarterly, so there may be further lag time.

Ad Hoc Committee for Inauguration Planning

Mayor Edgerton announced that there will be an ad hoc committee created for the planning of the city's inauguration. This will be further discussed at the next city council meeting.

County Transition Meeting

Mayor Pro Tem Kuenzi announced that Supervisor Jeff Stone will be hosting a "transition meeting" on Wednesday July 16, 6:00pm, at Heritage High School. The meeting will explain to the public how county services will be transitioned over to the new city.

Next City Council Meeting

The next city council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 9, at Paloma Valley High School, inside the theatre. The council will meet in private at 5:00pm, and then open up a public meeting at 6:00pm.

The subject of what time of day to schedule meeting is still a hot debate. The council members again this evening had disagreements on what time would be most prudent. Denver noted that there is a lot of work that needs to be done, and pushed for an earlier start time of 4:00pm.

To which Kuenzi asked if that would be the start of a public or private meeting, and she got no real definitive answer. Other suggestions came up for 6:00pm for a public meeting, to which some people in the audience complained was still too early for them.

Mann pointed out that these meeting are all "special" meetings, because the city is not yet official, and that nothing is cast into stone yet.

But I attended the 5:00pm public meeting today, and found myself as the only resident in attendance. The others were suits looking for a job. The 7:00pm public meeting was better attended, but there were still far more room-temperature chairs than warm ones. Though I'm not sure the council would get better attendance at a later time. 7:00pm is probably good in my view.

Sound System

The lack of sound system at the Kay Ceniceros Center makes it a difficult room to conduct a city council meeting. Council members found themselves having to nudge each other into speaking more loudly, which brought about some frustrating remarks.

The microphone at the public speaker's podium was weak, requiring each speaker to hold it right up to their mouth, to get an audible signal. Considering how many lips that microphone may have touched over its lifetime, I can understand no one wanting to get too close to it.

Labels: City-Council

Marcy Riehm of the Lake Menifee Women's Club submitted these two photos of our city council in the 18th Annual Menifee Independence Day Parade.

John Denver, in the passenger seat, with Fred Twyman, Darci Kuenzi, and Wallace Edgerton in the back.

Labels: City-Council, Independence-Day

Just a reminder, the third meeting of the Menifee City Council is tomorrow, Wednesday, July 2, at the Kay Ceniceros Center.

The meeting starts at 5:00pm, with availability for public comments.

The council then meets in private to begin interviews for City Manager.

At 7:00pm, the public is invited back to submit more comments.

Here's a copy of the agenda...

http://www.menifee247.com/menifee-city-council-agenda-2008-07-02.pdf

Labels: City-Council

Despite having interviewed applicants for an interim city attorney, the city council reported this evening that it still has more interviews yet to do.

The council will have their next public meeting on Wednesday, July 2, at 5:00pm, at Kay Ceniceros Center, with another follow up at 7:00pm.

Public Comments

Among the members of the public who gave comments at tonight's meeting...

Jason Reeves, a city council candidate, who at the first part of the meeting asked the council to select an interim city attorney that reflects the same high moral character of the city, and then again in the second part, called on the council to rely on an ad-hoc committee to help screen applicants for city manager.

Bob O'Donnell, board member of Valley Health System, and Menifee Union School District, who offers the auditorium at Menifee Valley Medical Center for future city council meetings.

Barbara Spencer, of the Menifee Valley Historical Society, who defended herself from remarks that she embarrassed the city council at last week's meeting for having cited the Brown Act, and then went again to ask the council if they have requested "conflict of interest statements" when interviewing applicants, to which the council made no reply (not sure where they stand on this).

Anne Pica, who lead the effort against cityhood, asking if certain members of the city council will resign their positions on the Chamber of Commerce. To which John Denver replied that a discussion about their affiliation with the Chamber is not on the evening's agenda, and therefore is not something to be discussed at this moment. But perhaps when it is on the agenda, and when he's had time to consult with his attorney, a discussion can be made.

Tony Amatulli (I think), spoke out that he arrived at the meeting late because he received the wrong information about where the meeting was to be held. He was actually waiting at the Gymnasium along with about 30 other people. They ended up driving to the Kay Ceniceros Center, just in case the meeting might have been there. But then they finally found it at the school auditorium. He said his source didn't cite where at the high school the meeting was located, only that it was at the high school.

Next Week's Meeting

The council members had some discussion, and perhaps argument, about next week's meeting.

Scott Mann first announced the details of next week's meeting, at 5:00pm, at Kay Ceniceros Center.

John Denver wanted to know why not 4:00pm, since they have so much to do. I didn't really hear any other council members respond to the timing. However, I'll note that Denver was late again to this evening's council meeting, so I'm not sure if moving it an hour early is going to help.

