Editor's note: This is the eighth in a series profiling 11 candidates vying for three seats on the Lake Elsinore City Council in the Nov. 4 election.

LAKE ELSINORE -- Focusing her energies on the city's youth isn't just part of a political campaign for City Council candidate Melissa Melendez.

The 40-year-old owner of a transcription company is a mother of five, and she said she has noted, time and again, that the city does not have the amenities to sustain and engage its youth.

"There's just not enough for them to do," she said. "And it's not just important to the kids. It's important for the parents, too. They need to know that they have things to help them develop."

The issue is important for Melendez because she believes the city's families shouldn't have to leave Lake Elsinore for soccer practice or another type of activity that could be offered locally.

When families are traveling to far-flung locales, they have less quality time to spend together, she said. When there isn't enough for kids to do, they can end up wandering the streets and getting into trouble, she said.

The other candidates competing for the three council seats up for election in November are Barbara Alongi, 72, a retired veterinary technician; Amy Marie Bhutta, 39, a high school English teacher; Carole Feeney, 47, a community volunteer; Planning Commissioner Jimmy Flores, 55; Chris Hyland, 79, a former Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District director; incumbent City Councilman Robert Magee, 45; Steven Manos, 32, a real estate broker; 28-year-old Public Safety Advisory Commission Chairman Michael Norkin; 58-year-old Planning Commissioner Michael O'Neal; and Joyce Smith, 61, executive director for a custom home builder.

To help establish more programs for the city's youth, Melendez said she would support partnering with the school board and community organizations.

"It doesn't have to cost a lot of money," she said.

Another issue important to Melendez is economic development. And, she said, that doesn't mean putting up a "bunch of stores."

"We need jobs that attract varying levels of education … jobs that attract a different demographic into the city. There are a lot of people who are highly educated, but they can't work here, and they don't spend a lot of time in Lake Elsinore because they work in Orange County or Los Angeles," she said.

While an economic slowdown might not seem like the best time to court businesses, Melendez said now is the perfect time because the city is in the middle of adopting a new general plan.

"We need to make sure that we take care of this now and I hope the general plan addresses some of these issues," she said, referring to the debate on where to slot land zoned for commercial businesses.

Talking about some of the controversial aspects of the city's general plan debate, Melendez said the plan needs to be balanced, not too heavily weighted toward housing.

"We can't have all these people here with nothing to support them," she said.

Some landowners have criticized early drafts of the general plan, saying recommended zoning changes from commercial to residential uses would devalue their land.

Another important issue for Melendez is the state of the city's budget, which is being buffeted by the housing slowdown and dwindling sales tax receipts.

Melendez said the council, which is the steward of the budget, needs to make sure developers are paying their fair share for infrastructure and parks, especially as the city works to tighten its belt to make it through the economic slowdown.

And when she talks about parks, Melendez said, she's referring to something that has more features than Summerhill Park, which she described as a "big field of grass."

Contact staff writer Aaron Claverie at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2624, or aclaverie@californian.com.

Melissa Melendez

- Age: 40

- Occupation: Owner of a transcription company

- Civic involvement: Former Parent-Teacher Association president, volunteer for local youth sports teams

- Web site: www.vote4melissa.com