State of the City Address

Mayor Cheryl Cox

March 15, 2011

Centennial Year

Chula Vista is now turning one hundred. In 1887, the Kimball brothers and Col. William Dickinson, a professional town planner, subdivided 5,000 acres into five-acre lots and sold them for $300 per acre. Frank Kimball helped start Chula Vista's lemon orchards.

In 1911, residents voted 121 to 88 in support of Chula Vista’s incorporation as a city. During the early years, there were a few stores, no sidewalks, no parks and no street lights. There were a lot of lemon orchards, elegant two-story homes, Fredericka Manor, the Woman’s Club, a Yacht Club, a Carnegie Library and F Street School.

One hundred years later, the city has grown to 55 square miles, reaching from San Diego Bay to the foothills, and to river valleys both north and south.

Local economist Gary London says today that the region is “an economically dynamic, creative, diversified, and altogether suitable entrepreneurial feeding ground.” This is exciting!

The economic evolution has taken us from a thriving lemon industry to a growing mix of residential choices, small businesses, technology companies, the nation’s largest grade 7 through 12 school district and California’s largest K through 6 school district.

Playing in Council Chambers tonight was a video of last week’s Centennial Concert at Chula Vista High School. It was the kick-off event to a full year of celebrating Chula Vista’s 100th birthday, featuring some of Chula Vista’s most outstanding talent.
Over a thousand people enjoyed performances representing ten decades at our city’s oldest high school – home to our city’s newest performing arts facility - a LEED-gold certified symbol of future development.

Those who performed, helped organize the show and supported it, are proof that there is so much good in our community. I would like to thank the performers, their teachers and accompanists for sharing their talents. Special thanks go to Reina Bolles, Russ Sperling and their creative team for directing a memorable event.

In February, the centennial planning committee launched I Love Chula Vista, a year-long reminder to care about the people in our families, neighborhoods, and city by pledging to give 100 minutes in volunteering this year.

Volunteer Crystal Fairley made good on her resolve to plant “One Hundred Lemon Trees,” commemorating the city’s official tree.

Professor Steven Schoenherr gave his time to research and write the Centennial book, Chula Vista Centennial: A Century of People and Progress. It will be published in May with the assistance of a team of volunteer editors and the support of six generous donors.

This Saturday afternoon is the Padres Centennial Rally at Otay Ranch Town Center, and, next month, Chula Vistans will gather at Petco Park as part of Centennial Day at the Padres to watch our favorite baseball team take on the L.A. Dodgers.

Southwestern College, the Corky McMillin Companies and the South Bay Family YMCA each achieved half-century milestones this year.

This is South Bay Community Services’ 40th anniversary and the 30th anniversary with our Sister City, Odawara, Japan. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan as they work through the aftermath of the recent earthquake and tsunami.

The Centennial provides great examples of philanthropy – people giving of their time, talent, and funding to benefit our community. This summer, the Chula Vista Charitable Foundation will make its first grant awards of around $25,000. Good works are important to a growing city.

I would like to challenge our residents to double next year’s award by becoming Charter Members.

The Centennial is about connecting with our community and embracing our history, while recognizing and building on our accomplishments for the next 100 years. I hope 2011 reflects a positive outlook with more members of our community helping others, and that each of us will commit to promoting this sentiment.

The Next Four Years

Like many of you, Chula Vista has been my home for nearly a lifetime. Our family built our careers here, bought our first home here and raised our daughters here. I am committed to working tirelessly over the next four years to improve this wonderful city. I will not leave it to the next mayor to right the city financially, or wait to lay the foundation for our most ambitious and promising projects.

Over the next four years:

I will promote our city’s assets while keeping focused on the city’s financial condition and doing what it takes to continue a positive correction that avoids impacting reserves;

I’ll work to make the city a more pro-business, streamlined organization in order to attract and retain companies and provide effective customer service;

I’ll continue to support the Bayfront Master Plan, University Park and Research Center, Urban Core Specific Plan, high quality development in the master-planned communities of Otay Ranch, and will pursue removal of the power plant from our bayfront;

I will work to strengthen the foundation for public transportation in anticipation of reducing traffic congestion and vehicle miles travelled; and

I will support fast-tracking and incentivizing the start-up and retention of green enterprises in our city, strategies that will build an increasingly environmentally-friendly community.

