Residential Customer Del Mar CA, 92014 ECRWSS
Volume XVI, Issue 2
www.delmartimes.net
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID SAN DIEGO, CA PERMIT NO. 1980
Jan. 5, 2012 Published Weekly
Polo Club lease expires in March
2012 Penguin Plunge
Various groups keep close watch as city starts search for tenant ■ Former North County tourism bureau chief thriving at Cox. Page 3 Hearty local residents braved the cool Pacific to celebrate the first day of 2012 at the popular annual Penguin Plunge in Del Mar. See more inside. (above) Alexandra Blasina, Pamela Whalen Photo/Jon Clark
Hilliard, Roberts declare candidacy for supervisor seat
■ Local golfer’s numerous title wins elevate her to an elite class. Page 4
■ TPHS graduate focused on London Olympics. Page 12
BY JOE TASH The contest for the seat of retiring 3rd District County Supervisor Pam SlaterPrice is about to become a three-way affair, as two coastal North County city councilmen confirmed this week they plan to run.
Carl Hilliard of Del Mar and Dave Roberts of Solana Beach said they plan to run for the seat of Slater-Price, who is retiring from the Board of Supervisors this year after serving for 20 years in the position. The two will challenge Steve
Danon, who announced his own bid for the seat in 2009. So far, no other candidates have come forward, but the official nomination period runs from Feb. 13 through March 9. Hilliard, 76, is a regisSee SEAT, page 9
BY JOE TASH As the city of San Diego moves forward with a plan to take bids for a long-term lease on an 80-acre parcel of land next to the San Dieguito River, environmentalists, polo players, youth soccer supporters and neighbors are watching closely. Over the next few months, the city will issue a request for proposals for a lease on the property at Via De La Valle and El Camino Real, which has been the home of the San Diego Polo Club since 1986. The club’s original 26-year lease is set to expire in March. “We’re going through the process of seeking renters for that property. And we’re going to evaluate all the bids that come in from the standpoint of what’s best for the city in terms of
economically, (and) the way it would fit into the community. We are looking to have a tenant in there that uses that facility in some way related to recreation,” said Alex Roth, a spokesman for Mayor Jerry Sanders. Roth declined to comment further on the specific requirements that will be included in the request for proposals, which he said is still being drafted. But he promised an open process and invited anyone with suggestions or concerns about the request for proposals, or the lease, to send a letter to the city. “There is going to be lots and lots of opportunity for public input on this,” Roth said. The city obtained the
SEE LEASE, PAGE 6
Mayor discusses city accomplishments, goals and issues Carl Hilliard took over as mayor of Del Mar in December, and along with his City Council colleagues, faces a full agenda of issues in 2012, from streamlining council meetings to downtown revitalization. The Del Mar Times interviewed Hilliard regarding the key issues facing the city over the next 12 months and accomplishments of the past year, as he begins his second one-year term as mayor. In Del Mar, members of the council take turns serving as mayor, rather than being directly elected by voters. The interview is presented in a Q & A format, and has been edited for brevity. Hilliard (see announcement above) was elected to the council
for the first time in 2004, following a career in law and business. After Q. What are your plans as serving in the Navy and graduating you begin your term as mayor? from the USC School of Law, he A. The mayor has the right to worked as a trial lawyer, then control the (City Council) started a San Diego-based agenda, the sequence of the tech company with his wife. agenda, not the items on A skiing accident left him the agenda. I’m going to temporarily paralyzed, and try and change things. We after his recovery, he taught have had two issues that at local law schools, and rephave come up. I think resented clients in negotiawe’ve had closed sessions at tions over satellite launch every meeting for the past and positioning rights. couple of years. In November, Del Mar So I’m going to propose Carl Hilliard residents are expected to vote to the council that we set on a specific plan for the city’s aside the third or second downtown village, a plan that offiMonday just for closed session and cials hope will spur revitalization of not try to get down here at 4:30 the central business district. — Reand go until 9 or 10 at night, not ported by Joe Tash. try to do it all in one. I’m one of
five so we’ll see what the council thinks. I just finished my term as chair of LAFCO (the Local Agency Formation Commission), I’m on the board at SANDAG (the San Diego Association of Governments) and I did my term at NCTD (North County Transit District), none of them read off the consent calendar, it’s done by motion. So I’m going to suggest that we put it on the screen so the people at home can see it. The other thing is, community announcements. It used to be that a member of the council, if there was something in particular that should be brought to the attention of the community, would make the
SEE MAYOR, PAGE 11
JOHN R. LEFFERDINK
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ANGELA MEAKINS-BERGMAN
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CONNIE SUNDSTROM
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