Supervisor Jimmy Paulding: December Chamber Newsletter

Update from Supervisor Jimmy Paulding, District 4: Nipomo, Arroyo Grande, Oceano, Huasna, Edna Valley, California Valley, and unincorporated portions of San Luis Obispo

The holiday season is upon us! I hope you have been able to enjoy some of the wonderful holiday celebrations our local communities have organized. Last weekend’s Olde Town Nipomo Family Christmas event was better than ever. We are so fortunate to have such dedicated community members who volunteer to put together such a fantastic tree lighting ceremony and parade. A huge thank you to BStrongLife for organizing it!

For this month’s newsletter, I would like to share some highlights from our inaugural We Heart Nipomo event as well as a new supportive housing project in South County.

Lastly, mark your calendars: Our final Board of Supervisors meetings for the year will be held on December 5^th and 12^th. Our first meeting of 2024 will be on January 9, and you can find the complete 2024 meeting schedule here.

We ❤️ Nipomo was a huge success! Our first ever We ❤️ Nipomo event last month was a huge success thanks to the dozens of volunteers who showed up to help beautify the Nipomo Community Park. Special thanks to my wife, Kendra, for coordinating the event, and First Baptist Nipomo, Nipomo Action Committee, Nipomo Native Garden, ECOSLO, the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County, San Luis Obispo County Parks & Recreation, County of San Luis Obispo Public Libraries, Lucia Mar Unified School District, Caltrans District 5, and all of the other community partners who showed up!

Together, we were able to do the following at the Nipomo Community Park: Planted a native garden outside of Nipomo Branch Library, painted the picnic tables, maintained the Nipomo Native Garden and Caesar Chavez Native Garden, cleaned up the dog park, mulched around the newly planted oak trees and other areas, refreshed the mulch at the playgrounds, and landscaped at Lil Bits Preschool. This event was inspired by the annual We ❤️ AG event, and Kendra and I are currently working on organizing a “We ❤️ Oceano” event for next year.

Balay Ko on Barca supportive housing project has broken ground: Supervisor Ortiz-Legg and I had the pleasure of participating in the Five Cities Homeless Coalition's (5CHC) groundbreaking ceremony for their second cabins project this month. 5CHC’s first 20-cabin project, Cabins for Change, opened in December 2022 and boasts an 80% permanent housing success rate. On the eve of the upcoming one-year anniversary of Cabins for Change, 5CHC broke ground on their next 30-cabin project, Balay Ko on Barca. This partnership between the City, County, State officials, non-profit partners, and private investors is how we get people off the streets. Special thanks to 5CHC, the Balay Ko Foundation, City of Grover Beach, Dignity Moves, Gensler Architecture, and Tynan Group, Inc.

Interim County Administrative Officer terminated: After an investigation into improper conduct toward women, our Board voted last month to terminate the contract of our Interim County Administrator Officer (CAO) John Nilon effective immediately. The County has a zero-tolerance policy for any violations of our anti-discrimination and harassment policy. Assistant CAO Rebecca Campbell has taken over as Acting CAO until a permanent CAO has been hired.

Office hours: I welcome hearing from constituents. Please schedule an appointment by emailing district4@co.slo.ca.us or calling 805-781-4337. You can also sign up for my email newsletter and learn more about what’s going on in the district on the District 4 webpage at slocounty.ca.gov/district4.

Sincerely,
Jimmy Paulding
San Luis Obispo County
District 4 Supervisor