Video: Las Colinas Expansion Discussed During State of the County Address

Supervisor Greg Cox mentioned the Las Colinas Women's Detention Facility expansion in Santee as part of his State of the County address Wednesday aboard the USS Midway Museum before about 900 people.

"Under construction right now is the new $300 million Las Colinas Women's Detention Facility, $200 million of which we are paying for in cash," sid Cox.

"In fact we've paid cash for most of the capital projects in recent years, saving taxpayers $1.5 billion in financing costs."

During this part of the speech he talked about projects the county is working on- making smart sustainable investments, according to Cox.

He discussed the county's financial strength, its development of mobile apps to better connect with residents and upcoming challenges, including the state's transfer of responsibility for certain prisoners to local jails.

He also focused on the goal of improving the health of residents, particularly through educational initiatives about better eating and exercise habits and aid to seniors struggling with managing their own care.

He said the Board of Supervisors would seek to bolster the county's employment picture though what he called “the blue economy,” or jobs related to the ocean and bayfront.

“I will work to fire up this economic engine,” he said.

He noted the ongoing development of the Bayshore Bikeway, which runs through Coronado, Imperial Beach and communities that surround San Diego Bay.

It is 60 percent complete and could be finished in five years, he predicted.

Cox also pointed to the local portion of the California Coastal Trail, which runs from Oregon through IB to the Mexican border, and said his goal is for San Diego County to become the first in the state to complete its part.

Environmental themes were a large part of the 35-minute speech, with Cox mentioning the county's upcoming plan to consider testing that could make it easier to determine if local waterways are polluted, and the goal of completing 22 miles of trails in the Tijuana River Valley Regional Park.

Cox's district covers the South Bay and parts of San Diego. He is chairman of the board for 2013, holding a post that rotates annually among the five supervisors.

For the discussion of Las Colinas, skip to the 24:23 mark on the video.