::: COMMUNITY NEWS

Candidates Mel Standart, Anne Denker and Mike Martel answered questions posed by the RMA Nominating Committee and the small audience that attended the Oct. 18 Candidates Night at the RMA Building. In their closing remarks, the candidates urged members to vote in the Nov. 16 election. Candidates Night will be aired on Channel 5.

RMA candidates offer their views on the issues

Published Monday, October 23, 2006

The Rancho Murieta Association election for two seats on the seven-member board takes place Thursday, Nov. 16. Shortly before the Oct. 18 Candidates Night, the three contenders -- Anne Denker, Mel Standart and incumbent Mike Martel -- shared their thoughts about the board and the issues.

Anne Denker

Anne Denker hadn't intended to run for the board when she became a member of the Nominating Committee. But the possibility of being on the more dynamic board she saw emerging was irresistible.

"I feel that they're in a good rhythm, they're getting things accomplished. I would like to be a part of that," she said. "The board is in a really good flow compared to the last few years."

Denker operates a childcare business at her home in Murieta South, where she's licensed to care for up to 14 children. Most are age 6 and under.

It's been a full-time business since she was widowed in 2001 and left law school after two years of study.

"I love my job. There's a huge need for this," she said.

As a resident of Murieta South who's connected to the needs and concerns of young families, Denker believes she offers a unique perspective for the board. "It's important for the board to represent all aspects of the community."

"I really have no agenda going into this whatsoever. I feel that my job as a candidate and a board member ... is to listen, have an open mind, and educate myself as best I can to all the issues so I can work better with a board that seems to be cooperative," she said.

She would also utilize her law school training as a director. "I'm definitely going to be drawing on that experience. It gives me the chance to look at things analytically."

Development "is a good thing, but we need to be able to manage it into our community to the best of our ability," said Denker.

Annexation is one of the issues she regards as important.

She also acknowledged that costs may rise due to the lack of development. "The board's in a tough place trying to keep dues down."

One of the challenges she sees is coming to terms with the slowdown and the costs of the enhanced cable system. "I'm glad the board is taking a cautious and prudent approach to the future of the cable TV system," she said, pointing out that the board will have feedback in the first four to five months of the cable plan that it has approved after it's implemented.

Denker said the new facility for Cosumnes River Elementary School prompted concerns about how to get children safely to the new structure, planned for 2008.

"Anything having to do with kids, improving their way of life out here, is important," she said.

Denker described the school itself as "an engine that will drive a lot of projects. ... Having a new school would draw attention to our area ... the value of our homes could go up. ...

She said a community center could be a huge asset, and private funding should be considered for amenities the community wants. "Let's all get together and get it going," she said.

A skate park could add a lot to community and children, but it's important to analyze, research and communicate the project first, she said. "If it works, put it together as a proposal."

When asked about the $1.4 million in developer funding for the replacement of the North Gate that was triggered in late 2004, Denker remarked, "Improvements are always a good thing. ... Updating our front gate is very important. I think it ties in with traffic safety. As our population grows, it's going to be super important. We should be prepared for that. ... I think it's really important for that to move forward. It's old, it's tired, it needs to be functional to today's standards. ... Something needs to be done. I don't know what the hesitation is."

Mike Martel

Incumbent Mike Martel remarked, "I've probably gone through in the three years three different boards (with) different agendas, different approaches for how things should be done. I don't think we were acting as a team ... I think in the last few months the process of how we evaluate information or make decisions is much more of a team conduciveness and professional. ... What I think I've accomplished for me is how we do business and how we evaluate things. ... "

Over his years in office, Martel has seen the board's priorities change. He now regards cable TV as the top priority, with the board also focusing on the pedestrian bridge and a new elementary school.

If he's reelected, Martel would like to set out goals and get member input to "develop a master plan of how we're going to operate in five years, 10 years, 25 years."

He said the association was trying to set up a meeting with the developers and the PTF about "what this place is going to look like in 10 years, how many houses, and what's it going to need to absorb X-amount of cars coming off Highway 16. ... I think there's a spirit of cooperation with most everybody involved in Rancho Murieta. I'm seeing a lot of positive signs that people want to sit down as a total group or global view to try to resolve all the different issues that are popping up between all of us. All of us are affected by the (Cease and Desist Order), or the traffic or what the county has to say. I think that's been the approach for the last few months. ... It's becoming easier to communicate with different entities in the community."