But Denver also noted that the high school auditorium is an excellent venue for a meeting, with comfortable seating for everyone, plenty of parking, and most importantly a great sound system. To which Scott Mann replied that he wasn't trying to knock the high school, but just that he had already made a committment with Kay Ceniceros Center.

Mann, Kuenzi, Edgerton, and Twyman all voted to hold the meeting next week at Kay Ceniceros Center, but I think they did so out of respect for Mann having already made arrangements with the Center. I agree with Denver, it would serve the people better to have the meeting at the high school. I don't think the council should worry about any committments that Mann made with the Center; I'm sure they'll understand.

Side Notes

Denver announced that all of the council members will be in the Independence Day Parade this Saturday, June 28, and urged everyone to come out.

I asked Tywman before the meeting if the city council received a lot of ideas and solicitation through Scott Mann's e-mail address. He said mostly several applicants for city attorney and city manager. It doesn't sound like residents have been submitting their ideas and requests to the council. Mann's e-mail address again is: MenifeeCityClerk@mchsi.com.

Edgerton explained that while he has a lot of prior experience with being on a city council, he's always had a staff of people to rely on for support. He feels awkward with having to run a city council with full respect of the law (Brown Act), and not have an attorney present to advise him.

Labels: City-Council

Scott Mann, city council-elect, and temporary city council clerk, has a new e-mail address for city council-related matters...

MenifeeCityClerk@mchsi.com

If you want to contact the city council for anything, use this one now.

If you want to tell the council what problems you want addressed, share an idea, be a part of a committee, volunteer for something, offer your services, sending an e-mail to that address is how you get started.

Labels: City-Council

The Menifee City Council will be having a special meeting next Wednesday, June 25, at the Paloma Valley High School theater.

There will be two public meetings, and one closed meeting during this time.

• The first public meeting is at 5:00pm, and will accept public comments on interviewing an interim city attorney.



• The city council will then move to a closed meeting to interview applicants for interim city attorney.



• The second public meeting starts at 7:00pm, with a report of the prior closed meeting, and will open up for more public comments.

Public Agency Law Firms or individual attorneys desiring to make application for the position of Interim City Attorney may submit resumes to the Council-Elect Secretary, Scott A. Mann at mannformenifee@mchi.com or, for overnight or hand delivery, 29813 Park City Avenue, Menifee, CA 92584-8622.

Firms or individual attorney's desiring to apply must submit their resume no later than 5:00 pm, Tuesday, June 24, 2008. Resumes received after this date and time will not be accepted for consideration.

Labels: City-Council

The first ever public meeting of City of Menifee's City Council was held this evening at Kay Ceniceros Center. Several people were in attendance, many of which were prospects seeking employment as city attorney, and what not.

There were a lot of suits in the room.

Even though the Registrar of Voters apparently still have some votes left to count, it seemed clear that these five council-elects have their seats in place.

Mayor Appointed

Wallace Edgerton, who received the most votes, was granted the title of Mayor, a motion granted by Denver, and seconded by Kuenzi. The title of Mayor Pro Tem was granted to Darci Kuenzi, a motion granted by Scott Mann, and seconded by Edgerton. But before that happened, Denver made a motion to make Fred Twyman as Mayor Pro Tem, but no one would second, and the motion died.

Looking at the faces of the council-elects, during the appointment process, I could tell all five of them knew what was going to happen. The nomination of Edgerton was pretty much a non-issue. But the appointment of Mayor Pro Tem seemed as if discussions had been taking place prior to this meeting, because council-elects were staring into space, tapping their feet, showing no emotion on their faces, and anxiously waiting to get through the process as quickly as possible. It looked they were all running on auto-pilot.

Edgerton also brought up the job of Council Secretary. Since the city doesn't have such a person hired, Councilmember Mann was nominated, received a motion and a second. At this point, if you want a job with the city, if you want to volunteer, if you want to offer something, contact Scott Mann at: MenifeeCityClerk@mchsi.com

Mayor Edgerton seated in the middle of the first meeting of the first city council

Public Comments

The open session was largely to hear public comments, and several people spoke. Many of them simply gave congratulations, and other gave mutual pats on each other's back for helping with the cityhood incorporation process.

Chris Thomas, who ran for city council but came up short, spoke out urging the council meet with County officials, and have them put a halt to a "multi-family development", and let the new city negotiate with developers. I didn't ask him what that multi-family development was.

Bill Zeidlik, who had been very active in CEDCO, the parent organization that spun off the Menifee Valley Incorporation Committee, spent as much time as he possibly could demanding more advance notice of meetings, a later meeting time, and wanted to know how residents could put their name down to become involved in city operations. Edgerton had to interrupt several times to say that he was exceeding his alotted time.

But probably the most influential commenter of the evening was Barbara Spencer, president of the Menifee Valley Historical Society, who addressed the city council with a passage from the Brown Act. The Brown Act, is piece of State law that requires public officials to hold meetings and hearings in public, and provide facilities that allow all persons access to these meetings and hearings. It was Barbara's quotation that would send the rest of evening into disarray.

