IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. (KGTV) - Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre assured the community is on the right path.
“The state of our city is strong and resilient,” Aguirre said during her speech Thursday night.
Some IB residents left Aguirre's first State of the City address with confidence she’s conveying.
“We are going by leaps and bounds. The one thing I can say that this mayor is that she doesn’t forget the backbone of this community,” resident Felicia House said.
“I’m really impressed with everything she’s saying, all of the progress that the city’s made especially into the recreational facilities that they’ve created,” resident Kit Wingate said.
There’s one concerns that continues to create a stink for many.
“Obviously, the biggest concern is the sewage,” Wingate said.
“Fifteen years I’ve been fed up with it and my neighbors have been fed up with it longer than that. We’ve had it,” House said.
Aguirre has as well, saying, “It’s been unacceptable that the conditions have deteriorated so much we’re having people getting sick without even coming close to the coast."
It was a big point of Aguirre’s address — stopping the cross-border sewage contamination from the Tijuana River plaguing IB.
“I’m going to go to D.C. and continue to ask for a State of Emergency. We’ve sent multiple to the White House. Obviously, we’ve sent multiple letters the Office of the Governor,” Aguirre said.
“Our congressional delegation has been very involved. But, at the end of the day, it’s not up to them. They can do all of the efforts they have been doing but, its contingent upon approval," she added.
Some people seem understanding on this effort.
“This actually the first year that we’ve had somebody say, ‘OK, let us really look at the federal level and that’s what we need,’” House said.
“I think she said all of the right things and I do think she’s trying her best. My question would be and concern that I think a lot have is, how far up can they push this thing, what is the actual solution? I didn’t really hear a lot of what the solution is,” Wingate said.
Aguirre standing firm on her dedication to continue to work on a solution for her community.
“Everything is on the table at this point because that’s exactly what my community is asking of me,” Aguirre said.
