October 17, 2024 (Lemon Grove) -- All four candidates running for Lemon Grove City Council participated in East County Magazine’s candidate forum on Oct.10, which was moderated by editor Miriam Raftery.
The candidates are Councilman George Gastil, a history professor, Seth Smith, Chair of the Lemon Grove Planning Commission, architectural designer and project manager, high school coach Steve Faiai, and Jessyka Heredia, a small business owner, community volunteer, and reporter who previously covered Lemon Grove issues for our news site.
Candidates fielded questions on issues including infrastructure, housing, homeless, the business community, and increasing access to public meetings through livestreaming and videotaping. See highlights of their responses belone, or click here for video of the complete forum. Listen to audio here, as aired on our radio show on KNSJ, edited slightly for length.
Q:In a two-minute opening statement, please tell us about yourself, including your most important qualifications or accomplishments, and your major goals are if elected or reelected to the City Council?
Gastil says he is running for one more term; he served from 2008-2016, then again from 2020 to present. “It’s been a challenging four years but there’s a lot to look forward to,” he says. “We have incredible challenges in Lemon Grove. We’re rebuilding repairing streets, we’re rebuilding storm drains, we’re rebuilding parks, we’re keeping our public safety as strong as possible, and we’re balancing our budget.” Maintaining a professional staff has been a priority for him.
Faiai, who is married with two sons, coaches football at Helix High. “I coach students, athletes who live in Lemon Grove. I think about their future and the state of our city...We have to change the trajectory of our city...if 10 years, 20 years from now we want our youths be successful, they’re the future leaders of our city... we have to do the necessary work now so that in 10-20 years when we hand off the baton ,our city is healthy, It’s thriving, and we’re in good shape to move forward. (Note: Faiai had to leave early due to a college event for his son. He gave his closing statement early, but missed questions on housing, videotaping meetings, and the business community.)
Heredia is an East County native who came to Lemon Grove four years ago with a “burning desire of seeing change.” She started watching Council meetings on Zoom during COVID lockdowns. ”When meetings went back to in-person, they had no option for anyone handicapped or working parents....and I found that we were the only city in East County that was not providing a livestreamed option.” So Heredia, whose roommate is in a wheelchair, started livestreaming meetings on social media. “I would like to see a lot of change in the downtown as a business owner,” she said. She wants to see the rec center and senior center open. She wants to address the roots of the homeless problem, including mentoring youths.
Smith has a degree focus in urban planning and 10 years of architectural planning, as well as serving on the planning commission, so he has been on both sides of the permitting process. As planning commission chair, he has approved over 150 homes, ”doing my part to help us meet our regional housing needs assessment numbers, ”which he wants to continue as a councilmember. I believe that Lemon Grove is on the upswing and that with some professional care and some attention to our attention to the general plan, our zoning codes, streets and sidewalks, we can enhance our local economy while meeting the goals of our commumity.”
Q: Infrastructure is a key concern of Lemon Grove residents, including roads, sidewalks, and after the January floods, storm drains. What needs to be done to prevent future flooding, and what ideas do you have to improve other infrastructure in the city?
Faiai: “We take of our infrastructure...everything starts with our infrastructure.” Regarding $5.4 million allocated for infrastructure, he asks, “Why now?” rather than years ago. “Let’s not beat around the bush. Every single election time, everybody talks about infrastructure and nobody ever does anything about it.”
Heredia spoke of walking door to door and hearing from residents that their streets have never been repaved in 30-40 years. “The streets in Tijuana are better than the streets in Lemon Grove.” She faults delays in getting bids to move forward or which are rejected. “We don’t have drainage that even goes into our storm drains which is partly why our community flooded in January. I want to see better oversight over the infrastructure that we have and create more comprehensive plans.”
Smith says, “The city currently has a pavement plan that is focused on doing streets that are around parks and schools, and focusing on some of our major collector streets.” He wants to also send funds to residential streets so that residents will feel better about progress being made. Street repairs, particularly where streets must be ground down and rebuilt from bottom up provides opportunities to also upgrade storm drains.
Gastil notes that money is important. “I kind tell you why we’re doing a lot right now. It’s because we have money from the American Rescue Plan (ARPA) and we’re currently using about $4 million in ARPA funds to do 71 segments (blocks). Before ARPA there was SB 1, also known as the gas tax...Everything we do has to have a funding stream. I can’t emphasize enough that if we’re going to continue to improve our infrastructure...I want to encourage people to vote for Measure T, because Measure T is a way that we could get $5.9 million, that’s an estimate, that we would be able to put toward infrastructure.”
Q:Lemon Grove has over 200 homeless residents. What solutions do you support to address the homelessness issue, and what are your views on the sleeping cabins project that the County aims to open in Lemon Grove?
