March 2010 Meeting & Clean Up Day!

Please mark your calendar and plan to attend:

March 11, 2010 - Larry Ward, County Assessor, will present at our Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) meeting and talk about Property Taxes. We all pay property taxes and write checks to Larry Ward. Now, we'll be able to meet him in person and ask questions -- come prepared. DHS MAC Meeting, 6 p.m., Bubbling Wells Elem Schl.

DHS MAC Board Members & Alternates will be named. The DHS MAC has expanded its area to include more territory. Join us to meet new members.

Our MAC is sponsored by Supervisor Marion Ashley's Office and Riverside County Economic Development Agency. Brenda Salas is the Project Manager.

March 13, 2010 - B BAR H Ranch Clean Up Day at the Arch on Bubbling Wells & El Serape. We will repeat last year's clean up event. The dumpster will be located at the Arch from 8 - Noon. B BAR H Volunteers are needed to help at the Arch. Riverside County will supply T-Shirts and tools. Let's all meet at the Arch at 7:30 a.m. on March 13th to coordinate our efforts.

Arrive Early! PLAN TO BRING YOUR UNWANTED TRASH TO THE ARCH EARLY. Last year we ran out of bin space early and had to turn people away.

Last year's clean up day produced amazing results for our area. This year we are expecting a much larger response. Both the North and South sides of the Ranch were notified. Special thanks to Dennis Cline and Trudy Patee for notifying the South Side residents.

Clean Up Day is a great way for us clean out unwanted items, to see one another and work together to make our neighborhood look good. This event is sponsored and paid for by Riverside County Code Enforcement. Our Community Improvement Specialist is Chaka Ferrel.

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Please spread the word throughout the neighborhood about these two events.

Oct '09 MAC Meeting Follow-Up from Riverside County Transportation Department

  

When a Community Speaks, Riverside County Transportation Listens!

By Anna Miller, DHS MAC Board Member
Information from Lawrence Tai, Riverside County Transportation Department
October 30, 2009

The DHS Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) under the leadership of  Ms. Brenda Salas met on October 9, 2009 to discuss transportation issues within our community.   Mr. Lawrence Tai of the RCTD presented to the B-BAR-H Ranch residents and answered questions many people had about road and lighting improvements.  As a result, Lawrence conducted research and responded to the community's needs.   Below is a summary of  Mr. Tai's findings and recommendations for moving forward:

1. Recommendations for the corner of 20th Ave & Palm Drive

Mr. Tai drove both 20th Ave and Palm Dr (making left turn from Palm onto 20th Ave) after the meeting.  The intersection has no street lights and is quite dark.  RCTD will install reflective markers (Type F-2) to delineate the corner returns (NE and SE) to better guide motorists onto 20th Ave.

RCTD will also replace the existing intersection warning signs/street name signs on Palm Dr in advance of 20th Ave with larger size sign with better reflectivity to increase the target value and visibility.

Regarding the possibility of installing street lights at this intersection, RCTD contacted the SCE planner for the area and try to obtain a cost estimate for the installation of two street lights (NE and SW corner) on wood posts.   Due to the need for installing an additional post in the SE corner (to provide power) , there will be an installation charge from SCE.  The preliminary cost provided by SCE is between $3,000 to $5,000.   Will EDA be able to provide funds for the installation? 

Brenda Salas said, "We need documentation from SCE they are willing to pay for the maintenance and the exact costs, if so then I am told it is likely Redevelopment will pay for this expense to install. Appreciate your work Lawrence!"

2. Check policy for maintaining B-BAR-H Roads

B-BAR-H Ranch roads are maintained through CSA 115 funds because they are not County owned.

3. Follow up pertaining to the 20th Ave & Mountain View Road project

Based upon a recommendation made by the B-BAR-H Ranch CSA 115,  RCTD applied and was successful in obtaining safety grant funds for widening the shoulders on Mt. View Rd and adding left turn lanes at 20th Ave and at Club House Dr.  The project is currently under design and environmental clearance review.   Assuming we have no environmental clearance issues, we anticipate submitting to Caltrans (as project is federally funded) the request for authorization to advertize the project in March, 2010.  Construction is expected to begin in Fall, 2010.

4. Stop signs inside B-BAR-H Ranch North at El Serape and Sagebrush Trail and Paintbrush Trail

Since CSA 115 roads are non-county maintained, it will be up to the CSA to determine if additional STOP signs are needed.  This item needs to be put to a vote at an upcoming MAC meeting.

According to the CA Vehicle Code, at "T" intersections, traffic on the terminating street (stem of the T) has to yield to the traffic on the through street (top of the T).  STOP sign typically is not needed.  However, when there is sufficient traffic volume, and potential conflicts exist, STOP sign may be appropriate for the terminating street.

For cross intersections, if sight distance is restricted, two-way stop control may be beneficial.

5.  What is the maintenance schedule for resurfacing the roads within the B-BAR-H Ranch North.  We need to know when the last resurfacing occurred and when we can get them resurfaced again.

CSA 115 will have to research their records and make that determination.  We will contact Andy Frost at EDA to obtain past CSA 115 meeting minutes and history to discuss at a future meeting.

