Dogs go to school B-2
Carner goes to Boys State B-5
Golfers dress up D-2
Village News Fallbrook & Bonsall
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www.VillageNews.com
June 1, 2017
FRHD’s sale of hospital to mental health provider causes stir
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 21, Issue 21
Remembering the fallen
Tom Ferrall Staff Writer
News that the Fallbrook Regional Health District (FRHD) board sold the old Fallbrook Hospital facility to a mental health provider – and did so without a vote of the public, which officials had previously stated would be necessary for any sale of the building – caused quite a reaction. The FRHD board, during its regular meeting May 10, voted unanimously to sell the vacant building located at 624 East Elder St. to Crestwood Behavorial Health, Inc. for $4.5 million. The board was able to sell what had been called “the community’s asset” without a community vote since the sale price only represented “about 38 percent of the district’s total assets,” according to FRHD executive Bobbi Palmer. If the sale price had represented 50 percent or more of the district’s total assets, then a citizen’s vote would have been required, according the health and safety code under which the district operates. Vi l l a g e N e w s r e a d e r s – via posting comments on the n e w s p a p e r ’s w e b s i t e a n d through phone calls – expressed disappointment and anger that there was not a citizen’s vote and also, by a great majority, were not thrilled about Fallbrook being home to a mental health facility. FRHD announced in March that it would hold a town hall meeting at its regular board meeting April
Rylan Hokeness, 17 months, and mom Alexis place flowers on one of the graves at the Christine Rinaldi photo Masonic Cemetery at the conclusion of the Memorial Day Celebration, May 29. The Fallbrook Garden Club provided flowers for attendees to place on graves of their choosing. More photos of the event will be coming in the June 8 issue of the Village News.
Classics shine at car show
thisweek
T h e F a l l b r o o k Vi l l a g e Association (FVA), which presents the popular Fallbrook Summer Nights, is increasing the fun this summer. Last year, FVA hosted three summer night parties. This year, it will present six events – three Party Off the Grid celebrations (June 9, June 23 and July 7), and three traditional Fallbrook Summer Nights (July 21, Aug. 4 and Aug. 18). Roy Moosa, president of FVA, said the popularity of Fallbrook Summer Nights ironically resulted in his getting complaints. “Everybody screamed and shouted, ‘why did you only do three, we want more,’” said Moosa, who noted that the events are put on by volunteers and require a lot of work. “So we thought how can we do more with the manpower that we have. What we came up with is three separate events plus the standard ones everyone is used to.” The Party Off the Grid events will be smaller than Fallbrook Summer Nights but will still feature live music, a beer and wine garden, food vendors and a kids zone. Unlike Fallbrook Summer Nights, Party Off the Grid will not require any street closures. Party Off the Grid will take place at 139 South Main in the parking lot that separates the Bean & Bug Coffee Lounge and the Old 395 sports bar and also in a portion of Library Plaza (the large parking lot located below the Fallbrook Library parking lot). Moosa said the alley located behind the two
see SUMMER, page A-9
Cal Fire suspends permits for outdoor residential burning
200 bridges, 76 miles of guardrail, 18,460 culverts, 188 traffic signals, 6,651 street lights, and 37,292 traffic signs, so DPW must spend operations money on items other than road maintenance. In addition to road surface treatments, the maintenance and operations expenses include tree and brush trimming, striping, street sweeping, drainage, snow removal, emergency response, signals and signs, and customer requests. DPW’s total 2016-17 funding was $244.5 million, which included development planning, sidewalks and gutters, flood control, County Airports, recycling, and other functions. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers developed a pavement condition index which utilizes a specialized vehicle with downward facing cameras to inspect roads and determine road condition. An index of 71 to 100 is considered very good, an index of 51 to 70 is considered good, an index of 26 to 50 is considered poor, and an index of 0 to 25 is considered very poor. T h e c o u n t y ’s p a v e m e n t condition index was 71 in 2010, 67 in 2012, 64 in 2014, and 60 in 2016. According to the DPW
EL CAJON – After a wet winter, warming temperatures are quickly drying out the abundant annual grass crop. The increasing fire danger posed by the high volume of dead grass and hotter, drier conditions in the region has prompted Cal Fire to suspend all burn permits for outdoor residential burning within the State Responsibility Area of San Diego County. The suspension took effect May 26 and bans all residential outdoor burning of landscape debris such as branches and leaves. “We are asking that residents not be lulled into a false sense of security on the heels of an exceptionally wet winter,” said Chief Ken Pimlott, Cal Fire director. “The abundant dead grass will only serve as a fuse to the heavier vegetation still suffering the lasting effects of five years of extreme drought.” “The importance of defensible space cannot be over emphasized, but just as important is that residents conduct their clearance activities in a safe and responsible manner,” said Cal Fire Unit/San Diego County Fire Chief Tony Mecham. “This includes using the proper tools and limiting clearance activities to the early morning hours when the humidity is up and the temperatures are down.” Since Jan. 1, Cal Fire and firefighters across the state have already responded to more than 920 wildfires. While outdoor burning of landscape debris by homeowners is no longer allowed, Cal Fire is asking residents to ensure that they are prepared for wildfires by maintaining a minimum of 100 feet of defensible space around every home and building on their property.
see PAVEMENT, page A-11
see BURNING, page A-7
James Dionne keeps his 1960 Chevrolet Corvette shiny at the 52nd annual Fallbrook Vintage Car Show held May 28 at Pala Mesa Resort. For more car show photos, see C-1.
Shane Gibson photo
Supervisors call for five-year pavement condition index restoration Joe Naiman Village News Correspondent
Village News
Fallbrook Village Association increases summer night fun Tom Ferrall Staff Writer
see HOSPITAL, page A-10
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50¢ Sales tax included at news stand
The new state legislation raising gas taxes and vehicle registration fees may be a hardship for motorists, but it provides some relief to local governments responsible for maintaining roads. The expected additional income has allowed the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to call for the restoration of the county’s average pavement condition index to a rating of 70 within the next five years. A 5-0 Board of Supervisors vote May 2 authorized the use of $34 million in reserves which will allow the average pavement condition index of countymaintained roads to be raised to 70 within five years. The state Road Repair and Accountability Act was approved after the county’s preliminary 2017-18 budget was prepared, and the supervisors also directed the county’s chief administrative officer (CAO) to include that revenue in a change letter for the final proposed budget. “It’s certainly something the public can support,” said Supervisor Greg Cox. “Our residents very soon will be enjoying a better network of roads.”
At one time, gas tax revenue was used for nearly all of the road fund budget, but a combination of more drivers creating additional wear and tear on the roads, better fuel efficiency and increased mass transit use which have reduced the quantity of gas purchased and thus gas tax revenue, and decreased funding from the State of California has forced the county to utilize other sources. The 2016-17 road fund amount of $92.4 million consisted of $79 million for maintenance and operations and $13.4 million for capital projects. Gas tax provided $51 million of the maintenance and operations amount. The San Diego Gas & Electric franchise fee the utility pays for its use of public roadway provided $5 million for the road fund. The county now uses part of the half-cent TransNet sales tax for transportation to cover road maintenance; TransNet accounted for $2 million of the 2016-17 amount. The county’s Department of Public Works (DPW) used $14.5 million of previous-year balance for 2016-17 expenses and the 2016-17 budget also allocated $6.5 million of reserves for the road fund. The county maintains 1,954 centerline miles and 3,981 lane miles of public road along with