San Diego elected officials gathered at Oak Park Library on Thursday to tout over $68 million in state funding to support city infrastructure projects.
The largest of those allocations is $20 million to support the design and construction of a new Oak Park Library, long on the community's wish list.
As the summer campaign season starts to heat up, Mayor Todd Gloria was eager to congratulate San Diego's state representatives for securing the funding.
"There are so many competing needs in our community — too many for our local governments and our strapped budgets," Gloria said. "And that's why it's so critical that we have effective representation in the state capital to help us get these projects done for the people and our communities."
This year's state budget featured a record $97 billion surplus. State Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins said that shows California's system of progressive taxation is working.
"The wealthy pay their share, making record amounts of funding available," Atkins said. "The state's fiscal health made it possible for us to provide transformational investments in critical programs across the state."
City projects receiving state funding include:
- Ward Canyon Park expansion, Normal Heights — $8 million
- Villa Montezuma museum restoration, Sherman Heights — $5 million
- Ocean Beach Library expansion — $4.5 million
- Clay Park improvements, Rolando Village — $4 million
- Olive Grove Community Park upgrades, Clairemont Mesa — $3 million
- South Clairemont Community Park recreation center upgrades — $2 million
- Martin Luther King Jr. Swimming Pool upgrade, Encanto — $2 million
- Camino de la Costa Viewpoint coastal access projects, La Jolla — $2 million
- University City Library expansion — $1.9 million
Apart from city projects, the largest state earmark for the San Diego region was $300 million to improve the rail corridor that links San Diego to Los Angeles.
