Goals and Future Challenges

Keeping an Eye on the Ball

The Great Recession of 2009 decimated Norco financially and the recovery was slow and extremely difficult with lay-offs, reduction of services and other belt tightening measures.

Nevertheless, we as a community pulled together despite increased interference from Sacramento and whole cities growing up around us, to maintain our life style, diversify our income stream, strengthen public safety, and today we enjoy a roughly ten million dollar reserve as a rainy day fund against future economic downturns and as a small hedge against an catastrophic disaster.

Norco survived the second greatest economic failure in our country's history, in fact, we eventually prospered and as our property values indicate, our community is a desirable place to live if you can afford it.

That said, nothing stands still and the future of our community will no doubt have many hills and valleys, with some serious, never before seen challenges clearly seen coming our way.

Goals

Public Safety

Continue to Fund Sheriff's Sub Station
Explore as a possible cost savings a Norco/Eastvale Sheriff's Sub-Station.
Increase Number of Deputies (specifically traffic officers).
Continue to fund Cal Fire Contract at current personnel levels.
Continue to develop and expand revenue sources as costs for police and fire increase.

Keeping Norco "Norco" - Protect the Lifestyle

Note: Norco has survived as a semi-rural community because residents had a reason to protect a basic formula: large lots to trails to open space. Traditionally, equestrian uses were the reason to spend money to keep at least a half-acre of land. But, more than ever, that use is diminishing and other uses which have historically destroyed semi-rural communities are attempting to gain a foothold.

Develop a long term funding source for trails.
Legislatively encourage large animal ownership.
Uphold the Charter.
Additional Traffic Enforcement.
Continue to be vigilant to development in surrounding areas that will be destructive to lifestyle (Arlington Avenue housing proposals, High Voltage Transmission Lines, etc.)
Encourage commerce that supports lifestyle.

Gotta' Have Bucks to Survive - Economic Development

Note: with the decline of big box and shopping center revenues due to online sales, Norco, while still diversifying, should focus on destination point venues: particularly youth sports and equestrian events, which are nearly recession proof and have shown to historically support a wide range of profitable ancillary businesses long term.

Continue to seek, attract and develop diversified Point-of-Sale businesses that support the lifestyle.
Continue to press for Norco College to develop technology transfer access through the Navy base.
Continue to partner with Hamner Avenue Property owners to market available commercial properties.
Continue to partner with 6th Street Property Owners to market available commercial properties.
Complete the exchange of old Hamner Avenue Park and Ride with Park and Ride west of Hamner Avenue.
Build three additional Hotels in Hamner Corridor.
Complete Ingalls Park (develop an attractive destination point).
Complete 3rd Street/River Road Project and Corydon/River Road Project.
Complete Egg Ranch Development - focus on low impact use, point of sale.
Replace the current Silverlakes equestrian component with final equestrian phase.
Support new irrigation system at Silverlakes (underground watering system).
Continue to support local businesses large and small by visiting, assisting with permits, purchasing locally, etc.
Shop Norco.

More Bucks from Sacramento

Many feel this is a fruitless endeavor, but, complain nevertheless about the huge amount of sales and property tax sent to Sacramento from cities, with a fraction coming back. Successful or not, we must continue to bang the drum that Sacramento is spending our local tax money with no local control whatsoever. We want our fair share of what we generate.

Infrastructure - Roads and Pipes

Continue partnership to combine Norco road repair with Riverside County storm and sewer projects.
Find and develop new funding sources (preferably locally controlled) for infrastructure repair and maintenance that do not negatively impact Norco's large lots.
Complete all current road and infrastructure projects.
Complete the Hamner Avenue widening project.
Complete Crestview storm and road project.
Complete Norconian road project.
Complete California Avenue road project.
Repave/repair all lowest graded Norco streets.
Continue to update Norco's water delivery system to the highest standards.
Complete Western Riverside County Regional Wastewater Authority (WRCRWA) recycled water issue.

