Locals get heard at governmental affairs meetings

Eight months a year, longtime community leaders Bob Leonard and George McManigle invite representatives of politicians as well as officials from different organizations to Bonsall for the Unincorporated Communities Governmental Affairs Meeting.

The meetings are held in the La Sala room at the River Village Plaza and are open to the public. The next meeting will be held Thursday, May 17, at 9 a.m.

"We represent all the unincorporated communities of the area – Fallbrook, Rainbow, De Luz, San Luis Rey River Valley and Bonsall," said Leonard. "The concept is for those that aren't familiar with unincorporated communities – they don't have city councils, they have no mayors. Therefore, a lot of the residents that have moved here from other areas don't know who to talk to."

The meetings are designed to let residents express their concerns or interests to representatives of state and federal officials. Leonard said representatives from the offices of Senator Joel Anderson, Assemblymember Marie Waldron, Congressman Duncan Hunter and Supervisor Bill Horn regularly attend the meetings.

"You can talk directly to representatives and talk directly to others and, if nothing else, get some suggestions," said Leonard. "This is the starting point, and then it goes from there. What do you want to accomplish? How do we get there? How do we get more than one legislative person interested in it?"

Joe Beyer of the Bonsall Chamber of Commerce is a big fan of the meetings.

"You're up on everything and you learn different things," said Beyer of the benefits of attending the meetings. "You meet fantastic, very knowledgeable people. The reps carry back what they've heard and then they give you feedback as to how it went or where it's going. That makes you feel good that your input to your government, whether it's county or state, goes on."

An agenda, containing topics of discussion for the upcoming meeting and materials pertaining to those topics, is emailed in advance of the meeting so people can do their homework.

"If you're coming, give us something and we'll share it," said Leonard. "Give us a chance to understand what you're talking about so we can better help you focus on getting it done."

The meetings are a two-way conversation, meaning the representatives don't just hear input from the community, they relay information to the community.

"We want to hear from them, what they're working on and what they might like support on," said Leonard. "We can talk about things and they can explain things."

At the April 19 meeting, Horn representative Shaina Richardson spoke on several topics, including a bill that will require more transparency with CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act), the state's broadest environmental law. Richardson said some people use CEQA lawsuits to stop something from being built, such as a housing development, not because it is anything environmentally-related but because they simply don't want it.

"Right now when you file a CEQA lawsuit it can be anonymous," explained Richardson. "This bill wants to make it that you have to disclose who you are."

Anderson's representative, Aaron Andrews, informed the group that the senator was selected by the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) as Legislator of the Year for California due to his work with veterans.

Andrews also spoke about three bills Anderson was putting out to help with tax relief for the middle class, including SB1211, which would give employers a tax credit – up to $2,500 – for training new workers through paid apprenticeship programs.

Howard Salmon, a member of the Fallbrook Regional Health District board, discussed a variety of topics, including the district's purchase of 4.6 acres of land on East Mission Road near Stage Coach Lane for a new wellness center. Salmon said escrow was to close April 20.

"We've had meetings and will continue to have meetings from people interested in providing services at the wellness center," said Salmon.

Joe Gabaldon, public affairs manager with SDG&E, said the company had hosted six town hall meetings in the backcountry regarding proactive de-energization measures in its Fire Preparedness Plan.

"We shared SDG&E's perspective on the advance weather systems that we use when we do shutoff services and the factors that actually lead into the de-energization or safety shutoffs," said Gabaldon.

McManigle informed Gabaldon that he had been calling SDG&E "for six months" to speak to someone about a tree branch being on a power line but he couldn't relay the information because when he called the only options were "billing" or "emergency."

"I wanted to say there's a branch on your power line – it's not billing, it's not emergency – but it's impossible to call SDG&E and say, 'look, you guys are going to have a problem,'" McManigle told Gabaldon. "You can't do it."

Gabaldon responded, "We need to clarify that that emergency number is also good to report something in the lines. So that's great feedback. Thank you."

Input and feedback is what the Unincorporated Communities Governmental Affairs Meeting is all about, and Leonard and McManigle invite all members of the community to participate. To receive the agenda for the May 17 meeting, email Leonard at [email protected] and simply request to be on the meeting notification list.

"It's very, very worthwhile," said Beyer of the meetings. "Maybe this is government, but it applies to your family, it applies to everything. You listen to learn, and hopefully you learn to listen."

The meetings are held at 9 a.m. the third Thursday of each month with the exception of the following months: July, August, November and December. The La Sala room in the River Village Plaza is located near the Jack In The Box restaurant on a walkway between Performance Horse Supply and Fresco Grill.