Submitted by CRG Vice President Venkat Sethuraman: University City Parks Area Manager Jose (Jay) Villanueva was given a warm send off by the Standley Community Recreation Group (CRG) at its January 18 meeting ahead of his last day in the role which fell on 1/19. Jay started around the time the COVID shutdown ended and in his short tenure made a significant impact and won over a lot of admirers for his sincerity and dedication to his role.
- Jay conducted ‘Recycled Water’ certification renewals for some of the large parks in the UC Area This is a complicated effort given the acreage of the parks and the number of sprinkler heads
- Jay organized multiple ‘volunteer’ clean ups in area neighborhood parks which were positively received by the community
- Jay worked with the area garden club related to donation of trees at Standley Park
- Jay was prompt to address concerns of the area user groups (such as Cricket and UCLL) and neighborhood parks
- Two joint use parks in the neighborhood have come online during his tenure with one more on the way (Spreckels)
He will be remembered for going out of the way to complete complicated tasks and for his creative solutions to issues faced/reported. He will move to a different work location within the Parks and Recreation department. We wish him continued success.
Photo caption: Jay Villanueva, with certificate of appreciation in hand, is pictured with community volunteers and city staff at the January CRG meeting. The CRG meets monthly and all are welcome. Contact the Standley Recreation Center director for meeting information: rhughes@sandiego.gov
