Escondido Sunrise Rotary; Meeting to Serve our Community in Person
and via Zoom; and “Dane White, the Mayor of Escondido”
March 23, 2023
As we all try to conduct our professional pursuits in new ways, it’s appropriate to remind ourselves of who we are as a Serving Organization… Our accomplishments, our fellowship and the reminder of our many successes is valuable as we seek new opportunities to serve…
We met again in person at the Chamber of Commerce… Great to enjoy the fellowship again and see all your smiling faces…
As a Club, we began with a salute to our Flag and an invocation was offered...….
High 5’s & Announcements:
Mexicali Build Update:
Rich Aeling reminded all that are participating in the Mexicali house building project that the caravan will be meeting at 9am at the Aelott parking lot. Mark Hoekstra will be transporting the needed materials that were generously donated by ESR members who chose to remain anonymous. A total of 34 volunteers will be participating in this humanitarian project, including some non-ESR members that have a heart for the mission.
RYLA, April 14th – 16th:
Kendra reported that she and George interviewed several students and selected the top three candidates to attend this year’s event. It is expected that the students will share their experiences at an upcoming Escondido Sunrise Rotary meeting.
John Schwab shared that after eight months of working with the county, the Rising Star Charitable Foundation received a 12k grant from the county enhancement program.
Gerry Fay expressed deep gratitude to the club for sending flowers to his wife, Leah Ann, whose father recently passed away. Chris Miller also shared appreciation for the ESR for reaching out after the loss of a great man, his father Fred, a devoted father and husband. We mourn the loss of your loved ones with you both. Please reach out to your ESR family if there is a need or if you just want someone to talk to. We are here for you and are lifting your families up in prayer.
Mayor Dane White asked the club members to consider giving their time in a Rotarian at Work Day for the Escondido History Center. Dane is organizing a restoration day that will be partially funded by the city. The focus will be to restore the old library building and the house that sits on the property. President Tina Pope will be opening a conversation to organize local projects such as this, as well as provide some funding. Chris Miller shared that he is on the Escondido History Center Board, where he served with his late father, and will be sharing the restoration plan with the Center. You are honoring the legacy of your father well Chris!
Jack Anderson pointed out that an ESR member received full front-page coverage on the Times Advocate newspaper, however, the Escondido Sunrise Rotary Club was not mentioned. After some discussion, the club concluded that although said celebrity, Sgt. Chris Lesso, is protecting and serving our community very well, a $500 fine would still be most appropriate.
George Beitner shared a picture of the newest member of the Beitner clan, Cal Jay Beitner, born on March 20th . This brings up the Beitner clan number to 10!
President Tina Pope proudly spoke of her grandson Cayden who is a basketball player on the PAL competitive team, the Buckeye’s. The Buckeyes were undefeated in the under 14 years of age division. She praised Al Owens for his hard work with all the teams and the great things the program does for the youth.
Rotarians Having Fun and Serving…
All kinds of fun and service and fun…
Pictures are worth a thousand words…
No pictures this week
Program:
Guest Speaker, Mayor Dane White
From homeless to becoming the Mayor of Escondido, Dane shared his life journey of hardships due to unfortunate circumstances beyond his control and bad decisions in his youth, to second chances and a restored life after receiving acceptance and guidance from a perfect stranger. His life now has given him a heart to change lives and impact his community in positive ways, with the hopes of giving others second chances.
Dane expressed gratitude to the couple that got him off the streets and opened their home to him, Mike and Paula Morasco. They provided hope and opportunities for him to turn his life around. It was also, during this time that he met his future wife, Kelsey, daughter of Mike and Paula, during her college
Spring Break visit. They now share two young daughters and love calling Escondido their home.
When he decided to run for mayor knowing the stakes were raised against him. He surrounded himself with wise counsel, including his father-in-law, now Councilman Mike Morasco, and a seasoned campaign manager. Not until after raising $100k in four months and speaking to business owners and
residents in the community did he realize that he had a strong campaign and appeared to be the favored candidate.
After being elected he dove head-first into learning more about the city’s state of finances. He shared that the city is fiscally strong and no longer in a deficit. The almost 20% increase in sales tax
revenue over the past two years has taken the city out of the eight-million-dollar deficit. Since it is no longer a factor, his goal is to remove the tax increase that had been previously imposed by the city as the solution to get out of the deficit.