Heredia said she is against the sleeping cabins in Lemon Grove. “It’s not the right location. We’re putting this right next to a brand new,first of its kind in California early transitional building...there’s also a liquor store and a massage parlor across the street. However I’m very sympathetic to the homeless,” she said, adding that she goes along often on outreach to the homeless as a volunteer because the city does not fund any outreach, other than Homestart occasionally coming by if an encampment is torn down. “I understand who are homeless are.” She says the cabins would bring in people from outside and is not the solution, since people would have to leave there during the day. However she believes there are two sites that could work as safe parking sites for the homeless, one near the trolley and the other in the parking lot of Health and Human Services, which are near housing. She wants to focus on a regional plan with East County to focus on “treatment plans as well as actual shelters that actually house people.”
Smith says the county hasn’t yet provided plans, renderings or details on the sleeping cabins.”Lemon Grove has to be at the table,” he says, adding that he wants to see those. “If we want to be sure that someone experiencing homelessness in Lemon Grove has preference, we need to be at the table.” As a planning commissioner he approved a homeless overlay zone near the Health and Human Services building so that people would be near services that they need “so that we can help people get from the streets to temporary housing and then back onto their feet into their own home.”
Gastil says there has to be collaboration, since the county has the biggest budget and resources, but Lemon Grove also has a “huge role” especially connecting people to services from the county or nonprofits. He says it’s important to have the Sheriff help connect people to services. He hopes to bring back the Homestart program that they used to have, or a similar program.”Lemon Grove is never going to be the primary provider of services, but we do have a key role in connecting people to services..that will make a difference in our lives.” Gastil adds,”I think it’s important that the sleeping cabins be on our agenda” and for Lemon Grove to have a seat at the table and while the county makes the decision, Lemon Grove should be advising the county and making sure “our residents are served by a shelter or whatever is built in the community.”
Faia says the sleeping cabins “should have been on our agenda from the get-go” to avoid the “commotion and turmoil” that resulted. “There was no clear understanding of what was going on.” He thinks sleeping cabins are “a band-aid. We’re not addressing key problems” such as mental health and drug addiction.” He wants to see Lemon Grove residents taken care of first before anyone else. “There’s no dignity in going to a tiny cabin, sleeping there and then waking up in the morning and being forced to go back on the streets.” He says he’s served sandwiches to homeless people downtown and that the majority say they don’t want help. “We need to figure out how to get the people who need help the help that they deserve.”
Q:Homeless folks that I interviewed told us they do want help, but some said they often wait a month for a mobile shower unit to come around, and also many have no place to go in extreme heat or wet weather. Should Lemon Grove have a day center where people can go in extreme weather, and/or consider making the rec center available for showers perhaps once a week?
Smith says, “I think that’s a wonderful idea. I do think that we could have a mobile shower come” but the key would be consistent days and hours. “We also need to make sure that we do have a place for our homeless neighbors to go and get services.” If a rec center or other place were to be opened with services, there should be internet connection to enable homeless people with cell phones to fill out forms and access services.
Gastil says it’s an “intriguing idea” but consistent matters. He also voices concerns about becoming a “magnet” with limits on hours. “I think it’s a great idea,” he added, then noted that the city should look for grants and a foundation for philanthropy to help unsheltered individuals. “That could be something really positive.”
Faiai noted that the city has many churches the city could partner with..”I think it would be great to involve them and support them. I agree, I don’t want to be a magnet...I really want to take care of our neighbors who live in Lemon Grove first.”
Heredia agrees there are many churches as far as service groups such as the Lemon Grove Forward Club that she’s former president of. The Club looked into shower services but said the shower facility is difficult to obtain. She wants to see a better job of community of getting information to the homeless when showers are available. “The public library is a cool zone and the homeless are absolutely welcome inside,” she added.
Q: With Lemon Grove’s limited budget, some have suggested disincorporation, with control reverting back to the County. Do you favor or oppose having Lemon Grove remain an incorporated city?
Gastil recalls living in La Mesa when Lemon Grove became a city. “Lemon Grove is such a special place and I think that we totally need to be a city. Since Lemon Grove became a city we’ve had more control over our land use, more ability to shape our destiny.” Though some say the city is too small or too poor, he believes the city is better off without disincorporation. “I do agree that revenue is key,” he said, again touting the sales tax measure. He noted that the San Diego Taxpayers Association now agrees that Lemon Grove “can be a great city.”
Faia said he loves Lemon Grove and its potential to grow and get better. He praised the passion of volunteers who solve problems such as cleaning up trash, because they love our city “I think it’s important that we let our city be the city...it’s important to let our community thrive in what they want to do.”
