Duarte Continues With Substantial Economic Growth Mayor Fasana Reports in State of City Address

Duarte Mayor John Fasana, Chamber President Bob Cruz, of Southern California Gas Co., and Duarte Unified School District Board President, Frank Figueroa at State of the City, State of the School District talks, hosted by the Duarte Chamber of Commerce.

Duarte Mayor John Fasana speaking on the State of the City had some upbeat news for the more than 100 business and civic leaders assembled at a Duarte Chamber of Commerce sponsored luncheon at City of Hope Cooper Auditorium.

Duarte “continues to be blessed with substantial economic growth” despite the fact that we are experiencing “the greatest national challenge since the city was incorporated more than 50 years ago,” he said.

Fasana noted that Duarte retailers are doing relatively well. City of Hope is continuing to grow with two new medical facilities scheduled to open this year. The Michael Amini Transfusion Medicine Center, a 60,000 square foot facility that will expand City of Hope’s transfusion medicine programs, will open on April 9. The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center for Cancer Immunotherapeutics and Tumor Immunology, a five-story, 108,000 square foot facility, will open this fall.

Also on the horizon is the April 2009 opening of a 48,000 square foot Best Buy, with 9,000 square feet of in-line shops adjacent to the Foothill Freeway at the northeast corner of Central Ave. and Mountain. A 15,000 square foot Fresh and Easy market will have its grand opening on Feb. 18 in a shopping center at the northwest corner of Huntington Dr. and Mt. Olive Dr.

Construction continues on a new 34,000 square foot Maryvale Family Resource and Child Education Center at the southeast corner of Huntington Dr. and Crestfield Dr. that will provide expanded day care, family counseling and related support services for the community when it opens this fall.

“Our fees and taxes are lower than many neighboring cities which places us in a strong competitive position as the economy moves to recovery,” said Fasana.

Two new housing projects are continuing at a slower pace, but Phase 1 of a 51-home development on Huntington Dr. continues to sell and 4 of 15 luxury Las Lomas Estates homes are under construction on the former Atalla Ranch property in the Duarte foothills.

While the city’s General Fund reserve has grown to nearly $7.5 million and “our savings rate is up” Fasana said the city may need to make cuts. “The growth in reserves has not kept pace with growth in expenses,” he said. “City government will need to work harder and smarter as revenues decline and the need for services increases.”

The state’s delay in passing a budget has delayed $1.3 million in grant funding to Duarte and all related projects are on hold. Fasana said Duarte will need to front $500,000 of unanticipated expenditures to keep these projects moving. Possibly worse repercussions from the budget crisis, and the state has already seized $1.1 million in redevelopment funds, he said.

The Duarte Redevelopment Agency has entered into an ongoing Exclusive Negotiating Agreement with Lowe Development Corporation for a Transit Oriented Development project located at the northwest corner of Highland Ave. and Duarte Rd., across the street from City of Hope and adjacent to the proposed Gold Line station. The 20-acre project is planned to feature approximately 1.5 million square feet of developable space including a hotel, office space, retail, restaurants, and housing. Fasana noted it could also serve as a potential location for the long sought new Duarte Library and a Public Safety facility.

An issue of major concern to the city is a plan by Vulcan Materials, owners and operators of Azusa Rock Quarry, to expand mining operations west to an 80-acre site in the hills over the City of Duarte. Vulcan claims scars will be visible from Duarte on the west side prior to reclamation, said Fasana. While Vulcan has recently filed a Conditional Use Permit and revised reclamation plan application with the City of Azusa, which Azusa officials deem is currently incomplete, the City of Duarte has established a $700,000 fund to monitor and counter Vulcan’s expansion plans.

The City’s Public Safety staff and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department continue to make progress in dealing with problems caused by gangs in the community. Crime levels in the City of Duarte, as documented by the latest FBI crime statistics, are at an all time low. Duarte has declined to participate with the City of Monrovia and the County of Los Angeles on the implementation of a gang injunction.

“We believe there are opportunities in the near-term to expand on the effective outreach efforts that have produced positive results for our youth, young adults, and the community-at-large. The City will work with community stakeholders on expanded outreach to build additional trust and cooperation in our neighborhoods. Duarte will continue to pursue these comprehensive strategies to address gang violence and will continue to work closely with the City of Monrovia and County of Los Angeles to make our combined areas safe and enjoyable for all residents,” he said.

Among the strategies:

• Duarte will expand its partnership with Duarte Unified School District to identify early opportunities to intervene and work with Citrus College to expand job training options for older residents.

• The creation of new outreach efforts and the establishment of new positive programs and recreational outlets targeted to both youth and young adults, ages 17-25 including a midnight basketball program at Duarte High School on Saturday nights beginning March 28 and a youth discussion group out of the Duarte Teen Center.

• The city and county areas of Duarte and Monrovia have been included in a pilot study, along with Florence/Firestone, Pacoima and Harbor Gateway, to develop a Countywide Gang Violence Reduction Strategy that will serve as a model that can be used throughout Los Angeles County. The program will focus on individuals currently on probation, preventing youth from entering the juvenile justice system, and coordinate re-entry strategies for individuals transitioning back into the community from detention. The goal is to coordinate and integrate the vast array of services provided by departments of County government to provide a better focus on gang prevention.

• Youth employment and job training is key. The city continues to work with the Foothill Workforce Investment Board to create more youth job opportunities in addition to approximately 30 jobs for youth this summer.

• Duarte Area Resource Team, Youthworks and Duarte Trail Crew are prevention and intervention youth programs administered by the Public Safety Office servicing an average of 70 youth per month. Other major programs targeted to youth include Duarte’s Promise the Alliance for Youth, People Helping People, Share Mentoring Program, and the Mayor’s Youth Council that is currently working to develop a Youth Master Plan that will be presented to the City Council in February.

In his concluding remarks, Fasana invited the community to work together to build a better, stronger Duarte.

“It is not in the actions and hard work of a few, but the collective actions of many that communities are built. While resources right now may be limited, through leverage, we will apply far greater resources and talents for the betterment of Duarte’s neighborhoods,” he said.

On Saturday, April 25, in conjunction with Community Clean-up Day, neighbors will get together to work on neighborhood improvement projects.

“Not only will our neighborhoods look better, we will strengthen ties, improve safety, and create networking opportunities for those who need help. This year, we will show that while our nation is in crisis, Duarte is hard at work leading the way for a bright future,” said Fasana.