1/14/2025 - 10:00 AM

MISSION: We seek to provide timely, informative updates on regional topics relevant to our members.

Recap:

City of Monterey

• The City of Monterey sent a fire engine with four personnel on Tuesday, January 7 to Los Angeles and then sent a second fire engine with four additional personnel on Thursday, January 9
• All remaining fire equipment in the City of Monterey is 100% operational. Fire personnel in Los Angeles report difficulties with water pressure, as the hydrant system is designed to respond to a few structure fires at once, not 200-300 structures at once
• Residents are contacting the City of Monterey with concerns about the city’s own readiness for fires and the difficulties in obtaining home insurance
• The city’s fire chief will make a statement today in response to these concerns, and the city will hold a community meeting to listen to residents
• In the City of Monterey, California American Water Company (Cal Am) handles hydrant maintenance
• The City of Monterey reports another power outage with a duration of over 48 hours that occurred over the past weekend in the Glenwood Circle area
• More than 500 residents lost power, including residents at an assisted living facility. This is the fourth power outage in the City of Monterey in less than 30 days, and it was caused and sustained by a series of equipment failures
• The fiscal situation in the City of Monterey remains stable, with revenues generally coming in as expected. The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am later this month is expected to give a boost to transient occupancy tax (TOT) revenue and sales tax revenue

Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST)

• On January 13, 2025, Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) announced that it was awarded a $22.17 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grants Program to help fund construction of the SURF! Bus and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project adjacent to Highway 1 between Marina and Seaside
• This makes MST eligible to receive a state matching grant at the California Transportation Commission’s meeting on March 20-21, 2025. This will complete the aggregation of funding needed to build the project
• MST plans to award a contract for construction in April, followed by a groundbreaking ceremony, pre-construction activity in April and May, and the start of grading in June
• MST needed to obtain 55 permits with 380 conditions to fulfill, demonstrating how difficult it is in California to build anything
• MST officials thanked your Chamber of Commerce for its consistent support of this project over the years

Hospitality

• November was a strong month for Monterey County hotels—up 2.1% in occupancy and 5.5% in ADR (average daily rate) compared to November 2023
• Leisure occupancy was up 4.0%, and group and leisure ADR increases in Monterey County surpassed increases in other equivalent tourism regions of California
• Through November, occupancy for 2024 is up 0.8% over 2023 and ADR is up 0.3% over 2023. This is higher than other equivalent tourism regions of California
• The new See Monterey website is operational
• It includes AI-powered technology from Mindtrip, which helps users to plan trip itineraries. See Monterey is the first tourism entity in the United States to offer this service on their website
• See Monterey has started a series called Monterey County Road Trip Reel
• The first road trip includes Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, and Big Sur and has received more than 3,4000 likes and shares
• In 2025, See Monterey is hosting a series of Wayfinding Destination Education Workshops for members
• The first workshop is "The Right Path to Marketing Responsible Travel" on February 18. Guest presenter Jessica Blotter, CEO and Co-Founder of Kind Traveler, will discuss how to talk about sustainable and responsible travel with visitors and customers
• See Monterey has begun offering a Photography Co-Op program in collaboration with local photographer Michael Troutman
• This program provides See Monterey members with mini photography sessions at a subsidized rate ($95 per session). Each participant receives 15-20 professionally edited, publication-ready images. The first session on February 19-21, 2025 is already sold out
• Note that hospitality businesses have free See Monterey membership
• There are more than 1200 members in Monterey County

Non-Profits

• This year United Way Monterey County is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the merger between United Way of the Monterey Peninsula (founded in 1929) and United Way of the Salinas Valley (founded in 1944)
• United Way Monterey County is training its volunteers for its free Volunteer Income Tax Assistance service (VITA), which begins in February
• This is an excellent resource for hourly workers seeking to obtain all credits (such as the Earned Income Tax Credit—EITC) and refunds for which they are eligible
• Vacant office space for government entities and non-profit organizations is available at the United Way Monterey County Community Impact Center on Main Street in Downtown Salinas.

