January 30, 2012

In Saturday’s Merced Sun-Star the editorial titled, “Merced, take a lesson from Patterson,” was misleading. The editorial mentions that, “Sun-Star reporters would be thrilled to report on some move by the council or individual members to take a clear vocal stand on simplifying rules, regs and red tape cited by so many would-be entrepreneurs as deterrents in this city.” The truth is in the last 6 months there have been 25 new businesses open in the downtown area. They represent a wide array of products and services that are beneficial to the vitality of our downtown. As a council both the previous one and the current one we have worked to streamline the planning process by asking the planning department to think of a way that plans can be submitted in a more efficient manner. They heard us loud and clear and devised a system where plans can now be submitted electronically allowing for the plans to be checked quicker than if they were submitted through the old process. Planning staff has informed me that they are getting plans out sometimes as quick as 24-48 hours but no longer than 10 days. This council has also approved 3 different zone changes to allow for the development to take place in the north part of town next to the hospital. We have approved a bank, a hotel, a pharmacy, and a restaurant. We approved the zone change by the new high school to allow the developer to set-up a neighborhood commercial zone and a planned development to better serve the high school. We passed our general plan that will allow city staff to focus their attention on how to lower development impact fees which will attract builders into our community.

Of course this isn’t all we have done just highlights. I cannot speak for the other members of the council but I am confident that with our direction staff is pursuing economic development as a main priority for our community. We are working hard to encourage and welcome businesses who want to come to Merced because they recognize that we are a community that has enormous potential. It is now our responsibility as a community to spend our money in these local businesses. This is the one thing that you can do to help our community and these entrepreneurs who have taken a risk and opened their doors. The more we as a community spend money here we are showing other entrepreneurs and businesses that this is a place where they want to be.

Josh Pedrozo

October 18, 2011

On Monday night at the Merced City Council meeting my colleagues and I discussed what we believed would be the best growth plan for the city. After much debate about the size and scope of the plan it was decided to go with a smaller footprint taking out projects that during this time are not economically feasible and what I believe would not be feasible in 20 years. Because of some misinformation we weren’t able to pass the General Plan but were successful in certifying the EIR for the project. This was a huge step in the right direction as we decided that the work of staff in answering questions from the public and addressing specific environmental concerns from the community was adequate and done to the best of their professional abilities.

We weren't able to pass the General Plan, because we have not reached consensus as a group regarding the specifics of the document. We have listened to those people in the community who have voiced their concerns about the size of our future footprint and decided that what they were saying were valid concerns. We adjusted the size and scope of the plan based on the issues that were brought forth by the Merced County Farm Bureau, The Raptor society, and other citizens who were concerned about the over burdening of our infrastructure, the availability of natural resources, and the impacts to our air quality. But if we shrink our box even further, as some members of the council are proposing, we are losing faith in the city ever getting back to prosperity.

This amounts to us saying that we don’t think Merced will grow at all in the next 20 years and I don’t believe that to be the case. Yes we have been hit hard by the worldwide recession, but we cannot set our course for the future based on the economic realities of today. Twenty years is a long time. We need to be reasonable and proactive in setting a course for where and how we would like the city to develop.

This is our city. We are all a part of this and we need to understand that although times are tough they won’t always be.

Josh Pedrozo

September 12, 2011

At our last city council meeting we discussed extending the reduction of development impact fees that was passed last November. I feel this is a proactive approach in continuing to improve and encourage business development in Merced. Hopefully with the extension of these reductions we will start to see some growth and building in our community. Unfortunately for the first year that these fees were reduced the city saw little action. Not because the city wasn't trying but because of the national, state and valley economic malaise that we are still enduring. It is unfortunate that although we as a council and city have worked very hard to attract and retain business it has been difficult, due to fears of what is happening in the economy. As an optomist, I have to I believe that more actions like this will make our city more attractive to businesses.

We were also given an update on the proposed Wal-Mart distribution center which will bring 1,200 jobs to the city of Merced. Currently it is still in court precedings and we should have an answer by next May. I am confident that the judge who is hearing the case will side with the city and allow this much needed job creator to open up shop here in Merced.

This is all for now, remember for further information you can contact me through email at pedrozocampaign@gmail.com and don't forget to tune into 1480 KYOS every other Saturday morning at 6 to hear me discuss what we are working on in the city. Quick reminder Brats and Beer is this Thursday. Email or call if you would like tickets or further information.