6.  We'd also like to know if we can work through the Transportation Dept for obtaining a low voltage solar lamp street light. 

The need for installing additional street lights will be up to the CSA to determine.  Regarding solar-powered street lights, these typically are LEDs and have a "Cool White" color - quite different from the color (more orange-yellowish) of the existing Hight Pressure Sodium (HPS) lights.   Be cautious in using solar-powered lights at this time since the solar panel on the street lamp may require high maitenance (need a clean surface to produce maximum electric current, and is highly susceptible to vandelism).  Who will be responsible for maintenance once the solar-powered lights are installed?

LED street lights using conventional power could be an alternative; however, as far as we know, the initial cost is high.  Our recent analysis for currently available products shows that the recovery period (from energy saving) is longer than the warranty life of the street light.  New and better products will be available in the next few years.  Until then, the recommendation is to wait to utilize LED street lights. 

If the MAC wishes to install additional conventional-powered street lights on non-county maintained streets within CSA 115, the CSA should work with EDA and contact SCE directly.

7.  "No Dumping Sign" on 20th Ave are needed.

If the CSA pays for the signs, RCTD will install them.  Unfortunately, these signs are subject to vandalism and knock down, and often get stolen.   RCTD will NOT be able to maintain these signs within county road rights-of-way.  We will also contact Chaka Ferrel, Riverside County Community Improvement Specialist, regarding this issue.

8.  Centerline Striping on 20th Ave and on Bubbling Wells Road

Mr. Tai drove both 20 Ave and Bubbling Wells Rd after the meeting.  RCTD will install the yellow centerline on 20th Ave between Palm Dr. and Mt. View, and on Buddbling Wells between Dillon and 20th Ave.  RCTD will install the centerline in 4 to 6 weeks when the field crews can be scheduled.

9.  Speed Limits on 20th Ave (between Palm Dr and Mt. View) and on Bubbling Wells Rd (between Dillon Rd and 20th Ave)

RCTD  will be installing 45 mph speed limit signs on 20th Ave between Mt. View and Bubbling Wells Rd based on Engineering and Traffic Surveys (E&TS).     RCTD will obtain updated speed surveys on both Bubbling Wells (between Dillon and 20th Ave) and 20th Ave (between Bubbling Wells and Palm Dr) in November.

10.  Street name signs for 18th Ave and for El Serape on Bubbling Wells Rd

Based on our field review, we'll relocate the "18th ST" street name signs to the dirt road intersection (18th Street), and install new advance street name signs "El Serape ->" on Bubbling Wells Rd in advance of the intersection of El Serape and Bubbling Wells Rd.

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Comments are open for our readers.  Please feel free to submit your thoughts.   Our next MAC meeting is scheduled for December 10, 2009 at Bubbling Wells Elementary School Library at 6:00 p.m. 

Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) District 5 Meeting #2

Here's the time/date/place for our second MAC Meeting. Please mark your calendar to attend:

Thursday, October 8, 2009
6:00 P.M.
Bubbling Wells Elementary School

Guest Speaker:

Mojahed Salama, Riverside County Transportation Dept

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NEWS & UPDATES:

New Road Project -- For those of you who do NOT want the new road, please see the email copied below from Mr. Steve Hernandez, Legislative Assistant to Supervisor Marion Ashley. I forwarded the "stop the road project petition" to Mr. Hernandez and asked him what we needed to do to stop the project from proceeding.

Here's the response:

from Hernandez, Steven
to Anna Miller
date Tue, Sep 8, 2009 at 9:38 AM
subject RE: B-BAR-H Ranch Road Project Update

Hi Anna,

We will not proceed with a project that the community does not want or deem necessary.

Steven Hernandez
Legislative Assistant to Supervisor Marion Ashley
951-955-1050

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Community Improvements -- Based on feedback from our community, the following community improvements will be proposed and submitted to the MAC for approval: mellow/solar lamps, road resurfacing and stop signs within our neighborhood. Other improvements will be proposed to include: center divider lines (20th ave & Bubbling Wells), no dumping signs (20th ave), improved visibility at corner (Palm & 20th ave). The attached map was created from ideas submitted by Andy Biswas, Jim Fosbinder, and Jodi Duffie.

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Speed Bumbs Update -- I spoke extensively with Mr. Salama from the Transportation Department about speed bumps, and as a result think we need to revisit the need for speed bumps in our neighborhood. Here's a list of very good reasons why we should not install speed bumps:

1. it slows down an emergency vehicle; and sometimes a few seconds of time matters when it's a life/death situation. Emergency Response Personnel do NOT like speed bumps.

2. because we have no curbs, drivers will make paths around the speed bump to avoid them creating a mess on the landscape

3. they are noisey

We can discuss alternatives at our next MAC meeting.

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MAC District 5 Map -- See attached map of our MAC area from Brenda Salas. For any further details, please contact Brenda Salas.

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B-BAR-H Ranch Arch Update -- I spoke with Riverside Historical Expert Keith Herron. Keith suggested we proceed with a meeting with the land owner to express our interest in preserving the Arch. He also said a letter of endorsement from the DHS Historical Society would be helpful. Rose Alsup is helping with this project.