Interviewing Prospective City Employees

As I said above, a large number of the people present were there to compete for jobs, mostly high level jobs, namely city attorney.

The city council was to interview these people in closed session. But not longer than Barbara Spencer quoted the Brown Act, Edgerton addressed the audience that he wanted to hold at least part of this session in public, for the fact that all council members seemed to be in disagreement on how the Brown Act applies in this case, and that the council did not have a city attorney to consult with. I was quite impressed to see Edgerton give careful consideration here, and even though it would submarine the rest of the meeting, it gave me a sense that he was drawing from experience.

The case in question, is that the city is not yet official, and the city council members present are not really city council members, since their elections have not yet been certified.

That caused Edgerton to call upon Dave Wilman, a representative from the League of California Cities, to act as an unofficial legal counsel. It appeared to be Wilman's interpretation that even though the city wasn't official, and the council members were not official, the Brown Act still applied.

The other problem to all this, is that the assembly hall we were gathered in, had to be vacated by 6:00pm, because another group had it reserved. So we all moved into a different room, that was very tiny and cramped, about the size of someone's bedroom. One of the attorneys there, representing a lawfirm, and who was competing for business, addressed the council saying that there was not enough room to fit everyone, and many others could not see or hear the meeting, and therefore constituted a violation of the Brown Act.

Mann intervened, saying that it was possible to hold the meeting private session, because they would be interviewing people, not companies. Edgerton then sought legal counsel again from Dave Wilman, the representative from the League of California Cities. Wilman, deferred to an attorney who was working for Canyon Lake. That attorney spoke out and disagreed with Mann, saying that the persons here seeking employment are actually representatives of lawfirms, and that the Brown Act requires an open session to interview businesses.

But since the tiny little room was already a violation of the Brown Act, Mayor Edgerton asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting for next week. At that point Kuenzi intervened, pointed her finger into the air, and then spoke in a very stern and deliberate tone, saying that they needed to get on with business, that they needed to hire a city attorney, and that they could not adjourn. Mann seemed to back her up on that statement. However, Denver made a motion to adjourn, and Twyman gave a second. Edgerton adjourned the meeting.

Many of the people in attendance were suits competing for business.

Next Meeting

The next meeting will be scheduled for 7:00pm, Wednesday June 25. A location has not yet been identified, but Tywman talked about using Paloma Valley High School.

The council will actually be meeting 5:00pm for a closed session, and then the open session at 7:00pm.

Trivia

Don Vesey, president of the Quail Valley MAC, became the first person to address the first Menifee City Council. He simply gave a congratulations to the councilmembers.

Labels: City-Council

The Menifee City Council-elect, at least those five currently with the most votes, are meeting this Wednesday, June 18, 5:00pm, and the Kay Ceniceros Senior Center, on Newport & Evans Rds.

The agenda is a closed-door session to discuss establishing a transition staff, and taking the first steps. The council-elect will allow the public to make comments before the session starts.

Via Mieke Jacobs

Labels: City-Council

I was initially tempted to ask this question in response to a comment made by a poster under a different heading. The comment reflected on the number of suggestions citizens had made regarding what the new city should do, but not a single person had asked how to become involved in the new city. As I was typing up my response, I decided there was the possibility of it getting lost in the shuffle. Therefore, I decided to post under a new heading.

I don't know if the last vote has been counted, but it doesn't appear that any of the five current vote leaders are going to lose their positions. So even though the election hasn't officially been certified, I will refer to those five individuals as our city council. I know at least some of them read this site, if not all of them.

With that, I'm posing these questions to the newly elected city council members: Mr. Edgerton, Ms. Kuenzi, Mr. Twyman, Mr. Mann and Mr. Denver: How can we, as citizens of Menifee, become involved in the formation of the new city? What type of committees are going to be formed? How much input are citizens going to have regarding the directions to be taken in the next few months before incorporation and beyond? What plans, if any, are there to bring the communities involved (Sun City, Quail Valley, Romoland and Menifee) closer together and end the divisiveness that is obviously apparent? What plans are there for showing cityhood opponents that cityhood was the right choice? Have the five individuals that are currently leading in vote count even met yet to discuss some of these issues?

I don't have the first clue about starting a city, but I know there has to be a lot of work involved. I don't expect five people to piece together a new city in less than four months.

So I'm offering my services in any way the city council sees fit. There are areas I have a lot of knowledge and expertise in and there are areas I have strong opinions about. I also have the ability to look at things objectively from more than one point of view.

Please feel free to contact me regarding involvement with the city, and that goes for all Menifee 24/7 readers, not just the city council members.

I can be reached at toddinmenifee@verizon.net.