Mayor Dane White shared that one of his biggest goals as the new mayor was to address the homeless crisis in Escondido, starting by changing a city ordinance that prejudicially states, “A temporary shelter must be a permanent structure”. Dane’s first act as Mayor will be to remove that wording once a better option is available. For this reason, he has created an Ad-Hoc Committee to brainstorm all options.
One of his greater goals is to provide temporary congregate shelters for the homeless. His idea is to look at properties in the outskirts of the city or Escondido County areas. His vision is to have it be mandatory for those receiving shelter to stay within the bounds of the property during their entire stay.
Ideas have been offered to provide a Day Center for residents to encourage them to stay within the property limits and not enter the Escondido proper city limit. In addition to the housing, low barrier in-patient and outpatient substance addiction services will be provided, as well as mental health services. Accountability measures will be put in place as a pre-requisite for those seeking housing. Currently, Dane is seeking beds
from the Department of Health and County Services to serve approximately 500 local homeless adults and for detox services.
Mayor Dane stated that there is currently 2.5 million dollars in reserves, some from the Covid Relief Fund, for this program. Approximately 1.5 million dollars has been earmarked for affordable rental
units, however, that is not sufficient funding in light of the current rental prices. He will be seeking additional funding to offset the costs.
Members of the ESR shared some of the issues they’ve encountered due to the homeless population, including; feces on business properties, used hypodermic needles, and property crimes. George
Beitner shared his concern that building such housing could potentially only increase the homeless population as more come to Escondido for the services. He recently encountered a homeless man who came to Escondido from out of state because of the services provided here.
Judy Fitzgerald shared her firsthand experience with a similar program while she was a patrol officer in the city of Oceanside. In the late 80’s and early 90’s, Oceanside used a similar model that Mayor White envisions, turning an abandoned drive-in theatre located in a semi-remote location in the Oceanside
valley into a homeless shelter, considering it a controlled area. Once built, the shelter was almost immediately over-inundated with those seeking shelter, including many from other cities and nationwide. As a result, along with those experiencing a true homeless crisis that came to the shelter, came the criminal element. Crimes of violence, drugs, sex trafficking, and thefts to homes and businesses in the neighboring
areas increased exponentially. Property value decreased and tourism took a hit. To counter this problem the Oceanside Police Department formed a special unit assigned specifically to the shelter area. This resulted in longer response times to calls for service for the Oceanside residents as there were now fewer
officers on beat patrol. The program was subsequently shut down and it took years for the city to recover.
Dane assured the ESR members that the program was still in the developing stages and urged ESR members to get involved and submit suggestions and concerns. He understands the concerns and will be taking all into consideration.
Thank you, Mayor Dane White, for your candidness and transparency. We appreciate you allowing for an open conversation. We equally appreciate you for taking action with the homeless crisis in our city as it is also a humanitarian crisis.
Thanks for Attending Today’s Meeting….
Support for our Escondido Community …
Our great community and the success of its businesses is all of our responsibilities… Support the businesses that are doing all they can to survive during this challenging time… Take out some chow… Be ready to support them when the economy begins working again… The ‘Giving Arch’ on Grand Avenue and Centre City Parkway reminds us that Escondido is a caring, giving community…
To all; be safe and be well…. God Bless those men and women that carry the load at our medical facilities, and God Bless our first responders… May our governmental leaders be wise, thoughtful and smart as this pandemic is overtaken by our hard work and collective support…
Online Meetings:
Technical Support for Online Meetings:
Our meetings will begin as a hybrid setting with in-person and on-line opportunities…The meetings will be technically managed by Past President Richard Agnew… Thanks for that Richard… And, Richard is prepared to support all of our attempts at joining the on-line meetings… Look for his email with details and links to log on to the upcoming Zoom meetings…
Watch for emails defining the next meeting. The system works fine, dependent upon your technical support available through your PC or laptop…
SEE YOU SOON…… In Person or ONLINE… Next meeting; March 30th at 7:30 AM at the Chamber of Commerce
Check President Tina’s email for the reminder…