Josh Pedrozo

August 17, 2011

On Monday night at the Merced City Council meeting we discussed a Just Cause for Eviction notice to protect tenants in homes that have been foreclosed upon. The issue at hand was when owners of a rental unit go into foreclosure, as so many in our community have done, the banks are allowed under current law to evict a tenant in good standing. This is unfortunate. To no fault of a seemingly honest, rent paying tenant who follows the rules of the lease can be kicked out because of a terrible misfortune on behalf of the bank who now owns the property.

I was honestly torn on this issue because of the many unknowns. Who is legally responsible if something happens at the house? Have there been any instances when banks have tried to challenge ordinances like this in other communities? The answers are complicated but in short, the bank is responsible and cases like this that have been challenged in court have been in favor of the tenants and not the banks. There is sufficient case law that protects the tenants in these cases. Merced was hit so hard by foreclosures because of the faults of many people, but I have to believe that the banks are also responsible for some of their predatory lending practices. This is a proactive approach by the city to protect our residents here in town.

We also discussed during a study session what the design of a High Speed Rail station in Merced would look like and the impacts it would have on the city. Yes, there are some businesses that would be affected but they would be compensated for their troubles by the California High Speed Rail Authority. A project of this magnitude would be amazing for our community and would make Merced an even brighter spot in our Central Valley.

Please place on your calendar September 15, 2011 my 2nd Annual Brats and Beer fundraiser at the Merced Fruit Barn from 5:30-7:30. Contact me at 777-9598 or Pat Bauer at 777-5122 for tickets.

Josh Pedrozo

August 1, 2011

Tonight at our council meeting quite a lot was accomplished. Most important being the return of the Downtown Summerfest. This is a great event that brings the community together and highlights our downtown area. Much of which was paid for through Redevelopment. Now that is in jeopardy. The state in its infinite wisdom has decided to take $3.29 million from the city's redevelopment agency. Redevelopment is an economic tool used by local governments to fix dillapitated buildings and encourage development in certain areas within the city. It is the only ecomonic development power that local governments can utilize to encourage growth. This is unfortunate. There are quite a few projects in Merced that have benefitted from this money, as well as people who have been employed through these projects.

Also kudos to city staff for the informative report on the capital improvement projects going on in the city. Yes traffic has been unfortunate but when all of these projects are complete you will be even more proud of this city. Feel free to contact me with any questions, comments or concerns. I work for you so let me know.

Josh Pedrozo

September 2010

Hello friends. I wanted to let you know what we are working on to move Merced forward. Unfortunately we are in unchartered waters in regards to the budget mess that we currently find ourselves in. We are still unaware of what to expect from the state but know it isn’t going to be pretty. Here in Merced our current revenues aren’t going to sustain us for long and for that reason we are putting a sales tax measure on an upcoming ballot. The reason is we cannot continue to provide the services that our residents want without additional income.

In a down-turned economy, people spend less money; therefore there is less sales tax revenue. The number of residents remains the same, the need for public safety services remains the same and there is just not enough money the keep services at their current levels.

These are difficult times with hard choices. We must make the decision on whether or not we value the public safety, and all of the things attributed at helping keep our public safe a big one of which is Parks and Recreation in our community.

We have continued to see a decline in crime but that is because of the proactive approach that our fine police and fire men and women have taken, and the programs that are parks and recreation department has provided for us.

Without more revenue, we will have to reduce personnel in public safety and cut programs that so many of are youth participate in. These are not "scare tactics" but a sober assessment of the realities we face.

Lastly, I want to assure everyone we have listened to the members of the community, employees and the hard-working staff at the city to their opinions and suggestions on how to save money.

I cannot speak for the rest of the council, but I can speak for myself when I say I do not take these suggestions, comments or concerns lightly, and in fact I encourage them.

On a lighter note, I am extremely excited about the ongoing construction of the Merced Theater and believe this will be a beacon for people to come to downtown Merced, where we are continuing to see a revitalization of business. Our development staff in the city is working extremely hard to attract more businesses to the community and coming up with creative ways to spend our redevelopment money that the state has threatened to take away.

I look forward to working with you as we work together to maintain the quality of life that we find so special in Merced.

Josh Pedrozo