Mountain House officially becomes California's 483rd city
MOUNTAIN HOUSE — It was standing room only for Monday's induction ceremony where, one by one, the very first Mountain House City Council was sworn in to begin their official incorporated duties.
The San Joaquin County community is just northwest of Tracy and is one of the fastest-growing cities in California with one of the most competitive housing markets. Voters overwhelmingly agreed to incorporate the city back in March.
Mountain House's first mayor, Andy Su, said the day was a culmination of decades of community collaboration and hard work.
"I'm thankful for the help we've had over the years and looking forward to the growth of Mountain House," Mayor Su said.
So what does a typical first day for a new city look like? It started bright and early at 9 a.m. with the first official city council meeting.
"We had over 40 items to cover and that's a good fresh start," said Mayor Pro-Tem Bernice King Tingle. "It shows that we're cohesive, that we asked questions and we got them answered, and it shows we got things done because we're going to stay focused on the task."
King Tingle said that focus comes down to remembering who they serve as a city council. Fellow Councilmember Ronna Green applauded collaboration with fellow cities as helping Mountain House get to this point. As the eighth city in San Joaquin County, there were a number of elected leaders from those communities at Monday's ceremony.
"The support from the other cities was amazing. So as long as we continue in that vein, there's no way we can fail," Green continued, saying that the festivities felt like a homecoming. "Mountain House feels like a family, and that's what it felt like tonight, just family coming together to celebrate."
Twenty years ago, Mountain House didn't exist. This puts into perspective the scale of growth they've experienced as an unincorporated part of the county over the last decade, specifically when their population doubled in size in 10 years.
"Mountain House has grown substantially, making a huge comeback since 2008. It's incredible to see our diverse community rise above hardships," Councilmember Matt Disko said. "Residents, especially, who have had to go through the ups and downs and decline and blitzkrieging forward as California's newest city and it's an honor."
With their induction ceremony complete, the council says they plan to meet twice a month in order to get up to speed on what it takes to be a fully operational city.
They also plan to hold another parade celebration on Independence Day. They are inviting the public to celebrate their new cityhood with a parade starting at Central Parkway and Main Street. It will wind south down Central Parkway to Heritage Drive and end back at Central Community Park where the celebration continues. The celebrations are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with live music.