Imperial Beach appoints Mitch McKay as mayor
In a 3-1 vote, the Imperial Beach City Council on Aug. 6 appointed former Councilmember Mitch McKay as the city’s new mayor. The mayoral vacancy arose in July after Paloma Aguirre, who formerly held the position, was elected as the District 1 Supervisor for San Diego County.
Aguirre has been a long advocate for the ongoing Tijuana sewage crisis, which has had the greatest impact on Imperial Beach, which at one point, clocked 1,000 consecutive days of beach closures. McKay also has a background on the matter, having served a three-year term on the US International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) Citizen Forum Board.
McKay will serve the remaining 15 months of the term before the next mayoral election is held. McKay was elected to the IB City Council in 2022 after serving on the city’s Design Review Board and Sediment Management Working Group.
The appointment created a vacancy on the council, which will be filled by appointment or special election.
New rules for single-use plastics begin September 16
Starting in September, the city’s new rules for single-use plastics are open for enforcement.
The change will ban the following: single-use carryout bags at grocery stores, retail stores, and food establishments; polystyrene foam take-out containers for food vendors and at city-affiliated events; and single-use utensils (with recyclable or compostable utensils available upon request only). Recyclable paper carry-out bags will be permitted, with a minimum charge of $0.10, in accordance with state law.
The council also approved requiring that food establishments allow customers to bring their own reusable cups and utensils and banned the sale and intentional release of lighter-than-air balloons.
Further, single-use plastic, bottled beverages will not be distributed at city facilities or events. These regulations can be lifted during emergency situations – if, for example, the city needed to distribute water to residents during a natural disaster.
In February, the Coronado City Council approved the new rules for single-use plastics for businesses and city events. A new ordinance outlining these rules took effect in March, with a 180-day transition period that ends Sept. 16.
Parker Pump Station update
The city has installed sewer and storm water pumps for the new Parker Pump Station, which, when complete, will improve operational efficiency at the station and reduce residential flooding and pollution to the ocean. It will also add about 6,000 square feet of publicly accessible green space.
The $26 million project broke ground in Jan. 2023, and was originally projected to take a year, although its timeline is weather dependent. Most notably, in Jan. 2024, the city poured concrete at the pump station. Three days later, a large storm hit Coronado, causing widespread flooding that, ironically, the new pump station would have helped to mitigate. The newly poured concrete did not have time to cure, so the city had to scramble to adjust.
Now that the pumps have been installed, discharge piping will be installed over the next several weeks. Currently, the project’s website estimates the pump station’s completion during the summer of 2025.
