The 2022 State of the City Address was delivered on August 26, 2022 by Mayor Krista Bernasconi at West Park High School. The text of the speech is below.
Good morning.
 |
| Sgt. Nicole Gee |
Corp. Gurpreet Singh |
We chose August 26th as the State of the City address before we realized the significance of its date. One year ago today, Nicole Gee, a 23-year-old sergeant in the Marine Corps and graduate of Roseville’s own Oakmont High School was one of 13 killed in a terrorist attack in Afghanistan, as she evacuated families at the airport in Kabul.
Many of you joined us days later in a vigil at the Vernon Street Town Square to support her family, our country and honor her sacrifice.
Today, as we honor our fallen military members, I would like to invite the Singh Family to join me at the podium. Nirmal Singh, his wife Satnam Kaur and their daughter Manpreet lost their son and brother in 2011. Corporal Gurpreet Singh, a US Marine and graduate of Oakmont High School died at the age of 21 from injuries conducting combat operations in Afghanistan.
I would like you to join me in a moment of silence to acknowledge their service and willingness to risk their lives in serving our country.
Thank you.
We’re honored to have the Marine Corps Color Guard to present the colors today. And the Singh Family will lead us in the Pledge.
Pledge of Allegiance
Sergeant Gee and Corporal Singh made the world better. It is in their honor that I dedicate the 2022 State of the City speech for the City of Roseville.
And with that, I want to say - Good morning and welcome! I’m thrilled to be here as your mayor and share with you the state of our city.
West Park High School, we have waited a long time to be here, and you are definitely worth the wait. Students, your campus is magnificent and the enthusiasm is impressive.
Welcome friends, Roseville residents, representatives from our boards and commissions, leaders in business, education, nonprofits and our students. If you serve as an elected official, please stand to be recognized.
I would like to introduce my fellow councilmembers and ask them to stand. Vice Mayor Bruce Houdesheldt, Councilmembers Scott Alvord, Pauline Roccucci and Tracy Mendonsa.
Our council meetings are twice a month at city hall and in addition, we each serve on regional committees, while balancing other demands, such as work and family.
This requires a great amount of focus, time and engagement to ensure policy decisions are made with the best intentions for our entire community. As a council, we’ve set these goals:
- To maintain a healthy and safe community
- To remain fiscally responsible
- To improve our economic vitality
- To invest in well-planned infrastructure and growth
- To engage with and advocate for our community
- To deliver exceptional city services
I’m honored to serve alongside each of you.
About 6,000 residents moved to Roseville during the pandemic for quality of life, to buy a home or start a business. Many have been here for years or generations.
While we recognize there are adjustments with growth, I believe there are far more positives. Growth helps fund our police and fire services, our parks and our libraries, just to name a few.
Recently, Roseville topped these national lists:
- 9th best place to retire
- 14th best place in the US for people under 35 buying homes
- 29th healthiest city in America
- 15th safest city in California
- 34th on the list of cities with the best public schools in America
- 8th best place to live in America
- 8th best city for military retirees
Data that may come as a surprise given the talk about people moving out of California…Roseville is 8th on U-Haul’s national list of top growth destinations, measured by U-Haul rentals in versus out.
How did Roseville become such a special place and what makes this city so attractive?
I thought about this while considering what to share with you today. I was raised here where both my parents operated small businesses and were civically involved. My grandmothers lived here and their great, great grandbaby was born here last year.
After graduating from Oakmont and serving in the Navy, I had the chance to live anywhere. The choices were many but to me only one stood out: Roseville.
It’s where my husband Tony and I wanted to put down roots, and raise Nick and Ella. It’s where I started my company 10 years ago and it’s where we both work. It’s our home.
You have seen the #WeAreRoseville campaign our City kicked off early in the pandemic. #WeAreRoseville has been our walk-up song, a phrase that is shared when we are most proud of our city. It’s shared on social media, posted on city banners and spoken when we are really feeling our best self.
Today, I’d like to share our state of the city within the context of the top 10 reasons I believe We. Are. Roseville.
They’re not in order of importance but I do feel that #10 is the basis for why We Are Roseville:
It’s the people.
Civic leadership takes a willingness to serve. Without the people, the rest on my list isn’t possible. In Roseville, there are 86 residents who serve on boards and commissions.
