The Menifee City Council meeting Wednesday, Oct. 2 was highlighted by a series of proclamations, certificates of appreciation and honoring a nine-year-old Junior Olympian as a hometown hero followed by the renaming of roads in a newer neighborhood.
The meeting began with honoring well known community member Vicki Carpenter who humbly accepted Menifee’s Citizen of the Month. Carpenter is best known for her work as a real estate agent in the city and her leadership and membership to many community nonprofits, as well as the Menifee Valley Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, and Mt. San Jacinto College Board of Directors. She first moved to the Menifee area in the 1980s and married a well-known attorney, Tom Carpenter, also a dedicated volunteer.
In accepting the honor, Vicki praised her late husband who offered her encouragement to become a volunteer in the community. “He raised me up,” Carpenter said.
City Council Member Lesa Sobek especially thanked Carpenter for her tireless work in helping the community’s domestic violence shelter. Mayor Bill Zimmerman said she is a member of Menifee’s community and a person “who can make things happen.”
Junior Olympian McKenna Sallie, 9, was honored with a certificate of appreciation and declared a Menifee Hometown Hero by the city council. She won her silver and gold medals as a runner in the Junior Olympics. The Junior Olympics athlete participates in the AAU Junior Olympics, a multi-sport event for ages 4-18. Events include everything from running to swimming and many other sports. She thanked her coach, her parents and many of her friends attending the special event at the city hall.
September was proclaimed Domestic Violence Awareness Month; October 4 proclaimed Manufacturing Day; the week of Oct. 6-12 proclaimed Fire Prevention Week and Code Enforcement Officer Appreciation Week; the month of October is Cybersecurity Awareness and Planning Month, by the city council.
In the limited business that evening, the council approved nine consent items and there were no public hearings called that night.
In a discussion they learned that a long looping roadway in the city with the same name Heritage Lake Drive was creating a problem with the fire and police departments called to that area to determine just where their service was needed and that another road also had the same name. The staff recommended two scenarios to correct the problem for consideration.
One was to add East and West to the long looping highway with the western highway from east of Menifee Road and northeast of Lindenberger Road; and “West” to precede the portion of Heritage Lake Drive that runs northwest of Lindenberger Road back up to E. Heritage Lake Drive).
The second was to replace the names (from 5) selected Silverlane on the west and Underwood on the east. The council liked the second option for the staff to pursue.
Now the city will send a letter of notification to the facilities affected, providing the date that the city’s maintenance crew would complete the installation of new street signs. The Building Official would submit an address verification document to Menifee Geographic Information System (GIS), Riverside County GIS, 911 Emergency Services, and the United States Post Office (USPS). The three facilities would need to ensure the correct mailing address has been submitted to all service providers and is reflected on all legal documentation.
Tony Ault can be reached at tault@reedermedia.com.
