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Mountain Views News Saturday, January 29, 2011
MONROVIA’S FINEST
Three of Monrovia’s
finest were honored by
the Monrovia Chamber
of Commerce at its
annual membership
dinner and awards
presentations at the
Doubletree Hotel on
Jan. 21.
From left, Lisa Barrios,
partner of Paint
“n” Play received the
Monroe Award as
Business Person of the
Year; Ulises Gutierrez,
Youth Alliance coordinator
for the Santa
Anita Family YMCA,
was honored with The
Iris Award, the equivalent
of Citizen of the
Year; and Julie Gentile,
partner of Gentile,
McCloskey & Co.,
who also serves of the
board of the Santa Anita Family YMCA, was presented with The Dick Lord Award for her years of
outstanding service to the Monrovia Chamber of Commerce.
FINALLY - Snow Day In Duarte
Good sledding. More than 100 kids turned out to play in the snow in Duarte last Saturday (Jan.
22). The Duarte Unified School District after school program, THINK Together (Teaching, Helping,
Inspiring & Nurturing Kids), had 20 tons of snow trucked into Duarte Park to give kids a fun afternoon
of sledding down a man-made hill. Volunteer organizations helping to make Duarte’s Snow Day possible
were Duarte Kiwanis, Duarte Area Resource Team (D.A.R.T.), and Caring Helping Youth Leading in
Life (CHYLL).
Monrovia State of the City Recap
By Vivianne Parker
The measurement for Monrovia’s future growth
will be five pillars that will guide the City through
the hard time, Mayor Mary Ann Lutz emphasized
to the 200-plus at Krikorian Theater attending
Monrovia’s State of the City address. These
pillars are financial stability, keeping public safety
a priority, maintaining the City’s infrastructure,
managing the City government efficiently, and
improving quality of life for Monrovians. “All of
these have to be in place for the community to
succeed,” she told the crowd.
“Despite these hard times, I can report to you
as we begin 2011, that the State of Monrovia is
good. It is stable and it is secure,” said the Mayor.
What has made the times difficult has been
lower-than-expected property and sales tax
revenues. Even with this recession, Mayor Lutz
expects to “overcome it.” “In the past 5 years,
property taxes have dropped sharply. City
income from property taxes was even below
our low expectation. And sales tax revenue has
been falling for several years. They are only
now beginning to show signs of recovery.” In
the 6-month budget review to the City Council
in December, sales tax revenue were up 6%, “a
positive for the first time in two years,” added the
Mayor. “Still, property tax and sales tax revenue
will account for 36% of all the money the City
will receive in fiscal year 2010-2011. More than
1/3 of all the money we have for the entire year
comes from those two struggling sources,” added
the Mayor. Another strain on the budget has been
the State of California take-aways from local
governments budgets, she emphasized.
To overcome these challenges, Mayor Lutz
stressed having to “make the important decisions,”
such as the one made in December 2010
where the City Council heard a budget review
recommending to reduce the operational budget
by two percent and to postpone the reserve fund
contribution. “We didn’t take money away from
our reserve fund. We just didn’t add money to
it as scheduled. With that done, our budget is
structurally balanced,” said the Mayor. When I
say the budget is balanced, you need to see how
exactly fragile that balance is,” the Mayor told the
audience. “And, you need to understand there is
no fat in this budget. There is nothing now being
cut that is going to be felt by the community.”
Another important decision was cutting the
budget from $2.6 million in 2010, “which had
already been cut three times in the last three
years,” resulting in postponing services and/
or eliminating events like the Food and Wine
Festival. “The city staffing has been cut 12%
in the last two years. Nearly 30 municipal
employees were laid off, retired early or saw
positions eliminated. In 2008-2009, seven
retired. In 2009-2010, another 19 more retired.”
In other cost-saving efforts, the city cross trained
junior employees into senior positions and/or
converted full-time to part-time positions.
“There are only two ways to grow revenue: higher
taxes or new productive businesses with a vibrant
private sector. The last thing that your city wants
to see is an increased tax. We know, given this
current recession and the uncertainty of the State
of California, that this is not the time to talk about
increasing taxes, tax assessments or fees. What
we can do is continue to being aggressive when
it comes to stimulating our business sector by
raising new revenues. Ultimately, it will be those
revenues that will make the difference in this
community,” believes the Mayor, who cited the
unemployment economic climate in Monrovia
rate at 11%. “If those numbers are to be believed,
it means more than 2,000 of our neighbors are
without jobs right now.”
By concentrating on the business sector, the
Mayor believes it will bring more jobs to the
community and stimulate the local economy.
The Mayor credits the following new businesses
in 2010 such as London, T Phillips in Old
Town, Petco Unleashed, Huntington Oaks,
Jersey Mikes, Walgreens in the Rosedale
Center, plus the relocation of City of Hope’s
financial and administrative operations as
stimulus to Monrovia’s economy with those
additional employees shopping and having
lunch in community, along with the business
these companies generate. The Mayor stressed
that they nearly lost Worley Parsons with its
600 employees to the City of Pasadena, “but we
worked hard to keep them here and we won.”
The redevelopment picture for Monrovia from
the past 30 years shows successes of a once
blighted area developing into a commercial
business development like the Autorow area,
Huntington Oaks Shopping Center, the Marriott
and Doubletree Hotels, and the high tech
corridor along Huntington Drive. “It will be
redevelopment that will move Monrovia to the
next economic prosperity, if it is still in our future,
that is. As part of his ambitious reform package,
the Governor has proposed that redevelopment
be eliminated through the State of California
and the redevelopment dollars be redirected to
fund other things. We in Monrovia see that as
shortsighted. Monrovia has used redevelopment
as it was meant to be used. To use it as a benefit
not just for this community but for the state, too.
