KARLA SHIRVANIAN | staff writer
The annual State of the City Address was held on Feb. 12, during which leaders and members of the community came together for breakfast at the National Guard Armory to hear of progress in various areas of the city.
The theme of the State of the City Address was “Working Together to Build the City of Our Dreams.” The address brought together Mayor Joseph Rocha, APU President Jon Wallace, Superintendent of the Azusa schools Cynthia Cervantes McGuire and President of the Azusa Chamber of Commerce Anthony Glassman, each speaking about the progress of their branch of the city.
Mayor Rocha spoke of the economic crisis and the challenges that many cities currently face, including the city of Azusa. He expressed hope and the fact that because of choices made before the economic meltdown, Azusa is “becoming the city of our dreams.”
“As I look around the room, I am both inspired and hopeful that the solution to some of our uncertainties will come from ideas generated in this very room,” Rocha said. “I see some of the best and the brightest representing the strength and the rich diversity of our city.”
Rocha stated that Azusa is on solid financial ground, and explained how the city is achieving and maintaining that solid ground.
“We continue to ask, ‘Is it something we want or is it something we need?’ If it’s something we don’t need, then we just postpone it until we can afford it. Our budget is in the black, with funds still in reserve that can see us through an emergency,” Rocha said.
Mayor Rocha also thanked the city council for making public safety one of its top priorities in the past year.
“For the first time in recent history, we have filled all 63 sworn police officer positions, with the last position proudly filled by our second female officer,” Rocha said.
This year, the city also saw a drop in car collisions by 2 percent, a drop in crime by 2 percent and an increase of parking citations by 23 percent.
Other noted accomplishments included a decrease of water consumption by at least 20 percent. The public works department removed graffiti from over 4,400 locations and completed two temporary parking lots in the downtown areas to alleviate the parking shortage.
President Wallace acknowledged APU’s recent recognitions, including a ninth-place ranking in US News Magazine’s “Up and Coming Universities,” alongside schools such as USC.
Wallace spoke of the record enrollment that APU achieved for fall 2008 and how, although the government is decreasing the Cal Grant for students by over $1000, the school is looking to still have a high enrollment for fall 2009.
Wallace moved on to sports achievements, which include 31 total national championships and the recent success of APU alumnus Brian Clay.
“Brian, Sarah and their family are a great example of students that stay local and represent Azusa,” Wallace said.
Wallace was followed by superintendent Cervantes-McGuire, who covered the achievements of Azusa schools this past year. She informed audience members that 87 percent of graduates this year passed all standards, compared to the state average of 79 percent.
Cervantes discussed the partnerships the Azusa Unified School District has with Citrus College and APU that have helped in the GATE summer program and the schools’ partnership with the Getty Foundation, which is paying for the children to attend science camp next summer.
Finally, Chamber of Commerce president Glassman addressed the different involvements of the chamber in the city, including “Azusa Rocks” earthquake preparation.
The day provided an update on life in Azusa.
“As a community member, I enjoy knowing what is going on in Azusa and I wanted to hear what the mayor as well as president Jon Wallace and the rest of the speakers had to say,” graduate social work major Jesse Montes said.
Director of Community Relations Ginny Dadaian stressed the importance of APU’s deep involvement in the community.
“We are Azusa. Our name has Azusa in it,” Dadaian said. “It is truly an honor to be here and talk about how we’re doing, because our students spend money here, we live here and it is just full circle for us to be here.”
