At meet and greet, Rios shares plan for Norwalk
Mayor Margarita Rios listens as Norwalk community members express their thoughts on developments in the city during her first meet-the-mayor event Monday. (Photo by Vincent Medina)
NORWALK – Mayor Margarita Rios met with Norwalk residents to hear their concerns and to express her priorities as mayor during her first meet-the-mayor event at the social services center Monday evening.
Rios explained to the audience of over 40 community members and city officials her top three priorities this year are health and wellness, public safety and improving city parks. Receiving funding for park renovations was one of her achievements during her first term as mayor in 2019.
“We haven’t done enough for city parks, and they’re long overdue for some renovations, new playgrounds and green space,” Rios said. “At Norwalk Park, there are different components that need to be addressed, so I asked to break it down and tackle the pieces we can starting with the playground.”
The mayor expects the city council to hear a park renovation and improvement update presentation in March.
Rios said she is working with the public safety department and city manager to resolve the issue of unhoused people in the community, noting the development of the Mercy Housing Veterans Villas at San Antonio Drive.
Construction on the 60 home affordable housing development for veterans and their families is expected to finish construction later this fall.
“Other cities are not doing anything close to what we’ve got with Mercy Housing, where we’re going to provide permanent housing for our veterans,” Rios said. “They deserve the best and what we’re doing at Mercy Housing, giving them permanent housing, especially those suffering from housing insecurity.”
Connie Garcia runs the Joyful Little Learners daycare in Norwalk, And said she has seen the effectiveness of the Public Safety HOPE Team.
“It’s good to see the city’s actually taking action to clean up the streets,” Garcia said. “We’ve noticed it’s fairly clean in the neighborhood for business and also the unhoused are assisted when they are in the area.”
Mayor Rios also listened as residents expressed what they wanted addressed in the city.
While the majority of attendees, like Leticia Tan, had positive comments for Rios and the city council, a frequent critique were the potholes and city infrastructure. Tan was specific, noting the potholes along Jersey Avenue and Van Ruiten Street.
“The potholes around the city, especially along my street on Jersey Avenue and Van Ruiten Street, also along Brimley Street there’s a lot of deep potholes,” Tan explained. “I have an old car and I cannot afford to buy a new car so I have to protect my tires and my bumpers.”
Rios expressed the city is working to fill potholes and repair city infrastructure in sections. By adopting three areas in the city, public services will make street improvements to those neighborhoods and move through Norwalk.
The mayor also noted the weather plays a factor, as Southern California saw a massive amount of rain over the past weeks.
Rios expressed excitement for the upcoming projects and developments this year as the Norwalk Entertainment District - Civic Center is expected to break ground for the city hall lawn construction in late summer. Also the Heart of Norwalk Project is moving forward to develop areas of the city and include commercial and residential space.
“Those are just three of my goals to give the community an idea of what will develop this year,” Rios said. “There’s so much potential here in the city of Norwalk and we’re doing a lot of great things.”