GOLETA, Calif. – Local residents filled the Goleta Community Center on Tuesday to hear what's in store for their community from local officials at the annual State of the City.
The event brought city leaders, superintendents, representatives, and organizations together to recap the city's year, future projects, and even answer questions from the crowd. This is the first State of the City that brought together the four council members since the city was divided into districts, Luz Reyes-Martín (District 1), James Kyriaco (District 2), Jennifer Smith (District 3), and Mayor Pro Tempore Stuart Kasdin (District 4).
Various booths showcased different departments and plans from the city, giving residents the opportunity to interact with city leaders.
Community Relations Manager, Kelly Hoover, acted as host of the eventResidents piled into the community center's main room to hear Mayor Paula Perotte's opening speech, where she focused on major five categories: Public Safety, Affordable Housing, Quality of Life, Environmental Protections, and Community Engagement.
She began with the $11.5 million budget dedicated to Goleta's police force, a $4 million growth in the agreement with the county, leading a to 15 percent decrease in overall crime in the city. The city utilized this increased law enforcement has help address homelessness encampments.
This clean-up has helped with overall fire prevention, including the removal of dead trees and brush at the Ellwood Mesa. The new Fire Station 10 is ready for construction, but funding is still needed, totaling a cost of $27 million dollars.
The city has also put millions into infrastructure and pavement improvements, adding 2,000 feet of sidewalks in Old Town, 17 miles of bike lanes, and 7 new pedestrian crosswalks around the city.
In regards to housing, five major housing projects were approved to add 1,143 units to the city, 245 of which will be affordable. This is part of the city's overall plan to free more space to Goleta residents, current taken up by UC Santa Barbara students.
Perotte highlighted the legal settlement the city reached with UCSB mandating the university to provide 3,500 student beds by 2027.
The city has also made major improvements to four neighborhood parks with new playgrounds, and the Goleta Community Center received a multipurpose field and additional pickleball courts. Perotte included the Stow Grove master plan for the city's first universally accessible playground, Perotte says "funds are being sought to make this plan a reality."
Additional praises were made towards the city efforts for more community engagement including expanded Spanish translation at Tuesday's meeting and every City Council meeting.
Following the mayor, City Manager Robert Nisbet broke down the city's main sources of revenue: property tax, sales tax, and TOT (Transient Occupancy Tax or Hotel Tax). He explained how sales tax is becoming the biggest source of revenue since Measure B was voted in, authorizing sales tax to be increased by 1 percent. Totaling a predicted income of $51.4 million, 66% increase over the past five years.
He presented the five biggest projects coming to the city totaling roughly $210.3 million.
These projects include Project Connect, Goleta Train Depot, Goleta Valley Library Improvement Project, San Jose Creek Multipurpose Path, and Cathedral Oaks Crib Wall Repair.
Nisbet said these projects are fully-funded through grants, donations, and outside funding. Money had been put aside for these projects, but the city did take $35.7 million in loans to pay for the San Jose Path Project and the Cathedral Oaks Crib Wall Repair.
These two projects are set to go into construction within the next 18 months.
City Officials sat down for a Q&A at the end of the nightThe night wrapped up with a short Q&A style panel with questions from residents. The questions ranged from inquiries about infrastructure, concerns about parking, to traffic enforcements.
The City of Goleta is hosting two upcoming events, which the community is invitied to join in on – Beautify Goleta Earth Day Event on April 19th and the Ellwood Mesa Sperling Preserve 20th Anniversary Celebration on May 17th.
City of Goleta Presents What They Have in Store at the State of the City News Channel 3-12.
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