Paso Robles News|Thursday, March 28, 2024
You are here: Home » Top Stories » Chambers of commerce host ‘State of the North County’
  • Follow Us!

Chambers of commerce host ‘State of the North County’ 

State of the north county

There were an estimated 150-200 attendees at Friday’s, State of the North County presentation.

Topics: economic advancement, strides, and challenges

–The Paso Robles and Atascadero chambers of commerce presented an annual economic update, “State of the North County,” Friday from 7:30-11 a.m. at Springhill Suites in Atascadero. The event nearly sold out, with only a few open seats left. There were an estimated 150-200 attendees. The event had breakfast, networking opportunities, and presentations from local leaders.

Dignitaries in attendance included:

  • Fifth District Supervisor Debbie Arnold
  • Paso Robles Mayor Steve Martin
  • Paso Robles City Councilman Steve Gregory
  • Paso Robles City Manager Tom Frutchey
  • Atascadero Mayor Tom O’Malley
  • Atascadero Councilwoman Roberta Ronzi
  • Atascadero City Manager Rachelle Rickard
  • Atascadero School Board Member Mary Kay Mills
  • Congressional candidate Justin Fareed
  • Supervisorial candidate John Peschong

The morning was broken up into presentations from various city and business leaders.

County produces more carbon free power than any county in the country

Presentation from Pacific Gas and Electric Director of Local Customer Experience Pat Mullen

Pat Mullen was the first speaker for the morning’s presentation. His report was titled, “Infrastructure investments to support the local economy,” and covered topics such as their latest project, a new proposed substation and power line; currently in the public feedback and review stage. Mullen explained how projects like these are creating improved energy reliability and therefore support economic growth and the economy.

PG&E is one of the largest private employer in the county, according to Mullen. Between the two solar stations in the east part of the county, and Diablo Power Plant, Mullen said that, “This county generates more carbon free power than any other county in the county.”

North County has a ‘Can-Do’ attitude

Presentation from City of Paso Robles City Manager Tom Frutchey

Paso Robles City Manager Tom Frutchey gave a presentation on Paso Robles’ challenges, as well as inherent strengths. Frutchey, who is new to Paso Robles and was sworn in as city manager in January, said that he has been studying up on Paso Robles and its changing history. He said what makes North County special is its, “Can Do” attitude. He pointed out that this county is made up of cities with, “Individual identities but a shared respect for the region.”

Frutchey then shared the, “11 Signs a Community Will Succeed,” by James Fallows for The Atlantic, who has been flying around the country examining what makes small communities grow and prosper. The 11 points are:

  1. Divisive national politics seem a distant concern
  2. The town has known “movers and shakers”
  3. The community makes meaningful public-private partnerships
  4. People know the civic story
  5. The community has a true downtown
  6. The community is near a research university
  7. The community has a cherished community college
  8. Schools are willing to take on a challenge
  9. There is an openness to outsiders and to change
  10. The community has big plans for advancement and improvements
  11. The community has a number of craft breweries

 

Atascadero City Manager Rachelle Rickard.

Atascadero City Manager Rachelle Rickard.

Excitement surrounds Atascadero’s development

Presentation by City of Atascadero City Manager Rachelle Rickard

Atascadero City Manager Rachelle Rickard began her presentation with some interesting demographic statistics comparing Paso Robles and Atascadero. Both towns have reached a population of approximately 30,000 people. According to Rickard, Atascadero has highest median income in the county, however Paso Robles has over twice as many jobs. Atascadero, “Has a lot going on,” according to Rickard. She said in her 27 years of living in Atascadero, things seem to be moving forward and changing for the good faster now than ever before. “This is a fun time to work for the city,” she said.

Rickard gave status updates on a wide array of local projects and addressed key concerns that citizens have brought to her. Among those projects was the hotly debated Walmart project. “Yes, Walmart is coming,” she said. Walmart has submitted grading plans and the city expects them to be done and approved by June, allowing them to begin the project. According to Rickard, the project will require, ” a significant amount of gradings.” She said that they expect to move over 300,000 cubic yards of dirt.paso robles vs atascadero

There will be three new roundabouts built near the Walmart. One at Del Rio and El Camino- which will be built by Walmart during the site construction, and two more at each of the off-ramps. These two will be built by the city, and they are currently in the Caltrans review/approval process, city projects.

Addressing the concerns over the large number of empty businesses in and around downtown Atascadero, Rickard said that the council has identified hot sports, and has begun to work to fill vacant storefronts, invest in infrastructure, and actively increase traffic to local businesses. She mentioned projects such as the pedestrian foot bridge, and how it will improve downtown accessibility and aesthetics. Rickard said that the pedestrian bridge has been a proposed idea for a while. She said that she has found plans for a bridge dating back 100 years and now it’s finally coming to fruition.

The city hopes to continue to offer incentives to get businesses here, such as the loan guarantee they provided for the Galaxy Theater building. The city fronted 1.5 million dollars as security so that the theater could get a no-risk loan from a bank. “We got paid back plus interest,” mentioned Rickard.  Del Rio marketplace has been purchased by Madonna Enterprises, and, “their phone is ringing off the hook of people who want to be there,” she said. Rickard said also that the city strives to not over-regulate, and the city wants to give special treatment to local businesses to fill these spots. “Atascadero based businesses- we will put you in the front of the line,” she said.