Todd Reed

Labels: City-Council, Cityhood

Below are the latest election results posted this afternoon, after the write-in ballots were counted. The only change is that Twyman now gets his third-place seat back from Mann.

Balloting for the write-ins are below as well...

Measure F-Proposed Incorporation of Menifee Valley
46/46 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
Yes 6,439 61.61%
No 4,012 38.39%
Total 10,451 100.00%


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Measure G-Future Menifee Valley Elections
46/46 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
By District 4,767 51.19%
At Large 4,546 48.81%
Total 9,313 100.00%


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Measure H-Name of Proposed City
46/46 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
Menifee 5,149 53.36%
Menifee Valley 4,501 46.64%
Total 9,650 100.00%


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Member, City Council Menifee Valley
46/46 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
WALLACE WAYNE EDGERTON 3,660 9.34%
DARCY KUENZI 3,086 7.87%
FREDERICK ALLEN TWYMAN, III 2,717 6.93%
SCOTT A. MANN 2,671 6.82%
JOHN DENVER 2,536 6.47%
DEAN DEINES 2,525 6.44%
DARCI CASTILLEJOS 2,500 6.38%
CHRIS THOMAS 2,452 6.26%
MARC A. MILLER 2,429 6.20%
DOROTHY WOLONS 2,176 5.55%
CAROL A. SULLIVAN 2,171 5.54%
TOM FUHRMAN 1,734 4.42%
LOUIS GERALD MAZEI 1,695 4.33%
TONY AMATULLI 1,629 4.16%
KEN GAUNT 1,562 3.99%
JERRY P. STAMPER 1,238 3.16%
JASON REEVES 1,215 3.10%
GERALD WAYNE WALKER 800 2.04%
DINA L. BIEDERMANN 394 1.01%
Total 39,190 100.00%

Write-Ins
ANTHONY J. CUOMO - 71
SUSAN KRISTJANSSON - 45
JASON "JAY" ROTH - 87

Labels: City-Council, Cityhood

Here are updated election results from the Registrar of Voters, posted this evening. Not much change, with the exception that Mann now takes over as the third-place vote getter, and Twyman moves down to fourth...

Measure F-Proposed Incorporation of Menifee Valley
46/46 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
Yes 6,095 61.09%
No 3,882 38.91%
Total 9,977 100.00%


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Measure G-Future Menifee Valley Elections
46/46 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
By District 4,562 51.40%
At Large 4,314 48.60%
Total 8,876 100.00%


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Measure H-Name of Proposed City
46/46 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
Menifee 4,875 53.05%
Menifee Valley 4,314 46.95%
Total 9,189 100.00%


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Member, City Council Menifee Valley
46/46 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
WALLACE WAYNE EDGERTON 3,499 9.36%
DARCY KUENZI 2,969 7.94%
SCOTT A. MANN 2,571 6.88%
FREDERICK ALLEN TWYMAN, III 2,561 6.85%
JOHN DENVER 2,457 6.57%
DEAN DEINES 2,420 6.47%
DARCI CASTILLEJOS 2,364 6.32%
CHRIS THOMAS 2,322 6.21%
MARC A. MILLER 2,283 6.11%
CAROL A. SULLIVAN 2,104 5.63%
DOROTHY WOLONS 2,085 5.58%
TOM FUHRMAN 1,632 4.36%
LOUIS GERALD MAZEI 1,617 4.32%
TONY AMATULLI 1,534 4.10%
KEN GAUNT 1,508 4.03%
JERRY P. STAMPER 1,188 3.18%
JASON REEVES 1,139 3.05%
GERALD WAYNE WALKER 757 2.02%
DINA L. BIEDERMANN 379 1.01%
Total 37,389 100.00%

Labels: City-Council, Cityhood

I managed to place 21 of the 22 city council candidates on a map of Menifee Valley, showing from what neighborhoods they hail from, in case this information means something to you...


Click the map to see a larger size.

I don't have Dina Biedermann on this map; I e-mailed her and haven't heard back yet. I didn't want to wait too long.

This information comes from the Registrar of Voters, and then cross referenced on Google Maps.

Labels: City-Council

This morning Menifee Valley Talk Radio ran it's fourth show. You can hear a replay here...

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/..../Menifee-Valley-Talk-Radio

Therese's co-host, Chuck Reuter was not there taking care of some personal matters, so Julie Johnson sat in his place. Julie was the former CEO of both the Menifee Valley Chamber of Commerce and Menifee Sun City Chamber of Commerce, as well as a former legislative aid for 3rd District Supervisor, Jeff Stone.

Mid-way into the show, Therese listed off her picks for city council, Wallace Edgerton, Sue Kristjansson, Chris Thomas, Scott Mann, and Darci Castillejos.

She also named off her list of "definitely not" for city council.

