Say simply thank you to everyone involved in this particular project.

Uh, this is only the uh uh the latest.

We'll be back before too much longer on Byer Park, um, another federal funded project.

Um Felipe, I'm taking it to everything because if everyone always says yes to you, I'm bringing you in every negotiation going forward.

But the point is more and more people are saying yes to San Ysidro, yes to Ota Mesa, yes to South San Diego, and we are a better city because of it.

So let's cut this ribbon.

Let's get these kids on these on these uh uh playsets uh and let's continue to celebrate a better San Esidro for everybody.

Thank you all very much for being here this morning.

Three, two, one.

Hey.

Today we're here to celebrate the reopening of the Colonel Irving Solomon San You Sidro Community Activity Center.

This has become the heart of this neighborhood, and that's why today's reopening is so meaningful.

And thanks to the improvements to the recreation center, the playground, and the parking lot.

This facility is ready to once again serve the families of San Isidro.

This 5.8 million dollar investment reflects our commitment to ensuring that every neighborhood has access to safe, modern, and welcoming public spaces.

So, really, it was an honor to be able to secure this money.

There are tough budget times in Washington, there's no doubt about that.

We were able to get this four million dollars because this had to get done.

For years we thought we were the forgotten corner of San Diego because we are in the corner by the border in the beach.

And then um, this project came about.

You look around, and it is top of the line.

It's as good as any other project in the entire county.

So I want to start by thanking our park and recreation department and our engineering and capital improvements department, uh, these two departments working together to deliver this high quality project uh for the community.

Round of applause for all of our construction workers, engineers, designers, permitters.

It takes a village to do a community project.

This project demonstrates what we can accomplish when local and federal governments work together to deliver for our communities and their residents.

Hello everybody and welcome to Olive Grove Park.

We're doing a ribbon cutting today, and you'll see why.

And you probably already know it was a mess and it needed to be helped, so we fixed it up.

Thanks for joining us today.

And after nearly two years of construction, this park will now be back in service for the residents of Claremont and everybody else in the city who comes to use it and in the county and all our tourists and visitors.

So I want to start today by thanking everyone who was involved in getting to this point today, the staff from the city's park and rec department, especially engineering and capital projects department, and the engineers, the contractors, the construction workers who brought this vision to life.

This park is very popular, used by many San Diegans and visitors, and so it was first built in 1970.

So it's been here a long time, but it was last updated in 1998.

That was a long time ago now, almost 30 years ago.

Oh my gosh.

So this was a very big project for the city to undertake.

The improvements made here include paved walkways, renovated restroom facilities, to make the park more ADA compliant, as well as to bring it up to date and more modern.

In addition, there is a new playground, new grass fields, and resurfaced basketball courts and the parking lot.

Thank you.

This park has had incredible support from the Claremont community as well.

And we are joined today by the president of the Claremont Town Council, Carrie Munson, and members of her board are here also with her who supported this project in its final stages, and all the previous board chairs and members of the Claremont Town Council that have supported this, and we appreciate it.

They have hundreds and hundreds of members, so if you're not a member yet, you gotta join.

And finally, I'm so grateful to each and every member of our community who's waited so patiently for this to be completed.

I know how popular this park is, and today's ribbon cutting signifies the completion of all the remaining construction and the full reopening of the new and improved Olive Grove Community Park.

After we cut the ribbon, the park will be enjoyed by neighbors and residents and visitors who will use this space and give it the love it deserves.

And now I'd like to introduce our wonderful director of the park and rec department who is responsible for so much, including over 620 parks in our city, Andy Field.

Thank you.

With the renovations of the field off here to the right, the new play area that's directly behind me, upgrades for accessibility for our restroom, and this new plaza area that we're standing in here today are among the many improvements that you see here in Olive Grove Park.

A shout out to our city parks and recreation and engineering capital projects department team members that have joined us here today.

With the accessibility improvements that you see around the park today, we anticipate that the usage will increase.

Uh to our council member for giving a plug to our organization.

We meet on the first Thursday of the month at the Kathy Hopper Senior Center.

So we'd love to have you come by at 6 p.m.

and learn about things happening in Claremont.

So it seems like just yesterday we were here for the groundbreaking at this park.

It was two years ago, but it seemed like yesterday.

Um it's just beautiful.

The playground is is so beautiful.

The pl the courtyard, the the the fields.