Riverside County 3rd District Supv. Chuck Washington hosted a multi-agency meeting to address recent snow visitor issues in the Riverside County mountains. Held at 1 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29, in Hemet, the meeting was requested by Idyllwild Fire Department Chief Patrick Reitz following successive weekends in which Idyllwild faced unprecedented numbers of snow-play visitors and degrading of public and private areas.

Said Reitz, “I sent the initial request to Supv. Washington to call this meeting. No one has seen the sheer volume of cars and people, not just in the village but above the village, in residential and public areas, and in Anza and Poppet Flats. Littering was huge. There was destruction of property, trespassing and double parking that made traffic flow difficult.”

Reitz stated that unlike Big Bear and the San Bernardino Mountains, Idyllwild is not a snow recreation area with public snow resorts and dedicated snow-play facilities. “We’re a boutique business town,” he observed. Reitz discussed the difficult balancing act in attracting winter tourists for the benefit of local businesses, inns and restaurants, and accommodating huge numbers of snow-play visitors who overwhelm Idyllwild’s limited infrastructure.

Reitz acknowledged that each agency in attendance at the meeting has limited resources, but that cooperation among them is necessary to address a problem of this scope. “I was hoping to have this discussion because we can’t do it alone. It needs cooperation.”

In discussing the weekend after the first major snowfall of the season, Reitz said, “We would have had a tough time for ambulances getting off the Hill [because of traffic congestion and illegal parking].”

Washington moderated the meeting and sought input from attending public agencies — Riverside County Transportation Department, Caltrans, Cal Fire, Riverside County Fire Department, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, California Highway Patrol, U.S. Forest Service and IFPD. Bill Tell of Idyllwild’s Mile High Radio Club attended at Reitz’s invitation because of possible use during snow emergencies of WNKI, Idyllwild’s emergency radio station.

Washington addressed the working group, “The purpose of the meeting is to talk about the roles we play in different aspects and to discuss what we can do to improve the situation the next time. I’d like to hear from different agencies about the problem and how we might solve it. We can attribute some of the visitors’ behavior to not knowing [governing regulations] and affordability [of coming to nearby Idyllwild rather than to snow resort areas in the San Bernardino Mountains.]” He encouraged agency representatives to candidly discuss the issues, and propose possible solutions and feasible ways to implement them. He stressed the necessity of visitor education as a key component of dealing with the problem.

The meeting was scheduled to run one hour, but in that short space of time, a number of workable solutions were proposed. Discussion then centered on how to begin implementing:

• extra trash cans in public recreation areas and in the village business district;
• electronic signs at the base of Hill highways warning of snow-caused traffic delays and congestion;
• mobilizing Idyllwild’s volunteer agency base (Rotary, Mountain Disaster Preparedness, Community Patrol and Community Emergency Response Team members) to help educate and monitor;
• signage in pullouts regarding “no parking” for snow recreation — parking for putting on chains or other emergencies only;
• identifying “traffic/parking/congestion” pinch points and have law enforcement concentrate on those areas; and
• exploring how to send dangerous snow condition and traffic alerts to mobile devices, much like weather and Amber alerts.

Typical of the work-the-problem attitude that characterized the meeting, when electronic signs were being discussed, Caltrans District 8 PIO Terri Kasinga briefly left the meeting to make a phone call. When she returned she had gotten approval to have electronic signs placed on Caltrans’ right of ways. “If you [the two agencies at the meeting with the signs] place them on our right of ways, we won’t touch them.”

Many of the suggestions are already in effect in the San Bernardino County mountain resort areas, although attendees who have worked those areas noted solutions can often be of short duration, given the sheer number of visitors. Kasinga noted, “The best place [for visitors] to go when it gets that crowded is to go back home.” She stressed that state highways can’t be closed just because of overcrowding by visitors, but electronic signs warning of significant delays because of traffic congestion can sometimes deter additional visitors.

Washington stressed this as the first of more meetings with this working group and that the exchange of ideas and potential solutions is ongoing. “I don’t think I’ve heard anything that will completely solve these problems, but we have some things to begin with,” he said.

Washington thanked the attending agencies for their cooperation, and noted it is important to try things that have the potential to work and help mitigate observed problems.

The Riverside County budget preparation for fiscal year 2016-17, beginning July 1, is going to be difficult and emotional. On Tuesday, County Executive Jay Orr prepared the Board of Supervisors during his mid-year review for fiscal year 2015-16. Even with the proposals he is making to reduce spending, Orr estimates the county will still incur deficits until 2018-19.

His budget summary forecasts, “The county faces a multi-year annual deficit that will erode reserves and is unsustainable, based on forecasted discretionary resources and projected, existing spending commitments.”

Specifically, Orr estimated revenue would grow about $15 million next year; but one major program, health care for county inmates, will require $40 million annually.

“Current-year revenue and spending levels are on track, but the full impact of detention health care, compounded with our existing structural deficit, will far exceed our discretionary revenues and reserves in the coming years, unless other costs are constrained,” he said in his memorandum to the board.

As a first step, Orr wants to hold general fund spending for all departments to the current levels for the next two years. He stressed that the non-public safety programs, which are about 27 percent of the budget, are collectively too small to solve the problem. In 2016-17, Orr plans to hold public safety programs to the same levels, too.

In order to constrain the costs at the Sheriff’s Department, Orr hopes to use several options, including “no additional hiring to enhance the unincorporated patrol ratio.”

He also refers to savings, which will be incurred as the county’s East County Detention Center begins operations. For example, he said in the memo, “We have an agreement with the Sheriff’s Department to time the full occupancy of the new East County Detention Center and soften the financial impact of its opening.”

Current staffing may be adequate “to open the first two housing units …” and additional staffing may be deferred until 2018-19.

However, the Sheriff’s Department is considerably dubious about the potential savings. Sheriff Stan Sniff comments, “… opening only a small portion (25 percent) of that new jail does not allow that same staffing efficiency, and will require additional staffing over and above the current staffing already in place at the old Indio Jail. Opening only two of the eight available housing units at the newly constructed ECDC (388 beds) will require the additional hiring of an estimated 50 new staff at an annualized cost projected at nearly $7 million.”

Also, Orr is encouraged that the consultants, who are reviewing the county’s public safety spending programs, will offer recommendations that could improve efficiency and save money. These reports, whose cost is about $750,000, are expected this spring before the budget workshop. In the Budget Summary, the Executive Office said the draft reports contained “potential savings as a result of deploying resources in a different manner.”

The growth in inmate health care is the result of a proposed legal settlement. The county has agreed to hire more health and mental health professionals to treat the inmate population. This also will necessitate more security costs.

The bright spot in the current budget, according to the Executive Office’s summary, is that “most departments currently appear on target at the end of the first quarter.” The Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney’s Office spending appear to be within the existing budget allocations and will not require any significant adjustments at this point.

The County Fire Department is the one public safety agency still projecting a deficit, according to the report. The $1.3 million is the result of increases in salary and benefits for state firefighters, which are negotiated in Sacramento. This is the county’s portion and only for six months.