HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-08-2013 pc mcgrathRECEIVE D
JAN 10 201 3
SLO CITY CLER K
COUNCIL MEETING :1141 3
ITEM NO .:
This should be distributed as part of the public record . Thanks .
Katie E . Lichti g
City Manage r
City of San Luis Obispo, C A
990 Palm Stree t
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3249
805-781-711 4
www .slocity .or q
From :Marx, Ja n
Sent :Wednesday, January 09, 2013 7 :16 A M
To :Steve McGrath ; Smith, Kathy; Carpenter, Dan ; Carter, Andrew ; Ashbaugh, Joh n
Cc:Lichtig, Katie ; Grimes, Maev e
Subject :RE : Goal Setting worksho p
•Thank you for your input and ideas, Steve . I am including our city clerk in this reply, so your message can be posted o n
the city website as agenda correspondence for the workshop .
Best ,
Ja n
Jan Howell Mar x
Mayor of San Luis Obisp o
(805) 781-7120 or (805) 541-271 6
From :Steve McGrath [smcgrath805@hotmail .com ]
Sent :Wednesday, January 09, 2013 6 :56 A M
To :Marx, Jan ; Smith, Kathy ; Carpenter, Dan ; Carter, Andrew ; Ashbaugh, Joh n
Cc :Lichtig, Katie
Subject :Goal Setting worksho p
Honorable mayor, City Council members :
I attended the workshop last evening ; thank you to you and to all the city staff who worked to make that such a
successful event . I listened, placed my dots, but chose not to speak, as this would have been largely redundant .
However, always wanting to get my voice heard, I would like to share the following, in no particular order :
Today's deferred maintenance is tomorrow's capital project . Continued maintenance of the infrastructure w e
*have should be the highest priority ; this should include curb ramps at every intersection that is improved at an y
time. (The intersection of Broad and Buchon has one corner, recently improved with new sidewalk that is no t
Goodwin, Heathe r
•From :
Sent :
To :
Cc :
Subject :
Lichtig, Kati e
Wednesday, January 09, 2013 6 :53 P M
Grimes, Maeve ; Goodwin, Heathe r
Elke, Brigitte ; McClure, Rachel ; Richardson, Apri l
FW : Goal Setting workshop
wheelchair or stroller accessible and is non-ADA compliant . I can understand old corners that have yet to b e
upgraded, but new concrete ...)
*Our open space is the crown jewel of this city and visible and permanent testament to the vision an d
perseverance of this council and your predecessors . However, a bright line around the city necessitates creative ,
adaptive ways of allowing for commercial and residential expansion .
I don't feel our city emphasizes the recreational needs of youth sufficiently .Concrete skate parks exist in Oceano, and I
believe in Mono Bay and Cambria, but not in SLO .; Sinsheimer 000l is not geared toward general recreation .I
am an avid lap swimmer, so truly appreciate the facility, but the pool does not provide sufficient time fo r
general play .
Love the color that is showing up in neighborhoods on utility boxes . keep it up .
Your staff were suitably stoic as one after another, citizens requested more (...fill in the blank) but staffin g
levels are too high, wages are too high, pensions cost too much, and staff levels should be reduced throug h
attrition or cross training . Seems like a disconnect there . That City staffing is 2 positions greater now than 1 0
years ago is an amazing accomplishment (441/443). Nevertheless, high 70s for staffing costs as a percentage o f
budget does seem a few points on the high side .
I hope that every person who spoke in support of above mentioned (...fill in the blank) will also be supportin g
Measure Y .
One person addressed a specific revenue generation idea . This seems like something worth pursuing, as is cit y
owned camping space . Visitors to the area have two choices : hotels or move on to somewhere else . I believ e
the City should look at a portion of Laguna Lake park as a site for a discreetly located campground for RVs an d
•tent camping . Operated by volunteer camp hosts (or managed by a developer operator on a percentage of gros s
receipts land lease) this can be a significant revenue source and a significant public service . (Port San Lui s
generates approximately $500,000 in revenue from RVs with minimal services, no reservations, two voluntee r
camp hosts and a bit of admin support).
Within the constraints of what is allowed by Caltrans on H'way 227 (Broad Street) press forward on medians ,
signals - whatever it takes to connect the residential west side of Broad with the commercial east side .
As a downtown denizen, I too am somewhat concerned about the potential for a monoculture, about transients ,
and about how theses two factors will affect the desirability of the oft touted live work/mixed use that w e
promote for the downtown core .
Had not heard of infrastructure improvement districts before . Seems like a great idea, especially if applied t o
undergrounding of utilities as well .
Thanks for listening .
Steve McGrath
665 Buchon, SLO (for the last 24 years )
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