Our quarterly town hall meetings are still drawing over 100 residents in attendance. This is a great forum to learn about what is going on in the community and a place where you can ask questions to the people in charge and receive a response instantly. Thank you for continuing to show up and make your voices heard.
Eastvale has a new Mayor, Jeff Degrandpre. Jeff is married to Deanne and they have 5 children and 3 grandchildren. They have lived here for 8 years and Jeff was President of the Eastvale Incorporation Committee. Many thanks to Councilman Adam Rush, our first Mayor who did a great job last year. The mayor position rotates every year and Councilwoman Kelly Howell is our current Mayor pro-tem and will become mayor next year.
Mayor Degrandpre informed residents that the city is still trying to retrieve the vehicle license fees that the state took from our city last year. $3.2 million was taken out of our funds and although it is a lot of money, we are not bankrupt. The city had enough in reserves to cover the difference and certain cost saving measures and cuts were taken to keep us solvent. Our police and fire staffing levels have not been affected.
Eastvale has a new official website: www.eastvaleca.gov Visit the website and find information about your city council, the planning, public safety and general plan commissions. You can also sign up for notifications about certain city topics. The City’s annual report can be found on the new website. Eastvale’s sales tax revenue for 1st quarter was just over $500,000. 2nd and 3rd quarters were at $896,000 each. The city is hoping for 4th quarter results around $1 million. Mayor Degrandpre urged residents to continue to "Shop Eastvale" and keep the sales tax revenue in our own city. Look closely at the new website and you will see pictures of our own residents. Thanks to Jill Miwa, Gina Frias, Mindy Tanimoto and Deanne Degrandpre for sending in your pictures. It’s a great website with lots of information for you to peruse.
The State of the City address will be March 29, 2012 at Eleanor Roosevelt High School. Dessert will be served in the cafeteria from 6:30-7:30pm and the address will begin at 7:30pm in the auditorium/theater area. Afterwards, as you leave the auditorium, there will tables set up with different city department employees and you can ask questions directly to the people in those departments.
"Eastvale has gone Hollywood" according to Mayor Degrandpre. CVS Pharmacy on the corner of Schleisman and Archibald shot a commercial at this location last month. It will air on all major networks on February 24.
Our city Manager, Bob VanNort gave us an update on the city. Eastvale had 405 building permits pulled in 2011 which is higher than any other city in the county. We added 13 new retailers and we are awaiting Panda Express and Mt. View Tire to open next. 24 hour Fitness will break ground this spring in the Eastvale Gateway south shopping center. A senior housing facility will also open in that center. The Prado Dam project will be the 1st agenda item for our city council on February 22, 2012 at 6:30pm. Engineers will be discussing raising the dam and other projects in this " billion dollar project". The Silverlakes project, on Hamner just before the bridge, has begun construction. This property located on the east side of Hamner is actually the City of Norco. Builders have begun phase 1 of the project. They are hoping for 8 adult soccer fields with synthetic turf to be completed on or before September 1. This is a proposed multi-use 122-acre recreational facility that would be used for equestrian events, soccer, football, field hockey, lacrosse, etc. The facility would consist of extensive lawn areas (both natural and artificial), all-weather sand surface areas, a multi-purpose climate-controlled barn and event building, temporary barns, camping and recreational vehicle hook-ups, reception hall, facility offices, lighting (permanent and temporary), and various storage and maintenance structures. On February 13, the Cities of Norco and Eastvale will be making improvements on Hamner from the bridge to the fire station. The plans call for an eventual tunnel from the Silverlakes facility to our own proposed community park at the southwest corner of Hamner and Citrus.
Our Public Information Officer and the Vice-Chair on the Planning Commission, Michele Nissen, stated that Mr. Bill Link was nominated at the last planning commission meeting to Chair the Planning Commission and Mrs. Nissen was chosen as Vice-chair again. Their first meeting of the year had them reviewing over 4,000 pages of documents. They approved the 24 Hour Fitness application and approved the plot plans for Phase 2 of the Ralphs center. There will be a 6000square foot Shakey’s Pizza in this section. This is great news for Eastvale sports clubs. They will now be able to have their end of season parties right here in Eastvale. The Commission is also discussing bringing a hotel to Eastvale. With all the events planned at Silverlakes, a hotel near the project is needed. You can download and review the General Plan and Zoning Code at www.eastvalegeneralplan.com. Please take the time to review and make a comment. This document will help shape our city and your input is greatly needed. One of the main focus points was tying all the neighborhoods together and creating a more pedestrian friendly community. For specific questions regarding the general plan, please contact Eric Norris at ENorris@ci.eastvale.ca.us.