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Changing our Address Name from DHS to something else -- Many people here do NOT want to use the Desert Hot Springs name in our mailing address. We can have it changed. We need to meet to create a new name, and then we can set up a meeting with the USPS Post Master to implement the change. Let's talk about it at our next MAC meeting when the agenda opens for public comments.

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The $400K Road to NOwhere: MAC Meeting a Lively Discussion

- VOICE OF THE PEOPLE -

The $400K Road to NOwhere: MAC Meeting a Lively Discussion
by Jim Fosbinder, B-BAR-H Resident

The first MAC meeting held July 9th at the VFW was attended by 20+ B-BAR-H Ranch Residents. And, it was a lively conversation. We learned about the purpose of the MAC, how we can participate, and most importantly, how we can be heard to get things done for the common good of all!

We were a little disappointed the "old" CSA 115 Board Members were up to their "old" tricks and decided to introduce the "new" MAC to their Standard Operating Procedure "coup d'etat" of no-show of one Board Member so there wasn't a quorum. We aren't going to tolerate that old way of doing business within our new MAC! Residents were eager to contribute suggestions and ideas for our next meeting which we hope will be scheduled prior to October!!!

Brenda Salas, Project Manager, explained we need more people for our MAC's Board of Directors; 5-7 Board Members is ideal in case there's any absenteeism. Volunteers came forth to become a MAC Board Member: Andy Biswas, Tad Seney, and Guy Hildebrand are applying for the MAC Board. Plus, Steve Grasha already submitted his application, and Brenda confirmed it has been received. We should have a strong MAC Board soon who will represent the area to help get things done for our neighborhood.

A lively discussion was centered around the new "Road to Nowhere." The County may have approved a second entrance/exit for our area, but we learned last night there's a 80-90% chance we can overturn the decision. There's no need to spend our tax dollars on a road we do not want or need. A petition was presented at the meeting signed by 20+ residents. The petition will be sent to Brenda Salas to present to the Board Of Supervisors as our first attempt to stop the "$400K Road to Nowhere." We also communicated clearly, we will do whatever it takes to stop this wasteful spending of our tax dollars.

Juan Perez, Director of Transportation, heads up Riverside County's transportation department. Brenda is going to ask him to attend our next MAC meeting to give us a staff report on the road project status and the amount of money already spent from our tax dollars for this project. We need to find out from Mr. Perez what we need to do to put a halt on this wasteful spending before it gets out of control. At our last Neighborhood Meeting (not the MAC), Chad Wilshire, Senior Development Specialist for Riverside County, informed us money has already been spent on some of the engineering of the road project. We really need to stop this unneeded spending of our tax dollars.

Did you know we have a second exit out of the area through 18th Street? It's a dirt road, but works perfectly if there's an emergency! It's large enough for dump trucks and fire trucks. We really need to think about spending $400K on a new road when we already have two entrances/exits from our area. Pat Carney said the 18th Street exit crosses a vacant lot. If you own the lot, please contact us. Regardless, I don't think Police, Fire or Ambulance care if the road crosses a vacant lot -- they'll use it anyway!

Someone mentioned the idea of putting up a gated road which would be locked and used only for an emergency. Only police and fire would have the key. Well, although this sounds like a fancy alternative, the tax dollars and cost would increase to create a gate and all! I don't think this is a good way to spend our tax dollars! And again, it's not needed because we can exit using El Serape Road and 18th Street onto Bubbling Wells.

There were many other topics discussed, and we are preparing information for our next meeting. The next MAC Meeting is tentatively scheduled for October 8, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. We're going to see if we can get an earlier date. The location will be determined later and posted on the blog.

Here's what we're planning for the next meeting topics:

1. Speed Bumps
2. Stop Signs
3. Road Improvement - Black Top
4. Solar Street Lamps
5. Traffic Study for 20th Avenue & Bubbling Wells Road
6. Change our Name from Desert Hot Springs to??? Please bring your ideas to the next meeting!
7. Arch Area Improvement
8. Staff Report from Dept. of Transportation about the status of the "road to nowhere" project

We were told things get done by people who attend the meetings.

It was good to see Code Enforcement represented at our first MAC Meeting. For those of you who are concerned, Mary Overholt, Code Enforcement Officer, said the broken fence at the end of Sagebrush Trail is being addressed. Plus, we were told there will be more Code Enforcement Officers scheduled to drive through our area on a regular basis to help us maintain the integrity of the community. On behalf of our area, we thanked Code Enforcement for attending our first MAC and for the help they've given us to clean up our neighborhood. If you haven't done so, take a drive around. You can see the difference Code Enforcement's Community Improvement Department has made! Our Riverside County, Community Improvement Specialist is Chaka Ferrel.

Let's create a fresh, new Municipal Advisory Committee! Let's do things for the common good of us all and create a community we are proud to call our home! Let's use our roads & lighting tax dollars wisely for the things we need to improve our community and our property.

Spread the word. Talk to your neighbors. Tell people who don't have a computer about the MAC.