Much of the discussion focused on countering arguments put forth by Anne Pica, who was the special guest of last Monday's show, and who chairs the Citizens Against Cityhood campaign, as well as talking about the laundry list of campaign contributions from developers.

Labels: City-Council, Cityhood, Radio

Bill Gould, a trustee on the Romoland School Board, publishes his picks for Menifee City Council...

All of the people I support agreed that it is important to work with the different school districts to provide services and support for the youth in our communities. They all agreed there is a need for open space, planned development and more sales tax generation through commercial development. It is for these reasons that I support the candidacies of Chris Thomas, Scott Mann, Darci Castillejos, Dean Deines, and Darcy Kuenzi for Menifee City Council.

He goes on to say that he supports the name "Menifee" instead of "Menifee Valley", and that he supports electing council members at large.

I just hope Bill did his homework.

Read the rest of his piece...
http://votebillgould.com/..../menifee-cityhood-its-a-good-thing/

Labels: City-Council, Cityhood

Below I listed out the sources of campaign funding for the city council candidates.

I obtained the campaign finance disclosure forms by visiting the Registrar of Voters last Friday (May 23). May 22 was the deadline to file such reports. At the time, the Registrar had forms for about half of the candidates. They said the reports only had to be postmarked by May 22, and therefore, if I returned at a later date, they might have more.

So I went back there today (May 27). They only had a handful of additional forms. I'm still missing forms from Tony Amatulli, Gerald Walker, and Fred Twyman. Other candidates submitted forms with no finance disclosure data, I'm not sure if that means they have no money at all, or what.

In the listing below, I chose to leave out the names of retirees and relatives, feeling there was no need to publicize them. To me, a relative was someone with the same name. Otherwise, everyone else I included.

So here is the info...

Dorothy Wolons (from March 18 to May 17)
* Contrubutions received: $1,067
* Personal loans: $800
* Adam Eventov, Temecula, Communications, $20.00
* Michael Stout, Sun City, Realtor, $100.00
* The Orchard, Event Coordinator, $30.00
* Monty Morshed, Public Works Engineer, $50.00
* Money Matters, Judy Handwerker, $25.00
* Essec Inc., Menifee, $15.00
* Hamshaw Farms, fundraiser, $347.00

Anthony Cuomo (from January 1 to May 17)
* Contributions received: $25.00
* Personal loans: $2,025.00
* Eric Madrid, Menifee, Physician, $25.00

John Denver (from March 18 to May 17)
* Contributions received: $2,453.93
* Personal loans: $2,000.00
* Gary Johnson, Manager, Granite Quarry, $100.00
* Aaron Knox, CEO, Southern California Compact, $250.00
* Floyd Peterson, Agent, State Farm Insurance, $100.00
* Jerry Voukelatos, Developer, Olive Tree Properties, $1,000.00

Wallace Edgerton (March 24 to May 22)
* Contributions received: $0.00
* Personal loans: $3,000.00

Jason Reeves (March 18 to May 17)
* Contributions received: $25.00
* Personal loans: $1,530.23
* Maureen Petty, Menifee, Inland Valley Medical Center, $25.00

Dean Deines (March 18 to May 17)
* Contributions received: $6,078.00
* Personal loans: $0.00
* Kevin Wolf, Riverside, Consultant, Germania Corp, $2,500.00
* Pacwest Group Inc, Murrieta, $250.00
* Rancon Group, Murrieta, $250.00
* Linnea Zarate, Moreno Valley, Regional Office Manager, PSOMAS, $10.00
* Albert A. Webb Associates, Riverside, $1,000.00
* PSOMAS, Riverside, $1,000.00
* Ellie Bennett, Riverside, COO Riverside County Reg. Medical Center, $200.00
* ARCO Travel Zone Center, Perris, $500.00

Darcy Kuenzi (March 18 to May 17)
* Contributions received: $16,650.00
* Wintec Energy, Palm Springs, $2,800.00
* LIUNA Local 77, Los Angeles, $1,000.00
* Southern California Edison, Romoland, $250.00
* Joe Daugherty, Joe Daugherty Tax Services, $100.00
* Tim Lynch, Ontario, VP General Outdoor Advertising, $500.00
* Robertson's Ready Mix, Corona, $1,000.00
* Olive Tree Properties, Santa Ana, $2,500.00
* Rick Hoffman, Hemet, VP Germania Corp, $100.00
* Germania Corporation, Riverside, $2,500.00
* Pacwest Group, Murrieta, $250.00
* Cindy Domenigoni, Domenigoni Farms, $250.00
* Urban Logic Consultants, Temecula, $1,000.00
* Lewis Investment Company, Upland, $1,000.00
* Matthew Fagan, Temecula, $150.00
* Building Industry Association, Diamond Bar, $1,000.00
* TrolConco, San Diego, $500.00
* Keenan Thomas Communications, Mission Viejo, $150.00
* Committee to Elect Paul C. McDonnell Jr., $1,500.00

