Comments on: Failures in Olivenhain are symptoms of problems

By: AudetDeservesCredit

AudetDeservesCredit — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 21:16:25 +0000

Mr. Audet doesn’t even live in Olivenhain, and he is bringing up this issue because it is the right thing to do!

This is NOT a simple, black and white situation, but certainly the City should have informed Olivenhain residents of their intentions before selling off the property that was designated for our fire station.

Among other solutions–we could have helped to finance the upkeep and staffing if we would have had a say in the matter and had been informed of this decision prior to the land being sold in secret.

Since the City wanted the money for the property and a developer bought it, and the city and the builder profitted by denying us safety, it is now a case of blaming the vicitim! I grieve for the family of the young boy who might still be alive today if he would have received attention in a reasonable amount of time!

By: Andy Auditor, Maine

Andy Auditor, Maine — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 20:32:04 +0000

How soon will this column be entitled,"WHO will you vote for for City Council in 2012?
The longer response times are a direct result of Olivenhain decisions over the last 24 years; AND the current tax assessment percentages paid by Olivenhain homneowners are not enough to underwite a standalone fire station,
This is all about choice.
The response times are longer because the geography is larger/lengthier to cross; made double long by elected Olivenhain leaders choosing consciously to close off through-traffic to Olivenhain from New Encinitas and choosing to install traffic ‘calming’ Stop signs to make traveling through Olivenhain more difficult for c ommuters from outside the city limits.
The very real reasons that the response times are longer have more to do with the choices of those in the Olivenhain ‘Colony’ than they do decisions by the City Council.
Why should the 90% of Encinitas tax payers supplement the taxpayers of Olivenhain because the Olivenhain colonists choose to separate themselves from the majority and then blame the public servants for not treating them equally when their less-than-necessary tax base is found inadequate and both dishonest intellectually and self-entitlement at its worst.
Why can’t the folks who live in Desert Rose have the same response times that those in downtown Encinitas have? BECAUSE they have chosen to live out on the boundaries and in reality self-assessment is probably the only ‘fair’ remedy to this problem.
The current ciy council is NOT responsible for the access to east Olivenhain is currently so roundabout; Mayor Marge Gaines and Mayor Christy Guerin, both Olivenhain residents, did this: and now, instead of taking some responsibility for the lack of access, this arriviste columnist wants to blame the fire department or council.
Misplaced blame will not alter the fact that the scattered homes of the Colony collectively in assessment percentages in comparison to those on the coast will never in their present form pay for a new fire staion.
Next week, Audet blames Japanese tsunami on Bond and Stocks.

By: Thewayitis

Thewayitis — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 19:54:31 +0000

Maybe rural living has its drawbacks? I don’t know, but how do the Olivenhain response times compare to Rancho Santa Fe or Fairbanks? The fact is that population density- i.e. "customers" – is much, much lower in Olivenhain than Cardiff or other parts of the city. Should this be a legitimate drawback of where one chooses to live?

By: Bob Preston

Bob Preston — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 17:41:51 +0000

I attended the meeting. The fire department did an exceptional job of presenting facts, probabilities and options to the city council. The council who makes policy had all the information they needed to provide direction to the city manager and fire chief. Instead they decided to kick the can down the road. Even though we don’t generate the number of calls that other parts of the city do, we paid taxes and expect equal service.

By: Great Points

Great Points — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:55:22 +0000

Great piece on the meeting. I am proud of my Olivenhain neighbors.

I also wanted to mention that Muir said that the presentations that they shared at the meeting would have "cost consultants $50,000 to produce," but that they were doing it for free.

Jim Bond also talked about how Pat Murphy, Planning Department Director, hadn’t mastered his City issued cell phone–so was unavailable to do his job when he was away from a land line.

How inept are these people in leadership roles for the City? How can even decent people who work under these two be their best? Not everyone in the City is inept, and I feel sorry for anyone who has to work for managers with such a low level of technical skill.

We need to inform the new City Manager as soon as he is hired, so that he can make appropriate cuts and do some restructuring of departments. My recommendation is that he cut from the top!