By John F. Pilch

The next meeting of the San Carlos Area Council (SCAC) is scheduled for Jan. 6, 2016 at 6 p.m. in the Winer Family Community Room at the San Carlos Branch Library, 7265 Jackson Drive. We are still working to confirm our guest speaker and that information will be in our next Mission Times Courier article in December. In the interim, the officers and directors of the SCAC hope you have a happy Thanksgiving holiday.

Many thanks to Dan McAllister, San Diego County Treasurer/Tax Collector, for his presentation at the SCAC meeting on Nov. 4. McAllister told the audience that 986,000 property tax bills were sent out in October. He expects to collect $400 million more this fiscal year than the last one and have a 99 percent collection rate. Electronic payments continue to grow and account for more than 51 percent of all payments made, he said. In addition, there has been a 14-percent growth in paying by E-Check, which is a direct transfer from a bank account to his office. McAllister’s answered questions about the attack on Prop. 13 by California residents and legislators. Personal property would still be protected, but increases are proposed for commercial property, including rentals. We appreciate the time he took from his busy schedule to address the SCAC members and residents. He’s made many changes to the tax form and collection process, since being elected in 2002. Send your suggestions to him at [email protected].

Rita Glick, Managing Librarian for the San Carlos Branch, said that three engravers have been purchased, following a suggestion by SDPD to use an engraver to identify personal property. She then said that she is retiring and moving to the Midwest to be closer to her family in Kansas and the Chicago area. With the assistance of Cassie Weinlein from Councilmember Scott Sherman’s office, Glick was presented with a Proclamation specifying Nov. 5, 2015 to be Rita Glick Day in the city of San Diego. Glick’s last day was Nov. 6. She didn’t know when a new branch manager would be named. We wish her well in her new location.

There was an update of the Magnolia School site, which is to be developed into a 50-unit, single-family residence project by The Preface Company in Orange County. The property is to be internally oriented, with the roadway to be maintained by the HOA. The existing monument and flagpole from Cleveland Elementary will be relocated to the corner of the site at Lake Atlin and Lake Angela. The initial proposed plans have been reviewed by the city and approved to move forward. Eventually, it will be the subject of a vote by the Navajo Community Planners, Inc. and then move on to the Planning Commission for a hearing and a vote.

San Diego Fire-Rescue 4th Battalion Chief, Dennis Clay told us his headquarters were moved to the new fire station (#45) across from Qualcomm Stadium, along with three new battalion chiefs. The city’s hazmat team and equipment has also been moved to that site on Friars Road. Even with traffic issues when Chargers games are being played, SDF-R expects response times to be lowered. Chief Clay mentioned the hazmat team responds to calls on a daily basis.

SDPD Community Relations Officer Adam McElroy and Lt. Mike Swanson were next and reported that commercial burglaries were lower, but vehicle break-ins continue, especially at the Cowles Mountain trailhead on Golfcrest Drive. Officer McElroy mentioned the two recent shots-fired incidents on Lake Kathleen and said they were not related. The latest started at a bar in La Mesa and escalated when the shooter followed a resident from the bar to Lake Kathleen and fired at least five rounds from a shotgun at homes and vehicles. Both officers suggested we be wary of everyone on the road.

With respect to the water rate increase proposed by the City Council, all the ballots that were left at the library were personally delivered to the City Clerk’s Office. The vote on the increases is scheduled for Nov. 17. Audience members at the meeting opined that the increases were unfair, given the amount of conservation that has occurred.

The Navajo Community Planners, Inc. (NCPI) Board did not meet in November, due to the Veterans Day holiday. They will next meet on Dec. 9 at 6:30 p.m. at Tifereth Israel Synagogue on Tommy Drive and Cowles Mtn. Boulevard. Please note the new day and time of their meetings. The draft agenda is to include the T-Mobile telecom site proposed for the field area to the east of the San Carlos Recreation Center. This is an Action Item on which a vote is to occur. More information and NCPI Agendas are available on their website: www.navajoplanners.org.

We continue to work the District 7 office to determine what can be done to make the intersection of Navajo Road and Golfcrest safer for pedestrians, following a fatality in August when a driver, who ran a red light and was under the influence of alcohol, struck and killed a female pedestrian who was headed to the Cowles Mtn. trail. A traffic study is underway but in the interim, please be extra careful in this area.

We pleased to report that the San Carlos Community Garden continues to flourish and their 4th Annual Pumpkin Smash was a success. If you’re interested in raising your own plot of fruits and vegetables in this garden, please visit their website at sancarloscommunitygarden.com for details. The community garden is located at the corner of Lake Adlon and Boulder Lake Avenue, adjacent to Springall Academy, 6440 Boulder Lake Drive.

SCAC has resumed the collection of dues. Dues are $7 per household and $15 for a business. We’d like prior members to return and are soliciting new members in this article. Please send your check to SCAC, P.O. Box 19246, San Diego, CA 92159-0246. Many thanks to those who have already sent in their checks.

––John F. Pilch is president of the San Carlos Area Council. Write to him at [email protected].