County holds community meeting to prioritize Fallbrook issues

San Diego County officials joined Fallbrook community members Thursday, April 11, at the first Fallbrook-county Revitalization Committee meeting at the Fallbrook Public Utilities Department.

County Supervisor Jim Desmond announced the meeting as a way to bring public resources to the unincorporated area of Fallbrook.

Shaina Richardson, community liaison and policy aide for the county, said the meeting was a success and representatives heard a lot of important issues and goals from the community.

“Overall, it was a great first step in establishing this program. We’re really excited to see where this will go,” Richardson said. “There are many community organizations and efforts working hard for the betterment of Fallbrook and Bonsall. Our Revitalization program is meant to support the good work they are already doing by providing a structure for County resources to connect and coordinate with community organizations and leaders.”

Close to 100 people attended the 9 a.m. meeting, as 16 representatives from various county departments arrived to hear from locals about their concerns and priorities for Fallbrook.

Local Realtor Roy Moosa, who runs Fallbrook’s revitalization committee meeting the first Thursday each month, said he thought the event was successful and the public was appreciative.

“Everyone was impressed by the fact that the county was reaching out to the community, because they were not used to that in the past,” Moosa said. “Our hope is that this will be continued, so we will be able to work on our projects with the county’s help and get things done much faster.

The joint meetings are planned to be held twice a year in Fallbrook; however, as a result of the meeting, new committees were established that will meet once a month to address issues of local concern and report them back to county officials.

Lisa MacDonald, CEO of Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce, said with the county’s help, four committees were created: Housing, Infrastructure, Public Health and Public Safety.

MacDonald said the committees were created to better organize and prioritize the many issues residents brought up at the meeting, from homelessness to road and sidewalk repairs to the possibility of a local skate park.

“This was a great way to get everybody at the same table and prioritize what we as a community think is most important,” MacDonald said.

Resident participants were asked to put stickers by a list of issues they felt were should be addressed first. The county recorded the information and planned to use it for future projects, they said.

MacDonald said no issues were solved at the meeting, but the committees were put together in preparation for the next meeting, which will be held Sept. 17 at Fallbrook Public Utilities District, 990 E Mission Road.

A few of the issues brought up were: homelessness, fixing sidewalks, repaving certain streets and things relative to downtown including slowing down traffic, encouraging more businesses to open up and the possibility of a public restroom, since there isn’t one available.

Moosa said locals were given the opportunity to join committees that addressed issues about which they felt passionate.

“I put my name in for infrastructure, because I’m interested in slowing traffic down and the homeless issue,” Moosa said. “I have a feeling I’m going to be involved in all of them.”

Moosa said he told county representative Shaina Richardson that if she needs a catalyst to keep the committees moving, the Fallbrook Revitalization Committee would be happy to do it.

“My fear is if you leave things alone, they will fall apart. Some group has to override it and make sure it keeps moving and produces results,” Moosa said.