We do it right and it works. Redevelopment has
enabled us to invest and reinvest in our entire
community for an entire generation. It has
brought jobs and trade and served the entire
region. Doing away with redevelopment is a leap
in the wrong direction. It takes away the best tool
we have for job creation and, business attraction
and market stimulation. And to do away with it
just when we’re ready take it to make it work to
get us out of this recession, that’s just kicking us
when we’re down.”
Equally vital is the role the city’s infrastructure
plays in the character of the city. The Mayor
credit’s the makeover of Library Park as “being
the center of Monrovia’s civic life. All last year
it was the place for sing-a-longs, art shows. We
welcomed the return of the summer concert
series.” It was the recent victory celebration site
for the Monrovia High School CIF Championship
win. A repavement project is expected to begin in
February along West Huntington Drive, as well
as scheduled maintenance throughout the city.
The Mayor also stressed saving a historic
home on Myrtle Avenue from demolishing
through negotiations; the Anti-Graffiti efforts
being conducted, Operation Safe Neighborhood,
Chaplain for At-Risk Youth Program, Monrovia’s
Anti-Grant Intervention Committee; the arts in
Public Places Ordinance funded by developers
through Councilman Joe Garcia’s initiative; the
Paragon Apartments and the four single-family
homes in Sherman as programs that improve the
quality of life for the city and Monrovians. “We
have created a program with the school district
that could create neighborhood parks out of
school yards when the schools are not in session.
We have a pilot program at Monroe Elementary
and we hope to expand it through the community
this year.”
The Upper Room Stage Production at
Duarte Performing Arts Center, Feb. 26
DUARTE, CA, January 21, 2011 – The Upper Room, a play about faith, family, and the gulf
between men and women, will be presented at the Duarte Performing Arts Center on Saturday, Feb.
26 at 4 p.m., sponsored by the City of Duarte and Second Baptist Church in celebration of Black
History Month. The Duarte Performing Arts Center is located at 1401 Highland Ave.
The event brings together residents of Duarte and Monrovia of all races and ages, along with local
businesses, organizations and churches to celebrate the rich history of African Americans in the
community.
Performed by the Ixthus Players of Second Baptist Church in Monrovia, the production also honors
the 37th Jubilee of Bishop William LaRue Dillard of Second Baptist Church.
General admission is $20. Children and seniors, $10. Limited VIP ticket seating is $25. For more
information, call (626) 345-0867 or visit www.sbcmonrovia.org.
Monrovia Police Blotter
During the last seven day period, the Police Department handled 453 service events, resulting
in 109 investigations. Following are the last week's highlighted issues and events:
Domestic Violence
On January 13 at 12:28 p.m., a resident in the 900 block of West Olive reported her neighbors were
fighting and that the male subject had a knife. Officers arrived and summoned paramedics, as both
the male and female had injuries. They were taken to separate hospitals; their injuries were not life
threatening. An Emergency Protection Order was obtained on the female's behalf. Due to their injuries,
neither party was arrested. The investigation will be completed and forwarded to the District
Attorney's office.
Ex-Felon in Possession of a Loaded Firearm / Ex-Felon in Possession of Ammunition - Suspect
Arrested
January 13 at 9:41 p.m., an officer was patrolling the area of Magnolia and Central when she observed
a Lexus with tinted windows that rolled through a stop sign. She attempted a traffic stop. The driver
did not yield immediately, but eventually stopped at Alta Vista and Montana. Upon approaching, the
officer observed a rifle in the vehicle and ordered the driver to put his hands on the steering wheel.
She requested additional officers. Assisting officers arrived and were able to safely remove the driver
and detain him. The weapon had one round of unexpended ammunition in the chamber and a magazine
with three additional rounds was found next to the driver seat. The driver is a convicted felon.
He was arrested and booked for several felony charges.
Injury Traffic Collision
On January 17 at 5:08 p.m., a 13-year-old bicyclist was hit in the crosswalk at Mountain and Wildrose.
The bicyclist was thrown from his bicycle and paramedics were requested. The 13-year-old said he
was a little sore, but did not want to be taken to a hospital by ambulance. His parents said they would
take him later if there was a need. A traffic accident investigation was conducted.
Possession of Burglary Tools - Suspect Arrested
On January 18 at 3:29 a.m., an officer was patrolling the area of Pomona and California and observed
a suspicious subject who is known for burglary and is on parole. The officer contacted and searched
the individual and found he was in possession of lock picks and slugs in the size and shape of a U.S.
dollar coin. The suspect was arrested.
Commercial Burglary
On January 19 at 3:07 a.m., an employee of a hotel in the 900 block of South Fifth reported a burglary
committed by a male suspect seen on video entering the rear of the hotel through an unlocked door.
The suspect approached the front counter while the clerk was away, forced open the cash register, and
removed an unknown amount of cash. Once a copy of the video is available, it will be provided to
police. The investigation is continuing.
Residential Hot Prowl Burglary
On January 19 at 4:43 a.m., a resident in the 400 block of East Duarte was preparing to go to work
when she discovered her purse was missing. Upon further investigation, she discovered her kitchen
window screen had been removed. Apparently, someone opened the unlocked kitchen window, removed
the victim's keys from the kitchen counter, and unlocked the door. Once inside, the suspect
took the victim's purse. The investigation is continuing.
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