Scott Mann (March 18 to May 17)
* Contributions received: $2,300.00
* Personal loans: $3,800.00
* Ron Shane, Oro Valley, $500.00
* Alan Meacham, Sun City, $200.00
* Jay Bush, Tomball, TX, $200.00
* Keenan & Associates, Torrance, $1,000.00

Darci Castillejos (March 18 to May 17)
* Contributions received: $2,819.00
* Personal loans: $0.00
* Vickie Carpenter, Menifee, Realtor, Coldwell Banker, $100.00
* Darcy Kuenzi, Menifee, Legislative Assistant to Marion Ashley, $100.00
* Dan Marcon, Menifee, Realtor, Macala Realty, $100.00
* Sam Yoo, Temecula, Civil Engineer, Ranpac, $150.00
* David Peters, Sun City, Superintendent, Tilden Coil Construction, $100.00
* Ursula Garrett, Sun City, CPA, Garrett & Assoc., $100.00
* Joe Daugherty, Menifee, Joe Daugherty Tax Preparation, $100.00
* Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney, Temecula, Law Firm, $500.00
* The Orchard, Menifee, Outdoor Events, $150.00
* Waste Management, Sacramento, $50.00
* Joan Sparkman, Murrieta, Board Member Mt San Jacinto College, $100.00
* Southern California Compact, Moreno Valley, PAC, $250.00
* Kevin Wolf, Riverside, Consultant, Germania Corp., $500.00

Chris Thomas (Jan 1 to May 17)
* Contributions received: $1,910.00
* Gifts received: $310.00
* Personal loans: $1,702.00
* Randy Williams, Economic Development Manager, City of San Jacinto, $400.00
* Wealth Solutions Group, Elk Grove, CA, 1,000.00
* Josh Bigalow, Menifee, Manager, Miles Presentation, $20.00
* David Draper, Menifee, Manager, Mission Pools, $50.00
* Luke Germandt, Menifee, Acai Health Foods, $100.00
* Jason Hyde, Menifee, Sales, Electronic Components, $100.00
* Lorinda Warren, Menifee, Warren Appraiser, $75.00
* Randy Williams, City of San Jacinto, $310.00 in signs, banners, graphics

Dina Biedermann (March 17 to April 17)
Contributions received: $0.00
Personal loans: $0.00

Jerry Stamper (Jan 1 to May 17)
* Contributions received: $8,190.00
* Gifts received: $1,440.00
* Personal loans: $6,476.59
* Avalon Management, Canyon Lake, $5,190.00
* CR&R Incorporated, Stanton, $2,500.00
* Evans Brown Mortuary, Sun City, $500.00
* Rancon Group, Murrieta, $250.00
* Mark Bishop, Canyon Lake, Rancon Group, $100.00

The Registrar of Voters said they did not have filings on the following candidates as of May 27, 2008...

Sue Kristjansson
Jason Roth
Tony Amatulli
Gerald Walker
Thomas Fuhrman
Ken Gaunt
Marc Miller
Louis Mazei
Fred Twyman

Labels: City-Council

Therese Daniels and Chuck Reuter broadcast their 3rd edition of Menifee Valley Talk Radio.

You can hear a replay of the show here...

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/..../Menifee-Valley-Talk-Radio

Their special guest was Anne Pica, who is leading the "Citizens Against Cityhood". She spoke in detail about her opposition to cityhood, and responded to arguments from cityhood proponents. While she did provide a lot of opinion, I didn't really hear her explain why she is voting no on cityhood. That is, she tried to dispel the pros of cityhood, and tried to explain that it would not be the panacea to all our ills, but she didn't explain how remaining an unincorporated area would give us a better way of life.

In my opinion, I heard a lot of bitterness from Anne, always using the words, "you guys", when addressing the candidates. I got the sense that she clearly sees a division between Menifee and Sun City. I wonder if her campaign is more about animosity against the influx of newcomers to Menifee, than it is about logic. I'll add that the people in Sun City Core were newcomers at one time too.

Therese Daniels spoke at length of her opposition to Jerry Stamper, one of the city council candidates, citing numerous reasons.

The show had three city council candidates on the air, including write-ins Jason Roth and Sue Kristjansson, as well as Chris Thomas.

Nancy Knight, publisher of The Bugle, was also on the air.

Interestingly, Chris Thomas asked the show's hosts if they knew anything about candidate signs being torn down, suggesting that someone was going around pulling certain signs out of the ground.

Labels: City-Council, Radio

Dave Everett, who writes the Red County Riverside blog, discusses the city council race, and commented about some of the statements made by candidates, including the following...

And finally Frederick Allen Twyman III wants to ensure "that community is listened to." Oh brother.

http://www.redcounty.com/riverside/2008/05/more-on-menifee-cityhood-and-c/

"Oh brother"?

