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State of
the City 2002
Lakewood
Mayor Robert G. Wagner
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The
Challenge of 9/11
The
most moving event of the past year came on September 29, when
more than 1,200 grieving Lakewood residents gathered by candlelight
in front of city hall to show their patriotism during the city’s
“Lakewood Believes in America” rally.
Not far behind was the Lakewood Award of Valor program in October.
Sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, and the city’s civilian heroes
saw that Lakewood is grateful for what they have done.
Lakewood
was deeply moved by these events. Lakewood supports the war
on terror. I assure you, Lakewood stands united with the nation
with a commitment to “homeland defense.”
Keeping
Lakewood Safe
The
price of security is high, but Lakewood is prepared to keep
the peace in our neighborhoods.
Later
this month, we will deploy a Specially Assigned Unit to the
Lakewood Center. Our current mall Special Assignment Officer
(SAO), acting as team leader for two full-time mall deputies,
heads this expanded unit.
These three deputies will be on site at Lakewood Center seven
days a week, from opening until closing.
On weekends, our Specially Assigned Mall Unit will be augmented
by Volunteers On Patrol, by Reserve Deputies, and by two more
deputies hired by Pacific Theatres.
They are an added measure of police presence in an expanded
shopping center already considered one of the safest in the
nation.
Our neighborhood patrol program – called PAVE – has also been
expanded to provide two deputies on different shifts to each
of our nine “beats,” or subregion of the city.
This allows PAVE deputies to make community contacts during
both the daytime and early evening shifts and work crimes on
an extended basis.
We will also deploy two SAO teams to assist PAVE deputies with
neighborhood-specific problems. One SAO team will concentrate
on residential and garage burglaries and the other will assist
with problems of car burglaries or theft.
Working with all these additional resources, Sheriff’s law enforcement
will enhance our neighborhood security.
Our crime rates are low compared to surrounding cities but frankly,
our attitude is, there is no such thing as “low enough."
Open
Space Improvements
We’re
also securing our “quality of life” by further investment in
Lakewood’s neighborhoods. I’d like to highlight just one of
them, however. The
“reborn” Monte Verde Park and the new S. Mark Taper Foundation
Vista Lodge have been a tremendous success with parents and
young people. It recently won the top design award of the California
Parks and Recreation Society.
In 2002, we’ll expand our park system by adding another 16 acres
of open space beneath the power lines along the west bank of
the river, with the one million dollars in funding we’ve just
been awarded by the state Resources Agency through the conservancy
for the San Gabriel River and the lower Los Angeles River.
Lakewood was one of the leading supporters of the conservancy
when it formed last year.
With jogging and walking paths, lawns and landscaping, the San
Gabriel River in Lakewood will be part of a “green belt” of
recreational open space that will stretch from Long Beach to
Whittier.
Economic
Development
Here’s
more good news – the skeptics were dead wrong about the future
of retail development in Lakewood. Through a significant and
timely investment, Macerich, the owner of Lakewood Center, has
kept Lakewood a retail sales leader in southeast Los Angeles
County.
Lakewood critics were equally wrong to doubt our ability to
act decisively in securing the best for our city.
I can assure you, in 2002, Lakewood will continue to hold its
position as a major shopping destination.
Lakewood Center Mall officials tell us that a new, two-story
Target store is slated for opening in the spring of 2003, after
the demolition of the old Wards building.
We’re working closely with the owners of Lakewood Center and
Target to deal with the mall’s delivery tunnel, which requires
a Target store with a unique configuration.
We’ll also see progress on two more “dinner house” restaurants
on Lakewood’s thriving “restaurant row” on Candlewood Street.
More mall shops will open in Lakewood Center in the new Macy’s
and Mervyn’s wing this year, joining the 30 shops and ten food
court vendors already there.
I’m proud of our city’s retail success. We can measure the scale
of our success in millions of square feet. Every square foot
protects our quality of life by providing local revenue that
pays for law enforcement, park programs, street maintenance,
and the improvement of city facilities.
Equally important, retail growth provides local shopping opportunities
and jobs.