There are still vacancies in downtown, she admitted. Why? Rickard says that size constraints is really one of the key issues. Downtown parcels aren’t really big enough for the types of businesses that want to move to Atascadero or open there. Streetside Ale House, for instance, had to buy two lots. Another constraint is long-term leases taking a while to time out. The Jack in the Box property owners, for instance, had the company sign a 10 year lease. The company has been paying $8,000 a month for a vacant lot for 8 years now. “Here it sits boarded up and vacant. I keep telling myself, ‘Two more years to go.'”

Another key challenge is that many owners are simply not interested in getting tenants for their building. A question was posed from the audience regarding the Carlton Hotel, for instance, and if they were planning on leasing the restaurant space. The Carlton is using the restaurant space for event rentals, and is being “very particular,” about taking tenants as the space is already making money. Also addressed was the high density of office space downtown where citizens have been calling for more restaurants and retail, “The city doesn’t have the right to come in and kick people out,” she said. “We need to get the economics to do that.”

Some exciting business coming into town include the Santa Maria Brewing coming to the Players building. Wendy’s will also be returning to the vacant Wendy’s building, and there has been plans to demolish and rebuild the Cocos site that has been vacant. Residential areas are booming in Atascadero, particularly multi-family housing. There are hundreds of units currently in construction, 400 just in the South end of town.  “There have been a lot of investments going on. Lots of excitement for Atascadero,” said Rickard.

A top issue for economic development is the lack of affordable housing

Presentation from Executive Director at California Department of State Hospitals Stirling Price 

Stirling Price, the executive director at California Department of State Hospitals, spoke about the impact that the Atascadero State Hospital has on the local economy. It is the second largest employer in the county, after Cal Poly, providing 2,000 jobs. The average salary for an employee is $58,000 with a 196 million dollar payroll. The hospital currently has 246 job vacancies, but has a hard time attracting competent and qualified workers. One of the main issues is the lack of affordable housing in North County. Another issue is a lack of jobs for trailing spouses of workers offered employment at the hospital.

Price also spoke about the demographics within the hospital and the types of patients treated there. Currently there are 1,155 patients at the hospital. Types of patients include:

  • Mentally disordered offenders
  • Civil commitments
  • Those determined incompetent to stand trial
  • Patient-inmates
  • Those determined not guilty by reason of insanity

The hospital has a police department and fire department on-site. They also offer a variety of internships for psychology and social work.

Lack of affordable housing in Atascadero has forced many State Hospital employees to reside outside the North County.

Lack of affordable housing in Atascadero has forced many State Hospital employees to reside outside the North County.

New events and big plans in Atascadero

Presentation by Atascadero Mayor Tom O’Malley 

Atascadero Mayor Tom O’Malley’s presentation covered why businesses choose Atascadero, as well as all of the new events that the city has been hosting.

A key reason that Atascadero is attractive to new and incoming businesses is it’s affordability. Rent is considerably lower in Atascadero as opposes to places such as Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo, and Atascadero has lowest cost of water, according to O’Malley.

“We used to be a ‘can’t do,’ community,” he said.  “We’ve moved beyond ‘can do’ to ‘will do’.” O’Malley was particularly proud of Atascadero’s latest gourmet artisan restaurants such as Hush Harbor and Fig Good Food, and artisan products such as Bristol’s Cider and Brian’s Bread.

Lately, the city has been focused on “doing stuff,” he said. They have been selling out events. “We never really promoted ourselves before,” he said. But now, with the help of Assistant City Manager and Outreach, Events, and Promotions Manager Terrie Banish events, the city has been “Banish-ing boredom in Atascadero,” O’Malley said. Popular events such as the Tamale Festival and the Cider Festival will return next year, and the city plans to, “Make them bigger, move them outside.”

Atascadero and Paso Robles Mayors Tom O'Malley and Steve Martin.

Atascadero and Paso Robles Mayors Tom O’Malley and Steve Martin.

Homelessness a key challenge in Paso Robles

Presentation by Paso Robles Mayor Steve Martin 

One of the main issues that Paso Robles Mayor Steve Martin has been addressing in recent weeks is that of homelessness in the North County. Martin recently teamed up with the other mayors in the county to ask the state if they would entertain a proposal for the California Youth Correctional Facility to be turned into a, “Beyond Homelessness” campus.

Martin said that Paso Robles is a city of change. “I’ve seen the city of Paso change completely three times,” he said. Paso Robles went from a sleepy country town to a globally recognized vacation destination. Martin spoke of the accomplishments of the Paso Robles Main Street Association and others in revitalizing the downtown area. We also mentioned the success that the city saw with the recent Centennial Pool fundraiser. He also acknowledged the lack of affordable housing in the North County, and said that the city will be working to develop solutions in the coming years.

 

 

Share To Social Media

Comments