With all respect due Charles Dickens, I have heisted his title for this column. I recently returned to Solana Beach (our home for ten years). Usually I am happy to go there to see old friends and stare at the ocean. This trip was much different and much sadder. It was the memorial service for one of my dearest friends.
I took the time to drive around neighborhoods I hadn’t seen in 20 years. Some of the originally built homes were still there but they were being replaced with McMansions. You know the kind; a 4,000 square foot house on a 3,000 square foot lot.
Houses on the beach or with a whitewater view go for millions of dollars. Rich people can afford to do stuff like that. To all the naysayers who have told me to leave town I would be happy to return to Solana Beach or Rancho Santa Fe. You provide the house; I’ll take care of the moving costs!
South Cedros in Solana Beach used to look like parts of Ramsey Street in Banning; ugly, unappealing to buy or do business or heaven forfend shop there.
The once warehouse-like buildings were transformed into a shopping Mecca. Brightly painted storefronts got rid of the dumping group atmosphere and became productive and visitor friendly shops. I miss the tile and knob shop. An eclectic blend of products, restaurants and little gourmet markets became the norm. More than ever, the New Zealand shop remains my favorite as I wasn’t able to take my trip there.
The parking is still lousy but the people keep flocking there anyway. It is a wonderful source of sales tax and transient occupancy tax for the city.
It didn’t happen by itself; it took public and private partnerships to make it work. I couldn’t begin to count the number of hours of elbow grease that went into make each shop unique.
Bill and I were still kind of newbie’s when we moved to Banning 14 years ago. We chose Sun Lakes because it suited our needs. While there was less privacy than we preferred and the houses all looked alike, the advances of the community sold us.
We would soon find out that terrific people resided in this Planned Unit Development (PUD). There were many clubs to join, depending on your interests. There were three libraries on the complex along with tennis courts, bocce ball courts and of course, 2 excellent golf courses to test one’s acumen and patience. None of these amenities come free, as an association fee is paid for by each homeowner.
The main dining room and Sand Wedge are good enough and reasonably priced to close your kitchen and eat out often.
The climate had 4 seasons and the views of the mountains are majestic with or without snow. We thought we had made a good choice…. Sort of.
We should have driven around the area before we moved in! Old furniture was abandoned in empty lots with the weeds as high as corn plants. The almost unending wind blows debris and left over sandwich wrappers everywhere. I even saw a guy drop his big Mac remnants on the ground. The worst part was he was leaning on the garbage can.
While Banning and Beaumont are divided by Highland Springs; they are divided by much more… what seems then (and now) to be a minimal amount of communications between the governing bodies. It didn’t take my long to figure out that these feuds had been ongoing. Why and isn’t it time to get over it?
I am a political junkie, so I attend a lot of meetings and often write about them. At one time I saw a Beaumont City Council meeting last for 13 minutes! That simply is not enough time to devote to doing the city’s business. Much business was allegedly done behind closed doors and the staff consultants ran the city.
Back in Banning, I have seen some good decisions and also some douses’! When I asked a long time Banning resident why Banning often failed, he said “when Banning comes close to success, they figure out a way to ruin it! The revolving door of city managers has been going on for years.
The latest city manager Michael Rock seems to be doing a good job. We’ll just wait and see how his job tenure lasts after the next election. Bullies will be bullies.
All through the recent economic disaster we are working out of, (former) Beaumont City Manager was heard to say that they hadn’t laid anyone off, reduced anyone’s salary and they were running at a surplus! As recent history has shown as the dirty laundry keeps being discovered, the city didn’t have a surplus they were running at a huge deficit!
Beaumont looks at paying about $60 million in a lawsuit they lost to the Western Riverside County of Governments (WRCOG). The award from the judge was about $43 million against Beaumont. Of course Beaumont is appealing, so that sum of money, gathering interest daily is now close to $60 million and counting!
Then there is the question of what did the people who were running the city do with about $275 million dollars in bond funding over the last 20 years? Have you ridden on Beaumont roads lately? It was supposed to go for infrastructure. Other than the bridge that goes nowhere, I cannot imagine what it was spent on, who knew about it and where is it? All kinds of people are trying to determine that and I await full disclosure.
The last election saw three incumbents swept out of office bringing in three new people to try to right the state of the city. I give them all credit, as they are certainly not paid the kind of money that the people who did the deeds have received over the years. I wish the council and the citizens of Beaumont who are “over Mello Roos-ed” into poverty a fair way out.
The November election will see 3 seats up in Banning. Lloyd Fields, a land owner and financier of the campaigns of Mr. Miller and Mr. Peterson said at a public meeting, “I will destroy Banning.”
The people of Banning deserve better! Become informed. Go to council meetings or watch them on television. See what is doing at the Planning Commission. You will begin to know the personalities of the people making decisions about our money!
A 3-2 block vote pretty much seals the future of Banning. If the bad guys win, we should all think about selling our property while it is still worth something.
This is a participatory democracy. Jump in. Get informed. Register to vote and pray you made the right decision.
In the distant future, Banning and Beaumont may have to talk with each other, as the price of building infrastructure is forever rising. Good luck to all of us!