I call on the community to engage with me in new levels of volunteerism and community service, particularly when it comes to coaching and encouraging the young people in our lives to complete high school.

Next week, Wanda Bailey, whose position as Chief Service Officer is funded by one of twenty leadership grants awarded throughout the nation, will release a service plan to help bolster community involvement in the areas of education and health and wellness.

Her work has paid early dividends in the form of an additional $50,000 planning grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service to help build volunteerism.

I will also ask residents, business people and the City Council to look for ways to support education with the goal of increasing graduation rates and promoting strong math, science and engineering outcomes. The success of our city is directly related to our students’ success and our schools’ performance.

You and I can help advance students’ readiness for future employment. The reality is that the new economy holds few positions for those who fail to graduate from high school. Students respond to higher expectations and those expectations start at home, with parents, guardians, friends and relatives.

A strong education system is everyone’s business. Students who do not earn high school diplomas have higher rates of unemployment, lower earnings, higher rates of incarceration and greater dependence on public assistance. To continue reducing crime means preventing young people from getting off track and keeping them connected to family, school, and recreation.

Failure to graduate from high school generates significant economic losses to Chula Vista, California and the nation. According to UC Santa Barbara’s California Dropout Research Project, the lifetime economic losses from just one year’s worth of high school dropouts is more than $136 million for Chula Vista.

Increasing the number of high school graduates by just half would generate $68 million in economic benefits to the community and fewer acts of violent crime.

Our nation is calling for more homegrown engineers and scientists. Chula Vista has the potential to grow this base locally through our long-term partnership with Goodrich Aerostructures, who will add 100 engineers to its workforce this year. The news from Goodrich is the news we want to hear more of – adding jobs as we rebuild Chula Vista’s economy.

Fiscal Responsibility

From my first day as Mayor four years ago, the city’s fiscal health has been my top priority. For the past four years, our City has not spent beyond its means. It now operates at 1987 staffing levels under a budget that has dropped from $172 million in 2007 to $133 million today, and is predicted to be $120 million next year.

When I took office in 2007, we had a budget problem. I said we needed to limit expenditures and focus on increasing revenues. In 2008, our ability to maintain revenues dissolved under the financial crisis that lowered income from property taxes and sales taxes.

The City Council and I tried to restore those lost revenues. In 2009, when the Governor raised sales taxes statewide by one cent, voters were asked to increase the local sales tax rate. In 2010, voters were asked to update our 40-year old telecommunications tax to maintain current revenue levels.

Both times, the voters said “no.”

Therefore, decisions to cut expenses had to be made. Your City Council acted deliberately and decisively to balance the budget year after year and maintain core services for the greatest number of residents.

Reaching agreements with all employee unions with respect to pensions were difficult but necessary. This issue has become a hot button topic in cities and states around the country as leaders look at their financial policies.

Restructuring, however, comes at a human cost. Through no fault of their own, many talented people no longer work for the city, and uncertainty in the workplace is hard to endure.

I want to take a moment to recognize Chula Vista’s public servants. Since the financial crisis, blame directed towards government employees comes far too easily, and, in many cases, is misguided when the entire country is experiencing the same, or even worse, financial times.

Our employees are not to blame. They have demonstrated a willingness year after year to respond to budget corrections. Contributing eight and nine percent to retirement helps fill a projected $12.5 million deficit. Just as corporations and private employers make substantial changes in their employees’ pensions, government could do no less.

To the employees throughout this city, I am grateful for your perseverance through some very tough times.

The Fiscal Health Plan implemented in 2009 is working and we must see it through. I commend City Manager Sandoval and his executive staff for their consistent focus on preparing for next steps.

