CL Mayor meets with residents over coffee

BY Ariana Shah

Mayor Kasey Castillo hit on a variety of city topics as she held her second monthly Coffee with the Mayor gathering Wednesday morning at the Canyon Lake Country Club. A handful of Canyon Lake citizens were in attendance as were several members of the Canyon Lake POA board and city council. All Canyon Lake residents are invited to attend the informal monthly gathering.

Kasey opened her remarks by issuing a briefing of what she and her team are currently working on at the city.

“We’re currently offering a scholarship for our high school seniors,” she said. “Canyon Lake is also opening up, as Riverside County is in the Orange Tier. We can’t wait to reopen city offices, along with the senior recreation center, too. The city clean-up will be on Saturday. And our fire department is on track.”

Kasey also mentioned that she is working on revamping the policy manual on public issues and safety and grievance policies for employees.

Kasey then went on to mention her goals for Canyon Lake.

“One of our biggest goals was to establish the fire department,” she said. “We will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony soon, which everyone is invited to. We also would like to improve the city and building department billing issues. Canyon Lake is required to update the low-income housing in our community annually. We are working hard to get BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land for preservation efforts and economic development.”

Another big goal for Canyon Lake is for it to host more successful events, she said. Winter Wonderland and the celebration of Canyon Lake’s 30th anniversary were canceled due to COVID-19.

“I’m excited we’re going in the right direction,” she said. “Our Interim Fire Chief Jeff LaTendresse wants the community to be involved with the fire department. He wants to host things like a pancake breakfast. We’re also looking to plan things such as a volunteer program, a Fire Explorers program, reserves and pay call. The future’s looking good, and I’m excited!”

Kasey also addressed the relocation of the community library into the offices once occupied by the Giardinelli Law firm. The county has extended the lease for six months on the current library at City Hall. Afterward, the space will be utilized for city purposes.

Kasey said she is trying to diversify the Canyon Lake Town Center and to add ADA compliance to buildings there.

“We want to build regional relationships, which Jeremy Smith (Mayor Pro Tem) is fantastic at,” she said. “He always volunteers for every project. We don’t want Canyon Lake to be an isolated island.”

Director of the Elsinore Municipal Water District, Darcy Burke, also spoke at the informal gathering. She spoke about the water budget and that Canyon Lake usage has increased by 26%.

“We are working to implement a four-year rate structure to make things affordable as possible, but unfortunately, we are one of the most wasteful districts,” Darcy said. “We can save money by staying within our water budget. We have a robust grant staff who helps find us great grants and low-interest loans.”

Darcy mentioned that she aims to make herself as approachable as possible.

“I always try to attend council meetings and POA meetings,” she said.” I am always here to answer questions.”

According to Darcy, the pilot study for the PFAS water treatment to fix the taste and odor of Canyon Lake water is also underway.

Kasey interjected that she would love an interactive educational program hosted by the EVMWD for the Canyon Lake children.

“Yes, we could do something like that and bring in scientists to teach the children about the lake and the environment,” Darcy said. “We also would love to add a program for young adults to work with us and at our sites which will provide them amazing opportunities.”

The next Coffee with the Mayor meeting will be on May 5 at 7:30 a.m. at the Canyon Lake Country Club.