LEMON GROVE MAYOR PROMISES "SMOOTHER RIDES AHEAD" IN STATE OF CITY ADDRESS

View video of Mayor Racquel Vasquez’s State of the City 2024 address

By Miriam Raftery

August 28, 2024 (Lemon Grove) – In her 2024 State of the City address delivered August 14, Lemon Grove Mayor Racquel Vasquez said,  “We are gathered tonight to celebrate our remarkable accomplishments and to embrace the exciting opportunities that are before us, and to report a shared vision for the future of our city.”

That progress includes strengthening the city’s finances, enhancing infrastructure and elevating the quality of life, according to the Mayor.

Several years ago, the city struggled financially.  Vasquez reported that the city has attained budget stability three years in a row, recognized by the Government Finance Officers Association the past two years. This “paves the way for a more secure and prosperous financial future for the city,” she said, adding that the GFOA also recognized the city for financial transparency.

“But our work is far from over,” she acknowledged. “That is why the City Council and I have put a funding proposal on the November ballot  to address our aging infrastructure, repair our streets, storm drains and sidewalks and to assure that Lemon Grove remains clean, safe and well maintained for generations to come.”

Vasquez said that as a wife and mother, she feels the same impacts of high gas and grocery prices that constituents are facing. She assured that funding from the sales tax measure on the ballot will stay in Lemon Grove and be held accountable through a citizens’ oversight committee.

She also touted “strides made in the last year” by the city’s “small but might staff.” 

“Now get ready for smoother rides ahead,” she added. “This fall we are fixing our streets with $5.4 million...$2 million of that is going to go for the worst streets and neighborhoods.” The city is also moving forward on connecting Main St. with parks through a grant to create “a beautiful walking space to improve streetscapes and traffic safety.”

She favors a regional approach to homelessness along with the county and other East County cities under a memorandum of understanding signed in 2022 for a comprehensive strategy.  “What we want is to make sure our collective efforts will position our region to receive a larger share of state and federal money dedicated to homeless solutions,” she said.

The Mayor also voiced pride in anew initiative creating a special loan fund for East County businesses in participation with the East County Economic Development Council. She said by working together, “We can leverage our diversity...foster collaboration, innovation and a shared sense of purpose. This is the power of community and this is the spirit of Lemon Grove.”

After the January 22 floods impacted the city, she recalled, the city’s public works team worked tirelessly to clear streets of mud and debris.  She also highlighted the need for infrastructure investment.  “I am championing efforts to establish the first ever storm drain master plan,” she said, adding that the plan will assure that Lemon Grove is prepared should any state or federal infrastructure grant opportunities arrive.

She thanked residents for their civic engagement and praised Lemon Grove as “a place where community bonds run deep, where opportunity blooms and where ever face reflects the joy of belonging...It’s our actions that truly shape the world around us, so let’s continue to be kind, empathetic, and agents of positive change in our community,” she concluded.