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March 1, 2018
Supervisors approve property tax exchange for healthcare district reorganization
D e L u z , R a i n b ow, C a m p P e ndl e t o n , Pa l a ,
Volume 22, Issue 9
Ideas sought for planned wellness center
Joe Naiman Village News Correspondent
San Diego County’s Local Agency Formation Commission is expected to discuss a reorganization of the Tri-City Healthcare District at their meeting, March 5, which will include removing Camp Pendleton from the healthcare district area and transferring the Fallbrook Healthcare District land within the city of Oceanside to the Tri-City Healthcare District. If LAFCO approves the reorganization, property tax revenue currently paid to the Fallbrook Healthcare District would instead be sent to the TriCity Healthcare District, and Feb. 14, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to approve a property tax exchange agreement for the Tri-City Healthcare District reorganization. The Tri-City Healthcare District boundaries currently include most of the incorporated Oceanside, Carlsbad and Vista areas. The TriCity Healthcare District currently includes 25,600.44 acres within Camp Pendleton. The healthcare district boundary within Camp Pendleton matches the boundary of the Oceanside Unified School
FRHD executive director Bobbi Palmer, center and standing, talks to residents who came to the first community planning meeting on the proposed wellness center Feb. 14 at FPUD. Lucette Moramarco lmoramarco@reedermedia.com Fallbrook Regional Health District held a community forum before its monthly board meeting Feb. 14 to collect input from residents on what they would like to see in a wellness center. As part of its mission to promote health for the people of its district, FRHD is in escrow on a 4.6-acre property (at 1636 East Mission Road)
on which the district board and staff plan to create the Fallbrook Regional Wellness Center. Executive director Bobbi Palmer started out by saying, “thank you for participating in the process; this is a conversation. Please continue to communicate with us.” Palmer hopes to be able to conduct tours of the property next month so residents can see that the property has sufficient space to accommodate a wellness center
Courtesy photo
with a variety of features. The property has a parsonage building she said, with four bedrooms and two bathrooms; a large church building with a second level; another building which could be a satellite office and space for a garden. “This space would be so valuable for the community,” said Palmer, noting that a wellness center fits with the district’s view that treatment is more costly than
see EXCHANGE, page A-8
Fallbrook’s Christmas tree thisweek comes down
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Replacement tree to be in place by end of March Tom Ferrall tferrall@reedermedia.com
The Monterey Pine that stood in front of the Fallbrook Community Center for 36 years and served as Fallbrook’s Christmas tree for the festive holiday tree lighting celebration was cut down by county workers Feb. 20 after it was deemed too sick to save. “The tree was dying and was too sick to trim,” said Jessica Geiszler, marketing manager for County of San Diego Department of Parks and Recreation. “We found from experts that any additional trauma to its branches or its trunk would have actually sped up its mortality.” Geiszler said the 50-foot tall tree – which was “four to six years old” when it was planted in 1981 – was weakened by tough weather conditions over the years and showed signs of a beetle infestation. “We’re always sorry to lose a tree, especially heritage trees that stand for decades in the face of things like drought, severe weather and invasive species,” said Geiszler. “But prolonged exposure can weaken a tree to its core, causing stress and making it susceptible to infections. Sometimes they pull through and thrive; other times – despite our best efforts to water and treat them – they do not.” The Fallbrook Community Center attracts 150 to 200 visitors a day and the tree was becoming a safety concern, according to Geiszler. “It’s a really high-traffic location and the tree was just too sick to be predictable,” said Geiszler. “Falling limbs posed a real risk to pedestrian safety and it was a hazard where it stood. As standard practice, when a tree dies and it’s in or near a public thoroughfare, we have to trim it or remove it, and that is to protect the safety of park users as well as the tree’s surrounding habitats.” Upon completing removal of the tree, Geiszler said workers prepped the area for the arrival of
see CENTER, page A-8
Planning Commission approves AT&T facility in De Luz Joe Naiman Village News Correspondent
responsibility of being Fallbrook’s showcased holiday tree. “The goal is to continue to keep this spot as the location of the Fallbrook tree lighting, and the new tree will continue that tradition for Fallbrook residents and visitors,” said Geiszler. “That tree will be well-planted and thriving by the time December comes.” Last year’s holiday tree lighting
T h e c o u n t y ’s P l a n n i n g Commission approved a Major Use Permit for an AT&T wireless communications facility in De Luz. Commissioners Bryan Woods, Doug Barnhart and David Pallinger were not present at the Feb. 23 hearing, but the other four commissioners all voted in favor of the permit to place antennas on top of the Fallbrook Public Utility District’s Bucknell Reservoir in the 2300 block of Helen Road. The permit also allows for an equipment shelter and an emergency generator within a concrete masonry unit enclosure, and the Planning Commission also granted a waiver of the height limit and approved a notice of exemption from California Environmental Quality Act review, which will be challenged along with the driveway easement access by neighbor Bret Geller. “I’m probably just going to have to file a civil lawsuit,” said Geller, who will now share a paved driveway and gate access with AT&T as well as FPUD. Geller and FPUD share the driveway easement. “The Fallbrook water district gave out my front gate code without my permission,” said Geller. “Basically this is a violation of the easement. It does not mean that they can bring additional traffic onto my property.” Geller noted that the road lacks the capacity for cement trucks and semi-trailers which may be used during construction and maintenance. The permit conditions require AT&T to be responsible for the repair of any roads damaged during construction. AT&T will also assume the costs of maintenance which if not stipulated in a maintenance agreement will be proportional to the use of the easement by each owner. AT&T expects that servicing will require one trip a month
see TREE, page A-8
see AT&T, page A-8
Roots are all that is left the day after county workers Shane Gibson photo took down the 50-foot Monterey Pine that stood in front of the Fallbrook Community Center and served as Fallbrook’s Christmas tree for the holiday tree lighting celebration. The dying tree was removed Feb. 20. a new tree. “We’re going to plant a healthy, good-sized tree in the next month,” said Geiszler Feb. 22. “By the end of March, you should see a new tree in that spot. It will probably be anywhere from 5- to 10-years old. The team right now is looking at trees at local nurseries and is going to pick a species that’s going to thrive in that environment and will grow to be that community icon that its predecessor was.” The new tree will take over the
preventing disease. “We would love to see a healthier community, eating right, exercising, because food is medicine, exercise is medicine.” Close to 50 people attended the forum and contributed their ideas which ranged from physical features to a variety of services, from support groups to different kinds of exercise classes. A vegetable garden, cooking/ nutrition classes, a walking trail and a swimming pool were popular suggestions. Among the ideas discussed were a commercial kitchen which would enable groups from children to seniors to learn how to make nutritious meals. Aquaponics, tilapia farming and growing lettuce in a garden were related concepts along with composting and an outdoor classroom. It was suggested that the wellness center could also be a resource center which provides social services, food insecurity programs, low cost mental health services, emergency response services – Cert, and support groups for tobacco cessation, weight loss, stress management, disease management, etc. Proposed available services included having representatives of the Veterans Administration, Medi-Cal, and food and housing programs (through the county) available to help people. Participants asked that certain