End-of-year message from Paso Robles Mayor John Hamon
Paso Robles Mayor John Hamon.
Message from Paso Robles Mayor John Hamon
2025 Year in Review and 2026 Goals & Vision
To my fellow citizens of El Paso de Robles,
As we begin to close this chapter in our 136th year as a city, I want to speak to you directly about where we have made meaningful progress this past year and where we are headed in 2026. Paso Robles continues to grow, which is a good thing, but change also creates challenges that must be managed responsibly to hold on to our historic small-town charm that we all love so much. We are doing it by listening to our citizens. Countless residents shared their hopes and frustrations with me, and those conversations have indeed shaped decisions made with steady city council leadership, strong partnerships, and a clear focus on what improves daily life for all who live here.
2025: A year of real, measurable accomplishment
This past year was one of the most productive in my 19-year memory of being a member of your City Council. We saw major milestones in housing, public safety, infrastructure, parks, and city services—all achieved by our dedicated city staff. This is the kind of professional work that strengthens Paso Robles not only today but also set us up for a better quality of life decades ahead.
The year began with two major affordable-housing victories: the completion of Sunrise Villas, now home to 69 families, and the grand opening of River Walk Terrace, providing 79 affordable senior units—both developed through close partnerships with the Paso Robles Housing Authority, which was formed in 1942. These projects are fully occupied and function exactly as intended: safe, stable homes for working families and seniors who deserve the chance to stay in their community.
We also saw the first homes completed in the long-planned Olsen–South Chandler Specific Plan, finally bringing to life a project that will eventually deliver more than 1,200 units, parks, trails, and open space.
Paso Robles was one of only two cities in San Luis Obispo County to grow in 2025, and our city’s total taxable assessed property value grew by 5% which outpaced county-wide growth.
Recreation and neighborhood amenities saw major wins as well. Royal Oak Meadows Park reopened after a full overhaul, giving families a modern playground, shaded picnic areas, improved courts, and a clean, inviting space. Sherwood Park entered a new era with construction beginning on its seven new lighted pickleball courts, restrooms, expanded parking, and shaded gathering areas. We also launched the Request for Proposal, RFP process to completely redevelop the Sherwood sports fields—an investment long overdue and deeply needed. We expect the Sherwood redesign to complete its community review phase next year, with budgeting and construction planning to follow shortly after.
On mobility and roadwork, we made substantial progress. Thanks to voter-supported Measures J-20 and I-24, as well as state and regional grants, we tripled our annual road-repair budget. We completed the Sherwood Road segment with two roundabouts, improved sidewalks, and a multi-use trail. We initiated neighborhood rehabilitation in the Sunset, Panorama, and Crestline areas, expanded slurry seal work on the west side, and modernized the 12th & Railroad parking lot with ADA spaces, EV stations, and upgraded lighting. After years of groundwork, the 24th Street Railroad Bridge project has secured $16.7 million in funding, finally putting construction in reach. When completed, the project will finally remove a major traffic bottleneck and significantly improve pedestrian safety around the fairgrounds.
Public safety advanced significantly. We broke ground on the new Paso Robles Public Safety Training Center on Union Road behind Fire Station 3—funded through Congressman Panetta’s federal appropriation and Measure J-20—giving our Police and Fire departments a modern, centralized training facility. We launched our new Paramedic Squad Program to improve medical response times, expanded our Community Action Team to better address homelessness and behavioral-health calls, and engaged in the county’s first competitive ambulance procurement process in decades.
Utilities and environmental services also made big strides. Our wastewater plant earned “Small Treatment Plant of the Year,” and the city completed the full conversion of nearly 11,000 water meters to advanced wireless AMI technology, allowing residents to monitor usage and detect leaks in real time. The City’s 4-megawatt solar farm saved us more than $400,000 this year, and our riverbed goat-grazing fire-prevention program earned statewide recognition. A $50,000 grant will expand riverbed cleanup and the Blue Bag trash-pickup program.
City Hall modernization also began, improving customer-service areas, workspace efficiency, and public meeting facilities. These upgrades will provide more efficient staff workspace and allow residents to complete more services on a single visit and shorten waiting times for permits, records, and in-person support. We appointed a new City Manager, Chris Huot, and welcomed Melissa Bailey as our new City Librarian along with Ashlee Hernandez, our first-ever Homeless Services Manager, which was created as part of the city’s strategic plan to address homelessness. These new staff join your nearly 300 other public employees who know Paso Robles well and are committed to accountable, transparent public service.
2025 community celebrations from the New Year’s Eve Bonfire, the Independence Day at Barney Schwartz Park, the Downtown Park Lighting Ceremony, and the Vine Street Victorian Showcase drew thousands and uphold the values that make this town so special.
2025 was a year when Paso Robles did not just talk about progress—we delivered it. And that work now sets the foundation for an even more focused and determined year of growth ahead.
Looking ahead to 2026: a realistic and ambitious vision
As we move into 2026, we are not slowing down. We are focused on using tax dollars wisely by doing the practical work that keeps Paso Robles safe, livable, and financially sound.
Housing: We will continue supporting both market-rate and affordable housing, with a strong emphasis on balanced growth, which will help give our children the opportunity to afford a home and be able to work, live, and play in the town they grew up in. As the Olsen–South Chandler area expands, we will ensure infrastructure, parks, trails, and traffic planning stay ahead of development—not behind it.
Roads & Transportation: With our bolstered road budget, we will complete more neighborhood rehabilitation, improve major corridors, and move the 24th Street Railroad Bridge into construction. We will keep pushing for traffic solutions that prioritize safety, flow, and long-term durability.
Public Safety: Safety and security will always be our highest priority. The new training center will move toward completion, our paramedic squad will continue to improve medical response times, and we will strengthen wildfire-mitigation and emergency-preparedness programs. We will also expand mental-health and homelessness coordination with county, state and federal resources to reduce impacts on neighborhoods, businesses, and public spaces.
Parks & Recreation: Sherwood Park’s improvements will continue through 2026, and the redesign of the sports fields will move through planning and community review. We will also keep focusing on youth programming, senior services, and creating more accessible, well-maintained public spaces.
City Services & Sustainability: We will reinvest savings earned from solar power generation to reduce cost of operations, continue wise stewardship of our Paso Robles Water basin resource, modernize customer services, and invest in clean-energy and fire-prevention strategies that save money and protect our community.
Economic Stability: We will continue the work toward acquiring our future Paso Robles Spaceport license that will drive innovation, attract high-value aerospace investment, create skilled local jobs, and position our community as a regional hub for commercial spaceflight, research, and advanced aviation technologies. Our city government is financially stable by living within its means. Our general fund reserves are currently more than fully funded at 33% of annual revenue and we continue to save for long-term liabilities such as (PERS) the Public Employee Retirements System.
A community moving forward together
We have lots of work to do—no question. But Paso Robles is certainly moving in the right direction. Our departments are performing at a high level, and our many long-term projects are finally turning into results you can see and feel. It is important to thank our highly valued staff during this time of the year for their dedication and professionalism in the work that they do for all of us and our wonderful home we call Paso Robles.
In closing, I want to thank you for your trust, your patience, and your support for me as your mayor and for my fellow city council colleagues in allowing us to make Paso Robles stronger every year. I am proud of what we have achieved as a great city of nearly 32,000 souls in 2025, and I’m even more determined about what we can build together in 2026.
On behalf of myself and your entire City Council, I want to thank you for what you do for our city and wish every Roblan a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Sincerely and respectfully,
Mayor John Hamon
