Several actions at Riverside County’s June 21 and 28 board of supervisors’ meetings focused on Hill organizations.
Before the business portion of the June 21 meeting, 3rd District Supervisor Chuck Washington recognized both the Idyllwild Arts Foundation and Living Free Animal Sanctuary at the board’s rostrum.
A week later at the June 28 meeting, the board approved Washington’s requests to provide nearly $20,000 of Community Improvement Designation Funds (CIDF) to several local agencies.
Living Free was the largest beneficiary. Washington requested an allocation of $10,000 to support Living Free’s War Horse Creek project. This program uses rescued wild mustangs to help war veterans make the transition back to civilian life.
At the June 21 session, Washington spoke to his fellow supervisors about his and his staff’s recent visit to Living Free in Mountain Center. After describing the organization and the War Horse Creek effort, Washington said, “I’d like to thank Ray Barmore and his team at Living Free for the incredible work they do for our veterans.”
Four other Hill organizations were beneficiaries of the county’s CIDF.
The next largest grant was $4,000 to the Mountain Communities Fire Safe Council (MCFSC). This will help pay for MCFSC’s continuing work to remove dead, dying or diseased trees, and to provide defensible space for low-income, elderly and/or disabled property owners.
The Idyllwild Help Center is the recipient of $3,500 to provide gas vouchers to low-income residents who need to drive to medical appointments off the Hill.
Washington also targeted $1,375 for the Idyllwild Community Center to share the cost of repairing the fence around the pickleball courts.
The Art Alliance of Idyllwild was granted $1,000 to support the free shuttle service for its 24th Art Walk and Wine Tasting event Saturday, Oct. 8.
Also, the board approved the new fiscal 2022-2023 property tax rates for Community Service Areas (CSA). On the Hill, this affects Idyllwild properties. A $35 per parcel assessment will be applied to the property tax bill and the funds are directed to the use of CSA 36. This excludes Pine Cove and Mountain Center.
Also at the June 21 board meeting, Washington presented Idyllwild Arts with a proclamation designating June 25, 2022 as Founder’s Day. Accepting for President Pamela Jordan was Rose Colella, special assistant to Jordan.
In his remarks, Washington stated, “I was first aware of Idyllwild in 1974, when my wife and I were camping at Lake Hemet. Idyllwild will always hold a very special place in my heart. We’ll miss you.”
The final sentence was reference to the board’s redistricting action in December 2021 to shift the Hill communities from Washington’s district to District 4, whose Supervisor is V. Manuel Perez.
In one other action at the June 28 meeting, the board approved Washington’s recommendation to re-appoint Idyllwild resident Terry Shirley to the Local Review Board of the Idyllwild Historic Preservation District. His term expires Jan. 30, 2024.