Heredia stated, “If I was for disincorporation, I wouldn’t be up here fighting to be on the city council.” She looked up the history of why the city became incorporated, and it was because of unhappiness over development issues and permitting delays. Now over 40 years later, “we are at the same crossroads” which has fueled arguments for disincorporation. “I believe that with new leadership, we can take this city into a really great place where we don’t even think about disincorporation anymore.”
Smith said, “I believe that Lemon Grove should stay a city.” He noted that Lemon Grove incorporated because people wanted more control over zoning and land use decisions, as well as more representation. He noted that disincorporation is not a simple process; it must go through LAFCO (Local Agency Formation Commission) and any debts the city has do not go away, but “get added on as taxes.” He said the Heredia and Faia campaigns got significant donations from an individual who has called for disincorporation for many years.
Q: Do you support the sales tax initiative on the ballot or have other ideas for how to raise revenues and improve the local economy?
Faiai said 73 to 78 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, and he suspects that figure is higher in Lemon Grove.”To me it makes no sense to us to raise it a penny...If we’re going to raise this tax...people need to see return on their investment.” He asked, “Have we talked to our businesses, because this will affect them as well.”
Heredia said fundamentally she is not against it, but doesn’t believe there was enough outreach. “They polled I believe 130 residents, that’s not enough...” She objects to the wording of the measure as vague, with money going into the general fund. If it passes, she wants an oversight measure that “isn’t council friends only” to assure the money goes to what the community most needs.
Smith supports measure T and believes there was enough outreach—three surveys with 69% support. He says the one cent tax is the difference between La Mesa and Lemon Grove. “We are the lowest funded city in San Diego County,” he said, noting that the other cities in East County have sales tax measures as well. “Small and medium sized cities across the board are having trouble funding their services,” he said, adding that the measure can help Lemon Grove have things “we want to have,” not just things that the city needs to have.
Gastil said, “The general sales tax, officially known as a transactions and use tax, that’s the kind of tax that El Cajon has” as well as many other local cities and the revenues are benefitting those cities. “We’re not a particularly poor community,” he said. ”We’re not that far from the average in terms of our income and our ability to generate income. What sets us apart is we haven’t done what other cities have done. The $5.9 million could be a game changer. I take some great pride in helping design measure T” as well as getting regional support from the East County Regional Chamber of Commerce and the San Diego County Taxpayers Association;” the latter wrote a report on “how this will benefit our city.”
Q:The state is urging all cities to increase housing, particularly affordable housing. While the needs are significant, there have also been concerns by some over older affordable housing being removed to make way for higher end homes or businesses. What are your priorities for housing in Lemon Grove?
Heredia supports a diverse approach to housing with low income, moderate and market rate homes and rentals. “I hate to see businesses and residents torn down,” she said, citing the planning commission and Council majority’s decision to build a carwash and fast food restaurant that required tearing down existing affordable homes and long-time business owners. “Our zoning is so outdated, so we are limited in ways that we can stop some of these projects,” she said, adding that she has a vision to change that. She wants multi-use, but to limit highrises to main streets with traffic and speed bumps.
Gastil clarified that he did not attend the meeting on the car wash and fast food restaurant votes, due to COVID. “It’s always a problem when you lose housing,” he said, adding that any housing lost due to a project should be made up elsewhere. “We should make sure that every year we have a net gain in housing...We’re the only community that met all of our housing needs due to state and regional guidelines. That’s something to be proud of.” He supports a wide range of housing and updating the general plan, which hasn’t been updated in 30 years.
Smith agrees 100% with Gastil. “We definitely need to update our general plan, we need to look at our specific plans, and we need to look at our zoning ordinances. My professional experiences in getting in both market rate and affordable housing units is to incentivize these through zoning codes,” such as allowing more density if there are affordable units included. “We don’t need to be putting in four or five story businesses in our residential areas,” he said, adding that along freeways is the more appropriate place. “We can have a little bit of everything for everybody.”
Q: If you are elected or reelected will you commit to try to get videotaping and livestreaming of city council meetings? This is the only city council in East County that doesn’t currently do videotaping.
Gastil said this is in the priorities list for this year. “We’re already committed to it.” He notes that Lemon Grove has an old building and the lowest per-capita revenue among East County cities. He agrees that livestreaming meetings is important, but could cost tens of thousands of dollars per year. “I think it’s worth it, especially if we have more revenue in the city.”
Heredia stated, “I’ve been doing that for three years and it’s been on the priority list for two years now.” She says there are fees people pay through cable and internet bills for public education of government through a Cox cable channel or an internet provider, or on a Facebook page such as La Mesa does. She says she checked with a school district that said videotaping cost around $50,000 in set up and $25,000 annually for payroll. “We can do it for minimal to nothing. No more excuses for one of the simplest things. I will advocate strongly for this. It will be one of the first things I’ll be pushing for the city manager to pursue.
