por Jay Wilson

Join us on Thursday, Oct. 22, for the quarterly meeting of the Del Cerro Action Council. Because Temple Emanu-El is the new home of the Jewish Family Services Senior Program, we will be meeting in the library. David F. Akin, Esq., Customer Advocate, Customer Support Division, Public Utilities Department for the city of San Diego will be on the program. He will speak about water conservation efforts and the rate increases scheduled for next year.

On Sept. 19, a very successful cleanup of the city’s park land adjacent to Adobe Falls was conducted. Over 80 people showed up ready to go to work that morning, including Councilmember Scott Sherman and three of his staff, Del Cerro residents, and a strong contingent of Key Club members; the organization is sponsored by Kiwanis International for high school students. Several Key clubs had volunteers, including from Patrick Henry and Morse high schools. Their participation was greatly appreciated.

It is amazing how much trash and debris can be collected in two hours – well over 1,200 pounds went into the dumpster donated by Republic Services, Inc. Several days prior to the cleanup, there was a significant rainfall that impacted the Adobe Falls area. As we worked our way through the dense vegetation, you could easily see where the water level had risen to over three feet as the runoff from the rain had poured through the Adobe Falls area. Everything from cigarette butts to plastic water bottles, to an eight-foot section of guard rail was pulled out. It had been 13 months since there was an organized cleanup in this area. A thank you to Councilmember Scott Sherman and his staff along with Corporal Mark Peterson, the Community Relations Officer for the SDSU Police Department for organizing and coordinating this event.

Construction of the SDG&E natural gas pipeline through Del Cerro is still on track to be completed by the end of November. According to SDG&E staff, the resurfacing of the impacted streets will begin about a month after completion of the project.

Residents adjacent to Chaparral Canyon, the area below and adjacent to the Lake Murray Dam, have requested that trails be developed in Chaparral Canyon so that residents may enjoy the canyon; with increased foot traffic in the canyon, this could discourage transients from setting up encampments. The Water Department is reviewing the request and will most likely be following up with Councilmember Sherman.

Halloween is just around the corner and there will be hundreds of costumed children trick-or-treating on Halloween night. Be extra careful if you are out driving on this night. With masks on, and often times dark costumes, children may not be easily seen and are not as aware of where they are walking as they should be.

There is no update from Tony Pauker, the Vice President of Acquisitions for the ColRich Company, the firm proposing to build 26 homes in the canyon south of the Chevron station. We will keep you posted.

Don’t forget, the next quarterly Del Cerro Action Council meeting will be on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m., at Temple Emanu-El. Information about community events and concerns are placed on the DCAC website at delcerroactioncouncil.org.

––Jay Wilson is secretary of the Del Cerro Action Council. Write to him at [email protected].