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2025 State of the City Address
June 4, 2025 

Mayor Rebecca Jones

Good evening, everyone. I’m so pleased to be here with all of you today.

I have to say, this is one of my favorite times of year.

That’s because this is a chance to take a step back and look at everything that’s been accomplished here in San Marcos – and, even better, to share a little about what’s in store for the year ahead.

As Mayor, I get to stand up here alone, but we all know that it takes teamwork to accomplish great things. That’s why I’d like to start by recognizing my colleagues on the City Council. If you could please stand as I introduce you.

We are joined today by Deputy Mayor Mike Sannella, representing District 2.

District 1 Council Member Maria Nuñez—whose district we are in this evening.

City Council Member Ed Musgrove, representing District 4.

and our newest Council Member, Danielle LeBlang, representing District 2.

Now, I hope you don’t mind, but I need to do a little bragging on behalf of our senior center.

First, I want to start by recognizing this amazing community space we’re gathered in today.

On any given day, you can stop by the senior center and see what community looks like firsthand. 

Participation in senior center programs has skyrocketed over the last several years.

This year, through a partnership with AARP, we hosted over 800 appointments to help residents prepare their taxes.

Our senior transportation program has grown more than 20%, reaching a high of 5,473 trips.

And the lunch program here at the senior center has nearly tripled in size since 2021– In fact, Jennifer told me that on party days, we regularly have four and five times as many participants as before.

In total we provide almost 14,000 meals a year.

What makes this an even better story is that as this program grew, we were able to secure outside funding to pay for half of the total cost.

This is something I like to call OPM, using “Other People’s Money,” to make the lives of our San Marcos residents even better.

So, to the entire team here at the senior center, thank you. Let’s give them a round of applause. 

Now, since I brought up the topic of other people’s money, just across the street we’re just about to start a project to add shade to the playground at Richmar Park and build a mini-pitch soccer area. Both are scheduled to be done this summer. This is going to be another great addition to our amazing parks system – and another way we are bringing people together.

We were able to fund these improvements using Community Development Block Grants from the federal government.

In fact, when you look at everything we have been able to accomplish, with the smallest staff per capita of any of our comparable cities in the region, it really speaks to “The San Marcos Way.”

We are able to do great work because we pride ourselves on operating like an efficient business. In the last two years alone, we’ve completed a best value analysis for 8 different city services. Most recently, we brought our street sweeping services back in house – so keep an eye out for our shiny new street sweeping trucks passing through your neighborhood.

These changes will save our community almost a million dollars a year. And, we’ve got four more studies already on the way.

Earlier this year, we hired our first Director of LEAN Government – repurposing an existing position to focus on leading efficiency, accountability and engagement.

And I think we’re on to something, because we’re hearing from government agencies throughout the region and beyond wanting to learn from our example.  In fact, our regional transportation planning agency – SANDAG – just created a similar position using ours as a model.

Our commitment to fiscal responsibility means that we are able to provide an outstanding quality of life here in San Marcos, even though we get the smallest share of property tax revenue in the region.  

It’s true! And it’s a long story, so I’ll just say that this makes me extra proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish, with far fewer resources than our neighboring cities.

We stay in our lane and focus on delivering real results in the areas most important to our community. And that’s what I’m here to talk about today.

OK, I have to tell you, the hardest part of preparing for the State of the City each year is choosing what to share. There are truly so many wonderful things happening in San Marcos, and it just keeps getting better.

So, of course, I could go on for hours about all of this, but I promised Michelle I’d get us out of here on time tonight. 

So, let’s get to it!

The first thing I’m going to talk about is public safety, and that’s because, let’s face it, the core reason cities exist is to protect the safety of our residents.

I was really proud to see that just a few weeks ago, San Marcos was named one of the safest cities in California.

And if you look at the top 10 cities from that same report, all but one are cities much smaller than San Marcos. That makes the ranking even more impressive.

That same report found that San Marcos was 1 of just 6 cities that saw crime decrease over the previous year.

On top of that, San Marcos was also just named one of the safest college towns in America, and the second safest college town in all of California.

We were proud to partner last year with the County of San Diego to open a new Sheriff’s substation in San Elijo Hills, which is part of an overall effort to bring important services directly to our residents.

