EWMD approves bond issuance for Reserve CFD

Naiman

Joe

Writer

A Community Facilities District exists for the planned Reserve development in French Valley. On February 15 the Eastern Municipal Water District board approved the issuance of bonds to finance EMWD infrastructure in that CFD.

The 4-0 EMWD board vote, with Randy Record absent, adopted a resolution of issuance which authorizes the issuance of up to $6,000,000 in bonds while also approving the bond purchase agreement, the continuing disclosure certificate, and the preliminary official statement.

A community facilities district includes a special tax (sometimes known as Mello-Roos taxes due to the state legislators who authored the option for services on new development to be funded by an annual assessment) to fund the services and/or infrastructure. A Joint Communities Facilities Agreement stipulates the collection and distribution process for the taxes. If the one percent property tax is not sufficient to pay for maintenance, fire protection, and other services a CFD may be formed for those services and that CFD would be perpetual. A CFD may also pay for infrastructure including capacity fees which are charged to developers to cover the new development’s share of existing infrastructure, and that assessment ends when the bonds are paid off. The CFD may also pay for the reimbursement to government agencies for their staff time and other expenses to form the CFD, the cost to issue bonds, and the annual costs to administer the CFD. An assessment must be approved by a majority of property owners, although a developer who owns a property before it is subdivided may cast the sole vote in favor of a CFD which will be binding upon subsequent property owners.

The Reserve planned development is south of Thompson Road, east of Washington Street, and north of Benton Road. Approximately 43.9 acres will be subdivided into 154 single-family lots along with non-residential areas. Lennar Homes, which is developing Reserve, plans to have a Windbrooke neighborhood and a Weatherstone neighborhood.

Nearly all of the homes have already been purchased.

The CFD for Reserve was created in 2021. It finances not only EWMD infrastructure but also Riverside County transportation improvements, Valley‐Wide Recreation and Park District facilities, and reimbursement to Southern California Edison for utility undergrounding. The CFD was authorized to issue up to $7,000,000 in bonds, although if refinancing is feasible additional re-funding bonds may be issued.

Eastern has a Comprehensive Debt Policy which stipulates a minimum of 150 lots and $1 million of debt for a CFD along with an estimated minimum value to lien ratio of 4:1 and an effective tax rate of no more than 2.00 percent of the home’s value. An appraisal based on December 5 values established the total value of the development subject to the CFD at $79,276,942, which is a value-to-lien ratio of 15.81:1.

Another resident questioned a timeline in the objectives to complete a plan to take over all of Valley-Wide Recreation parks in the city by June of 2028, which was questioned by Mayor Pro Tem Bob Karwin. City Manager Armando Villa responded it was a goal, but could be carried over for the following 5-year Strategic Plan since it was not up to the city to decide the final outcome; it would be up to the voters of the city in an election.

Resident Jesse Marquez said the city should have made a larger survey of the residents in the community before making the final decision on the new plan.

Now, the city council and staff will schedule another strategic plan public hearing and make its final decision next month. With the discussion, a budget outline to work toward the goal will also be discussed.

Tony Ault can be reached at tonyault@reedermedia.com.

The bonds will have a September 1, 2052, maturity date. The expected interest which will also be financed by the CFD assessment

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Menifee Valley students honored in January

Diane A. Rhodes

Special to Valley News

The Menifee Valley and Perris Valley Chambers of Commerce Student of the Month program, honoring local high school seniors, held its most recent recognition breakfast on Jan. 11 at the Perris Sizzler, 91 W. Nuevo Road.

Sally Myers, who founded the nonprofit, welcomed everyone to the community-supported program which honors high school seniors for their character, their love of learning and how these students juggle numerous activities such as campus events, athletics and/or community service. It also commends those who have persevered through difficult life circumstances; all in a setting that honors God, their country, community, family and free enterprise.

Gift bags filled with certificates of recognition, gift cards to local merchants and much more were donated by the program’s sponsors to the award recipients. Each student was invited to the podium to share their personal story, past challenges and future goals with a room full of supporters that included principals, teachers, peers and family members, as well as community and school district dignitaries. The event was videotaped by members of the Heritage High School Media Arts Club and uploaded to the district’s website.

