State of the City event highlights many successes
Paso Robles Assistant City Manager Meg Williamson addresses a large crowd at the Paso Robles Inn on Tuesday morning.
Chamber of Commerce brings together business, residents & government
Highlights:
- The city is well positioned for recovery and growth.
- City water supplies are solid and reliable.
- City’s economy thrives on tourism, wine industry, and ag.
- Hotel rooms doubled in the last 10 years and will double again in the next 10.
- To address poverty and unemployment city needs to attract employers.
Chamber Chairwoman Daniele Fresca.
The Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce hosted the first-ever State of the City presentation this morning, Wednesday, March 25, inside the Paso Robles Inn Ballroom. The event brought together the Paso Robles business and resident community, along with city government leaders. Chamber Interim President/CEO Zoe Taylor welcomed more than 125 attendees to the event.
“The Chamber has developed a new business plan that includes a stronger partnership with the City and a number of partners within the community; this is the ideal time to present the State of the City program,” Taylor before the event. “It is the right time to begin the next phase of building a stronger diversified economy for the region of Paso Robles.”
Chamber Board Chairperson Daniele Fresca thanked city staff, officials and event sponsors for their role in ensuring the success of the gathering. Following Fresca’s welcoming remarks, Mayor Duane Picanco set the tone as he highlighted the 125th anniversary of Paso Robles as a city and the foundation of good stewardship involving community partners as the city and community prepare for the next 125 years.
Paso Robles Mayor Duane Picanco.
“We have a dedicated team of elected officials and city staff who deeply care about this community,” said Picanco. Following the introductions of fellow council members, department heads and staff, he turned the program over to City Manager Jim App.
App’s informative talk placed emphasis on the city’s past plans, whether those plans are working and what the future may hold, saying “we are prepared to enable new commerce, new housing and are very well positioned for economic recovery and growth.”
“The city has a vision for its future, a vision that defines what we intend to be,” said App. “We want to be a place where we can live, work, shop and play. As trite as that sounds, it is what we have been, what we are today and what we intend to be in the future.”
City Manager Jim App.
Expanding on App’s report on a topic of great interest to Paso Robles business owners and residents alike –water –Christine Halley recapped the history of water sources and usage for the city, where the water comes from and how the city is planning for the future. With planning starting back in 1987, Halley said the city is positioned to supply water for future growth as determined by the general plan and shared several graphs and maps related to wells, drought response and more.
“In the long term, there will be an ongoing call to conserve water, especially during the drought,” said Halley. “The water vision is one that has a strategy that has been literally decades in the making for Paso Robles; its foundation is on the fact that there are multiple sources that meet community needs.”
Assistant City Manager Meg Williamson recapped the progress of the economic strategy, including what and how the city of Paso Robles is planning for the future. Infrastructure, she said, is key to the success of business development; investment in roads, sewer, water upgrades are critical to future growth. She also addressed what she referred to as the key components of success – partnerships, people, positioning, and place.
Christine Halley recapped the history of water sources and usage for Paso Robles.
“We are working together and we are strengthening our partnerships in the community,” said Williamson, “both locally here in Paso and in the county.”
It was pointed out that Paso Robles has been acknowledged by multiple sources – print, online and other media – as a major destination for wine, agriculture, culture, events, and recreation; people working together enhance these experiences for visitors and future residents and business owners. Other topics included: tourism, industry and businesses positioning the city for the future, the city’s new triple-A rating, financial planning, and steady progress for a successful future.
Recent accolades for Paso Robles
- The Guardian named the city #15 of 25 top global travel destinations.
- Wine Enthusiast named Paso Robles the wine region of the year.
- Standard and Poor’s rating service gave the city a AAA bond rating.
- The Milkin Institute ranked the city #25 metro area on a list of “Best Performing Cities.”
Audience participation was encouraged; attendees took part in a question and answer session and also had the opportunity to interact with officials and ask further questions after the main session of the event.
Fresca closed the morning with a brief overview of the Chamber’s new business plan which embraces business development, working with government, building partnerships with education for a skilled workforce, enhancing the visitor experience, and building a strong organization for success.
City staff at the presentation, from left, Shonna Howenstine, Meg Williamson and City Manager Jim App.
Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce staff organized the first ever State of the City.
A table of attendees at Access Publishing’s table include, from left, Karen Battaglia, Beth Brennan, Scott Brennan, Katie Hayward, Tyson Hayward, Paul Shannon and Karli Twisselman.
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