“The End of Another Almost Perfect Year in Paradise”
December 1999 
 

As I write this, the end of the year is fast approaching, and I’m thinking back over the many activities our City has been involved with to make SLO town even better.

Nearest and dearest to my heart, our street maintenance program for 1999 is completed, with over $2.5 million spent on contract maintenance, mostly in the Johnson Avenue area of town. A storm drainage improvement ($387,000) has just been completed in the Conejo-Cazadero-Andrews area to resolve a long-standing flooding problem.

The Utilities Department has worked diligently this past year in preparing for hearings to obtain a license for the full yield of Salinas Dam, in obtaining state approval of our reclaimed water reuse project, and in working with the County to finish up the Environmental Impact Report for use of water from Lake Nacimiento. The City is desperately trying to get one of these sources on line prior to the next drought (we may be in it already).

The Santa Rosa Street Bridge over San Luis Obispo Creek ($1 million) is nearly completed. This will open up a tight spot in the waterway to help reduce downtown flooding during heavy storms and will bring the roadway up to a modern standard to allow safe passage of vehicles, bikes and pedestrians.

The extension of the Creekwalk in Mission Plaza ($400,000) into the block between Broad and Nipomo is just completed, with an attractive bridge, walkways, lighting and wonderful artwork. If you haven’t been down to see it, you’re in for a real treat. Dedication ceremony is set for 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, January 19th.

For me (a public works type), next year will be equally exciting. For streets, we’re planning to spend around $1.5 million on maintenance in the area near South Street, and $1 million to place a smooth-up asphalt blanket on South Higuera Street from Madonna Road to Los Osos Valley Road.

A big project next summer will be replacing the decking on the underground culvert over San Luis Creek in downtown. This will disrupt traffic and business for about six months along Higuera Street from _ block northeast of Osos Street to Court Street. About 1/3 of the Court Street parking lot will be needed for a construction staging area. Cost of this project is approximately $3 million.

The City hopes to start construction on the Marsh Street parking Structure expansion by late April. This project ($5 million) will require approximately 12 months construction time and will disrupt traffic and business in the Chorro, Marsh, Morro, and Pacific blocks. The project will build 342 new parking spaces (net gain around 230 spaces), and should relieve the ongoing parking shortage in that area of downtown.

Next summer the City will contract ($1.4 million) to reroute the Whale Rock pipeline away from a slide area in Morro Bay. We’re also planning to replace the almost 40-year-old sewer lift station that serves the entire Laguna area. This will cost approximately $1 million and will increase capacity and reliability for service in that portion of the city. Many residents will have their older polybulylene water services replaced at no direct cost ($250,000/year for the next five years).

The long awaited specific plan for the Airport Area Annexation should be completed and adopted next summer and the area finally annexed. This plan covers most of the properties between the South Street hills and Buckley Road, from Higuera to Broad.

The reconstruction of the Central Coast Mall should commence right after the first of the year–brand new stores with a state-of-the-art building. The Marketplace on the Dalidio property will probably receive its final approvals and start work during the year. The Froom Ranch super store will probably move ahead soon. By next Christmas San Luis Obispo should enjoy lots of new stores.

The exciting Chinatown/Court Street project will be going through extensive review and exhaustive negotiations. My guess is that refinements, modifications and approvals of the various parts will require most of the year, and we won’t see groundbreaking on even the first phases will at least a year from now. It’s such a wonderful and exciting project; everyone will want to make sure we get it right.

Our good SLO town has lots going on. For me they’re all signs of progress, making our own slice of paradise even better.