What's so wrong about city council members listening to the community?

Labels: City-Council

This morning's broadcast of Menifee Valley Talk Radio welcomed five city council candidates who got to speak on the show.

You can listen to a replay of the show using the player below, (click on the arrow to the left)...



Marc Miller spoke about his involvement launching and running the cityhood incorporation movement, and expressed his desire to retain the rural aspect of Menifee Valley.

Fred Twyman came on to speak about why he chose to run for city council, citing his frustration with trying to address County officials, and also spoke about his plans to increase public parks and recreational facilities. He'd like to convert the entire Salt Creek into a useable public park, with picnic grounds and walking trails.

Sue Kristjansson expressed her master plan to make Menifee "awesome", bringing in sports and recreation facilities, and talked about the need for more public transportation options in Menifee.

Chris Thomas talked about his background as a financial auditor, having audited public entities like municipalities, companies, and various public institutions. He said that the new city of Menifee will be required to honor all development projects currently approved by the County, and that when cityhood appeared to be eminent, developers came crawling out of the woodwork to get their projects approved by the County.

Scott Mann talked about his long background as a Naval "Mustang" Officer, and expressed his character as being one of integrity, and of strict protocol. He talked about the lawsuits that the City of Perris slapped on LAFCO, which requires the future city of Menifee share revenue with Perris, and said that he doesn't believe that what the newspapers reported is accurate, and that Menifee could possibly find a way out of that.

The show's special guest was Mieke Jacobs, who writes articles for MenifeeLive.com, and moderates their forum. She had the pleasure of asking several questions to the candidates.

Labels: City-Council, Cityhood, Radio

The Press Enterprise also ran an article last February, regarding Dan Stephenson, through his company, Rancon Real Estate, and his history of buying Temecula's city council...

Three of the five council members also have other financial ties to Stephenson: Councilman Jeff Comerchero works for him; Mayor Michael Naggar's consulting company works for Stephenson on some projects; and Councilman Chuck Washington has invested in a Stephenson development north of Temecula.

Read the full article here...

http://www.pe.com/..../PE_News_Local_D_temecula17.3318f2d.html

It goes on to say that Stephenson helps get his city council reelected by organizing fundraisers for them, such as trips to sporting events, where you get to rub noses with council members for having donated money, and ultimately, get your projects moving forward.

Rancon real estate, is of course, the most influential player in the development of Menifee. They were the ones behind the communities built here, and they have more holdings in Menifee yet to develop. I don't necessarily blame the company for creating homes and retail centers here. Some could argue that they like the way Temecula has grown, while others could argue that they don't like it at all.

Either way, it's time to stop letting developers be our mayor and city council, and take control of our own community.

That is after all, why we are talking about cityhood.

Labels: City-Council, Dan-Stephenson, Rancon-Real-Estate

The Press Enterprise is running an article that discloses some of the donations that city council candidates have received...

http://www.pe.com/..../PE_News_Local_S_scandidates23.41ec7c0.html

Here are some quotes on the candidates mentioned...

The top fundraiser has been Darcy Kuenzi who gathered $35,582 in campaign contributions as of May 22, according to records from the Riverside County registrar of voters.

Jerry Stamper, who owns Rancho Plaza Realty Inc., a residential property management company, reported taking a $6,476 loan and getting $7,250 in contributions.

John Denver, a Realtor, reported taking out a $2,000 loan and receiving $4,453 in donations. Denver's largest contributor was $1,000 from a Santa Ana developer.

Darci Castillejos, who owns and operates the French Valley Café, reported getting $325 -- $100 from her own business and donations less than $100 each that totaled $225. She also took out an $850 loan.

Wallace Edgerton, the only candidate to have previously served on a City Council -- Long Beach in his case -- said he did not feel the pressure to raise campaign dollars like he did when running for council in the much bigger city of Long Beach. Edgerton borrowed $600 for his current Menifee campaign.

The PE article goes on to give more details.

Labels: City-Council

I wanted to put forth a couple of articles that folks might want to read when evaluating the city council candidates...

The Bugle Blog, April 15, 2008...
http://thebugleblog.blogspot.com/..../requested-submission-and.html

This article discusses Rancon Real Estate and their real estate developments along Newport Rd and Domenigoni Pkwy, and how by coincidence the Riverside County Board of Supervisors decided to shift focus towards building the connector road for Newport Rd, instead of making safety improvements on Winchester Rd.

Valley News, May 9, 2008...
http://www.myvalleynews.com/story.php?story_id=30170

This article reveals how much money the candidates have earned from donors.

At today's broadcast of Menifee Valley Talk Radio, Julie Johnson said that it was the developers that donated the most money to finance the cityhood incorporation effort. That tells you right there, that they'd rather work with a city council instead of county planners. It makes sense that they want city council members who will dance for them.

