Wilfred Rosas

Mayor Wilfred Rosas released his State of the City address Friday.

Rosas said, “COVID (had) a major impact in the way that we did things this past year and the year before.” He said 450 more tests will be given to residents.

The city is installing a camera system to increase community security, and it should be ready by the summer, he said.

Rosas also mentioned upgrades to city radio systems, a key fob secure entry system at City Hall, the purchase of narcotic tests and a new generator for City Hall.

He noted the completion of the opioid clinic project by Acacia House.

Nine blighted structures, including the remains from the collapse of part of the Coburn Block, were demolished in 2021. Rosas said the 200 block of Main Street is scheduled to be cleared by spring.

“Improvements continue to be completed at our water treatment plant, and the consent order project is scheduled to be completed by summer of 2022,” he went on. “This is a huge municipal facility improvement. Again, this consent order started over a decade ago, and I’m very pleased this is going to be fully complete. … Work is continuing on installing new valves throughout the distribution system to mitigate any further water supply disruptions.”

He said police station renovations included new offices for detectives and supervisors, updated interview rooms and a new female locker room.

“The city has successfully negotiated all four union contracts in 2021. The city enjoys a good and respectful relationship with all unions in the city,” Rosas went on.

The mayor said the city was seeing increases in projected revenues because it is the sole supplier to the North County Water District. It’s also saving $300,000 a year because the streetlights were converted to light-emitting diodes (LEDs), he said.

Rosas touted upgrades at Wells Ice Cream and hinted at more. “My understanding is that there will be another announcement, coming soon, this year, that the expansion project is going to be even bigger than they initially announced,” he said. “We expect there to be double the amount of jobs that were projected. If you recall, they projected 100 jobs to be coming. This announcement was made about a year and a half ago, and now they’re projecting many more jobs coming.”

Rosas later listed recent public works projects. He mentioned the completion of work on Wright Park’s playground, the repair of the lake wall and the water line and steet paving projects, among other things.

The mayor concluded with a summary of projects to expect in 2022. These include the ImmunityBio expansion into the Athenex space, the Lake Shore Drive Complete Streets project and the opening of Steelbound Brewery at the Clarion Hotel.