The Next "Big One" - Prepare for Catastrophic Event

Maintain Reserves at level that would provide funding to rebuild ($10,000,000 was the previous goal).
Continue to Fund and Maintain Disaster Command Center.
Continue to schedule Community Emergency Response Team training's to prepare citizens for catastrophic events.
Continue collaborations with school district, Navy Base, CRC, Cal Fire, Sheriff's Department in developing disaster preparations.
Continue and expand public education materials detailing what to do during and how to prepare for a catastrophic event.

STOP Riverside Tranmission Reliability Project

The City of Riverside insists on running Transmission Towers with High Voltage Lines through Jurupa Valley, Norco and La Sierra. A piece of the utility corridor includes the Santa Ana River bottom. Recently, Cal Fire, who was not consulted on the Environmental Impact Study, proclaimed this area was a high fire danger area.

Additionally, the high towers would be very unsightly. This is a very bad project and completely unacceptable.

Communication - We Gotta' Talk!

Continue to develop a greater ability to get accurate information to residents.
Continue to improve residents ability to access community information.
Continue to upgrade and improve City of Norco website, apps, and Norco Newsroom.

Support Our Seniors

Continue to support operation and maintenance of Senior Center
Continue to support volunteer organizations who provide food, clothing and other services to seniors.
Continue to create events that connect seniors with our youth.

Support Our Youth

Continue partnership with Youth Sports Organizations, Scouting programs, City Recreation Programs, Equestrian children and teenager programs and events, private Youth Organizations, etc. to insure/support availability of healthy life style choices.
Update and make more relevant UNLOAD (United Norconians for Life Over Alcohol and Drugs).
Continue partnership with Corona Norco Unified School District to stay aware and support programs that benefit our youth.
Continue to include local students in civic activities (George Ingalls Memorial, Pearl Harbor Day, non-profit support, etc.
Continue the George A. Ingalls Memorial Scholarship.
Continue to support, donate to, serve as volunteer for local service groups funding of scholarships.

Norco Hamner Avenue Bridge Completion

Funding is in place with a mandatory completion date set for 2022.

For more info click link below:

Hamner Avenue Bridge Replacement

Development of the Former Egg Ranch Property

Attention must be paid to this 100 acre development:

Highest and Best Use
Support the lifestyle
Generate income, jobs and community esthetic without compromising our lifestyle
Mitigate neighbors concerns

Veterans - Protect those that Served!

Continue to maintain and expand George A. Ingalls Veteran's Memorial Plaza.
Expand efforts to sell bricks: the primary funding source for the Memorial.
Support the efforts of Norco College to expand Veteran's education services.
Continue community events to honor veterans and those who did not return (December 7th Ceremony, Veteran's Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day Concert, etc.)
Continue to support area wide partnership to get homeless veterans off the street.
Continue to support area wide programs that assist veterans get deserved benefits.
Continue to research qualified veterans for placement on the George A. Ingalls Veteran's Memorial Plaza Wall of Honor.
Never Forget.

Community - Creating Home!

Continue to support and honor volunteers.
Support major events (Norco Fair, Mounted Posse Rodeo, Horseweek, Veteran's Day, Memorial Day, Festival of Lights, etc).
Continue to support maintaining parks and Parks and Recreation Programs.

Preservation - We Don't Forget!

Button up, protect and preserve the Norconian.
Expand the Norconian National Register listing to include the US Naval Hospital Corona and Fleet Missile Systems Analysis & Evaluation Group.
Save the Stained Glass in the former St. Lukes Chapel (located at CRC).
Place Norco Community Center on the National Register.
Seek a self and/or grant funded home for exhibition, preservation, artifact protection and research purposes.
Improve historic information data base to be more searchable to scholars.

Finish Ingall's Park!

Ingalls Park has been decades in the making and has yet to be finished: needed are landscaping, remaining art pieces, irrigation, etc.: all to make the park more of an attraction. Short years ago, the Ingalls complex was underused and a money pit - today, it is utilized like never before, with constant bookings and perhaps one day will break even: while still serving as a park for residents.