Implementing the plan gives Chula Vista a better chance to weather this financial crisis and begin the next fiscal year with a balanced budget. Your city is in a better a position now to rebuild for the future. As a community, we must embrace this time and use it to our advantage.

Government should be lean, efficient and employ high performing staff. Let me give you an example.

Public Safety is at the center of our efforts to keep neighborhoods safe, improve the economy and create jobs. Chula Vista has the lowest ratio in the county of sworn personnel to residents, yet we are a safe city, the third safest in the county. Overall crime is down 32% over five years. The Chula Vista Police Department has demonstrated that it is a model of effectiveness and efficiency.

City Departments and executives are being just as strategic about the future, examining quality of life issues and streamlining department processes. This is the time to measure our workforce’s effectiveness and efficiency, to rebuild reserves, replace equipment and keep facilities in good repair in ways that do not mortgage our future.

Building Chula Vista’s Economy

The magazine that once called Chula Vista “boring” now dubs our region as the “Best Place to Build a Business.” California CEO magazine honored Chula Vista as one of “California’s Best Cities for Business.”

Therefore, it is imperative that we attract new business while city operations become as productive as possible.

We need to deal with the issues that impede business. From the front counter to the Council dais, city operations should, in the best way possible, reward those who follow our rules and encourage those who bring funded projects and solid ideas to our community.

Going forward, and as funds become available over the next four years, I will urge the City Council to invest in business development and recruitment.

The City Council and I need to better understand City procedures for opening a new business and for adaptive reuse of existing buildings. For that reason, I have asked City Manager Sandoval for a Council workshop on May fifth to present the Development Services Department’s streamlined processes for business applications and improved customer service.

Last year brought several examples of success in better business practices.

Staff member Craig Ruiz attracted the Canadian renewable energy company Siliken to Chula Vista. Michael Meacham has been working with electronic devices manufacturer Leviton as they consider expanding in Chula Vista.

And, staff members Eric Crockett and Mandy Mills brought forward a better plan for constructing affordable housing. Just two months after Council approved their plan, one of the four developers selected told me that the new approach had an unanticipated benefit – the companies were now working together more than they were competing - exchanging ideas, and focusing on saving time and money.

Residents can also take steps to improve services simply by spending locally. You have heard the Chula Vista Chamber of Commerce slogan, “Shop, Dine, and Stay Chula Vista.” This message is critical.

Unfortunately, Chula Vista’s sales tax revenues are among the lowest per capita in the county. With a conscious effort to shift our daily routines to spend more of our dollars in Chula Vista, we can be part of a solution that has a positive impact on quality of life:

Patronizing local business and dining at local restaurants makes our city a more attractive place to investors and grows the job market. Shopping at local stores and malls helps keep parks safe and libraries open. Filling up our gas tanks here at home at the beginning or end of our work commutes, generates revenue to help repair potholes.

Please, urge your family, friends and neighbors to Shop Local, because these dollars can support valuable projects, like recent strategies to fight graffiti.

The Public Works and Police Departments are collaborating on graffiti reduction plans, and Chula Vista has agreed to participate in a county-wide effort to use Graffiti Tracker – an analytical, web-based tool that helps identify vandals so they can be arrested and fined.

Capital Improvement Projects

Protecting existing investments and future opportunities are key to our city’s future.

Redeveloping areas of a community helps create jobs and helps businesses survive and thrive. I thank my colleagues for approving the redevelopment and enterprise zone elements of our legislative program.

Redevelopment is Chula Vista’s greatest opportunity for revitalizing the oldest parts of our city. The Urban Core Specific Plan approved in April 2007 is our guide. I took a stand against the state’s grab at local redevelopment funds because without redevelopment incentives, it will be exceptionally difficult to pay for affordable housing and improved infrastructure such as streets and sidewalks.

With or without redevelopment funds, we need fruitful projects that revitalize older areas of town.

