By Shain Haug

The community’s plans to support the homeless veterans who are taking up residence at Zephyr (the old Motel 6 on Alvarado Canyon Road) and those who will soon move into Stella (the new development at Twain and Fairmont avenues) are reaching fruition.

On Feb. 11, the working group of a dozen or so folks from our churches, the neighborhood, local businesses, People Assisting The Homeless (PATH), and Affirmed Housing completed delivery of collected goods to Zephyr.

Even now, early in this venture, the community has offered a considerable supply of household goods in the form of 10 complete “Welcome Home” kits consisting of household goods. About 20 more can be completed, but still needed are basics such as toothpaste, soap, towels, bedsheets, personal hygiene items, kitchen utensils and the like to fill out those baskets. We will keep you advised of new drop-off times at the facility in this monthly article, in our newsletter, and on our website.

March town hall

Our intended speaker for our March town hall meeting was San Diego State University President Adele de la Torre, but she will be attending a meeting of the 23 California State University presidents on that day.

Our next town hall meeting will be on Tuesday, March 26, at 6:30 p.m. at Benjamin Library (at the corner of Zion Avenue and Glenroy Street).

Thanks to the quick work of Charles Cadwalader, the branch manager of the Homestreet Bank, we will offer a topic that will be most relevant to our Allied Gardens homeowners. Michael Fossler will discuss how reverse mortgages can be a smart and safe way to use home equity as a retirement asset. As a child, Fossler lived in Allied Gardens where he was a Little Leaguer and for 20 years he has resided in San Carlos. For over 25 years, he has worked in the field of mortgage banking. For the past 10 years, he has worked exclusively in reverse mortgages. He will address the town hall meeting on this subject with the same passion that guides his daily work, with a concern for the peace of mind and sense of security that a reverse mortgage can provide.

Quarry inquiry

My apologies for not keeping the community up to date regarding the Superior Readymix quarry, cement, and asphalt operations. As the AGGCC president, I am a de facto member of the working group that deals with the questions of pollution from the quarry and plant operations. This group meets twice a year and I got my first look at this matter a couple of months ago.

The blasting and quarry operations have not been the basis of much concern. The primary issue was dust from the cement and asphalt operations. Response to reports of pollution is the job of the city under the terms of a conditional use permit and is under the purview of the Air Pollution Control Board.

It appears to me that Superior is in full compliance with those requirements and that it even exceeds those requirements by a twice-daily sweeping of Mission Gorge. However, if anyone has heard about violations, I will follow up on your complaints with Superior and with the appropriate authorities.

SDSU campus plan

So far as the SDSU work on the stadium property is concerned, the environmental impact report process is underway and I think that Navajo Community Planners, Inc. (NCPI) has a handle on it. I have registered AGGCC with SDSU as subscriber of the SDSU newsletter that will cover the development. Upon your request, I will forward those bulletins to you. Let me know your concerns and I will present them to NCPI.

Board of directors

The AGGCC board of directors meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at Benjamin Library, at the corner of Zion Avenue and Glenroy Street. The next meeting after this publication will be on Tuesday, April 2. The public is welcome. Join our board and we will support your passions for the neighborhood. Our communities need you.

— Shain Haug is the president of the Allied Gardens Grantville Community Council. Reach him at [email protected]. For more information, visit aggccouncil.org.