HomeMy WebLinkAbout7/17/2018 Item 11, Bartholomew
Purrington, Teresa
From:Cathy Bartholomew <bartholo@calpoly.edu>
Sent:Tuesday, July 17, 2018 12:31 PM
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:San Luis Ranch
Dear Mayor Harmon and Council Member:
I am a native SLO girl. I attended Quintana in Kindergarten, was the last class to graduate from SLO Junior
High on the Hill, and attended San Luis Highschool where my dad was a teacher and CIF championship football
coach. I am proud of the legacy I have here and this is why we returned to live here and raise our kids here
two years ago. Imagine my shock when I discovered that there is no longer affordable housing for the average
income household in SLO. When I grew up here, the home my parents bought on upper Sydney Street was
afforded on a teacher's income and my mom was able to stay at home with us kids. A single income teacher
with a family of six could never afford that home today.
Today, I am married to a minister who works counseling prisoners with addiction and anger issues at the Mens
Colony and I am thrilled to work for Cal Poly SLO as an Academic Advisor. My husband and I both hold
master's degrees but, with our gross income being around 80,000 dollars a year, we could never afford a
decent home for our family in SLO.
We have both been educated and trained in teaching, advising and ministry vocations. We are proud to
contribute to our community as our parents did before us. There was a time when that was enough; when
folks who valued civic duty could afford a decent roof over their heads and their own piece of the American
Pie. For awhile, it seemed that dream was coming to an end for middle class folks - now considered poverty
level in many parts of California - SLO included. Three of my adult children, after a year of trying to find
affordable housing, have moved to Spokane, Washington, and a third further north to find an affordable
community. I no longer will see my only grandchild without a plane ticket. We have been very discouraged.
But then my old highschool friend, Lenny Grant, told me about San Luis Ranch - he encouraged me to apply for
it and support it - for SLO citizens like me who currently cannot afford to own a home in SLO. This brought me
a bit of hope. We have never owned a home in California. This would be our first. If this project is approved,
my husband and I could continue our years here with our family in my hometown and continue to contribute
to our community here.
Thank you for hearing our story.
Blessings,
Cathy Criner Bartholomew
Cathy Bartholomew
Academic Advisor
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College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
(805)756-5082 / Bldg. 74M-A110
Strategic/Developer/Ideation/Positivity/Communication
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