February 2015 – Monthly update from Mayor Steve Martin
Paso Robles Mayor Steve Martin
By Steve Martin
Mayor of Paso Robles
Before we get started, a little housekeeping. As your Mayor, it’s my job to listen, lead and communicate. In addition to writing columns for local publications and appearing regularly on local radio news and talk shows, I will be reaching out via this blog as well as Facebook and Twitter to bring the message about what’s happening in our great city to the public. I promise to be as available and accessible as humanly possible and look forward to your emails, phone calls and tweets.
Contact information
- My email: smartin@prcity.com
- My phone: (805) 227.7210
- My Twitter address: @tweetswm
- My Facebook page: www.facebook.com/swmartinformayor
What’s next?
“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” ― Yogi Berra
Every two years, the City Council adopts goals to guide City financial planning and progress toward strategic objectives. Goal development is the result of Council member suggestions and public input. The top goals are broad imperatives that will, of necessity, include many more narrowly tailored objectives. Accordingly, the goals will be consolidated to reflect this reality. City Council will meet March 21, 2015 to develop goals for Fiscal Years 2016-2018. They would welcome your opinion of what the top 2 or 3 goals should be. Reference information including the newly adopted Financial Forecast (2015-2019) and the Service Recovery Plan are available for download, as well as an online form to submit goal recommendations to City Council. Visit www.PRCity.com/CouncilGoals to find the form and additional information.
You may also submit your suggestions to the following address by mail:
City Clerk City of Paso Robles
1000 Spring Street
Paso Robles, CA 93446
The deadline to submit Goal Suggestions is March 18, 2015 at 5:00PM. Every member of the City Council will receive a copy of your comments. Please contact the City Manager’s office if you have any questions: (805) 237-3888.
The times (and staff) are a-changing…
We welcome Warren Frace as our new Community Development Director. Warren takes over from retiring Ed Gallagher. He has lots of experience in the North County having served previously in the same position in Atascadero.
We are preparing to interview for a new Public Works Director to succeed long-time employee Doug Monn. Doug also retired recently. There has been a strong response to our search efforts and I am looking forward to some quality candidates.
With the recent announcement that City Manager Jim App will also retire soon, we will be discussing how best to fill his shoes and his office. Jim has served he city for 25 years, 18 of those as City Manager. He has worked with many Councils to bring our community through some very tough times. Hats off to him and best wishes for his retirement. He will be with us through the end of this year.
Fixin’ the streets…
I was pleased to receive a report for our Citizens Sales Tax Oversight Committee regarding the progress we are making to fix our streets. The Committee reported the City Council is staying the course and spending the dollars raised by the $.05 sales tax override as promised. A long list of streets has already been addressed and work will continue for four years on the first leg of a 12-year plan. We are spending about $4-million each year on streets but even that won’t be enough to complete the job and establish a maintenance fund. Pardon the pun, there’s a long road ahead of us. At our most recent Council meeting we approved the reconstruction of a length of 12th Street between Vine and Fresno. Some of that work will be paid for by the sales tax override, but a sizable chunk of the cost will be covered by a grant that will allow us to improve drainage in this area. When it rains again (we can hope) this will improve vehicle and pedestrian safety and prevent water and materials from being swept rapidly down to the river. Two community meetings resulted in various design changes that will be incorporated in the project. Citizens in this area, take note: when the street is opened for repairs it will be a good opportunity for you to have the sewer laterals extending to your homes inspected and repaired. Repairs delayed until after the project is finished will be more costly and entail tearing up that lovely, new blacktop.
Until next we blog, here’s to you Paso Robles!
