San Bruno city manager steps down

Reflecting on her time in San Bruno, Jackson said she developed a deep appreciation and respect for the community character unveiled by the Crestmoor neighborhood tragedy in 2010.

“We should be proud of what this community has accomplished,” she said. “And the legacy that provides for demonstrating what a community with courage, strength and real commitment to what a community needs can actually accomplish.”

Jackson was seven years into her San Bruno tenure when a fireball ripped from a Pacific Gas & Electric underground gas line and through the residential development west of Interstate 280, killing eight, injuring 66 and causing millions of dollars in property damage.

While recognizing the explosion’s horrendous nature, Jackson said she was heartened by the community spirit which endured throughout the tragedy and the rebuilding effort.

“It was really uniquely challenging, interesting and important work that the city undertook,” she said.

Beyond the need to reconstruct the neighborhood and its infrastructure, Jackson said the challenges expanded into the effort to assure a similar incident would be avoided elsewhere.

“Our experience could be used as an opportunity to correct the wrong,” she said.

She lauded the city’s ultimate success in that initiative, citing the sizable settlements San Bruno landed from the state utility to help finance the community’s recovery, as well as the regulatory overhauls across the state after the explosion.

Officials bargained in discussions with PG&E which Jackson characterized as arduous and difficult to collect a total of nearly $120 million dedicated to help San Bruno recover, plus paying toward improving its quality of life.

With a portion of those funds, the City Council recently approved constructing a new recreation center and pool, which Jackson said stands to further the stated goal of using the money to make a positive out of the negative.

“It’s a very, very exciting activity on our horizon,” said Jackson, who also noted a variety of development projects in and around the city’s downtown as opportunities to make San Bruno more vibrant and diverse.

The projects, such as residential construction underway at San Bruno Plaza or the homes built at The Crossing near the intersection of Interstate 380, will help point San Bruno in a new direction, said Jackson.

Helping chart that future path will be Jackson’s eventual replacement, plus two new elected officials as Mayor Jim Ruane and Vice Mayor Ken Ibarra also announced they will not seek re-election.

Jackson said she expected those picked to guide the city’s next chapter of development will face issues such as community concerns surrounding parking and traffic congestion, which are standard complaints surrounding community growth.

But she suggested following the precedent set by previous generations will help the next set of officials successfully push the community ahead thoughtfully.

“I look forward to the new council again establishing themselves and making it a priority to maintain and develop their own perspective and continuing to have trust and confidence and respect of the staff’s work that will allow them to be successful for building out their own vision,” said Jackson.

For her own next phase, Jackson said she plans to spend more time with her family after her retirement, while also beginning to explore the opportunities presented through increased availability to pursue her own interests.

But with a career’s worth of experience and knowledge under her belt, Jackson suggested she may not be inclined to allow that breadth of expertise go to waste.

“It’s an opportunity for something different and I’m curious and interested as I have been throughout my career and I intend to apply that interest in what is going on around me and we’ll see where it goes,” she said.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 105