They tackle challenging issues that impact us daily. It takes everyone showing up every day to give their time and talents to make a difference.
The people pictured here represent decades of service above self, either as a councilmember, commissioner, community volunteer or staff.
These names are familiar to you, especially if you’ve been to one of our 81 parks: Garcia, Pineschi, Shellito, Huisking, Goto, or been to Vencil Brown Elementary School.
Would those who have served past and present, on city council and on commissions please stand.
Sound governance requires fiscal discipline. Roseville’s elected leaders have ensured we have a budget that can pay its bills.
Your city council just approved a budget of nearly $800M. $28M comes from Measure B, the half cent sales tax passed in 2018 that has allowed the city to restore services, increase our public safety and fund our reserves for economic uncertainty.
The budget is built based on what matters most to our community, feedback provided to us through workshop and community meetings with the watchful eye of our citizen-led Local Sales Tax Oversight Committee.
It is imperative we seek ways to sustain the delivery of the core services our community expects in the most efficient manner. It is important for you to know that our city is in a strong financial position, and while we are attentive to what the future holds, we are doing all we can to ensure that our strong fiscal position isn’t compromised.
In fact, Roseville voters will decide this fall whether hotel guests will contribute more to the services they receive while here. It’s called Measure C and would increase the hotel and lodging tax by 4 percent.
Last week, the council approved a $40 million long-field sports complex with 10 fields that will capitalize on the ongoing demand for sports tourism. We draw visitors to our softball fields, aquatics center and the volleyball and basketball courts @theGrounds.
As youth sports tourism and business travel grows, so does demand for city services. As the sports complex is completed, we expect 18,000 more annual room stays. It’s interesting to note that there were more than half a million room stays in 2021, and this year, sports tourism events are primarily driving the room nights.
Sound governance requires a vision. While we expect growth to be on our horizon for the next 20-30 years, measured steps were taken by my predecessors to ensure our growth is well planned through our specific planning process. That leads me to #9.
Reason 9 that We Are Roseville is Intentional Place-Making.
We are fortunate to have developed a vision early on that would determine what kind of city we needed to be. Early leaders knew operating our own electric, water and solid waste utilities, along with our police and fire services would be beneficial.
Our place-making process started with laying out large swaths of land holistically… to ensure our community is livable… with schools, fire stations, parks, businesses districts, and a mix of housing types integrated into each specific plan. This is often referred to as the specific plan process.
That way, whether you live in a single-family home or apartment, you have access to the same education, public safety and recreation amenities nearby as others do.
That approach is working. Our housing permits are at record highs, businesses are clamoring to be here and we’re investing in our older areas.
We do this in partnership with our development community. Before commercial or residential development occurs, they must bear the costs of infrastructure: roads, sidewalks and traffic signals, since we believe that development must pay its own way.
Our home builders implement our requirement to provide 10% affordable housing in new areas. They also contribute mightily to the citywide amenities that we enjoy, from our libraries and pools to parks and sports centers.
Pictured in this photo are our partners who were key in developing our specific plans such as where we stand today. They implemented the vision of our planning and development services.
Number 8…#We are…a Regional Destination
Our solid reputation as the place to dine, bike, play, shop or even buy a car means Roseville is on the map!
The Westfield Roseville Galleria Mall attracts more than 13 million visitors a year, more than Disneyland.
We have another kind of mall in town too, one that we thank our visionary predecessors for every day. With 17 dealers representing 20 brands, the Roseville Automall brings visitors from surrounding counties.
In fact, last year, there were more than 38,000 cars sold and that generated more than $12M in sales tax revenues for the city, which helps to pay expenses and contribute to our fiscal soundness.
Dining, arts and shopping in Roseville draws people from near and far. Among 400 eateries and restaurants, we have rockstar chefs who are recognized both regionally and internationally like Taro, Chef Q, Patricio from Nixtacos and Randy Peters.
Our arts and music scene includes murals downtown, the third Saturday Art Walk and concerts at The Fountains, Goldfields, Vernon Street Town Square and Royer Park.
Whether shopping high end stories or thrifting, bowling, catching a movie, golfing or spending the day at Denio’s with a corndog, there’s something for everyone. Especially if you’re in between games at the Roebbelen Center @The Grounds for a weekend tournament of volleyball or basketball.
