Meridith Randall has been at Golden West University for nearly four years and was recently elected president of the university.
She loved the Thursday morning Mayor's Breakfast held at the Central Park Senior Center and hosted by the Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce.
“I wasn't sure if I would fit in,” Randall told attendees. “So I came here this morning and there were breakfast cookies on the table. And I said, 'This is my buddy.'”
The program was mostly short and sweet, with Mayor Gracie van der Mark delivering remarks in front of a small business roundtable moderated by Chamber of Commerce President Darin Godin.
Van der Mark spoke about the importance of supporting business growth within the community and touted the opening of Main Street.
“While we were campaigning, [for election to the City Council]”Many business owners came to us and said, 'I don't know if I can make it through another month,'” she said. “The second block was closed, so if people wanted to drive up the first block, they had to go around the second block and completely bypass the third block.”
Main Street fully reopened after a split 4-3 vote by the council in January 2023, but some residents favored outdoor dining, which had been a centerpiece on the second block during the pandemic. It seems so.
Van der Mark noted that cleaning up Main Street in general is an important task and thanked the city's homeless task force, police and fire departments.
She also highlighted the new Streamline Surf City program, which provides support for business projects and is overseen by the city's Community Development Department.
“We have many more improvements coming in the future, just to make it easier for our customers,” she said.
Van der Mark added that the city's new website will also be rolled out in the coming weeks and will be more user-friendly and translated into dozens of different languages.
She also mentioned the “Shop Local, Surf City” campaign.
“Over the coming months, our staff will meet with representatives from various HB businesses, gather feedback and aim to build a comprehensive campaign that will benefit our customers,” Van Der Mark said. .
In addition to city officials, the breakfast was attended by Mayor Pro Tem Pat Burns, Police Chief and Interim City Manager Eric Parra, and Fire Chief Scott Habert.
