'Winning Championships' - The Temecula State of the City Address

On April 17, Temecula Mayor Mike Naggar presented the 19^th Annual State of the City Address at the Pechanga Resort & Casino. For his theme this year Mayor Naggar chose the sports metaphor “Winning Championships”. He reminded the gathering of business, community and civic leaders of the many championships Temecula has won in the past and how that positions our community to continue to win championships even in difficult situations.

Mayor Naggar introduced the championship team by discussing partnerships, including the Chamber of Commerce, local businesses, area schools and other government entities from neighboring cities to our nation’s capitol. All these team members have played a vital role in helping the City win and will be called upon even more as he exhorted the team to ‘win big in 2008.’ “Teamwork,” he noted, “takes partnership, perseverance and hard work – sometimes even pain and suffering.”

The City can be proud of its recent successes which include: the recently opened Temecula Library; a 5^th Fire Station; a Youth Master Plan; the city’s response to the wildfire challenges last fall; the expansions of The Promenade Mall & Abbott Vascular; and the Old Town Visioning Process, including the Old Town Community Theater, civic center and business and restaurant expansions. According to Naggar, in the near future residents will come to refer to Old Town as simply ‘down town’.

The Mayor went on to highlight some of the goals and ‘wins’ the city has identified for 2008 and beyond. Included on that list are: The French Valley Interchange, which will bring some much needed traffic relief to the area; the Murrieta Creek Flood Control Project and the Murrieta Creek Multi-Purpose Trail, designed to withstand 100 year floods and provide recreational and park facilities to residents; a new transit center; the expansion of Pechanga Parkway to 6 lanes; and the downtown Civic Center Project.

Naggar also announced a plan just finalized with Cal State San Marcos to open a permanent 4 year university in Temecula. As part of a bid to bring a variety of higher education opportunities to the Temecula Valley, the school will start providing local nursing and education courses as early as this fall. Other higher education providers are also expanding their presence in our area as part of a concerted Quality of Life Masterplan by the city.

Another facet of this Masterplan is the creation of a Medical Task Force to evaluate the healthcare needs of the region. Implementation of the first phase of the Temecula Regional Hospital meets some of the requirements identified by this task force.

Finally, a variety of smaller but no less important ‘wins’ include additional people parks; a dog park; expansion of the SAFE facility on Pujol; construction of our YMCA and the success of the recent Youth Employment Expo.

In closing, Mayor Naggar again thanked the members of Temecula’s extraordinary team. Cautioning that there are always some difficult times like the current economic climate for many of the team members, he reminded us again that “Together, we are unbeatable.”

For copies of the State of the City address, the Spring/Summer Inside Temecula Newsleter or a copy of Dr. John Husing's complete 116 page Economic & Demographic report on the Temecula Valley, simply click on each logo. 

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