Supervisor Ron Roberts speaks to Hillcrest residents
The January 11th meeting of the Hillcrest Town Council had over 85 in attendance. SD County Supervisor Ron Roberts gave a description of the function of the county (which has a larger population than 21 states and a budget larger than 12). Noting that: 1. The county is largely responsible for the Health and Human Services of the residents. This budget alone is larger than the budget of the city of San Diego. The county aims to safeguard the health of residents by concentrating on the 3-4-50 concept — three behaviors (smoking, bad diet, poor exercise) that contribute to four diseases that account for 50% of the deaths of county residents. On Tuesday morning the county altered the food stamp program so that they would be accepted at participating restaurants. 2. The county is responsible for local disaster planning 3. The county is responsible for the DA, the sheriff and the jails 4. The county includes a number of libraries (larger circulation than the city of San Diego) and parks (including the historic homes at Old Town).
Supervisor Roberts also addressed the county budget situation which he says is in fine shape (85% funded) unlike the city. He said this is because the county does not have all the benefits that the city does. He noted that the county spends $70 million per year on homeless-related issues, mostly by partnering with cities and private organizations to provide services. The county likes to provide more wrap-around type services, rather than stop-gap solutions. Roberts represents the county for SANDAG and that is quite keen on the Rapid City Bus Plan, which is contentious for most local residents. Questions included: 1. Discussion of light rail and where it could go 2. Street car system in Hillcrest, which the supervisor was also keen on. Roberts indicated that he thought the transit of the future was likely to resemble the transit of the past. 3. Support was expressed to the supervisor regarding the county’s attempts to deal with concentrating on assisting the homeless and lessening the currently excessive use of local medical emergency rooms.
SOHO (Save Our Heritage Organisation) followed with a presentation on concerns about current plans for Plaza De Panama. The preservation group likes the concept of removing cars, but is concerned with the proposed bypass bridge off the Cabrillo Bridge which block views of the historic buildings. Benny Cartwright and Sister Iona Doublewide discussed San Diego Remembers and the concept of updating the John Robert Wear Memorial. The HTC unanimously voted to support the plan.
Committee Updates a. Development Committee is looking for volunteers to work on Community Garden b. Neighborhood Improvement Committee received approval from Steering Committee to purchase Surfrider Ash Tray. Committee changed meeting times to 3rd Tuesday of the month at 4:30pm. Donations collected at the meeting totalled $94.
