Public Facilities & Preserving History
The City of Monterey and voters have done a great job improving streets, sidewalks, storm drains and ADA-accessibility since 2015 with the passage of Measure P and S. It’s time to address the deterioration of our public facilities, especially our public safety centers and historic landmarks.
It concerns me to see the poor state of our fire stations, a place where our dedicated firefighters work and live for days at a time. They deserve facilities that are modern and comfortable.
Monterey’s recreation centers need rehabilitation, and a popular community center has been closed for too long.
According to the Monterey Public Library Feasibility Study, our Monterey Public Library, California’s first public library, needs critical upgrades. Its per-capita usage is more than double the state average and yet it is shuttered two days a week.
During economic downturns, the City has cut support for museum staffing and it has not been restored. While it is unusual for most municipalities to fund these programs, the City of Monterey is special. Our identity is tied to the bay and our historic character. Previous generations made commitments to safeguarding priceless paintings, artifacts and buildings that are significant to national and literary history.
I’m particularly concerned about two notable City properties: I won’t be a part of an administration that lets Colton Hall, home of the California Constitutional Convention of 1849, and Ed Ricketts’ Lab, a pioneering marine biology lab, hangout for Ed Ricketts and John Steinbeck and site where the Monterey Jazz Festival was conceived, fall apart or be inaccessible for residents and visitors.
If we can’t maintain our archives and collections, we should identify organizations who can properly care for them and share them with the public, instead of letting them languish, forgotten in a basement.
I want to see more diversity, representation and inclusion when it comes to the interpretation of Monterey history, especially our local indigenous tribes and historically marginalized groups.
