Santa Arrives in the Bass Lake Area at 6PM on Thursday December 8th!
Bass Lake Area Neighbors, are you ready for Santa’s HOLIDAY HEROES visit this Thursday December 8th? Santa and his El Dorado Hills Fire Department Elves will be collecting unwrapped toys, non-perishable food and letters to Santa at each of the planned Santa Stops. Toys collected will be donated to the Shriners’ Hospital for Children of Northern California, and non-perishable food donations will go to the Foodbank of El Dorado County. Last year Santa and his EDH Fire Dept Elves collected 7,800 toys and 4,836 pounds of food!
In the Bass Lake Area, Santa will be stopping at Oak Knoll Park at approximately 6PM. Following this, Santa and his elves will head over to stop at the Bridlewood Canyon Clubhouse and Visitor Center at 6:35PM. To finish up the night, Santa’s last Bass Lake Area Stop will be at Laurel Oaks Park at 7:10PM.
Remember, even though we’re all excited to see Santa arrive along with all of the EDH Fire Department engines, trucks, and sirens, let’s make sure that the kidos stay safe and out of the street until all fire department equipment has stopped.
2021 Santa Run at Oak Knoll Park
Want to grab a photo with Santa and Mrs. Claus? Changes for 2022
We’ve heard from the EDH Fire Dept Elves that Santa has been eating healthy and has had a BIG growth spurt this year! Santa is coming in at about 6 feet 7 inches this year!!! – So when Santa and Mrs. Claus take pictures with the Kids this year, at the Oak Knoll Park Santa Stop, Santa and Mrs. Claus will be seated in front of the Oak Knoll Park parking lot driveway – this will help keep Santa and Mrs. Claus centered in photos with the Kids!!! Santa’s Elves have asked the everyone wanting to take photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus to line up in the Oak Knoll Park parking lot – don’t worry, everyone will get their pictures with Santa!
Santa’s Elves and maybe even The Grinch will be handing out Candy Canes as well!
We’ll have chairs ready for Santa and Mrs. Claus, plus a small table to drop off toy and food donations, as well as any Letters for Santa that need to be delivered.
Line up in the Parking Lot here for photos with Santa!!!
Santa’s Flight Path to Oak Knoll Park
Santa’s expected flight path to Oak Koll Park is expected to bring the Fire Engines and trucks from Bass Lake Road, onto Magnolia Hills Drive, then onto Alyssum Circle to Oak Knoll Park. When Santa leaves, the flight path is expected to head down Watsonia Glen Drive to Tea Rose Drive, and then back to Bass Lake Road to head to Bridlewood Canyon, and later to Laurel Oaks Park. We were out with Santa’s Elves pre-flighting the route on Friday, and we discovered that the powerlines on Bass Lake Road at Magnolia Hills Drive are very low, and Santa’s sleigh is sitting a bit higher on the EDH Fire Engine this year – also, the oak trees in the greenbelt along Tea Rose Drive are very, very low this year – so Santa’s flight path might instead be changed by air traffic controllers after they check the route one more time and bring Santa in from Bass Lake Road on Madera Way, Jasmine Circle, and then up Kirkwood Drive to Alyssum Circle, and when he leaves he may cut over from Watsonia Glen Drive on Burberry Way, or Mariposa Springs – so make sure that roads stay clear for Santa’s take-off!
Flight path into Oak Knoll Park: Green Primary Route – Blue Alternate Route
Departure Flight paths from Oak Knoll Park
Remember – let’s try to keep out of our neighbors’ yards, while also keeping the street clear for Santa and the EDH Fire Department.
The Grinch along with El Dorado Hills Fire Department Chief Maurice Johnson
Let’s show Santa that we’re ready to help the Holiday Heroes Food and Toy Drive on Thursday night!!!
This is an URGENT appeal to Bass Lake Area Residents to provide written comments to the Board of Supervisors by tomorrow, Tuesday November 2 before 4PM.
This is your opportunity to share with the County Supervisors how you believe district boundaries should be drawn to best represent our Bass Lake community.
The final DRAFT alternative redistricting maps are being presented to the Board of Supervisors at a special meeting on Wednesday November 3rd at 9AM. In EACH of the three proposed Draft Alternative Maps the Bass Lake Villages are being split between two districts – the District 1 eastern boundary line is proposed to be the FENCE LINE between Bridlewood Canyon, and Woodridge – meaning that Bridlewood Canyon will remain in District 1, while Woodridge and The Hills of El Dorado will be moved to either District 4 or District 2.
