The City of Foster City continues to grow and move towards a bigger and better future. We continue to receive requests to develop and redevelop existing parcels of land. This change is inevitable and will remain constant. The only variable is time; when and how change will occur and who or what will control or be the agent of change. To that end, on December 2nd, the City will usher in the 2014 Members of City Council and pay tribute to Mayor Pam Frisella, as she retires from elected life.
The City will lose a great resource as Mayor Pam Frisella moves off the Council. She has been a steadfast advocate for the residents and champion of our emergency responders, staff and ability to maintain quality of life as we know it. The Mayor has always been able to bring humanity and heart to issues. When many sees dollars and cents, Pam has always been able to add common sense to the approach to bring forward important and often underrepresented perspective to light in every issue that comes before the Council.
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Vice Mayor Bronitsky will continue his outstanding work as he enters his second term. His no nonsense approach and historical knowledge of the community will serve the City well.
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Long-time resident and businessman Gary Pollard will join the City Council new. Gary has deep ties to the community in amateur sports and has been a member of the Parks and Recreation Committee previously serving as Chair. His common sense approach and business sensibility will complement the members of City Council. Together we will address the continuing challenges of budgetary concerns and growth.
Council member Art Kiesel will continue to be a key source of understanding of what is happening at the State and regional level which may impact us. Coupled together with his historical knowledge of the City and his understanding of the key issues we are facing, sharper focus and priority will be given to issues directly impacting our residents and businesses.
The dynamics of the City Council are sure to change but I am confident that our newly constituted Council will be well-prepared to handle the current and unforeseen challenges that face our City.
We have received the independent analysis of our commercial and retail inventory we requested. The purpose of this study was to provide the Council with unique perspective of where we sit in the marketplace and what are strengths and weaknesses are for current and future inventory. I believe that the content is only as useful as there is ability by the City and Chamber of Commerce to extrapolate the content and operationalize measures to enhance and correct our course in the new times.
Perhaps the most important piece of this will be the resident’s dialogue about what and where they would like to see commercial business located. Our current shopping centers serve a community function for our residents. They provide services and restaurants that our citizens frequent and desire. I am hopeful that the Council will continue this important dialogue as we develop and institute our Sustainable Foster City effort.
Our City must become more business friendly. We must remove the roadblocks that unintentionally hinder business from prospering. Our City Codes must be updated to reflect the current business environment and our City must be proactive in our efforts. Business is important to our City in that the businesses that choose to reside here provide the community with tax dollars and social capital to the benefit of the community as a whole. They attract quality families who choose to relocate to Foster City and join our community. The live, shop and play in Foster City. We as a City need to hear and consider business opportunities as a matter of policy. They should not be stalled or shut-down in the starting gate.
As elected officials, we need your voice and input. We as a City need to adjust and change to the ever-changing economic reality of diminishing State-funded efforts. We need to plan for the future of what Foster City can be and not only what we were of are.
I hope you will share your thoughts with me on this or any other issue of concern. I can be reached at 650-468-3143 and hperez@fostercity.org.
