Gratitude

November has always served as a month in which I reflect upon the gifts of providence. Much of one’s quality of life is predetermined by actions of others. Our parents provide us with the foundation of our social and economic reality. As such, we inherit the legacy of opportunity that rests on the shoulders of generations past. Both of my parents were immigrants (first and second generation) who worked their way to prosperity in the melting pot of the inner city. I used this foundation to build a strong sense of perseverance, determination, and patience. My family enjoys a quality of life that I would have never believed possible. I work, live and serve in our wonderful community. Foster City and its families enjoy the continual legacy of Jack T. Foster’s vision and the countless others who maintain our quality of life in their various staff and policymaker roles.

The City manager and his staff have consistently delivered on the promise of implementation of the policy direction of our Council. The Stewardship of the City has rested in the hands of many dedicated and talented Council members. As such, this council has inherited a City with a strong financials and an excellent quality of life. We offer our families a safe and healthy environment to raise their children, as well as retire and age in place if they choose to downside and move into our new senior development. This legacy can and must be maintained through diligent stewardship and innovation to address the changing economic picture.

Foster City has recognized this fact and has created a new initiative to create a sustainable model that will protect, maintain, and create viable and sustainable income for the generations to come. I am honored to serve a small part in a larger group of eight talented professionals to craft the framework that will provide our City with additional forms of revenue to fund our quality of life. It will be a unified and concerted effort of the part of the City staff and policy-makers to create community partnerships to maximize our continued prosperity. We will reach into the community locally and regionally to nexus with vital partners in all sectors to enhance our understanding of the ever-changing dynamics of commerce, consumerism, business, and development.

Foster City offers a unique experience to its residents and businesses. It is a small town feeling with powerful economics drivers that bolster property values and our residents’ quality of life. In more prosperous times the City has been able to enjoy the benefits of these factors with a focus of protecting and maintaining the same. Now we must focus on creating new and synergetic partnerships that will yield new and improved opportunities for growth in business, retail, and residential property values.  

We continue to experience challenges in our retail and commercial sectors. This is due to many factors including past and current developers’ lack of understanding of our current inventory as well as the causal factors that have created vacancies and a vacuum of interest in certain locations. We cannot expect the burden of retail success to borne by any one subset of the process. We must own our own future.

Our City can no longer build retail and commercial spaces that are left the will of the free market. We must undertake a larger sustainable effort in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce, developers, business, and residents to create an economic environment that will prosper locally, regionally, and holistically. This should include a fresh look at our neighborhood centers, our new developments, and our surrounding cities inventory. We must encourage and invite businesses that our residents and daytime working population want and need to encourage a “Shop Foster City” mentality.

As a member of our Council I am thankful to have inherited a strong and fiscally sound City with great financial stewardship. I look forward to hearing from all of you about your thoughts on how we can build a better Foster City for today and tomorrow. I can be reached at 650-468-3143 or hperez@fostercity.com