Mountain Views News          Saturday, March 12, 2011

7

 
Mountain Views News Saturday, March 12, 2011 

From the desk of the City Manager Scott Ochoa

REDEVELOPMENT ELIMINATION EBBS AND FLOWS

STEPS TO EMPLOYMENT!

The Monrovia Public Library will host this 
timely workshop on Tuesday April 5 from 6:00 – 
7:30 P.M. in the Community Room. The Library 
is located at 321 S. Myrtle Avenue, in Old Town 
Monrovia’s Library Park.

 Attendees of this workshop will learn how to 
complete and download an on-line application for 
unemployment, create resumes and cover letters, 
and explore a multitude of job listing resources. 
This program will also include a demonstration 
of the Career Transitions database, which walks 
users through the job search process from 
beginning to end.

 Handouts from the California EDD, an 
annotated webliography of resources for first time 
job hunters, and a list of suggested print books 
available from the Monrovia Public Library are 
also included.

 Registration is encouraged. Stop by the Adult 
Reference Desk, call 626-256-8274, or visit www.
monroviapubliclibrary.org and click on the 
calendar icon on the top right of the page. Find 
DATE, click on the event and sign up. Walk-ins 
welcome.

 Tuesday April 5 Library Community Room 
6:00 until 7:30 p.m. Free 

Sponsored by Friends of the Monrovia Public 
Library

We began the week with a pessimistic outlook 
on prospects for saving redevelopment from 
elimination by the State. By mid-week, however, 
it seemed our fortunes might be changing. As 
the details of the Governor’s proposed legislation 
filtered out, more and more legislators seemed 
to more fully question the concept. For example, 
under the Governor’s proposal, the redevelopment 
agencies would be eliminated on July 1, 2011. At 
that point, “successor agencies” would assume 
the assets of the RDAs in order to wind up their 
affairs. These successor agencies would be the 
local city councils that established the RDAs in 
the first place. But here’s where it gets weird - the 
elected city councils would not govern the affairs 
of the expired RDAs; that job would fall to a 
seven-member “Oversight Committee.”

The Oversight Committees would be comprised 
of one member appointed by the City Council, 
one member appointed by the local school 
district, one member from the local community 
college district, and four members from various 
county offices. Thus, it is possible and even 
likely that the will of the duly elected body that 
governs Monrovia - the City Council - would 
be subverted by an alternate panel of folks, the 
majority of whom do not live in Monrovia and are 
not answerable to the people of Monrovia. And 
there would be more than 400 of these oversight 
committees, statewide (one for every former 
redevelopment agency). That’s right - according 
to the Governor’s proposed legislation, the way 
to combat government ineffectiveness is to add 
another layer of political appointees on top of a 
severely crippled local elected city council. 

Also, as this byzantine legislative construct 
became known, lobbyists for organized labor 
began to realize that there was a big price to be 
paid by more than just local redevelopers and 
city councils. That is, the Governor’s proposal 
has been labeled as a boon to public employee 
unions. However, eliminating redevelopment 
means the elimination of redevelopment staff - 
the clerks, the planners, the project manager and 
analysts - many of whom are themselves members 
of the local unions. It would seem then, that the 
Governor and legislative leadership are merely 
picking winners and losers.

Finally, the middle of the week saw - almost 
poetically - the live testimony by lawyers from the 
Office of Legislative Counsel during a committee 
hearing in which they acknowledged that the 
taking of redevelopment tax increment appears 
on its face to be unconstitutional, and would 
require at the very least a vote of the people. By 
Thursday evening, it appeared that a negotiated 
settlement would be the only lawful, practical and 
fair way for all parties to move forward. Alas, this 
was not meant to be.

Unfortunately, by Friday morning it became 
know that the Democratic leadership in both 
the Assembly and Senate were preparing to 
hold an up-or-down vote on the redevelopment 
question on Wednesday or Thursday, the 9th 
or 10th. Apparently, the plan is to add the RDA 
elimination into an overall budget package in 
order to force legislators into voting yes - the 
operative question being “Do you support 
K-12 education or redevelopment?” In reality, 
as Monrovia has proven, this question is a false 
premise - this need not be a zero sum game. For 
decades, the Monrovia Redevelopment Agency 
and the Monrovia Unified School District have 
shared revenues via “pass through” agreements 
that return to the MUSD property tax increment 
funding that they would have received in the 
absence of an RDA.

At this point, my guess is that the budget 
package will pass along party lines - remember, 
following last November’s election, California 
only requires a simple majority to adopt a 
budget. After the proposal is signed by the 
Governor, the League of Cities and the California 
Redevelopment Association will file suit and 
the entire matter will be litigated - probably on 
grounds of constitutionality. There is still time for 
rational thinking to bring about a better plan, but 
as of today, this seems unlikely.

