By Cheryl Heitmann
Has been an honor to serve as the Mayor for the past 2 years.
Has been an honor to serve as only the 3rd woman mayor in 150 years.
Has been an honor to serve as the smallest Mayor in 150 years.
I want to thank my fellow councilmembers for your support. I am proud of the way we have worked together these past 2 years. We might not always agree but at the end of the day I know we are all working for the good of our community. We have tackled some tough issues these past 2 years but tackled them with respect.
I would also like to thank and acknowledge all of our employees. Having worked closely with many of them, I can say with confidence and sincerity that we have a terrific group of employees. This is truly a group effort, council, staff and community.
I would like to especially acknowledge Anne Simmons and Kelly Flanders in the city manager’s office. Their help and support has made these 2 years so much easier and efficient. And Cindi Rodriquez who works so well with our council and tolerates those long motions. And of course, City Manager, Mark Watkins, always easy to work with. And I also want to thank Elena Brokaw for all her work on the 150th birthday celebration.
And finally to my family and friends, thanks for your support and patience when I have not always been available.
I have enjoyed meeting Venturan’s at the numerous coffees with the Mayor throughout the city, answering question, listening to concerns and suggestions.
According to our own 2014 citizen survey, 93% of our residents feel Ventura is a good place to live with 74% say we are headed in the right direction.
I would like to highlight a few of our accomplishments over the past 2 years .
Our wellness district continues to develop with the new hospitals at CMH and VCMC and the new parking garage for CMH which will help support the revitalization of that area.
With our newly hired economic development manager we are continuing our business visits and business development and have reviewed and adjusted our economic development strategy.
Core Services
All of our police officers now wear body cameras.
Due to the drought, we have asked our residents to conserve water by 20% and the state mandate for our city is 16%. Our cumulative water savings is 24%.
Establishing a new park on the Westside, which we refer to as Kellogg Park is a council priority.
Wanting to make our 2 downtown parks safer and more inviting for everyone, we have worked with the Downtown Ventura Partners to establish a Parks Ambassador program.
We have established a moratorium on the expansion and establishment of new massage parlors to help control some of the illegal activity operating in some of these establishments.
Adopted a no smoking ordinance for public places and asked the city attorney to bring back an ordinance on gun stores and ammunition sales.
We have established a Water Commission, and a Charter Review Commission
And supported the establishment of a Senior Council on Aging to explore issues important to our Seniors.
During this past year, the city adopted our first ever sister city with Loreto Mexico.
Ventura is a unique beach town, made up of people who care, care about each other and care about our community. we are a community that works together to accomplish our goals.
It has truly been a privilege to serve as your mayor these past 2 years.
