President's Message - Winter 2014

Does the GVCA make a difference...to you? ...to the community?

I asked myself that as I sat down to write this letter to you. After attending countless city council meetings, community meetings, consultant meetings, reading staff reports to council and consultant reports, and writing letter after letter, I certainly hope we make a difference; after all, that’s our mission. Let’s look back over the years and see...

(For those of you who are not familiar with the GVCA or Green Valley Civic Association, we are a volunteer- based community organization formed in 1960 dedicated to improving the quality of life in north Poway.)

What would Poway look like without the GVCA? We would likely have sprawling high density housing, gas stations and 24-hour convenience stores in our rural neighborhood, military air flight paths overhead, a noisy traffic-congested concert amphitheater, water rates that penalized even the thriftiest users on large properties, cell towers on residential homes, Espola Road developed as a highway, and even an asphalt plant. Well, I’m glad those things did not happen. Our efforts on behalf of, and with the support of, Green Valley resident members thwarted these issues that presented a real threat to our quality of life here.

Has the GVCA been a good steward in the community? We make donations to Poway High School crisis counseling programs and “Grad Nite,” support Little League teams, provide college scholarship opportunities, donate to the Poway Parade, and lead trash cleanup projects with Boy Scouts. So I think we have succeeded; and GVCA is making a difference – a positive difference – that improves the quality of life in our community.

With that said, I feel OK with asking you to join the GVCA. 

Farewell to a friend of the City and GVCA

As you may know, Poway City Manager Penny Riley will be retiring effective January 2014. She will be missed. Penny started with the City as an Intern in the 1980s and served many years under Jim Bowersox,

the City’s long-serving first Manager. Penny shared many of Jim’s strengths, including the ability to appreciate the value of differing positions and how to forge consensus and compromise. Her talents have been part of the reason the City has enjoyed renewed prosperity and a period of relative tranquility despite the ever present efforts of the State to poach local government funds. Her efforts, as well as those of Assistant City Manager Tina White, are largely responsible for the success to date of the Revelopment Successor Oversight Board, in stark contrast to that experienced by other jurisdictions. This success will ultimately yield significant financial returns to our Community.

Penny and the GVCA had an excellent relationship, and we thank her for her always pleasant and candid demeanor. She set a high bar for future Poway City Managers with her obvious love for the City and managerial skill set. We wish her all the best for a well-deserved retirement.