Here is City Alternative 1
Here is City Alternative 2
Here is the Pollock Pines Draft Alternative:
Seeing the exact boundary in these drafts is very difficult – but basically, the boundary is the fence/wall between backyards in Bridlewood Canyon and Woodridge:
These maps were drawn this way because the Serrano Homeowners Association wanted all of their members in a single district – which we support, because they are a Community of interest. But the changes to the Draft Alternatives to accommodate Serrano Homeowners Association’s request also moved Bridlewood Canyon into District 1 with the Serrano Village J7 (where NO RESIDENTS LIVE YET) because they share a property wall. However, no consideration has been given to the separation of Woodridge and The Hills of El Dorado from Bridlewood Canyon, even though as neighbors we have shared a fence line / wall for twenty years. The Bass Lake Villages are as much a Community of Interest as any other community in the County – we have the same concerns and issues as neighbors on the eastern side of Bass Lake. We are neighbors – dividing our neighborhoods divides our voice in Supervisor representation.
There is currently a conceptual Daft Alternative map from a working group of El Dorado Hills residents, which includes members of the Bass Lake Community, Highland Hills Community, the Serrano Homeowners Association, Heritage Homeowners, the Age Restricted Communities along White Rock Road and Latrobe Road, and the El Dorado Hills Chamber of Commerce – we requested a more natural split of El Dorado Hills north and south using US50 as a natural boundary line, as it does not separate neighborhoods, and provides large representation of El Dorado Hills in two districts (because El Dorado Hills is too large by population to fit in a single district) as the current crop of drafts proposes moving small numbers of El Dorado Hills residents into multiple districts, making our voices weaker.
Since the County seems intent on continuing to divide Cameron Park into multiple districts, our working group’s proposal is to place a significant part of Cameron Park into District 1 along with the areas of El Dorado Hills north of US50, and to move everything in El Dorado Hills south of US50 into District 2.
This will give El Dorado Hills more than 73% representation in District 1, with more than 25% of Cameron Park, and then also provide over 27% of El Dorado Hills residents to be in District 2 – keeping El Dorado HIlls with a significant population voice in two suburban-oriented districts. This also results in Cameron Park being over 30% of District 4, giving Cameron Park residents a large voice in two districts.
No official Draft Map for this community alternative is prepared from County Staffers yet.
We have been told that this El Dorado Hills Community Draft Alternative Map could be presented as the fourth draft option to the Board of Supervisors for their Wednesday November 3rd meeting, but there are no guarantees.
If you feel that you would support a draft alternative that keeps our Bass Lake Villages together, could you provide your comments to the Board of Supervisors in an email?
Our primary concern is keeping our Bass Lake neighborhoods in a single district, instead of allowing the County to split us apart based on a fence line.
If you choose to provide comment, here is a form letter that you can use:
Subject: October 3, 2021 Agenda Item 1 – Public Workshop on the 2021 Redistricting Process (Redistricting Public Hearing #4)
Honorable Supervisors, As residents of the Bass Lake Area, we ask that you consider keeping our Bass Lake Area neighborhoods whole, and not allow them to be split across multiple districts, as Draft City Alternative Revised 1, Draft City Alternative Revised 2, and the Draft Pollock Pines Alternative proposes to do.
The Bass Lake Villages on the eastern side of Bass Lake – Bridlewood Canyon, Woodridge, and The Hills of El Dorado – have existed as a Community of Interest for twenty years. We are neighbors, with similar concerns, interests, and needs. Dividing our community based on a fence line, as each of the three proposed draft alternatives seeks to accomplish, will diminish our voice as neighbors. A fence line is an artificial, arbitrary boundary for supervisorial districts.
We are a community of interest in respects to:
Our Town – the Bass Lake Villages were included in the borders of 2005 EDH Cityhood Ballot Measure
Our proximity as neighbors with similar concerns to our immediate local interconnected roads, public safety, and our natural environment
Our properties all exist in the El Dorado Hills CSD boundaries
Our properties all exist in the El Dorado Hills Fire Department boundaries
Our children all attend the same public elementary and high schools (Rescue USD and El Dorado High School District)
From your own meeting slides materials, the mapping factors in order of priority are:
Geographic contiguity.
Geographic integrity of neighborhoods and local communities of interest.
Geographic integrity of cities or census-designated places.
Natural and artificial barriers, including streets and boundaries of the county when practicable.
Boundaries should be easily identifiable and understandable by residents, and bounded by natural and artificial barriers.
Geographical compactness.
Keeping our Bass Lake Villages in a single district accomplishes each and every one of these goals. To do otherwise violates each and every element of the listed priorities.
The Bass Lake Villages are as much a Community of Interest as any other community in the County – as neighbors we have the same concerns and issues as residents of the eastern side of Bass Lake. We are neighbors – dividing our neighborhoods divides our voice in Supervisor representation.
In the event that the El Dorado Hills Community Draft Alternative map from a working group of El Dorado Hills neighbors is provided as an option prior to your meeting, we would encourage you to utilize this Draft Alternative, as we believe that it is the option to best represent the Bass Lake Area, as well as the best representation for El Dorado Hills and Cameron Park.
Our priority is to keep our Bass Lake Neighborhoods together in a single district.
Please make sure that you remain respectful in your comments, as supervisors instantly turn off pleas based on emotion.
Remember: Your comments should be submitted BEFORE 4:00PM on Tuesday November 2!!! Thank you for your consideration to provide your comments to the Board of Supervisors.