Public safety isn’t just about law enforcement. We have some very exciting work going on in our Fire Department, starting with building a brand-new fire station, which will be our 5th. You can see the location on North Las Posas and Armorlite Drive.

Just last month, San Marcos played host to a regional wildfire emergency exercise with hundreds of first responders from agencies throughout San Diego County and beyond. So – if you thought you heard a lot of helicopter activity around Woodland Park, now you know why.

It’s not enough that the city be prepared for an emergency.  To keep our community safe, we need our residents and businesses to be prepared too.

That’s why we’re rolling out a new emergency preparedness campaign, starting this weekend with our Wildfire Preparedness Fair.

We’re also expanding our Community Emergency Response Team. If you aren’t familiar with CERT, it’s a group of highly trained residents who provide volunteer support during emergencies to deliver supplies to shelters, direct traffic at temporary evacuation sites and other important work.

The San Marcos Emergency Operations Center just got a major electrical upgrade to make sure we can take advantage of all the technology that’s now available to help effectively manage a wide-scale emergency.

We are continuing to support the state’s Listos California Emergency Preparedness Campaign. This program reaches out to people who are more vulnerable during an emergency to help get them prepared and connected to community disaster preparedness networks.

And speaking of emergencies, please make sure you download the new Genysis Protect app or bookmark the page on your computer.

San Marcos is partnering with the county to raise awareness of this new tool. It enables first responders to evacuate more precise areas, which will reduce the number of cars on the road at any given time, if evacuations are needed.

As I am sure you can imagine, it’s not easy being on the front lines of fires and other emergencies. That’s why we continue to invest in the wellness of our first responders.

You just met Sawyer, a 2-year-old Golden Retriever who regularly visits our fire stations to provide some four-legged support.  I am told he happens to be an excellent listener.

We even get to see him every once in a while at City Hall.

Switching gears, another way we keep our community safe and stretch taxpayer dollars is by investing in our infrastructure.

Last fall, we completed the Creek project, the single largest infrastructure project in the city’s history. We widened Discovery Street and Via Vera Cruz, built two new bridges, restored a mile and a half of creek habitat, planted 105,000 new trees and plants, built a 1.2-mile loop trail, added storm drains and built Paseo del Arroyo Park.  Just last month we won two Project of the Year awards for engineering and construction

A few months ago, we completed major improvements on Rancho Santa Fe Road – another project funded with “other people’s money,” to the tune of $5 million.

We know that major infrastructure projects can be disruptive, especially to traffic. Thank you for your patience during all this construction.

Farther north on Rancho Santa Fe Road you’ll notice new, drought-tolerant landscaping beautifying the strip along Bradley Park – and, you’ve guessed it, part of this project is also paid for with other people’s money. In this case, we partnered with the Vallecitos Water District and the San Diego County Water Authority.

We’ve also improved traffic flow by coordinating traffic lights, especially around San Marcos High, Mission Hills and Richland Elementary. 

We are updating the design of our roads, like this one outside Discovery Elementary, to make drop off and pick up go more smoothly. 

Keeping San Marcos a safe, clean and well-maintained city is important, but there are a few more key ingredients in the secret recipe that makes San Marcos so special.

Fortune recently named San Marcos one of the top 25 cities in the country to raise a family.

We’re home to a top community college, a Cal State University and specialized programs in health care, firefighting and so much more 

And all of this is on top of the amazing K-12 education provided by the San Marcos Unified School District.

To help meet the needs of our San Marcos families, this fall we are launching a new partnership with the district to provide after school care through our Parks & Recreation Department.

And, to help prepare the little ones, we are also launching new and revamped programs for preschool-aged kids that will give parents the option of signing up for programming 5 days a week.

We are also very proud of our parks here in San Marcos, or should I say, “San Parkos?”

We have 44 parks – 44! -- including Bradley Bike Park, which opened last year, making us the first North County city to offer a dedicated bike park.

We want everyone to have a chance to enjoy the San Marcos lifestyle, and that’s why we have really focused on providing housing for people at all incomes and stages of life.

We are especially proud of our record creating affordable housing – more affordable housing than any of our neighboring cities.