Beginning with the Port’s demolition of buildings at the foot of H Street in 2007, we are closer now than in the past 20 years to a world-class Bayfront -- an economic catalyst for Chula Vista and the South Bay.

The Port and City’s approval of the Bayfront Master Plan and the State Lands Commission’s approval of a land swap between the Port and Pacifica Companies position us to be successful before the California Coastal Commission next spring.

This year, another link will be added to the Bayshore Bikeway from H Street to Palomar, followed by the Port District’s opening H Street to Marina Parkway.

Tearing down the South Bay Power Plant will open a view of San Diego Bay not seen for 50 years. Its removal and mitigation for contamination to land and water will use funds set aside with the Port and by the power plant’s operators. Your City Council and I must be sure that this is completed in a timely manner.

Chula Vista has worked to bring a university to the South Bay for many years. Visions from the late 80s to locate a University of California campus in Chula Vista’s Otay Ranch have evolved into the University Park and Research Center. Negotiations for the City to acquire property are now underway.

Meeting a future need for educated workers in clean technology, engineering, healthcare and cross-border infrastructure will lead to some of the greatest opportunities higher education has ever seen. As a former teacher, I am enthusiastic about a four-year university, surrounding research firms and supporting businesses. Without a doubt, the University Park can become an international economic and educational hub.

Our efforts should increase access to substantial and local higher education opportunities for up to 20,000 college, university and career tech students from Chula Vista, the South Bay, the region and throughout North America.

Collaboration with San Diego State, USD, the U.S. Department of Energy, the region’s developers, and private sector technology businesses are at the core of building clean tech industry partnerships. This has put Chula Vista on the international radar of university faculty and administrators.

More than two million dollars in funded research has addressed environmental, financial, policy and social issues involved in energy efficient models for residential and commercial development.

Also, the City has acquired funding to begin initial planning for the University Park campus. A federal appropriation will fund the design and begin construction of the first phase of campus infrastructure.

In addition, as part of its master plan and Proposition R, Southwestern College identified $20 million in capital funding for a presence in the University Park.

The University Park and Research Center’s many assets will enhance the image and significance of the South Bay to the greater San Diego region.

Transportation

These major projects and a revitalized urban core will benefit from an effective blend of improved public transportation that provides reliable, convenient and reasonably-priced mobility and alleviates freeway congestion.

As Chula Vista’s representative on SANDAG, the region's transportation and land-planning agency, I support SANDAG’s interest in looking at purchasing the South Bay Expressway.

Converting the toll road to a freeway in the future could provide the single most positive impact for Chula Vista's economy of any other project contemplated in the next few years. It would significantly improve the regional transportation network, particularly in South County, and will draw new customers to businesses in eastern Chula Vista.

I also support a Bus Rapid Transit line that will provide 12-stops between the border and downtown San Diego. However, one BRT is not enough for a community that grew so dramatically in the high construction years from 1984 – 2004.

In the next 40 years, the South Bay will add major residential and commercial developments and University Park traffic to the regional mix. We need to plan now for an effective regional transportation system to serve our residents in the future.

Public transportation drives the economy and creates jobs. Where and how we invest in transportation impacts our ability to be economically competitive.

A Sustainable Future

Goals in public transportation support our goals for a sustainable future. For more than 20 years, Chula Vista has worked to create a “cool city.” We are a local, state and national leader in the business of “clean and green,” promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.

Time and again, Chula Vista has been recognized as an organizational leader in promoting energy efficiency.

The Equinox Center, a leading regional energy and environment research group, recognized the city’s Home Upgrade, Carbon Downgrade program;

Our FRE-BE program integrates free energy and water efficiency evaluations into business licensing;

Chula Vista leads San Diego County in establishing citywide, mandatory green building standards for all new construction;

Our entire transit fleet uses clean Compressed Natural Gas. We plan to transition more than 500 fleet vehicles to cleaner models, and Allied Waste Services, the City’s contracted waste and recycling hauler and one of the City’s best corporate partners, has converted 100 percent of their vehicles to alternative fuels.