January’s students of the month are California Military Institute’s Karen Moreno-Alvarez, Heritage High School’s Rileigh Roberts, Paloma Valley High School’s Celi Orozco and Perris High School’s Maya De Santiago.

Karen Moreno-Alvarez Karen Moreno-Alvarez was recognized as California Military Institute’s outstanding senior for January. Principal Nicholas Milosavljevic said, “Karen is somebody who is conscientious, honest, definitely a moral person, a person with integrity and she leads that way at our school.” He thanked the outstanding senior for being an excellent example for all of the cadets on campus. Nominating teacher and Brigade Leader David Sibley described Karen as a “consummate professional” who is “bright and intelligent.” He said, “Karen sets an exceptional example for others to follow and is well respected.” She plans to major in criminology at college with the goal of becoming a crime scene investigator. She takes dual enrollment courses, is a member of Link Crew, ASB and the yearbook team.

“I want to thank my little sister and older brother for their inspiration,” Karen said, after thanking her parents and many others who have supported her.

Rileigh Roberts

Rileigh Roberts was introduced by Heritage High School Principal Lindsay Chavez as meeting the school’s goal for all its students to build a LEGACY, which encompasses leadership, character and more. This was echoed by Robin Perry, her AP Literature teacher, who nominated her. “At Heritage, we believe in leaving a legacy and Rileigh pretty much emulates that by bringing energy and positivity to our school culture,” Perry said. Rileigh has a rigorous academic schedule but is involved with AVID and the cheer and stunt team. “She is quite literally a cheerleader for so many around her,” Perry said. Rileigh, who said she likes to also go by the last name of Divers, said she has struggled this year to balance everything she has going on. “The most important life lesson I will take with me to college is knowing the difference between selfdiscipline and advocacy,” Rileigh said. “My passion is to one day study forensic psychology and sociology. I know it’s hard to change the world but it’s attainable if you start by influencing the people in it.” Rileigh said watching her younger sister go through serious medical challenges this past year empowered her and gave her a lot of strength.

Celi Orozco Celi Orozco was singled out at Paloma Valley High School for her academic excellence and her outstanding contribution to the girls’ wrestling team. Principal Jennifer Thomasian said the things that really stand out when she thinks of Celi are dedication, integrity, determination and hard work. Celi said, “One life lesson

I’ve learned is that when you are at your lowest, you can’t let that keep you from achieving your dreams. I owe it to myself, my family and my community to do the best I can do with a positive attitude, to get to where I need to go.” She plans to major in biology or biochemistry in college with hopes to continue on to medical school and eventually become a forensic pathologist.

Maya De Santiago

Maya De Santiago was Perris High School’s choice and Principal Juan Santos described her as being “mature beyond her years and very driven to succeed.” Maya has been part of the school’s Army JROTC program since her freshman year and is currently Battalion Commander. She is also a Varsity Cheerleader and member of Interact, Key Club and Link Crew. “My grandpa was, and still is, one of my biggest motivators,” Maya said. “From a young age, he taught me the importance of education. He always told me to aim high and give my all in school and I did just that. Although my grandpa passed away more than a year ago, his loving and wise words still stick with me today.” Maya feels her greatest contribution to her school, aside from her academic successes, has been her active involvement with spreading school spirit through cheer and other varsity sports. “In this military leadership program, I have been able to work myself up through the ranks and am currently the highest-ranking cadet in JROTC. I am responsible for 200-plus cadets in my program.”

She plans to major in elementary school education and minor in psychology with the goal of becoming a teacher.

Closing remarks

Myers applauded each student and said she was glad the event is videotaped and shared with others because “what you don’t know is how much you might impact someone in your community who hears your story.” She said someone they may never meet might hear the story “that you shared from your heart and their heart may be changed. You may have saved a life. You just don’t know, so never be afraid to share your story.”

