por Jay Wilson

A DCAC welcome to Einstein Bagels! Several years ago we ran a survey about what residents would like to see in the way of new stores and services in Del Cerro, and an Einstein Bagels shop was the No. 1 request.

Our quarterly meeting was held on April 23. The following is a capsule of what transpired at the meeting:

Police Community Relations Officer Adam McElroy provided information regarding some crime incidents. The biggest problem remains unlocked doors and windows and valuables left in plain sight in a car. McElroy made a similar report at the San Carlos Area Council meeting on May 6. He read a list of items stolen from automobiles in and around Cowles Mountain: laptop, wallet, purse, cell phones — all valuable items and all left in plain sight. Local residents can reach out to Officer McElroy by email at [email protected] or via his office phone, 858-495-7971.

Our guest speaker, Councilmember Scott Sherman, began his remarks by confirming that things are truly getting better.

“I ran because I wanted to bring my business experience to city hall,” Sherman said. “I was just appointed chair of the Audit Committee. We are evaluating various departments and applying the ‘zero-based budgeting’ concept. As an example, we noted that the printing department was budgeted for $350,000 to print forms. In an audit, it was determined that in the previous year they only used $4,900. When asked why they budgeted $350,000, they said it was because that’s what had been allocated for 20 years. Nobody had ever gone back and determined what was actually needed. We also looked at the graffiti removal programs. A number of departments had their own programs. We now have a single number the public may call to report graffiti and then internally it is routed to the proper department.”

Across the district, Sherman mentioned the need for a skate park in Linda Vista. He met with city staff and learned that there was infrastructure money available through a state grant associated with affordable housing. Fortunately, the Linda Vista Recreation Center is surrounded by affordable housing, and the director of the state grant funds determined that there was nothing in grant guidelines that prohibited using the funds for a skate park. The city applied for the entire grant, assuming that they might receive as much as $1,000,000. Since nobody else in California applied, the city received the full $3,000.000, and then a bonus of $1,500,000. The result is that Linda Vista is receiving a large skate park and another skate park will be built in District 9.

There was considerable discussion about the ongoing concerns at Adobe Falls. The councilmember commented that he and city staff have scheduled a meeting with staff from San Diego State University to discuss the concerns and resolutions.

When asked about the Chargers, Sherman said: “I believe there is a 70 percent chance that the Chargers will remain in San Diego.”

If you need to contact the councilmember regarding a city-related issue, please contact Liz Saidkhanian, our council representative. She can be reached by calling the District 7 office at 619-236-6677. Her email address is [email protected].

Following Sherman’s presentation, Dion Akers introduced himself as the Assistant Director, Alumni & University Relations for SDSU. He is one of the SDSU staff that will be meeting with Sherman. He said there is an increased effort at SDSU to warn students about assembling at Adobe Falls. Dion was asked if there have been any arrests of students at Adobe Falls. In response, Mike Peterson, the Police Community Resource Officer for SDSU, said: “An officer has to observe a violation in order to issue a citation.” If you need to contact Officer Peterson regarding SDSU, his phone number is 619-594-1447.

A decision by the developer for the proposed housing development along College Avenue and below the Chevron station has not been made. The developer may request a special DCAC meeting the end of May.

It has been a pleasure serving as the chair of DCAC for the past several years. Because of a variety of commitments, I determined it was time to step down as chair. Mark Rawlins is returning as chair, Anita Colmie remains as vice chair, Michael McSweeney remains as treasurer and I will serve as secretary. The DCAC is in good hands with Mark at the helm.

The DCAC website is at delcerroactioncouncil.org.

—Jay Wilson is the outgoing chair of the Del Cerro Action Council.