Eastvale police Assistant Chief, Lieutenant Horton gave an update on crime in Eastvale. These numbers are for all of 2011. There were 19,000 calls for service, 2500 traffic citations issued, 3000 parking citations issued and 49 injury accidents. Larceny theft (vehicle burglaries) were up in 2011 from 2010. The department is trying to reduce this number but they need your help. Whenever you leave your car, please keep valuables out of sight, put them in the trunk or don’t bring them at all. Lock your car at all times. Most of these are crimes of opportunity. For January 2012, there were 38 vehicle burglaries. This number seems high but compared to January 2011, there were 56 for the same time period. So it has gone down 32%.
Deputy Avila was recognized for his work with our parks. Deputy Avila is contracted through the Jurupa Community Facilities District to patrol Eastvale’s 13 parks. He made 53 arrests in our parks last year. He advised residents to be proactive and call the Sheriff’s Department when you suspect any criminal activity at the parks. When one resident called about possible drugs in the park, Deputy Avila’s schedule was adjusted so he could be at the park and address the situation.
Lt. Horton urged residents to take part in the Citizens on Patrol program with the Sheriff’s department. Right now Eastvale has 6 members who patrol our city on a volunteer basis. There is also an Explorer program where teens aged 15-19 are mentored by sworn personnel staff. This program is for those teens who are interested in a career in law enforcement. To sign up, call Deputy Crider at (951)955-9225. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is also hiring deputies. Go to their website for more information.
Fire Chief Conoscente thanked all of those residents who came to their Christmas party and "Spark of Love" toy drive. There was 1 fire on Christmas Eve. This fire was in the kitchen and there was some damage to the house. The Fire Department had been out delivering toys when they received the call. They were able to extinguish the fire and hand out toys to the kids in the house. He invited the public to come visit the new fire station on Hamner. The front door is always locked for security reasons so call them first. They are happy to give tours to the schools, clubs and troops. For 2011 there were 1893 emergency incidents. Of those, 70% were medical aid calls, 20% were for structural fires and 10% were other calls. Chief Conoscente talked briefly about the fires reported in Swan Lake. Arson investigators are working on the case.
Mr. Roosevelt Blow, member of Eastvale’s Public Safety Commission told the audience that the city wanted to utilize the city’s abundance of law enforcement and fire fighters within our community to provide the best source of information and expertise in keeping our city safe. They will be responsible for neighborhood watch programs, life safety issues, emergency preparedness and other items. You can view the members, their contact information and their responsibilities on the city’s new website.
Dr. Taylor from the Corona Norco Unified School District said that there are 55,000 students in the District. We have 49 schools and three communities: Corona, Norco and Eastvale. Eastvale’s newest school is Ramirez Intermediate School. The opening last Fall went smoothly and it’s the most technologically advanced school in the district. They have a great staff and a great facility. Harada Elementary School is one of only 20 schools in the County who qualified to apply to become a California Distinguished School. Right now, Clara Barton is the only California Distinguished School in Eastvale. At Roosevelt High School (ERHS) there are new programs coming online like the college prep focus classes. ERHS had more students taking the ACT test than any other school in the District. ERHS is a beautiful facility and the district is continuing to update the campus. Their next project is a new attendance office that will make it easier for parents to check out their kids. The District is trying to focus on College and Career Readiness programs. There are 3 purposes to this Passport to Success program. 1) To educate parents about college preparation. What should parents be doing with their kids in kindergarten through 12th grade to prepare them to go on to College. 2) A student tracker system which allows the District to track students for 8 years to see how they are doing. Whether they went to college and where they are working. 3) To stay current technologically. Most of the schools in the District are behind and they need to catch up.
CNUSD is also looking at implementing another Bond Measure for the District. Currently Eastvale residents pay the District through their special assessments on their property tax bill. My personal CFD Tax amount for CNUSD was $1283 last year. Eastvale residents also pay the Measure U school bond which on my bill last year was $222. These are 30 year bonds. The money from Measure U has been used to fill in the gaps in the District’s budget and to update the older schools in Norco and Corona. A question was asked about how the taxes to the District are not equitable across the District. Those in homes older than approximately 12 years only pay the regular property taxes and the Measure U amount, about $200. While those of us in Eastvale (and some newer parts of Norco Hills and Corona) pay the CFD and Measure U bonds which is approximately $1500/year. This new measure will be voted on by the School Board. Contact them with any questions or concerns by emailing them at bnewberry@cnusd.k12.ca.us, mskipworth@cnusd.k12.ca.us, jzikefoose@cnusd.k12.ca.us, jlalas@cnusd.k12.ca.us and csciortino@cnusd.k12.ca.us.