City Council Recap and Special Council Meeting 
Next Week

Tuesday’s City Council meeting was 
a straightforward session, touching on 
redevelopment protections, and updates for the 
Council on programs enacted last year.

Under MRA PH-1, the Council (acting as the 
Agency Board) held a public hearing in which the 
Agency was authorized to sell MRA-owned real 
estate to the City in order to generate funds to 
pay off the most recent taking by the State - the 
2009-10 SERAF. As we have discussed previously, 
the MRA is land-rich and cash-poor, as we have 
assembled considerable holdings in the Station 
Square project area. When the Supplemental 
Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund 
(SERAF) payment of $2.5 million was due in FY 
09-10, the Council thought it wiser to not make 
the payment until we absolutely needed to.

With the State poised to eliminate the RDA, we 
needed to - or at least we needed to be ready to. To 
that end, the Board authorized me to execute the 
transaction at the appropriate time, depending on 
what the State does in the coming days. Truly, if the 
State moves to eliminate agencies in the coming 
week, we likely would not make the payment. On 
the other hand, if the redevelopment question is 
negotiated or handled later in the year, we will 
make the payment in due course.

Regardless of the State’s actions (or non-
actions) next week, we will convene a special 
meeting of the City Council/Agency Board on 
Tuesday the 8th. The purpose of this meeting will 
be the consideration of a cooperative agreement 
between the City and Agency that perfects the 
existing financial arrangement between them, 
and which will further shield Agency’s assets.

As for items AR-1 & AR-2, these items were 
scheduled updates on the City’s shopping cart 
containment ordnance and gang injunction, 
respectively. Both efforts are having positive 
impacts and Council voted to receive and file both 
reports.

As always, if you have questions about any 
item on the agenda, please feel free to contact me 
directly.

Sales Tax Gains in 3rdQ of 2010 Correspond to 
Other Economic Data

With drops in unemployment, increasing 
orders from manufacturers and suppliers, and 
positive gains on Wall Street, folks are talking 
about the economy building the “escape velocity” 
that will secure our recovery and boost us into 
a more robust economic climate. This week, we 
received our 3rd quarter sales tax report (July-
September 2010). I am pleased to report that the 
positive trajectory in our sales tax trend line is 
continuing. We are doing better than we were a 
year ago in the same quarter, and we are marching 
confidently toward our sales tax revenue goals 
for FY 2010-11. Auto dealers and new soft 
goods retailers (Kohl’s and Living Spaces) are 
bolstering our numbers. All in all, we are gaining 
momentum - here’s hoping we can pull ourselves 
out of the doldrums and to up toward a better 
economy.

Monrovia Police Blotter

During the last seven day period, the Police 
Department handled 413 service events, resulting 
in 64 investigations. Following are the last week’s 
highlighted issues and events:

Domestic Violence - Suspect Arrested

On February 25 at 12:40 a.m., officers responded 
to a family dispute in the 100 block of West 
Cherry between a husband and wife. The wife 
was reportedly out of control and yelling, and she 
had been drinking. When officers arrived, they 
witnessed the wife slap the husband in the face 
as she yelled at the officers to take her to jail. The 
female was arrested, and later in jail, she began to 
repeat that she was going to kill herself. She was 
taken to a hospital and held for a 72-hour mental 
evaluation.

Grand Theft Auto

On February 25 at 2:45 p.m., an officer was 
dispatched to a business in the 1600 block of 
South Mountain regarding a stolen vehicle. The 
victim parked, secured his vehicle and entered the 
store. He returned a short time later and found 
his vehicle was missing. The vehicle is a red, 1998 
Nissan. All keys are accounted for and there were 
no signs of forced entry; investigation continuing.

Fight / Drunk in Public - Suspects Arrested

On February 26 at 1:49 a.m., a business in the 
300 block of South Myrtle called reporting an 
intoxicated female hitting another female inside 
the location. She then fled on foot in the rain to 
the back parking lot, where she drove off in a 
vehicle. Officers searched the area for the suspect, 
but were unable to locate her. However, in the 
back parking lot, they located two gang members 
who were drunk in public, along with a female 
gang associate who was also drunk in public. All 
three subjects were arrested without incident.