LACDA
and Flood Insurance
Now
for sweetest victory of all. If you don’t already know, I have
the pleasure of telling you that the Los Angeles River flood
protection restoration project is done. And, the onerous federal
mandate for flood insurance has been lifted for 8,000 Lakewood
homeowners.
Ladies and gentlemen, the “flood tax” is over. We’ve fought
for this day for more than ten years.
In 1991 – also when I was mayor – we helped form a coalition
of cities that worked with the county and the Army Corps of
Engineers to speed up their work on the flood project.
We can thank Supervisor Don Knabe for keeping the county board
focused on completing this project. We can thank Congressman
Steve Horn for taking the lead in keeping federal funds coming,
along with Congressman Ed Royce, Congressman Esteban Torres,
and Senator Barbara Boxer.
The coalition of cities lobbied Congress, the Corps, and key
federal agencies. We got legislation designating the area as
a special flood zone, reducing insurance costs.
We worked the halls of Congress and Sacramento to prevent misguided
legislation by environmental zealots that would have delayed
or even prevented flood protection improvements, which would
have exposed Lakewood residents to the threat of catastrophic
flooding and more years of federal flood insurance requirements.
We conducted a photogrametric survey of Lakewood properties
in the flood zone – something no other city did – and forced
FEMA to remove nearly 5,000 locations that we found to be above
the projected flood level.
We reached out to Lakewood residents – through an open house,
city publications, and our website – to tell them how to get
the lowest cost flood insurance.
And, today, we’re continuing to care for residents. On Wednesday
afternoon, January 23 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., residents
can come to another “open house” here at The Centre.
They can get a copy of the documents that relieve them of the
flood insurance mandate. They can get help in getting an insurance
premium refund.
If you want to know how “Lakewood stands united,” look to the
ten years of work that led to the end of the flood threat and
the burden of federal flood insurance.
This is the pledge that the Lakewood City Council has made to
Lakewood residents for nearly 50 years: We stand united with
you to preserve our quality of life and to secure Lakewood as
a safe community of homes and businesses.
The question now is, will our federal “flood tax” be replaced
by an equally onerous and expensive “storm water tax.” But,
I’ll let City Manager Howard Chambers fill you in on this.
We decided it would be unseemly for the Mayor to use the kind
of language necessary to describe this monumental problem.
RV
Parking Hearing
For many years, parking has been a problem in Lakewood for neighborhood
residents and the owners of recreation vehicles.
We cannot let this issue linger. I believe that it’s time we
asked residents and RV owners how the problem of RV parking
can be resolved.
Therefore, I have asked a panel of city council members and
city commissioners to hold a public hearing on Tuesday, January
29, and another on Tuesday, February 5, to learn from residents
and RV owners their concerns and options for regulating RV parking.
Both hearings will be in the Lakewood City Council Chambers
in the Lakewood Civic Center.
Lakewood
School District
Finally,
Lakewood remains a community
united in support of a new school district.
I affirm to you now . . . as I have from the beginning of the
school district effort . . . that Lakewood residents deserve
to vote on district formation. Our right to vote has been delayed
too long. Eventually, the State Board of Education will be persuaded
by us or ordered by the courts to allow the people of this area
an opportunity to vote on a Lakewood School District. We are
currently looking into alternatives for continuing this effort.
In the meantime, this city council is committed to encouraging
the existing school districts to undertake measures to improve
the educational experience of Lakewood students and provide
mechanisms for meaningful input into their governance deliberations
by Lakewood residents.
Conclusion
When
I look at the year just ended, I see the work of thousands of
Lakewood volunteers, in cooperation with city staff and our
contract agencies.
I see great progress in Lakewood’s local economy – although
we are not immune from the national recession or misguided energy
policies of the State Legislature.
I see that Lakewood is a better and safer place. I see that
we are united in preserving our neighborhoods. As
members of the city council, we value . . . we support . . .
we work for . . . each one of you. We stand united in our belief
in the future of Lakewood and the future of America.
United in the belief that we can do greater things .
. . we will do greater things . . . for Lakewood and
for the community we love.
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