2019 January Paso Robles Magazine

MAYOR’S VISION FOR 2019
Planning, Progress, and Purpose in Paso Robles
As we turn the corner on another
brand-new year, it’s
expected and appropriate
that we all turn our thoughts to the
future. With the completion of one
term as Mayor of Paso Robles and
the beginning of another, I am also
a bit preoccupied with the future. It’s
good to think ahead and lay plans. It
gives direction and helps define what
success will look like. Of course, the
universe sometimes has other ideas
and we are forced to react as well as
act. So, we have to be prepared for
those issues we anticipate and always
be ready to address the things
we never could have expected. If we
are well-prepared for 90 percent of
what happens we will be better able
to deal with those unexpected issues
that always seem to pop up.
So, what do we know about
the future? We know that our
citizens are looking for better
streets, more and better jobs and
strong public safety services. How
do we know that? People made
those preferences known in 2017-
2018 via public surveys, forums
and goal-setting exercises. So, I
have adopted three overarching
“Man-On-The-Moon” statements
for Paso Robles.
First, we will be a city where our
infrastructure (streets, water, sewer,
etc.) are strong, dependable and
well-maintained. We have already
accomplished much in the area of
street repairs and we will continue
to spend more than $5 million per
year to complete those efforts. In
the future we will need to establish
a regular pavement maintenance
program to assure street repairs are
done in a timely fashion. This will
increase the life-span of our streets
and reduce the need for massive,
expensive repairs in the future.
Second, we will be the hub for
economic development in our area,
providing a wide variety of jobs in
many business sectors. Tourism
has been the backbone of our local
economy for years. We want that to
continue. Money spent by visitors in
Paso Robles creates revenue for city
services that would otherwise have
to be generated by our citizens.
Even so, tourism cannot be the
only solution to our revenue needs.
If anything should happen to weaken
that revenue stream it would
jeopardize city services. We need
to expand other local business and
encourage others to locate in our
city. This will provide employment
alternatives and create a more stable
local economy.
Third, we will be a safe community
with sufficient emergency and law
enforcement services to assure a safe
and lawful community and be prepared
for unexpected natural emergencies.
We have already established
and approved a plan to increase the
size and scope of our Fire and Emergency
Services Department. In 2019
we will follow a similar course to
address the needs of our police department.
Public safety is always our
number one priority. The new year
will see an even greater focus on this.
Other projects that will occupy
our time in the years to come
By Paso Robles Mayor Steve Martin
include housing, homelessness,
downtown parking and recreation.
Activity to create new housing in
our Specific Plan areas will continue.
First and foremost, these projects
will be required to go through
the environmental review process
to assure their ability to mitigate
any negative impact on our quality
of life. Secondly, we hope to have
balanced development via housing
that is accessible to people in many
income levels.
“If we are well-prepared for 90 percent of what
happens we will be better able to deal with those
unexpected issues that always seem to pop up.”
We anticipate working with local
organizations such as Paso Cares,
ECHO and others to participate
in a process that will create new,
more effective strategies to assist the
homeless. Homelessness is probably
a problem that will never be completely
solved, but we can be more
effective and efficient managing the
situation. Doing so will help people
out of homelessness, provide for the
truly needy and address the relatively
few among the homeless population
responsible for breaking the law and
creating problems.
Our pilot program for providing
employee parking in the downtown
area is already generating success.
We look forward to using the data
acquired during this program to
enhance downtown parking. We
will take this step-by-step, focusing
on the strategies that work and
discarding those that don’t. The
ultimate goal is to ease the downtown
parking situation to provide
Mayor Steve Martin
customers and businesses with the
most pleasant and profitable shopping
experiences.
Recreationally, we are a community
that enjoys sports. We will
continue to work to increase the
availability of recreational facilities
to serve all of the community. This
will be a challenge of venue development,
maintenance and scheduling
and we will have to work together
to meet it.
These goals relate directly to the
quality of life in Paso Robles, a city
where people can live, work and recreate.
The more successful we are at
attaining these goals, the higher the
quality of life we will all experience.
One thing about the future will
be familiar: I and all of our City
Council, committees and staff will
look to our citizens for input and
assistance. We will be accessible
and responsible when you reach
out. We are all Paso Roblans and
we all want what is best for our
city. I trust no one in our community
will be shy about contacting
us with suggestions, complaints
and (every now and then) a little
compliment. Contact information
is available out our newly-updated
City website, prcity.com. The
website is the perfect way to stay
“in the loop” about what is going
on with the city. It’s automatic!
Fill out a form with your contact
information and we’ll make sure
you’re updated. Or, just check out
the regular City newsletter, also
available on the website.
Here’s to a bright 2019. Here’s to
you, Paso Robles!
24 | pasomagazine.com PASO Magazine, January 2019