At the mayor’s State of the City address on May 4, Mayor Mary Casillas Salas said 2020 was a “year of struggle, sadness and heartbreak.”
“We lost friends and loved ones to COVID-19, but I have never been prouder of our city’s hope and resiliency from our city staff to our neighbors that came together to combat this pandemic,” she said. “We have struggled with the feelings of anxiety, despair, and sometimes it has been overwhelming. Yet, we persevered together and faced one of the greatest challenges of our time. But we could not have done it alone.”
Casillas Salas said the city forged new partnerships and strengthened old ones, and that residents, nonprofits, leaders in the county, state and federal levels helped the city to get to the point where it is today.
“We are on the cusp of overcoming COVID-19,” she said. “We are in the final most critical mile of a long and hard road that has impacted everyone of us. Like much of the world, we had to shut down. But we did not stop providing critical services. We quickly adapted to alternative ways of doing business. Every single city department stepped up and worked together to address many of our resident’s needs.”
Casillas Salas said after 14 months of the pandemic, with the indisputable cooperation of the community, that the city and region is looking much brighter.
“We have begun to reopen schools, businesses, restaurants, and other venues across our region,” she said. “…I am pleased to announce that starting May 5, we will begin a phase 3 opening of city facilities for in-person services, starting with City Hall, the Civic Center Library, Development Services, animal care facility, and the following community centers. Monte Valle Recreation Center, Veterans Recreation Center, Otay Recreation Center, and Norman Park Senior Center.”
Casillas Salas said the city and community had accomplished much in the face of the pandemic. Library staff turned their talents in answering the County’s 211 line to help residents get information on access to food, financial assistance, moving forward to aiding residents that could not navigate the system to get the COVID-19 vaccine, helping more than 13,000 community members.
“When our schools closed, we purchased 2,000 wi-fi hotspots with 12 months of unlimited internet access to serve the needs of those most in need during distanced learning,” she said. “Together with library staff, our Parks & Recreation staff delivered over 1,800 boxes of emergency food to home bound and disabled residents. They also assisted South Bay Community Service with ongoing food distribution at the Loma Verde Recreation Center serving over 51,000 families.”
Casillas Salas spoke about many of the way that the city, city staff and residents stepped up during the pandemic.
• Because of the urgency of the crisis, for the first time ever, the city used $1 million of city funds for rental assistance program to help families meet their housing needs.
• The City currently has $60 million in federal and state funds to help renters that have fallen on hard times due to the pandemic.
• Developed and implemented temporary parklet permitting process to facilitate outdoor operations for businesses.
“Our small businesses are the backbone of our community and they were hit especially hard. That is why we launched We Built This small business marketing support campaign, encouraging people to shop, dine and stay local,” she said.
She said finally the day came that all had waited for, the COVID-19 vaccine.
“We recognized that we would need to be innovative and intentional in our approach to make sure every resident had access to the vaccine.,” she said. “Vaccination is important.
It not only saves lives, but it is your greatest tool to end this pandemic.”
Chula Vista, the County, and Sharp Healthcare opened the South Bay Vaccination Superstation, where firefighters joined healthcare workers and volunteers and served as vaccinators before launching our own vaccination effort. Chula Vista Fire Department launched Operation Immunity, a mobile vaccination effort focused on senior facilities, homebound residents, mobile home parks and essential work personnel, delivering more than 8,700 vaccines.
“We initially did all of this with little federal or state support using our emergency financial reserves. And despite the pandemic and working remotely our staff continued to offer critical services to our community and for that I am so grateful,” she said.
“While we have been adapting to the challenges of COVID-19, our city has continued to build the Chula Vista of the future,” said Casillas Salas. “A Chula Vista that will boldly harness opportunity of its residents. As we continue our path towards full recovery from the pandemic, we are still working on the vital projects that will revitalize our community and our region.”
