Lake Elsinore’s Mayor Brian Tisdale spoke to a packed room at The Diamond Club this morning letting the audience know the cities’ future is bright and the dream to be extreme is reachable.
Lake Elsinore’s Mayor Brian Tisdale spoke to a packed room at The Diamond Club this morning. (Michelle Mears-Gerst/SWRNN)
The tone for the State of the City speech was positive. The mayor used his platform to recap significant milestones and trends for the city over the past year and touched on plans for the upcoming months.
Tisdale started his speech with a focus on education.
“One of the first things people look at when deciding where to live is schools. I am proud to tell you Lake Elsinore ranked third in the county,” said Tisdale.
Tisdale went on to highlight a few outstanding members of the community like 13-year old Alex Garcia. Garcia attends school in Lake Elsinore and is a junior lifeguard. The mayor praised young Garcia for his quick thinking and bravery for saving his neighbor from drowning in their apartment pool. Campbell broke his neck when he jumped into the pool and Garcia jumped in to save his 6-foot three neighbor.
Tisdale said Lake Elsinore is a community filled with brave individuals who serve in all branches of the military and mentioned two men who died recently in the Middle East who called Lake Elsinore home. Army Sgt. Noah M. Korte died Dec. 27 in Paktya, Afghanistan, of wounds caused by an improvised explosive device and Cpl. Michael J. Palacio, 23 a Marine died in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. Palacio was assigned to the 3rd Marine Division, Marine Expeditionary Force, based in Okinawa, Japan.
A veteran’s memorial is in the planning stages and Tisdale announced the location of the memorial to be near the stadium.
On the economic front the mayor said property taxes are flat, homes continue to foreclose but at the same time, the building of new homes continues.
In an effort to push the city forward the mayor said he was proud city council was able to pull from the budget enough money to hire two more motorcycle officers, a fire marshal, and a city clerk among others.
Recognizing the city has its issues the mayor told the crowd his plans and desires to eradicate the blight dragging down the 124-year old city.
“Children are still walking to school on dirt roads. We need to build sidewalks,” Tisdale said.
The mayor praised those who tore down boarded up buildings and said dirt lots are better than an abandoned building. Rebuilding Main Street, renovating the downtown, and getting everyone involved in doing their part to clean up the city are goals for the city council.
“It’s time for the eyesores to go,” Tisdale said. The city has also created a phone app for residents to report graffiti. The app can be found on the city’s website.
The mayor highlighted the cities’ rebranding, the addition of 7,000 bass fish into the lake, a new boat launch, paving projects, destination signs, and beautifying community parks.
Tisdale said the safety of the community is always a concern and Fire Station 97 will open July 2013.
Michelle Mears-Gerst is a local writer and regular contributor to SWRNN.
Loading ...
