SUISUN CITY — Suisun City Mayor Lori Wilson says Covid-19 has impacted everyone and the way they do things.
With a view toward an uncertain future, Suisun City is still looking out for the health of the people in the community and hopes to see growth in the last areas of land open in town, Wilson said.
Construction on a second hotel is nearing completion, which the city hopes will bring in more tourism.
“This is going to be great because we will feed off the proximity to Napa,” Wilson said. “More people will want to stay here because we are close to them.”
The 57,000-square-foot Holiday Inn Express hotel will have four stories and hold 83 rooms for visitors.
It will also include two meeting rooms, an indoor pool, a catering kitchen and a fitness center.
The next project is an ambitious multifamily housing project planned for vacant land that once housed a water treatment plant near the south end of Civic Center Boulevard. The project is currently in the final stages.
Covid-19 has made work a very different experience for many people, who have found themselves housebound for work instead of commuting.
“People have adjusted to how they do things, grocery stores become more important,” Wilson said. “This shifts opportunities because people want to be closer to things.”
The empty lot behind the post office is also another site where more housing is planned for development.
“We should see that sometime in 2021,” Wilson said.
On the less-than-great side of things, “We are facing a budget crisis of $2 million,” she said.
Wilson is looking forward to seeing the completion of housing projects, which should help the community see more tax revenue, which would help the situation. Suisun City will be doing some cost cutting efforts in the next few months to help the city save money.
The town, with a population of nearly 30,000, is also getting the fiscal and shopping benefits of the Walmart off Highway 12 that opened a few years ago.
An alliance of local and regional performing arts groups now offer performances at the Harbor Theatre on Main Street and the historic train depot recently wrapped up its face-lift.
Suisun City is also home to the Kroc Center, which is operated by The Salvation Army, a history museum and a bevy of live outdoor entertainment during a typical summer.
Rush Ranch is a favorite spot for many who enjoy hiking the trails through meadows and green pastures. This beautiful spot is owned by the Solano Land Trust and was purchased in 1988.
The ranch runs along the northeast edge of the Suisun Marsh, stretching across 2,070 acres of marsh and rolling grassland. It provides recreational and educational opportunities to thousands of visitors each year.
The ranch, with its historical buildings and self-guided trails, is located approximately 2 miles south of Highway 12 on Grizzly Island Road.
The city dates back to 1850 when Josiah Wing, a schooner captain, found an island in the Suisun Marsh and built a wharf and warehouse there. It soon became the major agriculture shipping point for the farms and orchards in the Suisun Valley and Green Valley areas.
A train depot was built. Suisun City was bustling with several hotels along Main Street.
Fairfield was the smaller of the two towns. That changed with World War II, the construction of what’s now Travis Air Force Base and Interstate 80. Suisun City’s growth tapered off.
Tough years followed. In the early 1980s, a survey of San Francisco Bay Area communities called the town the least attractive place to live in the area, which spurred then-Mayor Jim Spering to take on an ambitious redevelopment effort.
Waterfront properties were redeveloped and the crime-ridden Crescent neighborhood was razed and replaced with a Victorian-style development. Improvements continued with the construction of a senior center, community center and library.
Suisun City’s new face earned it accolades such as Sactown magazine’s description of it as “a sweet and delightfully surprising vacation spot.”
Its downtown is still a work in progress with a good population of restaurants, small businesses and a marina.
The city typically hosts many events, including Christmas on the Waterfront and Fourth of July fireworks. During the summer, there are typically free movies on Saturday nights and jazz concerts Sunday afternoons.
Suisun City has long considered itself a recreation destination for fishermen and hunters going to the Suisun Marsh as well as paddle boarders and kayakers.
“We are looking at doing a drive-in movie night with boats,” Wilson said. “This way people can be entertained but practice social distancing.”
One of its best-kept secrets may be the Suisun Wildlife Center, which is home to a variety of wildlife. They experienced a fire earlier this year and are currently rebuilding but continue to provide medical help and rehabilitation for wild animals.
The 2010 census estimated Suisun City’s population at 29,492. About 38% of its residents are white, 24% Latino, 20% Black and 19% Asian. Its median household income is about $71,306.
Suisun City at a glance
- City Hall: 701 Civic Center Blvd.
- Website: www.suisun.com
- City manager: Greg Folsom
- Mayor: Lori Wilson. Elected 2018, term expires 2022. Reach at [email protected]
- Mayor Pro Tem: Wanda Williams, Elected 2018, term expires 2022. Reach at [email protected]
- Councilman: Anthony Adams. Elected 2018, term expires 2020. Reach at [email protected]
- Councilwoman: Jane Day. Elected 1986, term expires 2022. Reach at [email protected]
- Councilman: Mike Segala. Elected 1992, term expires 2020. Reach at [email protected]
On July 15th the Daily Republic stated “The city, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, faced a structural deficit of about $5 million.”
And now they’ve cut it to $2 million. Still more work to be done, but we’re getting there. Unfortunately, Segala and Day killed the effort to let voters decide if they would like to add a 3/4 cent sales tax to help retain vital services. Hopefully voters remember that in two years.
That budget is with no Christmas, no santa Claus no preschool, no day care, no after school programs, No training, No 4th of July, no repairs on streets, no building maintenance, and no youth camp. They are not paying for software support or maintenance, They are eliminating 5 police officers, they are eliminating 2 CSO officers, the are eliminating all dues to organizations, Public works positions, Fire Department training, and facilities repairs. They are gutting the city. Did I mention there are zero resereves?