Myers ended the event by sharing a word of the day from motivational speaker John Maxwell’s “A Minute with Maxwell.” The word was intentionality. He said to live an intentional life means to take good intentions and turn them into good actions. “I take what I was thinking about and I start doing it. Nothing happens until we become intentional. Intentionality is almost like a bridge we cross over from where we are to where we want to go.” Myers said all of January’s students appear to already be living intentional lives.

For more information on the program, please contact Sarah Rico at 951-943-6369, ext. 80103 or sarah.rico@puhsd.org

High school students learn about early childhood education

Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians

Special to Valley News

Students at Noli Indian School on the Soboba Indian Reservation have been given the opportunity to take a course in early childhood education. The year-long elective provides classroom instruction four days a week and then a practicum each Friday at the nearby Soboba Tribal Preschool. It is registered on the University of California Pathways as a high school education class.

Noli teacher Jay Dagostino has been making weekly visits to the preschool for a couple of years, providing hands-on science lessons to the kindergarten students there. This is an extension of that program, where his high school students work on a lesson plan during the week and then implement it in person each Friday afternoon. They are required to review the lesson plan afterwards so they can learn what worked, what didn’t, and why.

Dagostino serves as Instructor of Information and a facilitator of lessons for the ECE course. His students do all the hands-on instruction for the kindergarten class. He works closely with the preschool staff to arrange fieldwork assignments and to receive feedback on his students’ performance there.

“I have a few students that want to possibly teach preschool and kindergarten as a career,” he said. “I also thought it would be good for future parents.”

Noli Academic Counselor Elizabeth Lacella was approached by Dagostino last school year about adding this opportunity that would benefit high school students that may be interested in working with young children in the future.

“It’s an introduction to a job field,” Lacella said. “It sets the students on a career path that requires them to further their education. It also allows them to create connections and contacts with job potentials for the future.”

Junior Luisa Rivera decided to take the course because she plans to become a teacher at Soboba in the future.

“I liked Fridays when we were with the kids, they were always happy and excited to see us,” Luisa said. “I enjoyed being there. They always made my Fridays bright and turned any bad days into good days.”

Although experience with younger siblings let her know what to expect from the young children, she did learn to be more patient since there were about 20 students in class each week. “This class prepared me for becoming a preschool teacher,” she said.

To encourage her classmates to sign up for the class, Luisa shares with them that “you will have so much fun on Fridays; the kids are adorable and have a lot of energy.”

Even those that don’t plan to go into the childcare or teaching field are learning how to organize, implement ideas and problem solve. They also can hone their leadership and attention to detail skills.

Anthony Salgado-Lopez, a junior at Noli, said he doesn’t aspire to go into a career working with children but was encouraged by Dagostino to enroll in the class.

“I like it and it’s rewarding to see the kids learn something new,” An- thony said. “I feel that being from the same, if not a similar, community from most of the children there, I am giving back in a way that they can say ‘hey, he is like me, we are from the same place.’ Maybe I can be the change and that just makes teaching them worthwhile.”

He added, “It was crazy to me the many connections a child’s brain made and how fast they can learn. I think that was the best lesson I was taught for the simple fact that it’s everything I am learning and putting into action each week.”

Anthony said working with the kindergartners is different than being around his little brothers who are about the same age. With the students, he has learned “how the tone you use to speak to them can change everything they remember about what was said or done.”

He has told his peers that the class is rewarding, fun and takes a lot of patience and compassion. “But most of all, it’s a challenge,” he said.

The Introduction to Early Childhood Education course syllabus describes the main goal as being to introduce students to early child- hood education with emphasis on hands-on learning fieldwork, theories, practice and current trends and developments. Early childhood environments for children from birth through eight years of age are to be studied.

Noli teacher Jay Dagostino, right, discusses what Soboba Tribal Preschool students can plant in their outdoor garden for spring. Science and environmental lessons are always incorporated into the process the students participate in year round with the raised beds that Dagostino helped build years ago.

Several objectives to be met by the end of the course include students being able to explain the roles of the early childhood education professional, describe critical issues facing children and families today, explain the importance of the Piaget theory of cognitive development, discuss the implications of diversity on early childhood education and discover why parent, family and see CHILDHOOD, page B-7