Clean Tech San Diego’s pointing to the South Bay as a potential manufacturing hub for clean technology companies should encourage our community to be more aggressive in implementing clean technology.

Chula Vista sees opportunity for investment when factoring the environment into business models. Cities that innovate and build energy efficiency technologies will thrive.

We are a player in the clean tech arena and we are open for business, looking to partner with investors, entrepreneurs and established corporations who share our passion for a clean future.

Achievements

We are open for business.
Our City retains an “A” bond rating and stable reserves. With our executives and staffs help, we’ve restructured pensions. Our city is a safe place to live. Progress continues for the bayfront’s development. The Otay Valley Regional Park is cleaner and healthier. Work on the Urban Core Specific Plan’s most anticipated feature, Third Avenue Streetscape, is ready for Council action, and finally, the 50-year-old South Bay Power Plant has been shut down and awaits removal.

Chula Vista Has Much to Offer

Our city has an abundance of talented and willing people who see our community as an exciting and vibrant mix of housing, schools and businesses. Many would like to work closer to home if only the jobs were as plentiful as housing. Chula Vista has much to offer in the way of business investment to help balance that mix and we need to share that message with those outside our city.

Tonight I ask for a shift in the tenor of our discourse. This year of recovery for Chula Vista is one in which President Kennedy’s words of 50 years ago should echo in our thoughts and actions. We cannot be content to ask what can be done for us. Let us ask ourselves what we can do for our community.

Discussion and debate make a democracy healthy, but only when the interaction is thoughtful, and outcome-driven.

The Census estimates our population to be over 243,000 residents. We’ve come a long way in a hundred years, from 553 people and the lemon industry to where we are today. Chula Vista has grown up and our level of debate should, too.

I’m open to constructive suggestions to help shape policy in a responsible way.

But I am not open to caustic or unsubstantiated comments that do not respect our residents or our political body.

In doing my own research for the centennial, I learned that in 1923, John Spreckels referred to San Diego’s just missing the train somehow, due to lack of cooperation and no team play. He said, “The moment anybody appears with any proposition of a big constructive nature, the small-town undertakers get busy digging its grave.”

We need to welcome propositions of a big constructive nature, because our best days are ahead of us.

After 100 years in business, overcoming areas where we are fractured and practicing community foresight can promote a better quality of life.

During challenging times, it is easy to become bitter and frustrated, and yet, for every frustration, for every bit of negativity, there is an opportunity to do things differently and better than before.

I ask each member of the City Council to think about the role we can play to help build a more positive image for our city and promote a vision that reflects all that is good about Chula Vista.

I will ask the City Council to address and clarify our goals with the City Manager prior to the Council’s budget deliberations for the 2011-2012 fiscal year. We need to clarify and demonstrate where we are when collectively focusing our efforts regarding our city’s greatest needs.

I want the best for Chula Vista – we all do. I ran for re-election to stay the course on fiscal responsibility. I am committed to safe neighborhoods, to building partnerships with businesses to create and retain jobs, and to being held accountable for my actions.

Tom Wornham, outgoing President of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, said in his farewell comments, “Governing is not a parlor game.” I say, government isn’t for the faint of heart.

Serving in public office often means getting some of the credit in the good times, and most of the blame in the bad times. And yet, the bad times are when good public service is probably needed the most - the times in which we need constructive dialogue and civil discussion, and honest debate among thoughtful and reasonable voices.

This is our hometown. Together, we are responsible for being the best stewards of the environment, our businesses, schools, parks, libraries and neighborhoods. We all have equal shares in our city’s successes or failure. There will always be challenges, but constructive leadership and working together will lead us to lasting solutions.

There is so much opportunity in our city and this time of recovery is our time to let everyone know. The decisions you and I make can have lasting effects on the lives and well-being of others. I am encouraged that we can build a better future. No matter how hard it seems, let’s give our best to Chula Vista, now and in the next hundred years.

Thank you for being here.

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