Smith says, “I would very much like the city meetings to be videotaped and livestreamed.” He says COVID resulted in Zoom meetings for both council and planning commission meeting. “We had a whole lot of access on there...I think that having that access generates more community input” which results in “more informed and better decisions. I 100% agree; we need to get our meetings livestreamed and recorded.”
Q: What is your vision for enhancing the business community, including retaining existing businesses and attracting new quality restaurants and retail outlets?
Smith says revenues from measure T can be used to update the downtown area, repair streets and sidewalks, up to code and ADA standards to help retain businesses. “The south side of Broadway is not city-owned property so it can’t be maintained. So if the city were to have an easement or purchase agreement with the owners, then that’s something we could maintain and uplift that part of Broadway.” As for attracting new businesses, that’s also a revenue issue that can be helped by passing measure T. “We are extremely short-staffed,” which means longer permit times. He wants to bring in more staff and retain them to have people to help businesses navigate the permitting process and expedite that.
Heredia says the permit process needs to be streamlined and that outsourcing creates an outlog; recently an engineering firm had its records lost by the city. She calls for better customer service. “As a 26 year business owner, I am very big on businesses,” she says. “I’ve created Facebook and Instagram pages that support local businesses, called Lemon Grove Support Local. One of the things business owners have told me is they don’t feel heard or supported by the city.” An active Chamber of Commerce member, she wants to use her connections to personally champion local businesses and improve communications with the business community.
Gastil says the best way to support businesses is to support the city and keep public safety strong. He notes that public safety is three-fourths of the budget and benefits businesses. “I’m proud of the fact that I’m supported by the Deputy Sheriff’s Association and the firefighters.” He also stressed the importance of having professional staff to help businesses move forward. “Our city is involved with the East County Economic Development Council and East County Regional Chamber of Commerce” but adds he would also like to see more communication at the microlevel, gathering information from businesses in Lemon Grove. “We should definitely be doing that very soon.”
Q: Please provide your closing statements, including any key endorsements, any other issues of importance to you, and where people can learn more about your candidacy.
*Faia: “I’ve been studying the budget and finances of Lemon Grove. On page 20 of the Consolidated Operating and Capital Budget on our website, there’s an organizational chart...it says Lemon Grove constituents, and then everybody else. I think what’s happened is we forget that we work for the people...The best way that we can make Lemon Grove better is to serve the needs of the people.” He says he has no aspirations to be a career politician. “But I do believe that I can bring the energy, I can bring the leadership, and I can bring the focus and the heart and the passion to move our city forward...The future of Lemon Grove deserves it. Our youths deserve it.” He says soccer is the most-played and most-watched sport in the world, “and we have no AYSO soccer league in our community. I believe if we open our rec center, in addition to opening the senior center, our city can benefit...our youth deserve it, the future of Lemon Grove deserves it, and I think it could do good for our city.”
Heredia said, “I want to say to the voters that I’m looking to bring change to Lemon Grove.” She is running on a slate with Steve Faiai for City Council and Liana LeBaron for mayor.” Sne notes that without three votes on the council that agree, “we can’t bring any change.” She wants items that the public wants to be agendized without static as La Mesa does, instead of having the city manager largely control the agenda. “I’d like to bring transparency back to the Lemon Grove City Council and prosperity back to our families and our businesses.”
Smith said though a small city, Lemon Grove has enough room to have “a little bit of everything for everybody. My focus on the City Council will be updating our zoning and our planning policies, that’s my profession after all, so that we have the space for everybody.” He urges voters to decide the future of Lemon Grove by supporting “leadership that not only has passion, but has the skills and actionable plans to transform that passion into more than words and dreams.” He says his skill sets of planning and urban design, along with passage of measure T, can make this happen. He is endorsed by the AFSCME local representing city workers, by the building trades union and the labor council.
Gastil said ,”I was a middle child and I am a team player.” He’s proud to be endorsed by both Mayor Racquel Vasquez and Councilmember Alysson Snow, even though they are running against each other. He’s also endorsed by Seth Smith and by Jerry Jones, the last Republican to serve on the Council, as well as by Councilmember Jennifer Mendoza. “I’m really proud of the fact that I have support from people who work with me,” and that “everything I do is part of group that’s focusing on benefitting the people of Lemon Grove. He’s also proud of being endorsed by the firefighters, deputy sheriff’s association and the city workers’ union. “You can vote for two—you can vote for the oldest candidate, me, and you can vote for the youngest candidate ,Seth Smith” he concludes.” Different generations, but the same core values—doing positive things for our little city, Lemon Grove.”
Audio:
ECMshow10-17-24.mp3