Guest commentary: It’s already been a busy year for La Jolla MAD

January was an eventful month for the La Jolla Maintenance Assessment District with landscaping projects.

Tree wells on the south side of Silverado Street between Bishops Lane and Girard Avenue were augmented with the addition of river rock.

On Pearl Street, two of the jacaranda trees planted by the MAD in partnership with the Village Garden Club of La Jolla in December 2020 were replaced per the lifetime warranty negotiated with Armstrong Garden Centers. Despite best watering and fertilizing efforts, one tree in front of El Pescador Fish Market and another at the intersection of Pearl Street and La Jolla Boulevard were removed and replaced.

The next event on the horizon is Enhance La Jolla Day 2022, scheduled for Saturday, April 23. The Enhance La Jolla board is working with other La Jolla community groups to finalize details. The event will be at the newly renovated Museum of Contemporary Art on Prospect Street and will feature a community-friendly focus on art and butterflies.

An important objective of this event will be to ensure that maintenance, janitorial and landscaping activities executed by the MAD continue to improve neighborhood aesthetics and bolster civic partnerships.

One recent community partnership was the painting of several SDG&E utility boxes in front of Torrey Pines Elementary School. Though the school is outside the boundaries of the MAD, the school’s art teacher contacted Enhance La Jolla in hopes of expediting coordination and permission from SDG&E to have students beautify the boxes with floral and aquatic themes. Coordination with SDG&E facilitated by the MAD helped expedite the project, which was completed within weeks.

Enhance La Jolla leadership is now considering a similar project to improve the appearance of utility boxes in the district. Rusty boxes will be replaced by SDG&E, and the artistic enhancements will enlist the support of students from local schools.

During the most recent Enhance La Jolla board meeting held online Jan. 20, it was announced that the MAD budget is being prepared for 2023 with no tax increase for residential and commercial parcels within the district.

The board welcomed new directors Steve Warfield and Julie Dubick. Each will serve a three-year term.

Lastly, board Chairman Ed Witt reviewed 2021 with the following accomplishments:

• Three miles of newly landscaped tree wells throughout the district

• 26 abandoned newsstands removed from sidewalks along Girard Avenue, Prospect Street, Fay Avenue and Wall Street

• 21 repainted streetlights along Girard and Herschel avenues

• 18 repainted SDG&E utility boxes

• 41 public trash receptacles in the district emptied seven days a week

• 24 hours of sidewalk pressure-washing performed weekly

If you see an issue needing attention in the district, please call Enhance La Jolla at (858) 444-5892 or email manager@enhancelajolla.org.

Mary Montgomery is district manager for the La Jolla Maintenance Assessment District. ◆