Pictured here are some of those who oversee our fun— working to make sure there’s plenty to eat, drink and see in our city. We want to thank you for investing in our city, satiating our appetites, both for food and for fun.
Number 7 is actually one of the most cited reasons that We Are Roseville….our quality of life and civic amenities. #WeAreFun
Opportunities abound in our daily lives in Roseville to learn, grow and do, from museums, parks and libraries, to trails, pools, recreation programs and events. We opened our 81st park on Saturday and have 38 more to go. As we say here, “parks make life better.”
And the National Recreation and Park Association agrees as they recently named Roseville as a gold medal finalist for the quality of our programs and facilities. Being named a finalist provides independent affirmation we are serving our community at the highest and most innovative levels in our field. The winner will be announced next month.
Residents treasure what Roseville offers. With Measure B funds, the city has completed Harry Crabb and Central parks, expanded library hours, brought back 4th of July fireworks and the goats to help with thatch management, all of which are crowd pleasers.
The city has also used Measure B funds to hire additional police officers, add a police beat, keep fire trucks in service, maintain funding for code enforcement and street maintenance, and to start a new reserve fund to help us maintain service levels during an economic downturn.
Services like public safety…which leads us to Reason Number 6 that We Are Roseville: #WeAreSafe
Last year, our Police and Fire Dispatch Center took nearly 165,000 calls with 70,000 of those being emergency 911 calls.
While crime rates around our region and state have increased, our crime rates are down. With our growing city, though, I am especially proud that our council’s 2022/23 budget allows for the hiring of 12 new positions to our police department. This is why I am thankful for Measure B passing.
Here are a couple recently noteworthy investments:
We’ve increased our use of technology to catch the bad guys.
For example, we’ve increased our license plate reading cameras to 22 throughout our city. When a stolen or wanted vehicle is flagged, our units are alerted and they’re able to respond more effectively. This is important because 70 percent of crimes involve the use of vehicles.
Another investment being made is building out our real time crime center, which provides critical information to our officers on the street. When a major crime happens in our City, our staff can immediately identify suspects, vehicle information and path of travel.
Adding to our safety is having social services unit integrated with our police.
We know the issues surrounding homelessness are complex and not only a statewide concern but a concern for our own community. Even though the number of Roseville’s homeless individuals has not increased the last three years, it’s an issue that requires ongoing attention and collective action.
We are the only city in South Placer to have social service workers integrated with our police department to provide services to those in need. This approach addresses causes in an effort to prevent situations that require law enforcement action.
They work alongside our police officers to offer services beyond what traditional law enforcement provides. When our social service workers can make repeated contact with the same individuals, we see progress with accepting services, working towards reunification with their families and developing plans to ultimately secure housing.
The city’s housing staff is part of this coordinated approach to helping those in need. They provide emergency rental assistance, rental vouchers for veterans and families, affordable home purchase assistance, and many other programs.
They work closely with private developers of affordable housing projects to maximize the use of available funding to build needed, quality affordable housing units.
In various ways, last year Roseville housing staff helped keep more than 4,000 families housed.
Turning to our Fire Department, we have an all-hazards, all-risk fire department. We enhance our level of protection by requiring our firefighters to also be paramedics since our calls for medical service exceed our calls for traditional fire suppression service. Not all cities have this level of service. We want our community to be safe and to ensure we deliver the exceptional city services needed here.
Over the last few years the department has received grants from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and donations from Union Pacific to enhance our Fire Training Facility. This teaches emergency responders throughout the state how to effectively respond to and mitigate complex railcar emergencies, making it the only facility of its kind in the Western United States.
We continue to provide mutual aid in fighting wildfires statewide and sharing our expertise through FEMA in response to floods, building collapses, and hurricanes. Fire Station 8 is on tap next for development, located near Woodcreek Oaks and Blue Oaks which is where this photo was taken.
Next on the list of why We Are Roseville is #5, our high quality education.
Roseville students are served by five award-winning school districts and a county office of education.
The “rising tide lifts all boats” metaphor could have been written about schools: high performing schools result in an increase in high school and college graduation rates, property values and are an economic boost.
The ability for parents to send their child to our public schools has sealed the deal for many to relocate to Roseville.
