Mayor highlights Glendale’s economic vibrancy’ in State of the City address
Glendale Mayor Ara Najarian gives the State of the City address at the Hilton in Glendale on Thursday, March 31, 2016.
Glendale has attracted many well-known businesses during the past year, said Mayor Ara Najarian during his State of the City address on Thursday, while the biggest challenge ahead could adversely impact the police and fire departments if a ballot measure passes in June.
In his third time giving the speech since being elected to City Council, Najarian said the city has emerged strongly from the recession with a much leaner work force and an operating budget that has been cut by $29.5 million.
Part of that recovery came in the form of getting the likes of Equinox, King Taco, the Antaeus Theatre Co., Buffalo Wild Wings and the Museum of Neon Art to set up shop in town, he said during the event at the Hilton.
“When we reflect on Glendale’s economic vibrancy, we see that commercial, retail and industrial property vacancies are reaching historic lows for the sixth straight year,” Najarian said.
Retail space occupancies are down to 2.7% from 6% over the past few years, he added.
Boardwalk Properties’ Elizabeth Manesserian received the Woman of the Year award from Glendale Police Department Deputy Chief Carl Povilaitis at this year’s luncheon at the Hilton in Glendale on Thursday, March 31, 2016.
Up next are the eventual openings of a Holiday Inn Suites and Hampton Inn, as well as the boutique operations Hotel Indigo and AC Hotel, which are exploring the feasibility of coming to Glendale, Najarian said.
An outside consultant was also hired to attract tech companies to Glendale, Najarian said.
Looking at arts and culture, he said the city in the past year started searching for a consultant to help draft a Public Art Master Plan.
“The Public Art Master Plan will ensure responsible stewardship of the $4.5-million Urban Art Fund and will help further Glendale’s vision of a community rich in cultural offerings,” Najarian said.
Regarding public works, the mayor spoke of Glendale Water & Power’s achievement of being ranked by an outside consulting firm as one of the nation’s most reliable utilities.
“The report stated that GWP customers can expect less than one outage per year as opposed to the average 1.24 outages,” Najarian said.
Despite the accomplishments, many key city services and departments could undergo severe budget cuts if Measure N passes in June, the mayor said. If passed, it would repeal the city’s utility users tax on water, gas and electricity.
While state law prohibits city officials from speaking against the ballot item, he called it the biggest challenge for Glendale in 2016. If voters approve Measure N, it could slice $17.5 million from the city’s budget.
“It would mean the reduction or elimination of services and cripple the police and fire departments as we see them today,” Najarian said.
The police department, for example, would be forced to eliminate 53 full-time officers, he said. The tax currently costs the average resident $7 a month, Najarian added.
“I truly believe that these challenges are really just opportunities to draw people closer to their government and best understand how we can serve you better,” he said.
Below are the residents and businesses recognized at the luncheon for their contributions to Glendale and its business community.
Woman of the Year: Elizabeth Manasserian, Boardwalk Properties;
Man of the Year: Shant Sahakian, Sedna Solutions;
Project of the Year: The Grand Central Air Terminal, the Walt Disney Co.;
Organization of the Year: Glendale Fire Foundation, Fire Chief Greg Fish, President Zaven Kazazian;
Business of the Year: Crescenta Valley Insurance, Rick Dinger.
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Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com
Twitter: @ArinMikailian
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