News Briefs

POA Facilities Planning Committee seeks input

The Facilities Planning Committee is interested in the community’s ideas regarding a variety of Canyon Lake POA facilities and properties and looks forward to presenting their ideas at an upcoming board meeting.

The Facilities Planning Committee, comprised of nine community members, volunteers its time to assist the association with a variety of projects and facilities-related matters. Steve Libring is the chair and Jeanne O’Dell is the Board Liaison.

They help with issues relating to parking and traffic concerns raised by members. It is due to their efforts, along with assistance from Steve Schneider, Director of Operations, that the Board was able to approve at their August 2020 meeting, the application of striping on Continental Way and Longhorn Drive to create a “buffer” zone.

The new striping will assist with ensuring the safety of community members while walking and bicycling along these streets. The committee recommended the striping to be consistent with other 35 mph streets within the community.

The Facilities Planning Committee also assists by recommending priorities and concepts for improvements to POA amenities. This includes developing long-range plans for ensuring the most effective preservation of current amenities while planning for future ones.

The Board of Directors has determined it is important to the community that the association continue to enhance the community’s unique identity.

One of the projects the committee is currently working on exemplifies that philosophy.  The committee has been asked to look at the center median at Canyon Lake Drive South and prepare some concepts to present to the board. There have been many discussions over the years about the look of the median, including whether the pine trees should be removed and replaced with mature trees that more represent the look and feel of the community.

The committee has spent numerous hours researching all the options available and have discussed ideas such as landscape up-lighting which could change colors according to the season, creating a wow factor with colorful landscaping, updating the look of the banner stand used by clubs for announcing functions, creating a left turn “pocket” at Bluebird Dr. and using  rock to create a dry river bed.

The committee is asking community members to submit their input via email at  jodell@canyonlakepoa.com.

Census workers continue contacts

An army of census takers continue to fan out throughout Canyon Lake to make sure that the area residents who have not yet responded to the 2020 U.S. Census are counted. Just under two-thirds of all California households have responded online, by phone or by mail, but the response rates are significantly lower in many parts of Southern California.

On the county level, response rates are only 62.3% in Riverside County compared to a 65% self-response rate across the golden state.

Because the deadline to respond is September 30, Census Bureau officials are urging households to respond before the census taker comes to their door. Those who have not yet done so, can respond now by completing and mailing back the paper questionnaire that was mailed earlier in the year, by responding online at 2020census.gov or by phone at (844) 330-2020 for English and (844) 468-2020 for Spanish. Households can respond in one of 13 languages and find assistance in many more. Those who respond will not need to be visited to obtain their census response.

Census takers follow local public health guidelines when they visit. They will be wearing masks and will have completed a virtual COVID-19 training on social distancing protocols and other health and safety guidance before beginning their work in neighborhoods.

They will ask a few questions including the name, age, race and sex of everyone who lived in your household on April 1 and will enter the answers on their secure Census Bureau phone. Workers will not ask for Social Security numbers, bank information or citizenship status, and no information will be shared with immigration or law enforcement agencies. If no one is home when the census taker visits, the census taker will leave a notice of their visit with information about how to respond online, by phone or by mail.

Census takers can be easily identified by a valid government ID badge with their photograph, a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark and an expiration date on the badge. To confirm a census taker’s identity, the public may contact the Los Angeles Regional Census Center at 213-314-6500 to speak with a Census Bureau representative.

The U.S. Constitution mandates a census of the population every 10 years. The goal of the 2020 Census is to count everyone who lived in the United States on April 1 (Census Day). Census statistics are used to determine the number of seats each state holds in the U.S. House of Representatives and also determines how billions of dollars in federal funds for schools, roads, emergency service, health care and other services will be allocated by state, local and federal lawmakers each year for the next decade.

Water district receives recognition

Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, which services Canyon Lake residences, was recently recognized by the California Association of Public Information Officials and the Association of California Water Agency’s Joint Powers Insurance Authority for outstanding performance in several areas.

“We are honored to be recognized by these respected organizations,” said Andy Morris, president of the EVMWD board of directors. “Our staff exhibits a constant commitment to excellence in its work here, and these awards serve as meaningful evidence of that dedication.”

CAPIO’s EPIC awards program recognizes the most creative and effective efforts in communication and identifies work that made a lasting impact on its audience. These awards represent the highest standards of performance in the public relations profession in the State of California. This year, EVMWD received an Award of Distinction for its Conservation 1,2,3 campaign, which effectively communicated water-wise tips to help customers save water and money.

JPIA’s H.R. LaBounty award program promotes safe workplace behavior and operations by rewarding employees who participate in proactive risk reduction. Michael Smith, mechanical technician for EVMWD, was recognized by ACWA JPIA for his creative approach to safety and injury prevention. While completing electrical repair work on an ultraviolet system, Michael noted that the removal of a UV modular for repairs resulted in a significant trip hazard. To resolve this, he suggested placing a ballast board housing unit in the empty slot and painting it yellow for easy identification. This solution eliminated the safety hazard and saved mechanics repair time through quick identification of the repair location. As a result, he received recognition and $250 from ACWA JPIA.

Brian Vigil, preventative maintenance superintendent for EVMWD, was also recognized by ACWA JPIA for his contributions in improving existing operational practices. To address significant risks related to debris flow which impacted EVMWD facilities during the Holy Flood events last year, Brian created a Standard Operations Procedure focused on asset protection and created a notification system with local stakeholders. This ultimately protected critical assets and customer access to water, as well as minimizing the risk of employee injuries. He also received recognition and a $250 reward from JPIA.

EVMWD’s Board of Directors celebrated these accomplishments with its staff at its board meeting last week.