Rebuttal: Why merging Rancho Bernardo panels is a bad idea

As a former member of the Rancho Bernardo Community Council (RBCC), I disagree with the Feb. 19 editorial regarding merging the RBCC and the Rancho Bernardo Planning Board.

Of all the organizations I have ever been part of, the RBCC has been by far the most productive. The RBCC is able to make things happen in Rancho Bernardo, to bring change, growth and quality-of-life issues that otherwise wouldn’t happen (ie: annual Chalk It Up event, Patriotic Pet Contest, CPR training and the safety fair).

As a member of the RBCC’s Public Safety Committee, we worked closely with firefighters and police officers to identify many safety issues (ie: additional crosswalks, stop signs, safety signs, street lighting, trail markers on the hiking trails, flood control channels, CPR training, introduction to an annual safety fair, avoiding senior scams, emergency and disaster planning).

The RBCC’s monthly agenda is always full and on occasion runs over the scheduled time in order to professionally address questions and concerns.

Behind the scenes, the RBCC members work countless hours addressing issues to bring forward to the RBCC for a vote to take action or implement.

It is interesting that the editor pushed for the merger of the RBCC and the planning board, but not the merger of any of the other 50 or 60 volunteer organizations throughout Rancho Bernardo.

As the old saying goes; “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” Leave the professional and productive Rancho Bernardo Community Council as is, a stand-alone, productive organization.