Sixteen municipal leaders left Wildomar City Hall on Thursday with the intention of accomplishing what has often been talked about but never done: forming a regional coalition representing the interests of Southwest County's cities.

"This is something everybody's been talking about and thinking about forever," said Wildomar Mayor Scott Farnam. "I believe this will benefit everyone."

Each of Southwest County's six cities had at least one representative at the meeting.

Farnam said he and Menifee Councilwoman Darcy Kuenzi had talked at regional government meetings about getting a group together to specifically focus on Southwest County's issues.

Other area council members expressed interest, he said.

Recently, Farnam said, he and Kuenzi talked about it again.

"She said, 'You know what? We should just do it.' We didn't know what we were going to call it, but we knew we had to do it," he said.

"We've all talked about it for the past year or so," Kuenzi said. "All I did was send the e-mail out."

Kuenzi and Farnam represent recently formed cities, Wildomar having incorporated July 1, 2008, followed by Menifee three months later.

Farnam said that from the perspective of an official in a new city, it makes sense to draw on the experience of the older agencies.

Temecula, Canyon Lake and Murrieta each incorporated within a span of three years, from 1989 to 1991, while Lake Elsinore dates back to 1888 as a municipality.

"They've been through some growing pains we haven't been through yet," Farnam said.

Temecula Councilman Jeff Comerchero recalled that there had been discussions in the past among representatives of the Southwest County cities about the possibility of forming a collaborative organization.

He said and he had attempted to organize such a group about 12 years ago.

Comerchero said it has become increasingly apparent in recent years that Southwest County has emerged as a distinctive region with mutual interests different from other sections of Riverside County.

"I think what I'm hearing here is, 'Let us in this area frame the issue before somebody else frames it for us,'" Wildomar City Manager Frank Oviedo said.

While representatives acknowledged that there are bound to be differences, Temecula Mayor Maryann Edwards said the six cities "need to lose the myth of municipal rivalry. ... There are more things that unite us than things that divide us."

Among the broad topics suggested for joint discussion in future meetings were water, transportation, education and medical facilities.

The representatives agreed that the next step should be for the city managers to come up with a proposed structure for the coalition, while the council members at Thursday's meeting will broach the idea with their respective councils.

Although state law allows elected officials from one agency to communicate with elected representatives from other agencies, they are prohibited from having group discussions with their own board members unless a public meeting has been scheduled and the public has been notified.

Kuenzi said she believes that the coalition should be formalized to the extent that members are assured of complying with the state's open meeting law, the Brown Act.

Yet, the officials emphasized that they want the group to be remain informal enough that interests can be expressed freely.

Murrieta Councilman Doug McAllister said that for the group to be of value, it needs to focus on achievement.

"We've got to be able to get together and accomplish things, as opposed to just getting together and talking about things," he said. "None of us want to have another meeting we go to and do nothing."

Other officials attending the session were Wildomar Councilwoman Bridgette Moore, Temecula City Manager Shawn Nelson, Murrieta Councilman Rick Gibbs and City Manager Rick Dudley, Lake Elsinore Mayor Bob Magee, Councilwoman Melissa Melendez and City Manager Bob Brady, and Canyon Lake Mayor Mary Craton, Councilwoman Nancy Horton and City Manager Lori Moss.

Call staff writer Michael J. Williams at 951-676-4315, ext. 2635.