Our community values education. 95 percent of our adult residents have a high school diploma or higher and 39 percent have a bachelor’s degree or higher. Roseville Joint Union High School District, along with Sierra College and William Jessup University develop innovative programs to link students with employers to learn about a variety of careers, from healthcare to information technology to the construction trades.
The photo here includes the superintendent of every district that serves Roseville students.
I want to thank the education leaders in this photo and all the teachers, administrators, professors and support staff.
Which brings us to Reason 4 that We Are Roseville: Our businesses and innovation.
We are a city where businesses want to be and where innovation can flourish. In the 1980s + 90s, Roseville leaped from being known as a railroad-oriented community to a city of growing economic diversity, shedding its reputation as just a “bedroom community” with the onboarding of major employers like Hewlett-Packard and NEC.
Roseville is now where entrepreneurs can find access to capital, be supported and explore opportunities that become a launching pad for success.
We are thankful to have the investment of companies such as Cokeva, McKesson, Amazon, Telefunken, Pride and we have future opportunities on the horizon, such as an agreement with Panatonni to develop a jobs center and nearly 2 million square feet of industrial space off Phillip Road.
The newest addition to our innovation ecosystem is the upcoming opening of the Venture Lab downtown, a partnership between the City of Roseville and Growth Factory Business Accelerator.
Its first offering is an entrepreneurship support program called Roseville Rising. It’s a nice complement to other business support programs the city has in place like Roseville Advantage, which has $10M on deposit with local banks to lend to small businesses.
This focus helps ensure that Roseville continues to be a place where your business can flourish for generations. I want to note two significant business anniversaries: Denio’s Farmers Market turns 75 this year, the Roseville Area Chamber marks 50 years of advocating for a robust business climate. Congratulations to our Roseville Chamber and The Denio Family.
Those pictured here represent the leaders and facilitators in innovation.
Moving to #3 of what Makes Roseville Roseville, it’s that we are a caring community.
We casually hear the word nonprofit but often we don’t see the people behind the mission. They are the organizations and people who help us in our worst seasons; they are the ones who rush in when others leave. Our generous caring community works to prevent, prepare and protect our most vulnerable.
Each year, the city contributes hundreds of thousands of dollars, through a competitive grant process based on the recommendations of the Grants Advisory Commission to address social needs including disability awareness, hunger, homelessness and veterans’ services.
This is funded through our Citizens Benefit Trust, and will have an additional million dollars available from ARPA funds that the Council directed toward community grants.
The photo here is a cross-section of those in our community, from helping with animals, to an after school program for teens, to a soft landing place for those in our LGBTQ+ community. If you are part of our nonprofit community, please stand.
I especially want to recognize the Placer Food Bank, which recently celebrated its 50th year of serving the community. Between rising costs and a pandemic, the demand for food in the three counties they serve skyrocketed. We’re glad you’re here supporting our community, and congratulations.
And all of this makes for a healthy community, which is Reason 2 that We Are Roseville. #WeAreHealthy
In Roseville, you have access to 40 miles of off-street walking/biking trails and nearly 100 miles of on-street bike lanes, with more on the way and by my count, more than 45 gyms and fitness centers.
In fact, we’ve been recognized as one of the most playful cities and Placer is consistently named one of the healthiest counties in our state. Residents have access to top notch medical systems.
Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Health have doubled down on their investment in Roseville. From expanded emergency rooms and increased access to medical care, we are thankful they’re here.
We invest in health-oriented partnerships like the City’s 5-year partnership with the Health Education Council. We’re improving our core neighborhoods, addressing safety, lighting and parks.
As our hospitals expand, Roseville has become a destination for health care services. Along with that, we have the distinction of becoming one of the top birthplaces for new residents of our region.
That brings us to the Number 1 reason we are who we are…is all of YOU!
If you look REAL closely, you can see yourself in this photo collage. Your presence here today shows that together We Are Roseville.
Each of you cares enough to be here. And each of you shows us daily to make a difference in Roseville. Each of you is why We Are Roseville. I want to thank you for creating an environment for our community to thrive.
It’s people…all of you… who create this community together every day. I hope you learned something and found inspiration to serve where you can.
You’ll be seeing this mosaic on the city’s social media channels to share with your friends and business associates.
The state of our city is healthy, flourishing and growing in the right direction. I’m very proud of where we are and I’m thankful to serve every day.
<Download a high resolution version of the We Are Roseville mosaic here.>