Multiple improvements to be made and maintenance to be had.

This last week the Hemet City council has been talking maintenance and sustainability.

On Nov 12 city council approved 3 projects:

1. The Kirby Street Improvement Project
2. The Warren Road and Auto Boulevard project
3. The city purchased 4 electric charging stations and 2 electric vehicles as well.

The Kirby Street project, the cost of which is estimated to be $531,543.00, is covered by “Measure A” and entails the area between Devonshire and Menlo on Kirby Street, which will be subject to general improvements including; removal and reconstruction of failed asphalt areas, curb & gutter, cross gutter, non-compliant handicap ramps, as well as re-striping. Potholes be gone! This is a fairly small project, so the estimated timeline for completion of the project is 40 working days and will be carried out by Superior Paving Company dba United Paving Co. 

The Second project approved by the city is the construction of a traffic signal at Warren Road and Auto Boulevard. The estimated cost of the project is approximately $350,000.00.  This cost is also covered by a budget the City Council created called the CIP 5613. The process of constructing the traffic signal isn’t a long or tedious one, but the time to actually procure it can take up to six months so there is no set timeline for this project. It will begin once equipment arrives. 

Third on the list was the purchase of electric vehicles as well as their charging stations. The City has decided to purchase 2 of these vehicles. They can be acquired for little to no money under the Local Government Partnership Program Contract which supports California’s Cities in their attempts to procure zero-emission vehicles and install electric vehicle charging infrastructure. With that, the cost of this project, $112,575.04 will be similarly offset: good news for those of you who have electric vehicles or are interested in making the change. As the prominence of electric vehicles rises, the interest and funding towards supporting that local interest will rise as well.

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A new tax at McSweeney tract goes to improvements and upkeep

McSweeney farms, a local housing tract, has, for some time, been preparing for an expansion, only recently having gotten approval for a developer to build structures allowing for large-scale irrigation that is a lynch-pin to expansion.

Now however, they have received approval to impose a tax that will be paid by the residents of the McSweeney tract itself. This tax, due in-part to the Mello-Roos Act of 1982, is intended to assist public agencies in financing certain public services. This special tax will be placed on the McSweeney district and will cover the costs associated with the maintenance of public improvements, specifically landscaping, street lights, street/curb/gutter maintenance, channel and detention basin facilities, and graffiti maintenance. The costs involves services for landscape maintenance including streetscapes, slopes and medians specifically. Covered as well are: landscaping materials such as turf, ground cover, shrubbery, trees, plants, irrigation and drainage systems, weed control and other abatements, energy, repair/replacement and inspection.

Maintenance, administration and inspection of the storm-water facilities and BMPs includes water-quality basins, and open-space areas. Litter and graffiti removal on sound walls and other amenities, plus normal painting as required are also included. That was a mouthful, but it’s good to know where your money’s going.

Down to the brass “tax.” The cost of the tax will be $155 – $1,705.00 per taxable unit per year for residential units and a “Maximum Special Tax” in the range of $1,522 – $ 1,603 per acre per-year for Multi-Family, Non-Residential and Undeveloped property. The upside to this whole situation is that this maintenance will have little to no fiscal impact on the city itself. Utilizing the Mello-Roos Act, the city won’t have to worry about the funding for McSweeney maintenance.

You can find the details of the tax and how it applies to you on the city’s website. If you want to weigh in on the topic, a public hearing on this matter will take place on December 10, 2019, and at that time City Council will hear any testimony concerning the formation of the tax, and take action to adopt the “Resolution of Formation.” If you want to know before then, speak to one of your council members! Above all else, they are here for us.

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Splash Pads: Responses From Our Readers

In last week’s Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle print edition, we wrote an article asking our readers if they thought the addition of a splash pad would benefit our community. We were pleased by the number of responses; many parents/grandparents were thrilled with the idea. Others in the community were worried about the funding, keeping the park sanitary, keeping unwanted trespassers out, and preventing the park from vandalism were all opinions that were had by many who aren’t in favor of a splash pad to be added. If you read the article, it stated that the funding of the project would come via government grants for underprivileged cities, not taxpayers’ pockets. Also more often than not, the water at these parks only operates between 12-5 and they are usually fenced in. Here are some of the responses from the community about the idea of Hemet or San Jacinto building a splash pad.

“Yes! We would love to have it in our valley we have children that would enjoy it so much! We hope we can get this a pass and get one here.”- Kathy Meza

“I have lived in this community for 20 years, and it seems to get hotter every summer. We could definitely use some better parks and splash pads. It would 100% help as long as we can keep the town’s unsavory homeless population out of them. I have a 1 1/2 yr old and my husband, and I currently have to drive to Temecula to take her to a nice safe, drug-free park.” – Desiree Ortiz

“An interesting idea. First, consider the median income, and home prices in the areas that were mentioned already have a splash pad. The taxes in those areas can support something like this. Now, consider the same for this area. Median income and the home price is significantly lower.

If a grant could be acquired to pay for a splash pad, there is still upkeep and insurance, which would be a pretty penny. Can this area afford those costs and not take money away from other valuable services?

I think a splash pad would be awesome. However, I am concerned about the long term feasibility.” – Jo Ann Roettgen

One reader even suggested that it be built right outside of the police station, that would be one way to ease some of the concerns that many members of the community have. Another suggested we use the state grant money to build a skatepark and look to re-opening the community pools or convincing the local high schools to have free-swimming hours at their pools during the summer.  Many people in our community think a free/very cheap splash pad would make a positive difference in our cities.

The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle looks forward to interacting with you more if you want to respond to the idea of having a splash pad or have a suggestion for our next “Questions to the Community” article, email VCsportsKyle@gmail.com

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