Today’s newsletter is presented by Harriet Tubman Village Charter School.
Hello, La Mesa!
Last week I attended a La Mesa City Council meeting, which had a surprising number of relevant stories for the city. That doesn’t always happen, or even usually happen, as council meetings have mundane efforts to annex land alongside hot-button development proposals. Sometimes the mundane wins out.
A lot of the actions revolved around how quickly bureaucracy can move to prevent problems down the road (sometimes literally, down the road).
Can an intersection be made safer before a child gets killed walking to school? Councilors hope a “no turn on red” sign might make Murray Manor Elementary students safer.
Can La Mesa raise revenue before it joins other jurisdictions in the red? That’s what raising the cannabis tax is for.
Can the city reconfigure parking in the village before the search for a parking spot chases customers away? Vice Mayor Lauren Cazares and Councilmember Laura Lothian put together a survey of streets to find new spaces as state-mandated housing is bringing new units to the village.
Can the trolley tracks on Spring Street be changed before traffic gets too terrible? Well, the solution for this takes half a billion dollars, so no fix is coming anytime soon. But at least after studying it, the city can jump on any grants that arise.
Not all of these issues had immediate answers, but it was encouraging to see council members have proactive conversations about solving these problems, rather than just taking action after the worst happens.
The meeting did have one thing going for it: I was in and out in under two hours. Somewhere, a county supervisor is crying just thinking about such a thing.
One more thing of note before we go: It didn’t make the cut of a full story but friend of the newsletter Matt Strabone resigned as city treasurer, effective Aug. 12. He took a job as counsel for NATO close to his term’s end. City council decided to appoint someone instead of holding an expensive special election, in what they hope is an apolitical process.
Drew Sitton
La Mesa Courier newsletter host
La Mesa story spotlight
Road safety improvements coming to La Mesa as school starts
By Drew Sitton • Times of San Diego
La Mesa City Council votes to improve busy intersection after parents from a nearby school voiced concerns about safety.
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