Read the two articles that I linked above, and decide for yourself which candidates for city council have the needs of residents in mind. What are their intentions for running? How many years have they spent positioning themselves for this moment? Are they pawns for developers, or are they going put the needs of residents first?

Even if you are against cityhood, you will want to cast your votes for city council candidates, just in case cityhood passes.

Labels: City-Council

This morning at 10:00am, I had a chance to listen in on the first broadcast of Menifee Valley Talk Radio.

You can now hear the full replay of the show using the link below...

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/..../Menifee-Valley-Talk-Radio

The special guest was Julie Johnson, former CEO of the Menifee Valley Chamber of Commerce, as well as former CEO of the Menifee Sun City Chamber of Commerce. Julie was there for the entire 2 hours, and shared her thoughts and experience about many of the candidates for city council, and named specific candidates that she would not support, why they would be bad for the new city, as well as those she would support.

A lot of discussion was placed on city council candidates who are also current members of the Menifee Valley Chamber of Commerce, and discussed the conflict of interest that their elections would create, particularly through their relationship with developers, and their intentions for running.

Therese Daniels, one of the show's hosts, spent some time about why she's supporting Wallace Edgerton for city council.

Two candidates called into the show, Darci Castillejos, and Sue Kristjansson, and spoke about their candidacies. Sue spoke only briefly, while Darci was on the show for about 30 minutes.

A few other listeners called in with their questions and comments, including one who works in the CalFire department, and talked about the state of the emergency services department.

There was also some problems hearing the show due to browser problems. It seems that Internet Explorer has some troubles delivering the audio. I was able to hear the show fine using the Firefox browser. Others said that the audio came through fine when listening to show in their native audio player.

One of the nice aspects of tuning into the show, is that you can also take part in the "chat room", and talk to the other listeners. At one point, there were as many as 16 people in the chat room, including some city council candidates.

Labels: City-Council, Cityhood, Radio

I received the following announcement from Jason Roth, campaigning for Menifee city council as a write-in candidate...

Dear Steve,

I have noticed that you have been posting information on your site in regards to City Council candidates. I would like to request an article be posted regarding my write-in candidacy.

My name is Jason Roth and I am a Write-In Candidate for the "Menifee Valley" City Council. My family and I have made the "Menifee Valley" our home for the last eight years. We are involved in many local activities including school functions, baseball, soccer, and church, among others. The reason I am running for a position on the City Council is to give back to a Community that has given me and my family so much after an accident left me paralyzed. I also want my children to be proud to say they are from "Menifee". I believe this is a Great Community and want to keep it that way.


I have a Bachelor's degree in Economics which has led me into a career as a Financial Analyst working exclusively for Government Agencies. On a daily basis I assist local cities and agencies with budgets, resolutions, and ordinances among other duties. I am familiar with California Law including Government Code and Streets and Highway Code among others. Additional responsibilities include making sure language in documents presented to City Councils and other departments within cities complies with the law. This experience translates directly to being a City Council member.

Because my family does live in this area and taxes are high enough, I am opposed to increased taxes. I believe we need to maintain the Senior Community, Rent Control, along with preserving the Rural Community. These have been staples of this area. We need to control the number of tract homes and the concentration of housing within those tracts. I am in favor of attracting new business to the community. This will provide us with increased tax revenue to provide the necessary services that are needed to be a City. And most importantly, I am in favor of a FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE City Council. If our City Council is Responsible in how they spend the Communities money we will be able to provide a greater number of Benefits including possibly the most important, Increased Law Enforcement.

Questions? E-mail J.Roth@DSLExtreme.com

Labels: City-Council

I received the following press release from Scott Mann, candidate for Menifee City Council...

Mann Captures Two Key Public Safety Endorsements

Menifee, California, May 12, 2008 - The Scott A. Mann Campaign for Menifee City Council released information today related to Mann's Public Safety platform in the race for Menifee City Council. These two new endorsements include:

* Police Chief Kevin Segawa, Mt. San Jacinto College Police Department, and,

* The CDF Firefighters Riverside Chapter - Local 2881

These endorsements come in the wake of the Riverside Sheriffs' Association and the California Coalition of Law Enforcement Associations' endorsements which were announced in a press release on April 30th. No other candidate has captured these public safety endorsements to their campaigns.

Having the support of nearly every law enforcement and emergency management professional in the County of Riverside only serves to confirm Mann's commitment to public safety in the Proposed City of Menifee.

Mann said in a statement, "My goal for our new city is to prevent crime before it happens. When we do that throughout the community, it makes the bad guys say 'Don't go to Menifee'!"

For additional information on his campaign visit www.MannforMenifee.com or www.smartvoter.org. If you wish to discuss a community issue, Scott Mann can be contacted at MannforMenifee@mchsi.com.

Labels: City-Council