Just last fall, the Estrella affordable housing development brought 96 new, modern apartments to San Marcos, specifically for families earning between 30 and 80 percent of the area median income. Estrella joins its sister development Alora, which opened in 2023 with 100 units. These two projects replaced an older single story 70-unit complex, increasing the overall availability of affordable housing.

Given that we are already a leader in creating affordable housing, it’s been really frustrating to see the state take away so much of the city’s control over local land use decisions.

These state laws affect all California cities, not just San Marcos, and we’re doing our best to adapt while protecting the character of our community.

Here’s my ask of you – when you hear neighbors concerned about this kind of development – and the traffic it creates, please encourage them to read up on these new laws. You can find a button right on the city’s home page that will get you to all the details.

In the meantime, the City of San Marcos remains focused on meeting the needs of our residents.

Housing & Neighborhood Services is now a stand-alone city department, reporting directly to the City Manager.

Since that change, we’ve expanded our collaboration with the community and brought more services directly into neighborhoods 

In April, in this very room, Housing & Neighborhood Services staff hosted our first collaboration between residents of our mobile home parks and the Legal Aid Society. Pro bono lawyers helped our residents understand their rights and the resources they can access.

We’ve also increased city participation in the San Marcos Elementary Pantry Program, with city departments stopping by once a month to provide information and answer questions.

I really couldn’t be prouder of this important work and am especially appreciative of Council Member Nuñez for helping to facilitate these community connections.

I want to wrap up this evening by talking about our business community.

Here in San Marcos, we have 4,290 businesses and an economy exceeding $6 billion annually. That’s billion with a “b.”

Right across from Cal State San Marcos, 222 North City is scheduled to open this winter. It’ll include modern apartments, restaurants and shops, and a new grocery store is going to be announced soon.

They’re keeping the name under wraps, but I’ve been told it will be worth the wait and something the community has been asking for.

And later this year, North City will be starting construction on a new 2-acre "Central Park" for all San Marcos families to enjoy.

The project at Restaurant Row is also well-underway.  It will include new homes and 10,000 square feet of commercial space. This project also includes a new park, which will preserve this special location’s history as a place to gather with friends and celebrate life’s milestones

To support a healthy local economy, city staff provide concierge-level service to our business community. In the last year alone, staff helped over 175 businesses with things like finding a location, going through the permitting process and how to find resources available to businesses.

In all, these efforts support nearly 42,000 local jobs.

Most recently, Scripps Health announced the development of the Scripps San Marcos Medical Center, a $1.2 billion project on a 13-acre site located south of the 78 near Twin Oaks Valley Road. This project will bring even more health care options to our city and create 1,700 new high-paying jobs

I’m really excited to be taking our economic development efforts to a new level with our first ever comprehensive economic development strategic plan. This plan will be getting underway this summer and help guide how we grow our economy for years to come.

Looking ahead 

Okay, that was a lot! And there is so much more I want to share, but I want to make good on my promise to end on time.

So, I will leave you with a quick list of just some of what we have in store for the coming year:

We will be launching a new city website that makes it easier than ever to access city services at your convenience, 24/7.

It will include a new, interactive affordable housing map to serve as a one stop shop for those looking for housing.

And an online toolbox with resources for existing and prospective small businesses.

We’re increasing our investment in the city’s 73 miles of trails, including a new trails volunteer program partnering with local nonprofits and other groups.

We’re once again partnering with the Sheriff’s Office and the school district to promote e-bike safety.

And we’re kicking off a new master plan for Bradley Park and a plan for the restoration of Discovery Lake.

Restoration of the Meyer-Doran House – also known as “the pink house” – will also be getting underway.

Coming full circle, we’ll be replacing the heating and cooling system for the senior center and making it an official Cool Zone site.

Finally, come July 1, the city will be starting the new fiscal year with a balanced budget and the second-highest level of cash reserves in the region.

None of this happens by chance. It takes careful planning, committed leadership and—most of all—the continued involvement of people like you.

I want to say thank you once again to my City Council colleagues and our talented and dedicated city staff.

The future of San Marcos has never looked brighter. And I could not be more proud to serve as your Mayor.

Thank you. Please drive safely.  And have a good evening.