Mayor’s State of Monrovia: It Was the Worst of Times, But We Made the Best of Them
By Susan Motander
Published: Thursday, January 14th, 2010
Mayor Mary Ann Lutz, in her first State of the City address, stressed the challenges of the past year and the progress the city had made despite the difficulties presented by the economy. Among the comments was “when things get rough and times get tough, we need to pull together and we can make it and prosper.”
Lutz notes that the work of the city was no the effort of the council alone or of the city staff and council, but rather a collaborative effort of all the elements of the community. She called it “Team Monrovia” saying “These partnerships were forged in tough times and have lasted and grown over the years to become the bedrock of Monrovia’s success; the foundation for the work that has shaped and improved the lives of so many of our citizens.
She pointed out that there was a positive side to difficult economic times. “Ironically, there is a benefit to an economic crisis,” she said.
“It forces you to focus on your priorities.”
The priorities which she said she, the rest of the council and the city staff were:
• Focusing on respecting and preserving Monrovia’s historical character and quality of life.
• Keeping the city safe
• Keeping the infrastructure strong
• Maintaining Monrovia’s financial stability and footing
• Doing the job efficiently and effectively.
The majority of her address was a delineation of the successes of the city on these five goals and values. The entire speech can be read on-line and can also be seen on KGEM’s community access station. There were no substantive differences from the speech as written and as delivered.
The speech did not ignore the problems of the year. The mayor pointed out that several large revenue producers were lost in the last year including Circuit City and Expo and that other such as Sun Microsystems had downsized. But she also pointed out that others had opened such as Kohl’s (where Mervyns had been), Henry’s Market (at the site of the long gone Lucky Market), Living Spaces (to replace Expo) and Merengue Bakery and Cafe (just off Myrtle on Colorado). She also announced that the City of Hope has signed a sub-lease on 80,000 square feet of Sun Microsystems space to expand their services.
“Those businesses and institutions are coming here because we went out and got them,” Lutz said. “We don’t sit back and wait for fate to decide our future. Monrovia makes it happen.”
Lutz also noted that this city, unlike some others had been preparing for the economic difficulties it faced this year. She said “ it’s not as if we didn’t see it coming. This Council and staff have been on top of this economic crisis since it began.
“You’ll remember that all through 2007 and 2008 we warned that times were about to get tough; that large raises and expensive new programs were going to have to wait.
The mayor pointed proudly to the successes of the last year including the new Library and refurbished Library Park, the city’s first Historic District, Wildrose Avenue, “our neighborhood preservation successes…safer streets…stronger infrastructure….” She also praised the new more effective system for running the City’s Emergency Operations System which came about as a result of the major wildfires last summer and fall. Other successful programs which gained the she pointed to were the improved City web site and newsletter. The Youth Employment Service, the 21 Environmental Accords and the Monrovia Area Partnership program all earned regional, state or national awards last year.
She said had achieved all these things “despite the worst economic downturn in 80 years…despite crime…despite the fire…despite growth and change…and despite the State of California.”
Following the speech, those in attendance were offered copies of the city’s annual report which were included in the January-March 2010 Monrovia Today newsletter as well as copies of a city produced DVD praising the community. Prior to the speech there was a short reception hosted by the city. It would be an oversight not to praise the catering of Cafe Mondial at that reception. The food was well planned and tasty. Kudos to that Monrovia business.
he complete text of the Mayor’s speech can be read on this newspaper’s web site: MonroviaWeekly.com.
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