por Jay Wilson

To follow up on last month’s article referencing the status of the Del Cerro median east of College Avenue, the city’s contractor came through as promised and cleaned up the median. I was informed the budget for medians is computed as if they were asphalt. The median is on a schedule to be cleaned up once a quarter.

On Saturday, Aug. 12, Liz Saidkhanian from Councilmember Sherman’s office updated me on two items. As of this date, there is no hearing on the ColRich housing project below the Chevron station in August. September is the soonest it could be scheduled.

Liz also informed me that SDG&E finally signed a contract with Aztec Landscaping and that work on the Del Cerro median west of College Avenue has begun. The initial clean up, including the spraying of weeds, was completed by Aug. 8. The replanting of the median, excluding the area in the proximity to Malvern and Del Cerro Boulevard, is anticipated to be completed by Aug. 15.  The maintenance will occur regularly over the next two years.

There is a new administration at SDSU at last. As you may know, Elliot Hirshman resigned as the president of SDSU after only three years. Despite his initial comments at a welcoming reception in Del Cerro where he expressed interest in working with the communities surrounding SDSU and Del Cerro in particular, there was never any follow through.

Sally Roush has been appointed acting president of SDSU and will be in that position for at least another year. Roush was an integral part of SDSU for many years before being appointed as the Vice Chancellor for the California State University System in 2014. In addition, Rachel Gregg is the new Community Relations Manager for SDSU, and she has already reached out to us. She will be meeting with the DCAC board in the near future and will be invited to the Sept. 28 DCAC meeting.

At the July DCAC meeting, San Diego Police Department’s Community Relations Officer John Steffen reported that there were eight property crimes in our area over the last month. Most were vehicle break-ins where vehicles were unlocked and/or valuables were left in a visible location. There was one violent crime, and four minor citations were issued in the open space park on Pasatiempo at the top of Del Cerro.

The police have been working with the property management firm for the ColRich property below the Chevron Station to remove debris and eliminate any homeless camps. They indicated the property management firm has been very cooperative.

Officer Steffen also stated that the city did not receive the grant for Chaparral Canyon that would have allowed for the removal of non-native vegetation. It will be next spring before they can apply for a new grant.

A resident asked about the increase in people knocking on doors and asking if they could use a bathroom or cell phone. Officer Steffen responded that they are merely trying to determine if someone is home or not.

Zach Bunshaft introduced himself as our new representative for Congresswoman Susan Davis.   He emphasized that you should contact her office if you are having problems with any federal agency. Congresswoman Davis’ office is located at 2700 Adams Ave., Suite 102. Phone: 619-280-5353.

Dr. Eric Frost updated us on Adobe Falls. The fences that SDSU agreed to install are in. The grease on the top of the fence at the bottom of Del Cerro along with other items that are serving as a deterrent to those wishing to climb the fence are working to a degree. However, people are now showing up with pieces of carpet to put on top of the fence to eliminate encountering the grease as they climb over. There are 7,132 Instagram pictures posted for Adobe Falls; not counting a very large number that have been removed. Dr. Frost emphasized that the problem is not going to go away.

As part of the follow-up discussion, it was suggested that the DCAC write a letter to Roush outlining the problems and some possible solutions.

Next DCAC meeting is Thursday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El. For more information, visit delcerroactioncouncil.org.

—Jay Wilson is secretary of the Del Cerro Action Council. Reach him at [email protected].