Candidate Q&A: Christie Cromeenes for Salinas City Council.

As part of the 2022 election season, the Weekly asked candidates for several offices to answer questions about some of the issues by email. incumbent Christie Cromeenes is running for District 5 on Salinas City Council, against challenger Andrew Sandoval.  

What are the biggest issues facing Salinas in the next four years, and why are you the best candidate to address them?

Our biggest issue is housing and the next is housing, you get where I am going with this. We need all forms of housing in the city, affordable, workforce and some market rate. This is where the affordable by design concept really grows legs.

With that said, to house our growing population, we have to start having real conversations about our water treatment plant. It is old and at capacity, while we have some ARPA funding for fixes, we need a complete overhaul. It isn’t a pretty subject, but when I went to Washington, D.C. in March, I had that very conversation with water specialist there. I was told that funding will not come without a well laid plan. I want to work on that plan. It is not responsible of us to work on building more and not have the infrastructure to support the growth.

Lastly, we have to work to fill our vacancies. The large box store concept is outdated. How do we revitalize those building with vibrant businesses to sustain a well rounded Salinas? I want to work with our new Economic Development Director to find solutions. New legislation has opened doors for mixed uses that appeal to many of us. I'm excited to work on this project.

How often do you currently attend City Council meetings? Do you think the current council is effective?

Every meeting, I am the sitting council member. I have not missed a meeting since I had breast cancer in 2019.

The Downtown Vibrancy Plan has been years in the making and it is no longer just on paper, but you can see the changes in the streetscape and the neighborhood. Do you think the city did a good job on implementing this plan? What could have been done better?

If I had been on Council at the time I may have voted no, but boy does it look nice and I have to say it has had a profound affect on the city. People are coming from all around to our events and to shop and dine in our downtown.

The first time I knew we did a good job, I was sitting outside dinning with my husband and several students from Alisal High pulled up in cap and gowns to take graduation pictures under the Salinas arch. They had pride in their city and I had pride in them.

With the Alisal Vibrancy Plan also in the works, are there any lessons learned you would apply? What do you hope and believe is a realistic timeline to see that plan begin to really take effect now that SVSWA has closed the Sun Street Transfer Station?

I am extremely proud to say that we no longer have a dump in the middle of our city. I was happy to take over as VP of SVSWA upon Gloria De La Rosa’s departure and carry this issue for her district. We already have developers who have voiced interest and I am confident that the city can move the Alisal Vibrancy Plan forward expeditiously. We have full support from all the Council on this. The new Police Services Facility was only the beginning of an Alisal that will be a work of art for the whole community.

Salinas, like all local cities, is facing an ambitious housing creation target. The city still has a RHNA obligation to zone for 6,674 new housing units by 2031. What are you going to do to help the city achieve that RHNA number, and to advance affordable housing units specifically?

If you added up all the different funding sources were are devoting to affordable housing and homelessness it is well over $15 million. This is a huge priority for me and for the entire council.

As for the RHNA numbers, we have housing avenues set in the future growth areas that just need to be started. It is time for all parties to put away differences and work together to build a Salinas that can house our population. We need to streamline our permit process and look for infill and mixed use opportunities to build more units. As someone who has worked in and around the industry for over 25 years, I have lots of ideas and avenues to move the ball down the field.

In terms of economic development, do you believe Salinas should pursue any particular direction? Is there more opportunity in ag tech? Would you like to see an Amazon warehouse, for example?

I think the people spoke when it cam to Amazon. Although all opportunities for tax revenue should always be looked at, the people should always have the final say.

I think if Salinas is going to continue to be an ag town, we need to grow with technology and this again means we need to address our water treatment facility. If we want to expand the ag community we need to be able to address commercial water treatment. Sitting on the Monterey One Water board I have learned a lot about water treatment and how our agencies can work together but ultimately Salinas has issues it needs to address on its own.

What should Salinas do about homelessness? What are your plans to address this issue?

Interesting question—What should California do about homelessness? What should our federal government do about homelessness? This is not a unique problem to Salinas or Monterey County for that matter. I know that Salinas has done an abundance of things to help address homelessness and help the unhoused in Monterey County. Having traveled to different cities and talked with other elected officials, Salinas has done an amazing job at helping people with shelter, services, food, and rapid rehousing. During my time as mayor in 2020 [a role Cromeenes filled between the death of former Mayor Joe Gunter and the election and swearing in of Mayor Kimbley Craig], I worked quite a bit in this realm and have seen first-hand how dedicated our staff is, how hard they work and how much they care. This is a humanity issue that a city government is being asked to solve. We as a people need to take care of our people.

Do you think the police department is adequately funded, under-funded or is its budget bloated? What kind of changes would you like to make, if any, to city-police department relations?

Our current police issue is not one of funding but rather, one of being short staffed. In our current political climate, it is not very popular to become a police officer. Recruitment is difficult and retention hard. If we were to become fulling staffed, we would need additional funding to maintain the department. As with all of us, costs continue to rise and the police budget includes gas, PG&E, supplies, etc. Those costs have grown by leaps and bounds in the last year.

I think our chief is doing an amazing job with the department and the community. More than ever before, I feel the community policing approach is making a huge difference. These men and women work had and put their lives on the line for us, we should appreciate them and have the opportunity to tell them so.

Do you believe Salinas used its $54 million in ARPA funds effectively? What would you have changed, if anything, about the allocation and process for determining how to allocate those funds?

Well we still haven’t spent it all, so let's get the money out the door. I did like the process—even though I may have liked more to go to cleaning up our city, it was a fair process. I think the public does not realize that to keep a city clean you have to clean it. Clean-ups are not just about picking up homeless encampments. For me, clean-ups are about the sofa left on the sidewalk or all the trash in the city park, I could go on.

Do you realize that there are areas in our city that are picked up weekly that people illegally dump at? It takes money to keep a city clean.

What should the city’s role be in pursuing regional water solutions?

I think as the largest city in the region we have a huge role to play in pursuing regional water solutions. It takes a village and we need to be at the table as part of that village to plan for a future where everyone has enough water to house our population.

Do you think the city is doing enough to offer recreational opportunities and green space? Are there additional steps the city should take to increase or improve parkland?

Great question! I LOVE PARKS! Not only are parks needed with the over crowding in our neighborhoods but good parks increase your property values, give our children places to play and give me a place to walk my dog.

Part of my push on council has been for the park master plan, which is now done. We have devoted $2 million to parks for repairs but that is not nearly enough. Far too long, our parks have been the first thing on the chopping block when we have hard times. NO MORE! Open space is important to the community and the environment. Don’t ask a developer to put in parks that you as a city will not maintain.

I am excited for the Carr Lake park and will be working to do whatever I can to move that forward along with finding more money to continue to improve our city park system.

Please rate the performance of the city manager, the city attorney and the police chief. 

Rate? Okay, our city manager is doing a good job, he is hard-working and personable I would rate him an 8. Nothing against Mr. Carrigan, he just needs some more Salinas time under his belt.

Our city attorney is a rockstar, and I would rate him a 10. As for the chief, he is doing an amazing job I would give him a 10 as well. 

Who else are you supporting for City Council? For mayor?

I am supporting Kimbley Craig for mayor and Steve McShane for City Council [District 3].