Monterey Regional Airport Construction

• Cement is being poured through mid-February for the Monterey Regional Airport Replacement Commercial Apron, which is Phase B of the five-phase MRY Metamorphosis safety enhancement construction program
• Your Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce sent a letter this week to the Monterey County Airport Land Use Committee reiterating Chamber support for improvements and expansion of airport operations and infrastructure

Update on Electric Power Service in Monterey

• Your Chamber’s Economic Vitality Committee met on Friday, January 10 and heard a report from Jazmine Venegas, the new Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) Local Government Relations Representative for Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties
• This position has been vacant for some time, so committee members appreciated the opportunity to ask questions and hear the PG&E perspective on recent power outages in the area
• Committee members learned that PG&E is currently upgrading 50-year old infrastructure at its Del Monte Substation, located in the Casanova Oak Knoll Neighborhood of the City of Monterey, at the intersection of Fremont Boulevard and Casanova Avenue
• Just installed as part of this $7 million upgrade is a new $3.2 million transformer imported from South Korea
• Completion of the Del Monte Substation upgrade project (scheduled for March 2025) will increase the capacity of the substation by 250 percent, thus greatly reducing the number of power outages and the length of power outages that do occur
• One of the reasons for the frequent power outages recently in the City of Monterey is the need during construction to transfer service for some of the 30,000 customers temporarily from the Del Monte Substation to the smaller Viejo Substation, located adjacent to Highway 1 near the southbound exit to Holman Highway
• Without the redundancy of a second substation as a backup, the inevitable problems that arise in providing electricity are more likely to result in power outages for customers
• PG&E is also working on a third substation in Monterey, the Monterey Substation located at the intersection of Figueroa Street and Del Monte Boulevard. It provides service to the Downtown area
• The other two PG&E substations in Monterey are the Navy School Substation and the Naval Lab Substation

Upcoming Chamber Events

• Annual Membership Luncheon on January 24, 2025 at Hyatt Regency Monterey
• Our Annual Membership Luncheon recognizes long-standing Chamber members for five or greater continuous years of membership (recognized in five-year increments), introduces the new Board of Directors and recognizes any retiring Board Members. The Honorable Leon Panetta will be our keynote speaker. Many businesses invite their employees to share in the recognition of their company and organization. This popular annual event is an effective venue to network with fellow members, potential customers and clients and community leaders
• Register at 2025 Annual Membership Luncheon
• Monterey Bay Defense Alliance (MBDA) breakfast on January 31, 2025 at Monterey Conference Center, Steinbeck Room 3
• MBDA releases its new Monterey Military Impact Report
• Register at Monterey Bay Defense Alliance Breakfast

Next teleconference will be held Tuesday, 1/28/2025 at 10:00 AM.

If you are interested in participating on the teleconference or being added to the list, please contact monica@montereychamber.com. 

Your feedback is welcome.

montereychamber.com

RIBBON CUTTING: Grace Skin - Aesthetics and Skin Health

Thursday, January 23 | 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM

243 Foam Street, Suite B, Monterey

Register Now >>

2025 Annual Membership Luncheon presented by Pinnacle Bank

Friday, January 24 | 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM

Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel, Monterey

Join us in celebrating Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce member milestones. Meet our 2025 Board of Directors and learn about our goals for the New Year. We welcome Secretary Leon Panetta as our Keynote Speaker.

Get Tickets >>

Quarterly Business Insights Breakfast: Monterey Bay Defense Alliance

Friday, January 31 | 7:30 AM - 9:00 AM

Monterey Conference Center, Monterey

Join the Monterey Bay Defense Alliance as we present the Military Economic Impact Report (MEIR) for Monterey County that was recently completed for by Matrix Design Group.

Get Tickets >>

Join ARCpoint Labs for a dynamic two-hour virtual training designed to equip leaders across all industries with the skills to confidently identify and address workplace impairment issues.

Monterey County Shelters Prepare Rescued Pets for Adoption After LA Shelter Relief Efforts

Animal rescues on the central coast are now responding to the devastating fires in the Los Angeles area by helping out animal shelters located in the fire zones.

At least two agencies, the SPCA Monterey County and Peace of Mind Dog Rescue in Pacific Grove, drove down to southern California over the weekend and brought back more than two dozen dogs, puppies and cats.

It’s all part of a statewide effort to ease overcrowding at shelters in the fire zones, as they prepare to see an influx of animals as a result of the devastating fires. The dogs and cats brought up from southern California were already up for adoption before the wildfires broke out.

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