Please view our February 2024 newsletter HERE.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
As the new New Monterey Neighborhood Association (NMNA) President, I first want to thank our outgoing President, Bob Evans, for all of his years keeping this organization strong and relevant to the residents of New Monterey.  Under Bob’s leadership and continuing into this Board, the diversity of ages and races participating in the NMNA has increased..  I am so fortunate to have an eleven member Board with a diverse set of talents. 

My priorities for the Board and the organization are to continue what has started and build upon it.  I’d like to see yet more diversity and representation on our Board and with those participating with the NMNA.  Our neighborhood has around 5000 residents which equates to roughly 2000 households.  Our registered members number around 200 which means that we are only reaching 10% of the households.  I want to see that number grow in the next year.  To do this, I will ask the Board to approve at least one mass mailing to all of the households within our neighborhood in the next year.

With Bob and continuing into this year, we are working on acquiring the equipment that we need in order to live stream our Board and membership meetings so that people who are unable to attend in person can still participate from home.  Without a large diverse set of people within our neighborhood voicing their opinions on matters of importance, we lose credibility as an organization. 

There are some important and transformational issues before us and we need to hear everybody’s voices.  One of those issues is the updating of our neighborhood plan.  Our current plan was approved 33 years ago and a lot has changed in that time.  The NMNA has applied for funding through the Neighborhood and Community Improvement   Program (NCIP) to update our neighborhood plan.  A significant component to a successful plan is public input. Another important issue is that of undergrounding the overhead utility wires.  Overhead power lines pose a fire hazard and as many of us are very aware, we are subject to power outages all too often.

I look forward to the new year and working with all of you.

Tom Reeves, President, NMNA

CITY BUDGET PRIORITIES
The City of Monterey wants to hear from residents about the next fiscal year (FY) budget 2024 – 2025. What programs and services matter most to you as a resident? Take the Survey and Participate in a Listening Session on Monday, February 26, 6:30 p.m., Scholze Park Center, 280 Dickman Ave.
Please take the survey: 
https://surveymonkey.com/r/2024BudgetPriorities. The survey will close on March 10, and is available in English and Spanish.

MPUSD TRUSTEE VACANCY New Monterey Needs You Now! Applications are requested from community members to fill the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District Board seat vacated by the resignation of, Former Area 3 Trustee, Veronica Miramontes whose term expires in November 2024. New Monterey is the most populous neighborhood in Monterey, but currently has no public schools. Our neighborhood is currently not represented on the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District Board.  Applications to fill the 10 remaining months of the vacancy will be accepted until February 23, 2004 at 4:30pm. Applicants will be interviewed publicly at the March 5, 2024 Special School Board Meeting.  The appointed Trustee will be able to run for the position in November as an incumbent, which makes this a great opportunity for people wishing to serve as a trustee from our district. More Information about the job, the application and the map of our District 3 can be found at https://www.mpusd.net/apps/news/article/1874194.  Thank you and good luck!

GOOD NEIGHBORS ARE LAUDED  by Rachel Deis      Recreation Coordinator, Hilltop Center   Dianna Pavlov Cryan and Sharon Dwight were recently honored with a California Parks & Recreation Society Volunteer Citation Award for all of their hardwork with in the City of Monterey! Dianna and Sharon began volunteering at Hilltop Park in 2020 as a way to connect with others in a safe way and to create community. They pick a different spot in Hilltop Park each time they volunteer. They have spent hundreds of hours weeding, sweeping, raking and picking up trash, but most importantly they chat with the neighbors as they walk by. They know every dog and every dog owner. They have built incredible relationships with the neighbors and the City staff. Last summer, we tragically lost two neighbors who had very little family nearby. Dianna and Sharon went door to door and collected donations for a memorial plaque on a bench in front of the community center where the couple liked to sit with their dog, Bear. They also planned a get-together for the unveiling of the bench for the neighbors and staff. We cannot thank them enough for their hard work, dedication and support of our parks!

MEASURE S – ROAD REPAIRS

ABOUT MEASURE S AND P
Thanks to voters passing Measure S, the City of Monterey continues to fix streets and sidewalks. Measure S was approved by 82% of voters in November 2018 as a continuation of Measure P. It authorized a 1% local district tax (sales and use tax) to be used to address significant deferred maintenance by fixing streets, sidewalks,  potholes and improve related access and safety for senior citizens, disabled residents, and others; and repair its 100-year-old storm drain system to protect our beaches and Monterey Bay. Measure P was approved by 74% of voters in November, 2014, and expired in March 2019. The Measure S tax is effective from April 1, 2019 through March 31, 2027.

For a complete list of the blocks where repairs are being made, click on the following link:
https://files.monterey.org/Document%20Center/Public%20Works/Construction%20News/Measure%20P%20&%20S/Meas%20P-S-Win2023-Spr2024-Paving-Projects.pdf

MONTEREY HOSTEL – REVIVED AND REOPENED The old Carpenter’s Union building at 778 Hawthorne Street will open its doors March 1, after extensive renovations, as Monterey’s only hostel. The building was a hostel for 24 years, hosting around 10,000 guests a year. It went under during the pandemic. Ryan Oetting and his non-profit Hosteling-On have brought it back to life. With the average hotel rate in Monterey going for hundreds of dollars a night, at the Hostel a bed in a shared room will cost around $65. Oetting says they hope this makes travel to the coast more accessible for all. More information can be found at montereyhostel.com

Have Your Say! Comment on the General Plan Update The Monterey 2031 General Plan Update, which includes updates to the City of Monterey Housing, Land Use, Safety, and Circulation Elements, and is intended to respond to emerging issues and new State laws and guide development and conservation within the Planning Area, is now available for you to review and comment on by March 25, 2024 at 5 pm. Some of the issues that your NMNA is monitoring are airport overflights and hours of operation and emergency evacuation capacity, especially on Lighthouse avenue.

MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR – TOM REEVES Tom is the current NMNA President. My wife Gail and I moved to Monterey in 1988 and bought our “house” in New Monterey in 1989.  I wrote “house” because it was a rundown single wall shack of a house that Gail and I spent the next five years doing an extreme makeover to as well as adding a two story addition and all of it except for the stuccoing, and the concrete finishing was done by the two of us while I was also working full time at the City of Monterey as the City Engineer. Prior to moving to Monterey, we lived in Coos Bay, Oregon for a year and a half and prior to that, we lived in Santa Monica, Los Angeles and San Pedro where I worked as a Civil Engineer for the Cities of Coos Bay and Los Angeles.  Los Angeles is where I was raised and lived until 1986. I enjoy helping others and trying to improve the community in which we live.  And when not doing that, I keep busy, still working on the house but now primarily remodeling and making cabinetry.  Being around and in nature is always a focus of my life.  I served on the board of Directors of the Big Sur Land Trust and I’ve hiked many hundreds of miles throughout the Sierras when I was able to do so.  Monterey and its’ surrounds are certainly a temple of nature.