CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) – Nearly every seat was taken at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista on Tuesday night -- not for a match, but to hear from Mayor John McCann at his first State of the City address.
“Having lived in Chula Vista for a long time, it’s good to see the waterfront actually come to fruition,” said resident Stanley Pikes, who was in attendance.
“Those things, with regards to the homeless population and helping them out, he’s a man of action. And ever since I was, I believe 15 years old, I wanted to live in Chula Vista. So, I’m actually living my dream,” said attendee Maurice Williams.
Giselle Pikes added, “I liked the fact that he talked about the contributions or the investments that he’s making in Park and Recreation, having a new library, updating old facilities. I think that’s all really important to help support the people living in Chula Vista.”
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One of the big issues and talking points for many in Chula Vista is Harborside Park, but the park wasn’t mentioned in McCann’s address.
“I would’ve liked to see a way forward with that. Again, it’s a very important park for a lot of people,” Stanley Pikes said.
McCann said the reason why Harborside Park wasn’t talked about is because he wanted to address how the city’s tackling the homelessness topic as a whole.
McCann told ABC 10News he believes they’ll be coming forward with positive solutions for Harborside Park.
“But right now, we want to be able to focus on the overall homeless opportunities. And we’ve been a leader in being able to find homeless solutions with our tiny homes new village, our basically safe parking and our homeless outreach team,” McCann said.
As he ended his speech, McCann left those in attendance with a few final thoughts including, “This is Chula Vista’s decade. Let’s work together to unite for our community.”
Those in the community have hope for their community’s future.
“I’m hopeful about the university that’s being built because we’re a binational mega-region. And I think having that open space for students to come not only from cross-border regions, have those exchanges but internationally as well,” Bogdan Matuszynski, who also attended the State of the City, said.
“We’re seeing action. We’re seeing things happen. It’s not just words and so, very excited about what he has planned and looking forward to the future,” Giselle Pikes said.
McCann also said getting the Bayfront project open in 2025 can help bring in even more revenue to help build new infrastructure in older communities.
