A MEETING OF THE MALCONTENTS

The meeting a the Wildomar cemetery although small (9 in attendance) proved that citizens of varying ideas can come together and have a civil discussion on a beautiful afternoon in Wildomar.
The beginning of the meeting naturally led to discussion of past history, some in attendance were not here in the early years of parks. ("Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it,"  George Santayana 1863-1952 a philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist.) 
One item that seemed to garner a lot of support was the formation of a commission or committee (I’m going to stick with commission, sounds better) that would meet on a regular basis, at least monthly, to discuss amongst citizens the progress being made in providing the services and amenities a park should provide along with the future direction the parks should take without the Orwellian restraints of the current meeting format held in Wildomar.
What was left in contention was the size of this commission or committee with about a 50/50 split between 5 members and a larger group. Either way this commission would advise the Standing Committee for Parks and Recreation who in turn advise the City Council.
(My personal preference is for a larger group so as to pair up members, dividing their area of responsibility and have them concentrate on individual parks with trails as a whole for the time being which would necessitate a group of at least 8 or 9. This commission could be expanded as more parks are added and trails are broken into groups such hiking, bicycling, horseback riding. I feel too small a commission would overwhelm the individuals even with followers of each group helping out. Wildomar is a diverse community) 
Another item discussed was Wi-Fi in the parks which as a group we thought should be looked at, after all it is a new world out their.
(My personal opinion is Wi-Fi should be made available as a way to attract visitor’s to the parks, this would allow parents to stay connected while their children play without gobbling up precious data limits on their devices, it would get some children out of doors who might otherwise complain about having to go to the park, it would also open up the parks to use as a co-work space for those that work from home and are feeling cooped up. Providing Wi-Fi would also set Wildomar apart from the rest of the valley as no other parks has it.)
Security at the parks was also discussed without a consensus being reached as to what type be it law enforcement, private security, camera’s. Discuss was the current proposal of patrols having to log in at check points and the use of camera’s. There was also discussion about whether the fence should remain at Windsong Park to cut down on late night uses that disturb the neighbors.
(My personal opinion, again, is for camera’s with an overall view of the parks accessible via the internet by all. This format would allow citizens to see what is happening at the parks in general and decide whether they would like to go or not, is it to busy, to noisy because of some activity, etc. and would allow some of us night owls to check up on the goings on in the middle of the night, extra eyes for law enforcement.)
Various other topics were discusses without them going anywhere, such as getting the word out and the dog park, but hey, it was the first meeting. Hopefully there will be more to come.