Martel said annexation as "a key issue" and described the new Murieta West development proposal as "a pretty good product ... There are some positive things there. They're talking about annexation."

Martel also talked of partnering with different organizations to use "private dollars" to fund amenities.

"My goal was to develop a matrix of all the possible park sites and all the possible amenities for five years, 10 years, 25 years and try to balance the needs or the costs of different things with what the majority of the community was looking for or wants ...

"It's hard to choose one amenity over another one. I think the criterion I would use is what would benefit the most amount of people."

Martel chaired an ad hoc committee for the North Gate. "We made a recommendation.. here is where we'd like the gate to be," he recalled. "... The 1.4 (million dollars) is basically for building the new guard shack but not some of the issues that come with it. Widening the lanes or getting more power up there or changing the way the street's going to look, like if you keep the same location or you back it up 10 or 12 feet, do we qualify for mitigation money from Caltrans? ...

"It's more than just submit the plans. ... It is simple if you only take into consideration the cosmetic view of the front entrance, but I don't think that will resolve all the issues that are going to surface. ... There's also a thing of taking the money when you have no idea how many houses are going to be built because we may not need to move the gate if only one-third of the houses are going to be approved through the county. ...

"If we had just done the cosmetic thing it probably won't affect our traffic flow if we do build another thousand houses here. ... So we're really trying to get a lot of information and trying to see what funds or what additional monies we can get instead of strapping a million dollars of assessments on the residents for changing the way the gates or the roads look for other associations. I know there's $1.4 million in the MBA but if you read the traffic reports to me that's like 25 cents on the dollar that we're really going to need to make sure the traffic in the whole community flows a certain way."

Mel Standart

Mel Standart has years of committee experience, but he knows that being on the board is different.

"I want to see for myself what's going on. You don't really know until you're in that position. I'm told it takes a lot of patience," he said.

"I want the board to take a realistic approach to problem-solving," he said. "I don't want to snipe at the CSD or the Country Club or at each other. I want to find out what the facts are and hopefully draw rational conclusions from those facts and then decide what needs to be done and do it."

Standart said his biggest concern is the lack of accountability. "I think the board should insist on some degree of accountability," he said, offering as an example the cable TV deadlines set for September that were delayed until the end of the year without explanation.

"We've talked and talked and talked and I think people would rather we quit talking and fix it so they can watch cable TV," Standart said. "If we don't make those end of December goals ... I am ready to consider alternatives that include selling the system. ... Either we should go forward or get out of the business."

Standart, a member of the Communications Committee, often attends other committee meetings and followed the development of a 2007 budget with a10 percent dues increase.

"I think by the time it gets to the board ... we ought to have really squeezed (the budget) down to what we have to have as opposed to what might be nice to have ... I've never been to a budget meeting in all my years of work where you didn't have to give up something."

Regarding development, he said, "I think the RMA's role is to first of all abide by our legal obligations, and whether you like it or not that includes the MBA (Mutual Benefit Agreement). ... There may be some parts of the MBA that we or the developers may want to renegotiate as we go along. Times change, things change. We need to adapt to the change. ... we've done a good job with reducing the number of rooftops and causing people to be more environmentally aware than they used to be about their own community. ..."

"I think development is probably going to cause the RMA to work with the developers, not against them ... to try to do what their basic job is all the time: Doing what's best for the community. And I believe every director that was ever elected thinks he's doing what is best for the community and that's what we have to aim for. ... Not everybody can be right in their interpretations of what's best, but their intentions are important.

"We have to talk to each other, we have to talk to the developers, and cooperate with the other entities here ... but most of all we have to accept the fact that life as we knew it yesterday is going to be different tomorrow and we have to learn how to adapt to whatever changes come along.

"Where do we want to be five, 10 years down the road?" he asked rhetorically and suggested forming an ad hoc committee to address traffic and technology issues, and develop a blueprint for the future.

As for the $1.4 million in the MBA for the North Gate, Standart said, "I don't understand about the North Gate. ... The way I read the MBA, the next step was up to the RMA. ... The trigger's been pulled so the money should have been deposited in some kind of account ... If the next move is up to us, if we haven't taken that move to submit plans to the (Pension Trust Fund for Operating Engineers) or to whomever they're supposed to go, I don't know why not.

"Lord knows, everybody seems to think we need a new gate, so if we're the ones holding it up I don't understand why. And if we're not the ones, I don't understand it either. ... We made a decision on the general layout ... so I thought we had a plan."