Homelessness

Continue to support regional programs that get willing homeless off the streets.
Be prepared for the coming predicted onslaught due to loss of jobs to technology.

Norco College

Support efforts to let residents know what Norco College has to offer: inexpensive tuition for an AA degree and better access to four year schools, job retraining, acquiring new skills, quality of life education (arts, theater, music), etc.

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Future Challenges

Sacramento

There is a reality that we must face if our life style of elbow room is to survive: despite huge efforts by residents to "Shop Norco" and the development of significant revenue generating destination points, our city's revenues, like all communities in California, are subject to the whims of Sacramento legislators and can be raided at any time. We must seek funding sources that are 100% locally controlled.

We must also accept the fact that Sacramento, with few exceptions, does not understand and worse does not embrace our life style of large lots and open space. We are considered to be "elitists" who should simply accept dense housing of all kinds, truck depots and worse.. The reality is, in my opinion, our community is very diverse, level-headed and residents understand that cramming people in small areas is not healthy. Hypocritically, the power brokers in Sacramento fail to see what we have achieved - middle class ownership of large lots - normally the realm of the most rich and powerful.

It is vitally important that we vote for State Assembly and Senate Representatives who embrace our values and understand that Eastvale, Jurupa Valley, Riverside, Corona and particularly Norco, are each very unique communities and one size law, policy and/or edict does not fit all.

The current Sacramento Legislation is passing bills that can override our Municipal Code and Charter and force dense housing, loss of voting rights and more.
We must support those state legislators who may not always vote our way, but, listen and above all are fair.
Continue to elect local officials who understand and can assist in navigating and derail the Sacramento mine field: easier said than done for a conservative representative.
We must prepare for the coming laws from our state capitol that in a very real way are putting our way of life at risk.
Last year we sent $80,000,000+ in property and sales tax revenues to Sacramento and received less than $10,000,000 back. We must continue to find alternative, locally controlled funding sources that cannot be touched if our life style is to survive.

Rising Public Safety and General Costs

Police and Fire costs are increasing.
Costs for electricity, facilities and parks maintenance, open space management, etc. are not far behind.
We must continually develop additional, diversified and, when possible, recession proof revenues.

Rising Infrastructure Costs and Funding Deficit

Note: In 2009, the decimation of the General Fund was the main focus with the primary goals to continue providing public safety, maintain the lifestyle, protect large lots to trails to open space and to do all of that, attract commerce that supported the effort without selling out the community.

We are now facing a funding a shortfall with regards to streets, trail, facilities, sewer and storm drain improvements. There are many reasons for this, but, first and foremost is our large lots generate very little in property taxes after Sacramento gets done with us. Sadly, this is a primary reason why communities such as ours go down or are reserved only for the very wealthy: there simply is not enough property tax base to sustain the large lots. Eventually, forces from within and developers from without convince elected officials to open the door to dense housing projects. Not on my watch.

"I will never vote to put any less than 1 house per half acre, nor will I ever support any change in Proposition 13. So, we must find alternative funding sources to build, re-build and maintain our infrastructure."

Kevin Bash

e-commerce and the Death of the Big Box Retail Center

e-commerce is decimating even the strongest and most established of the brick and mortar retail centers. Norco must continue to solidify its position as a destination point to survive.

Economy That Rises and Falls

Norco lives and dies on sales tax. We must continue to be prepared for the inevitable economy roller coaster. Save for the down turns and capitalize when money is flowing.

Developers Who See Norco's Large Lots as Opportunities for Dense Housing

Since 1948, Norconians have resisted apartments and dense, small lot housing. With the new laws coming down from Sacramento, the threat has never been more pressing. We must be vigilant to both outside and inside forces who wish to put up as many cracker box homes as possible on a half acre.

Trails

Respectfully, for several years Councilman Bash has been calling for decisions that will protect and maintain horse trails to no avail. It is vitally important that residents and council work together to solve upkeep problems for this vital of component of large lots to trails to open space.

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