WELCOME TO HOTEL DEL ARCE

When I saw this article in the NC Times a few weeks ago on the closing of the school on Maple, I decided to stop by and see what the building was like inside. Well, it has lost the details I'm sure it had, but it is a nice big space and could be perfect for the boutique hotel I've written about before. (You can use my new Google search to see other posts.)Why? 1. The location couldn't be better. It backs onto municipal parking which I'm sure the city would allow some spaces--for a price--to be available, and it is right between walking neighborhoods and downtown. 2. It has a beautiful outside--I understand there used to be wrought iron "Juliet" balconies on some of the windows-- and the parking lot with chainlink could become a beautiful garden with fountain, fenced in black like its neighbor. 3.Speaking of its neighbor, that building was a blight before--please email
pictures if you have them--and now you can see it is a beauty now and an enormous asset to the neighborhood. 4. The city could create a public/private partnership that would benefit everyone...and we could see how visitors react to a boutique hotel downtown.

I know this building is already slated to be Adult Education, a great program, but that doesn't mean I can't dream. See you tomorrow...with pictures.

I'VE GOT MAIL.

Or at least email. It seems some people are not comfortable posting a comment on this blog, even though they can do it anonymously and I have no idea who they are. So, here's what a few folks have had to say of late through emails.

On Loving Escondido:

I too love it here in Escondido. I would like to see more folks wandering around Grand Ave and visiting the shops and great restaurants that we have. Some businesses aren't going to survive this economic situation and I think they need more local support from residents.

What a nice blog with a positive look at Escondido. Some of the stuff out there is so negative that I wonder why they choose to live in Escondido if they find it so terrible. Keep up the good work.

On my comments about Escondido needing a nice hotel:

Escondido has several nice Inns or motels for instance the Holiday Inn Econo lodge. These places are not being filled to capacity at the present which would lead one to believe that a large hotel would fair no better. If a large hotel chain were to build in Escondido, one would think they would do it because there was the need for a new hotel in this city. They also should not need financial assistance from the city. My personal opinion of the "hotel deal" is that it has a foul odor and should be thrown out like yesterdays' fish.

Based upon last night's City Council meeting and the report in the NC Times on the closed session that followed, it appears the person who emailed the comments now in purple got her wish. I totally understand the opposition to financing the hotel out of city money, but I remain a firm believer in the need for a hotel right downtown so people can enjoy what makes Escondido unique--a mid-century main street that is a pleasure to walk, with shops and restaurants, museums and coffee houses, even a wine bar, all in a setting that is hard to find in Southern California. I still have hope. See you tomorrow....I can finally download pics from my cell phone and will post a few tomorrow.

YOU CAN FIGHT CITY HALL, BUT WINNING IS ANOTHER MATTER.

I found the whole discussion on the impounding issue to be very frustrating last night and I guess that teaches me that you have to know the rules before you can play the game...especially when the other side made the rules a looong time ago. To see the mayor tell people they couldn't talk about the idea of the city taking over the impounding--the elephant in the room--was a straight power play. I need to do more research on this whol issue, because I find it very odd that in a financial crisis they chose to turn their backs on millions of dollars--everyone but Olga Diaz.

Watching the Escondido Chamber of Citizens
do their thing was really wonderful, as I mentioned last night. I would love to interview the head of the group and will try and get someone to guest blog here in the near future. What is clear now is that the City Council members can be made to reconsider some issues if the people get organized and make their case. At the same time, there are a lot of entrenched interests who seem quite comfortable in those chambers, including the man who wanted to stop the elderly mobile home residents from protesting because of some technicality....they didn't have enough people physically there yet it was clear many were old and disabled and couldn't make the meeting but had signed a petition instead or written a letter of support.

In the end, that group got a 30-day extension but I believe it will not end well for the group. Fighting city hall takes stamina, and when your 85 you just might not have it in you. See you tomorrow.

A BOUQUET FOR EVERYONE. WOW!!!! FOR A POLITCIAL JUNKIE LIKE ME, THIS WAS AN AMAZING CITY COUNCIL MEETING.

Here’s my quick take away for this evening, I will write more tomorrow. Kudos to Olga for standing up and stating her case, even if other council members didn't want to hear it.

First, applause to the Carefree Ranch Mobile Home Park—they got a 30-deay reprieve on rent increases and we shall see what happens a month from now. They brought humanity to the proceedings.

Second, TOWING CONTRACTS: No one was allowed to talk about whether the contracts were a good idea, whether the city should do it themselves. After Sam Abed suggested raising the fees above $100,00 each, Olga Diaz suggested that would be rather arbitrary. She countered with the idea of cutting the contract to 12 months—it had already gone from 36 to 18 months—so there was time to consider what was best.

FINAL VOTE; 4 IN FAVOR OF 18 MONTHS CONTRACT AT $100, 000 EACH FOR 4 TOWING FIRMS.

OLGA DIAZ VOTED AGAINST THE CONTRACT AND ALSO VOTED DOWN ON HER IDEA TO CUT THE CONTRACT TO 12 MONTHS SO WE COULD CONSIDER OPTIONS.

Third, Budget “Workshop.” I have to say THE ESCONDIDIO CHAMBER OF CITIZENS WAS AWESOME!!!!! I They created a PowerPoint presentations and then made sure they had enough presenters to make it work in spite of the “3-minute rule” for City Council speakers. Like an incredible relay team , they just kept passing off to one another until they had finished their presentation.

