Del Monte Beach Neighborhood Association

Hi everyone, Spring greetings!​ Your voice matters in our neighborhood — and we need it now more than ever. This update covers several key issues and an important upcoming meeting. Please take a moment to read through.

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Neighborhood Meeting & Party

Date: Saturday, May 17

Time: 1–4 PM

Location: South end of Dunecrest

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We’ll have the taco truck back, and live music by our own neighborhood band — THE SEA DOGS. It’s a chance to connect, eat, and stay informed. At the start of the event, we’ll have a brief discussion on several important community issues. The Steering Committee wants your input.

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Here’s what’s on the agenda, listed from least to most urgent:

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1. Del Monte Beach Entrance/Exit Changes

The new setup doesn’t look great right now — but we’re told traffic signals will be regulated by a computer system that adjusts based on demand throughout the day.

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2. Fire Hydrant Safety

Fire hydrants are CalAm’s responsibility (a privately owned utility). They’re supposed to check 20% of hydrants citywide each year. So far, the city has no updates. Meanwhile, older homes on Dunecrest have recently flooded due to 60+ year-old pipes. Bottom line: our infrastructure is aging, and we can’t be sure hydrants would work in an emergency.

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3. The Big One — NCIP Representation

This affects our neighborhood’s voice and future funding.

Some background: Since 1985, voters approved that a portion of the Transient Occupancy Tax go toward neighborhood improvement projects. Each neighborhood gets a say through a designated NCIP (Neighborhood and Community Improvement Program) representative — who’s supposed to gather resident input on how that money gets spent.

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Right now, however, the Mayor appoints these reps without neighborhood involvement.

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What’s at stake:

• If this continues, Del Monte Beach residents lose our voice on how NCIP money is spent.

• There’s talk of reducing the number of Neighborhood Associations (NAs) from 15 to just 5 districts. That would group us with other areas like Laguna Grande, whose NA president has close ties to the Mayor. If that happens, our chances of receiving NCIP funds drop dramatically.

• Councilwoman Jean Rasch and Councilman Ed Smith are pushing for a fairer process: a two-person City Council committee that rotates annually and makes representative nominations to the full Council with community input.

 

We need your voice on this.

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Show up. Speak up. Let’s protect the power of our neighborhood to shape its future. The City Council is meeting May 6th to discuss Mayor

• Tyller Williamson twilliamson@monterey.gov

• Councilman Gino Garcia ggarcia@monterey.gov

• Councilwoman Jean Rasch rasch@monterey.gov

• Councilman Ed Smith smith@monterey.gov

• City Manager Hans Uslar uslar@monterey.gov

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Lastly, see PDF attached from Neighborhood Associations Presidents Meeting - please see B. Topic 2- Conduction of Interviewsand C. Topic 3- Proposal by Councilpersons Jean Rasch & Ed Smith)

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