2013 Town Hall Forum -
May 29, 5:00 - 8:00
- UPSES Hall
Meet community leaders including (Order of Appearance in the Program):
* County Supervisor Ron Roberts
* Councilmember Kevin Faulconer on District 2 issues
*
Congressman Scott Peters presents local issues at the federal level.
*
Airport Authority Peggy Cooper’s update on north airport
development.
*
: U.S. Border Patrol Agent Rubach talks about drug smuggling and
maritime criminal activity along our coastline.
*
District 2 Bike & Pedestrian Advisory Committee member Nicole
Burgess’ vision for creating a bike and pedestrian friendly community,
including improvements to Nimitz Boulevard.
*
Mayor Bob Filner discusses City-wide issues
*
Military update by Captain Scott Adams
: PLA raffle awards and opportunity for guests to visit informational tables and ask questions of guest speaker
Come for dinner at 5:00! Enjoy selections from the Cohn Chop Sooey food truck
and purchase cocktails at the UPSES Hall bar. Here's the agenda:
5:00 - 6:00 Chop Sooey/Patty Melt Food Truck & Happy Hour
6:00 - 8:00 Program
The annual PLA Town Hall Meeting was held on May 12, 2011 at Portuguese SES Hall.
Town Hall SUMMARY
If you weren’t there, you missed a great meeting! This year, the meeting
began with the installation of PLA board members. We said goodbye to Larry
Baumann (who has done MANY stints on the board!), past Chair Tony Calabrese,
past Treasurer Andy Hollingworth, Klonie Kunzel (who, like Larry, can’t
count the number of terms she has served on the board!), and Maureen Summers.
Councilman Kevin Faulconer presented commendations to each of them.
Supervisor Greg Cox led the swearing in of our new board members, Sally Bixler,
Judy Garrett, Robert Jackson, Tim Tuter, and Elise Streicher (who is beginning
her second term as Secretary).
Following is a brief summary noting meeting highlights.
The Town Hall portion of the meeting began with Councilman Kevin Faulconer’s
comments on the City’s budget. He said that sparing library hours “is
not a matter of ‘if,’ but ‘how.’” Faulconer also
said that the City had found private funding for the fire pits from the hotel/motel
industry, and that the pits would “stay for a very very long time to
come.” Kevin also stated his support for a pension reform measure that
would provide a “style of retirement the City of San Diego can afford.” Faulconer
reminded everyone in the audience to be “vigilant” about the redistricting
process resulting from the 9th City Council District seat, and discussed the
N. Harbor Drive Realignment plan and the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan.
County Supervisor Greg Cox began his presentation with a proclamation recognizing
the original members of the Point Loma Association and the 50th anniversary
of the PLA (see page 1). Celeste Trepte and Dorothea Laub were on hand to accept
the award along with Tony Calabrese and Cecilia Carrick. “So many people
in our community serve,” said Dorothea. “We come back and do it
again because they didn’t kill us the first time! This community ROCKS!”
Supervisor Cox’s presentation continued with a discussion of what he
called a “Perfect Storm,” the County’s bright fiscal outlook.
The healthy budget has allowed the county to replace Edgemoor Hospital and
the San Diego County Medical Examiner & Forensic Center, upgrade the County
Operations Center and expand the Las Colinas Detention Facility– with
most payments in CASH. Cox stated that cash payments will save the county over
$1 billion in interest over the next 20-30 years. Cox also noted that the County
is building a new parking structure at the County Administration Building,
and that there will be a greenbelt surrounding the building.
Captain Paul Marconi of Naval Base Point Loma thanked the community for their
support of wounded warriors. He lauded the Navy’s $30.5 billion contribution
to the local economy, and noted that the Navy is feverishly building ships:
157 ships out of 280 are currently underway. Capt. Marconi also highlighted
the Navy’s efforts in energy and water conservation, and stated that
the fuel storage tank replacement project is going well and is ahead of schedule.
Finally, Capt. Marconi noted the Navy’s ongoing efforts to reduce traffic
impacts. The latest is having an officer at the Catalina /Electron Drive intersection
directing traffic in order to reduce backups on Catalina.
Brandi Christianson, acting CEO of the San Diego Unified Port District, spoke
about “ROI,” Return on Involvement, an increased focus on community
needs and desires. She is looking forward to the America’s Cup World
Series at the end of November. Karen Wineman, Director of Real Estate for the
Port of San Diego, spoke about the redevelopment of America’s Cup Harbor,
stating that almost every Port tenant is redeveloping their property or is
getting ready to start. She acknowledged parking problems in the area and said
that additional funding needed to be identified.
Julie Cramer with the Point Loma Cluster Schools Foundation said that the foundation
began five years ago to look at “the best way to sup- port the learning
environment for K-12.” The foundation’s goal is to create an “excellent
learning experience” by encouraging a dialog with parents and staff– and
by bringing decision-making closer to Point Loma, home to 6400 students, from
a school district charged with a diverse mix of 132,000 students. Cramer also
discussed the upgrades at Point Loma High School due to Proposition S funding,
which include a new weight room and music center. For more information, go
to www.pointlomacluster.com.
John Ohanian with 211 San Diego talked about the history of the 211 program,
which links the public with nonprofits and government agencies in 140 languages.
The idea for 211 began with the 2003 fires, when they were able to set up a
call center for non-911 calls. 211 officially began five years ago, and now
receives approximately 20,000 calls per month. The center offers information
about health care benefits, navigating the health care system, prescription
drug programs, transportation, and is hoping to provide more services for returning
veterans. For more information, go to www.211sandiego.org.
Special thanks to Starbucks for donating coffee, to Con Pane for the delicious
bread and to BK Printing for the PLA notepads distributed that evening. Thanks
also to Malinda Dickenson for organizing a hugely successful event!
