The Little Village That Could

"I think I can, I think I can, I think I can." We all remember the children's story of the little engine that refused to give up, chugging steadily up a steep hill while others said it couldn't be done. In many ways, that's been Carmel-by-the-Sea's story this year—a small village tackling big challenges with determination, teamwork, and an unwavering belief that we could climb hills others thought too steep.

Finding Our Rhythm

For years, certain challenges felt like steep grades that slowed our progress. Our ambulance service struggled with rising costs, staffing shortages, and complex county reporting. Streets and sidewalks crumbled under constant use while repair costs climbed. Our police and public works buildings, despite previous thoughtful efforts to replace them, remained outdated and inadequate. State housing mandates loomed like a mountain peak without a clear route to the summit.

But this week's Council meeting showed what happens when a village builds on every lesson learned and refuses to accept "it can't be done." We approved a partnership with Monterey Fire for ambulance service, securing advanced paramedic services on every fire engine. Serendipitously, we'll also have brand new emergency equipment arriving in just a few months.

Our $2.7 million street improvement program represents our most comprehensive repair effort in years, moving forward with smart partnerships with the County and TAMC that brought us in $600,000 under budget! The police and public works facility replacement project gained momentum through our workgroup's rightsized, value-engineered approach that incorporated valuable insights from earlier community planning efforts.

The Engine Room Heroes

None of this happens without exceptional city staff and the help of so many volunteers from the community. After 12 years of hard work by many, Fire Chief Miller's leadership, working alongside both cities' contract teams and councils, made the complex ambulance transition possible. Public Works Director Ken Wysocki and Senior Project Manager Javier Hernandez masterfully coordinated four engineering firms while implementing resident John Comer's brilliant suggestion to partner with the County on Ocean Avenue road improvements.

Senior Planner Marnie Waffle is performing a remarkable juggling act—bringing our updated equal housing access policy across the finish line, teeing up the Objective Design and Development guidelines project for next month's approval, and fine-tuning our Housing Element updates. Together with dedicated staff throughout City Hall, they're transforming yesterday's challenges into today's achievements.

The Mountain Views Ahead

Like the little engine in the story, we can see even more challenging grades ahead. Some we’ve already seen and our existing workgroups will be delivering their achievements before year end.  But, others are quickly emerging right in front of us and we’ll be talking about in future columns. Some of those peaks may require us to think bigger—perhaps a more powerful engine, expanded resources, or partnerships we haven't yet imagined.

The difference is our growing confidence. Where we once wondered "can we?", we now ask "how will we?" Where others see insurmountable barriers, we see worthwhile climbs that build community strength.

I Think We Can

Each success builds momentum for the next challenge. Our village succeeds because we've learned that steady progress, exceptional staff, genuine community collaboration, and determined persistence really can move mountains—or at least conquer the hills that once seemed too steep for a little village by the sea.

The little village that could is chugging confidently toward whatever summit awaits, and the view from up here keeps getting better. To hear a podcast generated from this column go to cli.re/engine.

Dale Byrne, Mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea

dbyrne@cbts.us