Hit and Run Collision / Grand Theft - Suspects 
Arrested

On February 26 at 3:21 a.m., an intoxicated 
21-year-old male victim met a female at a bar in 
the 300 block of South Myrtle and allowed her to 
drive him home to Azusa. Her male friend drove 
the victim’s car, following them. The female began 
to drive west on Huntington, but the victim told 
her to pull over and stop because he did not see 
the friend following them. The female called 
her male friend and he eventually drove to their 
location. The victim saw that his vehicle now had 
major collision damage and his stereo equipment 
and some property was missing from inside the 
vehicle. The victim called police. Officers located 
the missing property, which the male suspect 
had hidden nearby, and determined the collision 
occurred at Ivy and Huntington. The suspects 
were arrested and the victim had his father drive 
him home.

Domestic Violence - Suspect Arrested

On February 26 at 11:28 a.m., an officer 
responded to a residence in the 400 block of West 
Palm regarding a domestic violence call. The male 
suspect had left the location prior to the officer’s 
arrival. The male suspect and female victim are 
husband and wife, but are separated. The female 
was at her current boyfriend’s house, when the 
husband entered the residence and assaulted her 
and broke up the furniture. The suspect fled the 
scene, but later turned himself in at the police 
station. 


Monrovia 
Library

Wii Event 

The Monrovia Public Library 
invites teens to participate in a 
Wii event on Friday, March 11 
from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Mixing 
physical activity and technology, 
teens will show off their dancing 
skills playing, “Just Dance” 
and “Michael Jackson the 
Experience.”

St. Patrick’s 
Day at the 
Library

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, 
stories, songs, craft, and film 
for little leprechauns will 
be available at the Library - 
Saturday, March 12 at 2 p.m. Be 
sure and wear your green!

St. Patrick’s 
Day Senior 
Party

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at 
the Monrovia Community 
Center on Thursday, March 17 
from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Lunch 
will be provided by The Gables 
Senior Living Home, and will be 
accompanied by adventures in 
history, presented by Deborah 
McIntosh, portraying the Irish 
Pirate, Grace O’Malley. Tickets 
are $5 per person and can be 
purchased at the Community 
Center. For additional 
information and reservations 
please call (626) 256-8246.

Women’s 
History 
Month at the 
Monrovia 

Public Library

March is Women’s History 
Month at the Monrovia Public 
Library. Come check out a book 
by or about a famous woman 
through history; a Librarian can 
help find a book perfect for you! 
The Library will sponsor a free 
program for families, Women 
Who Rock, on Tuesday, March 
29 at 6:30 p.m. Local female 
musicians will be performing 
a concert in the Library’s great 
hall. Join us for the fun!

The City of Monrovia's first ever Cinco de Mayo Cultural 
Art and Music Festival will take place Sunday, May 1 
from 2pm until 8pm at Myrtle and Colorado Ave. The 
free, one-day, family-friendly block party will feature an 
array of art, music, dance and culture. It provides an 
opportunity for residents to experience Latino food, dance 
and music and to celebrate the widely popular Mexican 
holiday with over 100 cities throughout the United States. 
The festival will feature performances from internation-
ally known artists including local Latin Jazz ensembles 
The Delgado Brothers, Banda Brothers and Latin 
Grammy Award winning group Mariachi Divas.
The Monrovia Cinco de Mayo Cultural Art and Music 
Festival will bring a diverse crowd, great music and a 
wonderful ambiance. It will be the largest Cinco de 
Mayo celebration in the San Gabriel Valley with an 
expected event day attendance of 5,000. The event 
targets a multi-generational and culturally diverse 
audience with an average household income of 
$40,000 to $150,000. 
Make history and become a viable partner of this one 
of a kind cultural exchange in Monrovia. This is 
wonderful opportunity to showcase your community 
spirit to the thousands of people who will fill the 
city streets.
In partnership with Nuvein Foundation for Literature and the Arts (a 501(c)(3) organization), all Cinco de Mayo sponsorships are tax deductible.
PLATINUM LEVEL: $10,000 (Three Available) 
Media Benefits• Category exclusivity.
• “Presented by” credit with logo on all signage to include but not limited to: print and online ads and event 
email blasts. 
• Customized branding experience in desirable event location.
• Mention and representation on ALL marketing and business materials including but not limited to: mailers, 
press releases, email blasts and e-vites. Estimated total number of media impressions: 30 million.
• Recognition throughout all top-tier media sponsors to heighten visibility and reach over one million 
Southern California residents.
• Two million Run of Site (ROS) impressions. 
• Logo and link prominently displayed on all social media marketing sites including: website 
www.monrovia5demayo.org, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc.
On-Site Benefits 
• One 10’ x 10’ booth in high traffic area.
• Product sampling and/or product showcasing.
• On-site banner or signs strategically located on event stage (to be provided by sponsor). 
• Opportunity for company representative to present entertainment headliner at main stage. 
• Inclusion in PA announcements.
www.monrovia5demayo.org
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Limited time offer.