"Preserving Our quality of Life"
"Preserving Our quality of Life"
By: Jme
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Posted by jme Tue Oct 31, 2006 11:55:23 PST
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0 responses 2 comments A week or so ago, I read a article in which the Mayor stated his concern for the growth or rate of growth of the city. He mentioned he wanted to "Preserve the Quality of Life". Im bewildered...
Although I am a new resident, I've visited the city for some years now. Late last year upon returning from Iraq we decided to move here. Living here daily has certainly opened my eyes as Tehachapi is not the "Mayberry" City it would like to project. I don't know what political party the Mayor is a member of and it's quite irrelevant when I say how bewildering his comment was.
This City for such a small town has so many churches and yet the crime rivals that of neighboring Bakersfield or Lancaster. Recently I saw an ad for a new Chief of Police Opening that stated pay at 90k plus. Now when the Mayor concedes that our schools are in need of improvement, the roads are falling apart just about every where (although the city now charges over 6k for a water meter, claiming the fee goes to road improvement?), why should we pay a civil servant 2 and a half times the average citizens pay?
Living here these past 6 mo's has been very challenging. From the beginning our home builder left debris, concrete and trash all over our lot, although he was supposed to come out and resolve this situation our realtor failed to get this in writing. In fact, once the loaned closed we never even saw our realtor nor heard from him. He didn't even give us our keys, we drove to Bakersfield on a Friday to get our keys. Although we wrote the broker with our complaints, we never got a response from them as well? Needless to say when we move we will not be calling them. Then we tried getting a contractor out to do work such as landscaping, a deck etc etc. that was a joke. In 2 months only one contractor would come out and give a bid. I'm sure most residents here have a better chance of winning the lottery than getting a plumber to thier home in 24 hrs or less.
I tried renting heavy equipment to do my own yard, which turned out be quite the challenge. It seems although the rental yard I chose takes reservations they just dont know how to honor them. You get equipment at their whim and hopefully your available to do the work when they are willing to rent you the equipment.
Then there was the time when I hurt my leg and went to a local medical clinic. My pain persisted and I chose to go to a 'Big City Hospital" where the attending doctor told me not only would the medications I was prescribed by the local doctor not heal my condition at a minimum it would not even relieve my pain (no surprise).
In short I would have to be a aboslute paranoid loser to think this was all a conspiracy to drive me nuts or drive me to leave this city. This leads to me to believe the later which this town is in need of serious improvements. There is no infrastructure, the local businesses dont know or understand "customer service". They treat you like dirt and dont care, they know your options aren't many. I welcome big business like Wal Mart & Home Depot. I'm tired of getting robbed with high prices by local owners. additionally I've heard so many "alleged" christian conservatives complain of walmart, because they allegedly support homosexuals; When all they are really doing is providing benefits as ordered by Law. Just like Rite Aid, Walgreens or Home Depot.
And I'm sure I don't need to go into the huge drug epidemic in this city. The housing is over priced as is the gas and everything else. What really bugs is most recently I had a person over to do some odd work for pay. As I began to compliment the young man for trying to find work to earn money he soon told me how the City contacted him and threatened him with charges stating his flyers were littering?
Once again I was perplexed with all the problems this city has, why would anyone at city hall have time or make the time to call a young man trying to earn some money in city where there are virtually no jobs? Sounds like are officials at city hall have far too much time on thier hands. which they wouldn't if they began addressing all the city's ills.
Respectfully,
Can't wait to move
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Wed Nov 1, 2006 20:34:59 PST
WOW! I wish I had the ability to express myself like you. You hit the nail on the head many times in this letter. Please don't move, you are not alone. Please stay and help us bring back Mayberry.
Fri Nov 24, 2006 13:42:01 PST
No one knows your distress better than me. I was born here 55 yrs. ago and I've seen all the changes, some good, some not so good. Up until the early seventies this was a great town to live in and the service around town was personal, but then the mighty land developers rode into town and the real Tehachapi died and the big city attitude took over. We do have a great climate and despite your experiences there are many wonderful people on this mountain. My whole working career I heard people tell me they moved here to get away from city life and their children away from drugs. The one item that no one thought about was when enough city dewellers move to an isolated area the end result is a big city. I fear that Tehachapi will never be a town where you'll be able to get personal or polite sevice. There is to much competition, people don't have the inclination nor attitude to be nice. There are business's here that my family did business with as far back as the early fifties. Now when I go into one of these establishments I feel the same discust and anger that you do, because this is my home. Hopefully you'll meet the nicer people of our communtiy and decide to stay, it can be a great place to live.
