Second State of the City address held in Goleta
When Goleta residents complained about $75 and $85 tickets to the State of the City address hosted by the Chamber of Commerce and the city at the Bacara in mid May, the Goleta City Council decided to host another one for free.
The second one took place on Wednesday night at the Goleta Valley Community Center.
Mayor Paula Perotte was pleased to see a full house.
” Not everybody can afford going to the Bacarra in the afternoon and have to pay for a ticket it does help,” said Perotte.
Community members watched a video and learned that sale tax revenues and hotel occupancy rates are on the rise.
They also heard from housing experts.
Jennifer McGovern from the Housing Trust Fund talked about a workforce homeowner program that offers low interest $100,000 loans for down payments on entry level homes.
More than 730 units are under construction and 390 more are under review.
All of them had to have water available to be approved during the drought.
Longtime resident Barbara Massey kept shaking her head. Massey said she was concerned about growth and traffic.
“I grew up in Los Angeles and we are turning into Los Angeles, ” said Massey.
City Manager Michelle Greene it optimistc about growth and road improvements.
She said potholes are going to be fixed.
“The cracks have gotten bigger and luckily our council has been able to fund significant improvements,” said Greene.
The work will begin in the summer.
Goleta is 15 years old and Greene said they are looking forward to what the future bring over the next 15 years.
The State of the City will be broadcast on Goleta TV.
