OB Town Council Reports on its March Public Meeting

In what was called “a quick roundup!”, the Ocean Beach Town Council leadership sent out a report on its late March public meeting. We repost it here with a few comments.

First up, the meeting heard stump speeches from the various candidates running to unseat Jen Campbell in District 2. Joel Day, Lori Saldana, and Mandy Havlik were there, as was Bev McCalla – but McCalla didn’t make the filing deadline, so it’s unclear what she had to say. The primary is in June.

In other news:

• Sarah Harron shared an update on her passion project working to create monofilament (fishing line) disposal containers at the pier. She has taken the initiative to budget this project and is currently flyering and speaking with local businesses as well as collaborating with the OBTC to find funding and resources. This is a great example of ONE citizen finding a niche project and attacking it… and getting it done! Great work Sarah!
• Respect OB announced their new Spring Break Movies in the Park events! 3 movie nights coming up at Veteran’s Park at sundown: tonight, March 25 | The Sandlot, March 30 | Goonies, and April 1 | Ferris Beuller’s Day Off. These are kid and family friendly. Amazing date night activity too! Come hang with the community and enjoy some great flicks!
• Ocean Beach Planning Board chimed in noting they wrote a letter recommending 4 tennis courts at Robb Field be converted to pickle ball courts after hearing discussion from both sides about court use at their last meeting.
• Our new OB Library librarian Christy Rickey Meister reported in that all closed branches will finally re-open on June 30th!

Officer David Surwilo from the SDPB Western Division:

• He noted that although weather is nice and it is tempting to leave doors and windows open, we should all still be careful to secure houses even for a short trip to the store!
• if people have specific traffic concerns or ideas the best path of action is to reach out to city traffic engineering AND your local representative to see action. The police aren’t the best path. Tracy from the OBTC/OB Planning Board noted you can also go through local planning boards. Lastly, COVID staffing issues have largely gone away.

Cairo Wiliams (cairo.williams@mail.house.gov) from Congressman Scott Peters’ office was at the meeting and reported in with:

• Peters supports the Meth Response Act of 2021 to tackle rising danger of this drug.

We wish Peters would also support measures to tackle the rising costs of pharmaceuticals. He has stubbornly refused to. (The OBTC report initially stated Peters “signed” the law; we have to note Peters is not the president; only the presidents signs bills.)

• Oh, in case you were wondering, Williams announced that the White House visitors office is starting tours again.
• Apply for an art competition – Peter’s district office is accepting submissions. PLHS has had a lot of great submissions!

Cole Reed ((Cole.Reed@sen.ca.gov) from State Senator Toni G. Atkins’ office reported in with:

• Woman of the Year  winners
• Senate Bill 1027 – expands San Dieog River Conservancy coverage from 90% to fully 100% of watershed. “Modernizes agency as well, includes more Native American bands.” What does this mean? Rock and roll bands? Drum circles? Or did Reed (and the OBTC) mean “tribes”?
• Senate Bill 1041 – extend sale tax exemptions to more non-profits that are military related – often with thrift stores.

Rachel Granadino (rachel.granadino@asm.ca.gov) and Miki Holmes (miki.holmes@asm.ca.gov) with Assemblymember Assemblymember Chris Ward’s office reported in with these notes on different assembly bills:

• Bill 212B – Fixes bridges – Mission Bay bridges locally
• Bill AB625 – Helps close COVID work shortages;
• Full list of bills avail on website
• cell: (619) 431-0674;District Office:619-645-3090

Rebecca Smith (Rebecca.Smith2@sdcounty.ca.gov) with (NEW DUE TO REDISTRICTING) Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer’s office reported in with:

• Funding available for neighborhood reinvestment programs and other grants – contact office!
• Sign up for the upcoming grant webinar on April 7th at 1:00pm.
• Sign up for more updates from the County via their newsletter at: https://remer.nationbuilder.com/join

We note that Lawson-Remer’s parents (Larry Remer and Shari Lawson) used to live in Ocean Beach during the heady days of the 1970s and both were quite active in the anti-Vietnam war movement. So, it’s now fitting that their daughter represents OB.

Kohta Zaiser from Mayor Todd Gloria’s office was not present but sent a report which included:

• Care Court – which works on response to mental health issues but falls short of full conservatorship but has path to action. An issue being worked on actively.
• Build Better SD – “more equitable planning policies” – planning is in progress. Heard by City Council in April/May.

Tracy Dezenzo (tracyld10@cox.net) from San Diego Commission of Arts and Culture reported in with:

• The 3rd iteration the Arts and Culture Citywide Impact Heat Map is now online! The map is a multilayered visual tool that illustrates how City-funded organizations make meaningful impacts across all nine City Council districts. It’s a great visual tool that shows the reach that your arts and culture dollars have within your community.
• Learn more about the activities of your favorite organizations and check out outreach that occurred in your neighborhood https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/11856484de44466694c4cef1033a8771/
• Stay up-to-date with Commission funding announcements, deadlines, exciting news and projects on Twitter at @SDArtsComm.

Gabriel Patterson with RepresentUs San Diego made a presentation advocating for their group – here are some links to find out more about what they are doing regarding ranked choice voting and democracy dollars/political transparency: RepresentSanDiego.org https://sdvotersvoice.org/

Lastly, the Ocean Beach Town Council Executive Committee reported that they are excited about going on a retreat for the Board in April “where we will be planning our vision for the coming year/s. The entire board is energized and so excited to dive in on lots of projects, ideas, and directions FORWARD for Ocean Beach!”

We note that in their report, the OBTC focused mainly on what others are doing for the community, city and state. What is the town council doing? No mention of the new street vending rules, the Coastal Commission approval of Campbell’s plan for short-term vacation rentals, the city’s threats against local palm trees, or of the redevelopment proposals for the Sports Arena area.