Mayor Martha Guererro gave the 2024 State of the City Address on June 25, listing dozens of successful city measures accomplished throughout the year, including housing, business, transportation and more upgrades. Photo by Angela Underwood

WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - West Sacramento’s State of the City address listed a litany of achievements, such as being home to a Major League Baseball team. 

Mayor Martha Guererro began her 2024 address on June 25 at an afternoon brunch in the City Hall Galleria, thanking the West Sacramento Chamber of Commerce for hosting the annual event "despite the challenge of the day with incredible grace and flawless execution."

After the mayor started with dozens of city goals met and ongoing, she began with the West Sacramento Community Academy, a 35-member resident group who attended a free seven-week course for citizen self-advocacy.

Next, the mayor detailed active projects for the fire and police department, saying, "Our goal to increase public safety has always included the safety of our first responders and improving the conditions they work under."

Next, the mayor detailed citywide fire and police station upgrades for all first responders who "are a critical component contributing to the overall health and safety of the community," which makes the "rest and reset" improvements long overdue.

The Public Works Department also received upgrades, including relocating the Municipal Corporation Yard Facility from its current location on South River Road to West Capitol Avenue, which is on the city’s western edge.

 It was a packed house at the State of the City Address, where Mayor Martha Guerrero drew constant applause noting citywide achievements. Photo courtesy of the City of West Sacramento

"With this state-of-the-art facility, public works teams will have the increased capacity to maintain city infrastructure and to respond to increasingly severe weather events that threaten the safety of residents," she said.

Speaking of threat, through a partnership with Sacramento Rebuilding Together, the West Sacramento Safe at Home program, seniors receive the free installation of safety supports such as grab bars, ramps, lighting and other necessities to feel secure.

Road improvements followed safety and quality of life, with the mayor saying conditions are a "deep frustration."

Guererro said the city's Neighborhood Pavement Preservation Program was created to preserve and maintain local residential roadways to extend their service life.

The mayor thanked Congresswoman Doris Matsui for her support, which helped secure $2.6 million in funding for the Sacramento Avenue Complete Street Plan, which will improve the safety, walkability, and aesthetics of Sacramento Avenue as a fitting gateway to the Bryte and Broderick neighborhoods.

"Again, we owe Congresswoman Matsui a deep gratitude for her advocacy and support of improving our levee system," Guererro said, noting more than $210 million for flood protection and levee maintenance helps secure the city against more commonplace, severe weather events.

Guererro's detailed list of parks and trail projects took up much of her speech, with one upgrade more successful than the next.

"The $7.8-million fully funded West Acre Park Project is currently in its final stages of concept design with construction set to begin this year," Guererro said, adding that a new skate park, sports infrastructure, and reflexology and meditation paths are in the future.

While the audience offered light applause for transportation measures, including the Enterprise Bridge Project and VIA Downtown Transit Expansion, the mayor's mention of the Oakland A's earned the loudest applause.  

"Now let's talk about the excitement we all feel for the upcoming 2025 baseball season and a Major League team moving in," she said. "The Athletics are excited to work with the River Cats and the A's to guarantee fans from all over the region a great time will be had in West Sacramento.

The A' relocation means more business with local stores "gearing up for an expected influx of fans from all over the region to help mine and explore new opportunities on the economic front."

According to Guererro, affordable housing will remain a top concern. The new Infill Impact Fee Reduction Program provides fee reductions for development projects that utilize the city's urban infill areas.

"Depending on the project specifics, reductions can go as high as 60% for residential projects and 44% for all other use types," Guererro said. "The fee reductions will launch as a three- to five-year pilot program to incentivize infill development."

After nearly 16 years of wading through economic downturn and recession, the Liberty Master-Plan Project will assist the community's most vulnerable senior residents with apartments, townhomes, and attached and detached homes. Additionally, the mayor was” thrilled to announce a new Comcast agreement” offering a fiber-rich network to West Sacramento.

"This will be a game-changing investment beginning with the Broderick and Bryte neighborhoods," Guererro said.

The mayor, citing a Bloomberg Philanthropies report, said the next generation of West Sacramento residents is key to the community.

"Up to 84% of youth around the globe are worried about the increasing impact of climate change," Guererro said. "As one of 100 mayors across the globe to receive the $50,000 micro-grant, we are partnering with Breath California to gather ideas to make the greatest impact."

Youth are also prioritized with the Home Run program and paid internships, noting the hundreds of applicants and 36 local businesses and organizations that requested interns for 2024. 

Guererro said that no success would have been possible without the "incredibly skilled, innovative and talented" city staff who helped make the council's dreams come true.

As for her peers, Guererro said, she greatly appreciates the council's "willingness to serve" and asked them to stand to be recognized. But most of all, the mayor said, it is the community that deserves recognition.

"Thank you most of all to the community for all you do to make West Sacramento a warm and welcoming place to live," Guererro said.

 West Sacramento Chamber of Commerce Denice Domke invites Mayor Martha Guererro up to the state for the State of the City Address June 25 at City Hall Galleria. Photo by Angela Underwood