IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. (KGTV) - Mayor Serge Dedina delivered the annual State of the City address Monday night.
The mayor spoke to a room full of government, community, and business leaders at Burress Auditorium.
The address, lasting about 30 minutes, highlighted the cities accomplishments and outlined a vision for the future.
“We have one of the safest cities in San Diego County,” Dedina said when discussing the cities crime rate. He also talked about many of the infrastructure projects ahead, as well as affordable housing.
The mayor also addressed the elephant in the room at the end of his speech; the ongoing issue of water quality due to Mexican sewage runoff. Dedina reaffirmed the community’s commitment to fighting for clean water and beaches.
“I seem to be talking about clean beaches a lot, and since I'm a surfer, that’s fine,” he said, “But we need to redouble our efforts to expand our skate park and senior center and build a swimming pool and do all the things that most communities take for granted.
He also talked about the need for more water quality testing and the lawsuit that IB has filed against the federal government, for its role in allowing raw sewage from the Tijuana River Valley to flow into local beaches.
“We’re in court right now, the federal government twice tried having it thrown out of court, they lost. We’re going to continue to fight. If they’re smart, they’ll settle because we’re gonna win,” he added.