I will post more tomorrow, just had to get something out tonight.

CITY COUNCIL MEETS AT 4 TODAY.

I have taken a good look at the agenda for tdoay, and watched a fair bit of last month's meeting on the budget, and it appears JUNE 10 is the Budget Meeting where the new numbers are revealed. For me, tonight's meeting has two important subjects.

POLICE TOW SERVICE CONTRACTS Request Council authorize the Mayor and City Clerk execute 18 month contracts with automatic 18 month renewal upon Council approval with Al's Towing, HMR Incorporated, El Norte Towing, A-Z Enterprises, Inc., and Allied Gardens Towing, Inc. tow companies to provide police tow services.

Staff Recommendations: Approval (Police Department: Jim Maher)

Will we renew the contracts or take over the impounding which could provide at least a million if not two in revenue?

BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009-2010: REVIEW OF CURRENT FISCAL YEAR 2008-09 DEPARTMENTAL SERVICE LEVELS Presentation by Department Heads on the status of current departmental service levels

Staff Recommendations: Receive and file (Department Heads)

I looked at this on the agenda and it says there is No Report. What does that mean? Will this be the time when the library will be discussed? I'm not very good at reading agenda items so will have to wait and see.

The other two items that should be of interest to those who Love Escondido are:

STATUS UPDATE ON THE GRAPE DAY PARK PROJECT: HISTORICAL SOCIETY

there is no report available so don't what will be discussed

STATUS OF THE GENERAL PLAN UPDATE Update on public input, discussion of potential alternatives, costs, timeframes and other issues

this one has an interesting report online if you click on this agenda item and then look to the right. The long document, which can only be read as a TIF which is so annoying since it allows for no copying/pasting etc., is a great piece on the wonderful things that could happen here if we can create a vision for the city and move forward with it. In these bleak times it is refreshing to see such optimism.

See you at 4, or watch on Channel 19.

Farmer's Market today, City Council Meeting at 4pm Tomorrow.

It has been difficult to find any new information on funding for the library and the new budget. The minutes for the last budget discussion, May 6, are not yet online so the best I could do was look at the agenda for that date and the staff report on this item: UPDATE ON THE FISCAL YEAR 2009-10 GENERAL FUND OPERATING BUDGET Discussion of Council Subcommittee recommendations on possible budget balancing options. Staff Recommendations: Provide direction to the Council Budget Subcommittee and staff on preparation of the Fiscal Year 2009-10 General Fund Operating Budget (Finance Department: Gil Rojas and Joy Canfield). When I clicked on the staff report, up came a copy of a sheet of paper that said "NO STAFF REPORT ON THIS ITEM." I know they will need until the last minute to get the budget revisions accomplished, so we will see nothing until tomorrow. But I would suggest if you go to the meeting that you sign up to speak so you will have an opportunity if the need arises. If you can't go to the meeting, you can watch it on Channel 19. If you don't like what you see and/or hear, do something. Stop complaining and make a phone call, send an email, write a letter. (If you don't know how to contact the City Council, click here.) If you don't get involved you can't effect the outcome. But for today, maybe it would be nice to stroll down Grand, buy a bouquet of flowers, a pot of herbs, some fresh from the farm fruit and vegetables and cook a nice dinner at home. It looks like a beautiuful day is ahead, so I'm going to enjoy it and deal with tomorrow tomorrow. See you then.

THE LIBRARY MONEY WAS TAKEN AWAY TWO YEARS AGO.

These photographs of my own library look a little ghostly. And maybe that's appropriate when we consider the fact that the "library" money that many people thought was safely set aside disappeared about two years ago during a late afternoon meeting of the Escondido city council.

CITY OF ESCONDIDO

JUNE 13, 2007

4:00 p.m. Meeting Minutes

MOTION: Moved by Councilmember Abed and seconded by Councilmember Daniels to approve reallocation of $776,000 from the reserve for the Library facility to the Economic Uncertainty Reserve and the balance of $7,940,800 to an undesignated Capital Reserve Fund. Motion carried unanimously. (copied and pasted from city website)

So I did my best to go through past budgets--which you can find near the bottom of this page. As far as I can see--and I was not an accountant or anything like it at any point in my life--that money is now unreserved. If that is the case, then the horse is not only out of the barn and down the road but has actually been turned into another animal all together.

So since that money no longer exists as a fund for the library, we need to look ahead. Where does the library stand in the new budget numbers? With my eyes aching and my head spinning, I will take a look at that tomorrow. See you then. Please let me know if my numbers, dates or any other info are wrong.

I'M THINKING OF CREATING MY OWN "BLUE" SUNDAYS.

For hundreds of years, New England enforced "blue" laws that kept many stores and establishments closed on Sunday. When I lived there and the laws were still in effect, things were quieter, less busy--Sunday was a day you were forced to slow down, whether you went to church or not. Well, we are certainly in a 24/7 world now, and that can be handy for those who need to get things done/bought/fixed on Sunday. But for me, I've decided it will be the one day of the week when I won't be at the computer most of the day. Instead I will be pursuing important activities, like eating leftover pie, reading in front of the fireplace and taking a nap when the moment seems right. I plan to not even leave the house if I can help it. I'm thinking of doing this every Sunday which could mean this will become a six day a week blog rather than a daily one. Well, I have papers to read and coffee to drink, so we'll talk about the City Council meeting tomorrow. Happy Sunday.