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Foothills Sentry


Tuesday, April 7, 2015


Mayor’s “State of the City” reports Orange business environment is thriving


Mayor Tita Smith presented the State


of the City address at a luncheon spon- sored by the Chamber of Commerce, March 26. A sampling of her remarks and those from members of the Orange City Council, who she asked to join her on the podium, follow.


I’m Tita Smith, the Mayor of Orange, my hometown. Thank you, each and every one of you, for taking time out of your busy day to be here with us. It is my great plea- sure to present the 2015 State of the City address. The accomplishments of our city are a joint effort. I


think the idea of individual pieces coming together is an apt metaphor for the City of Orange. Each of us contrib- utes our own slice. When we take our individual slices and put them together, the whole really does exceed the sum of its parts. This is how I want the business and com- munity leaders of Orange to think about the relationship we share as a community. We are all contributing slices. The first slice I’d like to talk about is education. There is a direct link between business and education. An edu- cated and skilled workforce is the cornerstone of any business. Institutions of learning feed into that demand at all levels. The Orange Unified School District serves res- idents with 16 elementary schools, four middle schools, and five high schools. Orange Unified is not alone. Throughout our city are numerous private and parochial schools preparing our children to meet the future. Orange is the home of Santiago Canyon College as


well as the classrooms of Azusa Pacific’s regional cam- pus. From the nationally recognized programs of Chap- man University, to the world-renowned teaching hospital, UCI Medical Center, the schools here in Orange feed the workforce requirements of businesses here, and all over the country. But learning doesn’t just happen in a classroom. The facilities and programs of our public libraries also play a tremendous role in keeping our community informed and engaged as a valuable resource for those seeking to enter the workforce. I don’t think I can overstate how important our libraries and library staff were for those who found themselves without a job during the recession. One of our library patrons told us “…The Orange Public Library was a lifesaver for me when I was unemployed... free Wi-Fi and computer access, free entertainment, free resources. I don’t know how I would have gotten through those recession years without it.”


Fred Whitaker: established businesses My slice concerns an area that I’m proud of. Even dur-


ing the most difficult economic times, our city staff has found ways to help our established business community thrive and grow. It’s not easy. Orange has some pretty tough competition with deeper resources working to lure our businesses away. The Ayers Hotel opened an all-new suites tower, thanks


to the hard work of our Economic Development, Commu- nity Development, and Public Works teams. Increasing the number of hotel rooms in Orange has a multiplying effect on our economy. Growing our tourism base means more shopping dollars, more business for our restaurants, and increased tax revenue.


And what about the Outlets at Orange? When our


economy had almost hit rock-bottom, The Block decided it needed to re-invent itself and become Orange County’s first outlet mall. Simon Property Group, the owner of the outlets, is getting ready to unveil its phase two expansion, which will add 60,000 square feet of shopping and dining choices. The Village at Orange also has some pretty big plans developing.


As a resident and council member, it’s not


hard for me to believe that Orange is the place to do busi- ness. However, it’s quite another thing for an outside company to share that vision and commit to a $20 million renovation of a property. This is what Vestar, a property management and acquisition firm, has planned for the Vil- lage. It will include new landscaping, façade remodeling, and the addition of new shopping destinations.


Mark Murphy: hometown business Continuing our theme of “A Slice of Orange” I’d like to


talk about the homegrown slice: our hometown business- es. A company that few of you have heard of is one of the top sales tax generators in our city, but it occupies only one modest office building. I’m talking about SC Fuels. SC Fuels is a distributor and service provider of gas,


diesel, and other forms of petroleum products. SC Fuels worked with city staff to find a way to stay here when oth- er cities were rolling out the red carpet to lure them away. This was an important accomplishment by our economic development team, and will keep SC Fuels’ tax revenues where they belong. Right here in Orange. We’ve had other success stories. Did you know that


Wilson Automotive Group’s Toyota of Orange sold it’s 500,000th -- that’s half-a-million -- car last year.


placed them third in the nation in volume. Toyota of Or- ange donated that 500,000th vehicle to the Orangewood Children’s Foundation.


Last year we had a major manufacturer go from “casu- ally dating” to “serious relationship” when Foamex pur- chased the 25-acre manufacturing facility that it had been leasing since 2009. Foamex is a leading producer of foam products for the healthcare, electronics, industrial and transportation industries. Foamex called its Orange facil- ity, “critical to supporting our customers in the Western United States.”


Mike Alvarez: a vibrant, well-maintained city As a community, we all have different ideas of what is important. I think we can all agree that keeping our city vibrant and well-maintained rates high on our lists. Our Public Works Staff repaired over 1.7 million square feet of Orange roadways last year, which included major sections of Old Towne, where they also undergrounded 90 percent of the utility lines in the Plaza Historic District. Public Works has also been educating our community about water conservation. While we have some under- ground sources of water, we still import a large percent- age. Which means that every drop of water saved by our residents and businesses not only saves money, but also reduces the amount we pay to import. Community also means finding ways to connect us to one another. If anyone can do that, it’s our Community Services Department. It takes care of our 22 beautiful parks, plans such special events as the Third of July and Christmas Tree Lighting. And last year, Orange Parks, Water and skilled staff worked together to save the city money. The irrigation system at El Modena Park had to be replaced; rather than hiring a consultant, then a contractor, and then paying them both, we did the entire project in-house, using staff expertise. The project took 12 weeks and saved the tax- payers over $100,000.


Kim Nichols: small business Small businesses are at the heart of the Orange experi-


ence. Long before chain stores and multi-national com- panies, Orange was home to many small businesses. Our founding citizens may have shopped in the Plaza for cloth- ing at the Ehlen & Grote Mercantile, purchased groceries at Daniel’s Food Market, or bought farm equipment from M. Eltiste and Company. I think anyone from those times would be surprised by


the different shapes and sizes that make up what we call “small business” today. OC Baking Company, for exam- ple, is a one-of-a-kind business that has made a name for itself supplying artisan breads and baked goods to restau- rants all over Orange County. Baking Company.


Business is good for OC So good, in fact, it was OC Weekly


Magazine’s choice for the best bread in Orange County last year. City staff has been working to help small businesses re-


locate and grow in Orange. Businesses of all types require space to operate, and those spaces are found via brokers. Getting brokers to “think Orange” when on the hunt for prospective business spaces is an ongoing city outreach. Urth Caffé is coming to the Hurwitz building on the south-


This


west corner of the Plaza. Urth Caffé has won acclaim by the L.A. and New York Times, Zagat and FoodTourist.com, and we welcome them. There has been a rebirth in small business all over Or-


ange. From the new artisanal furniture store Marc’s An- tiques and Big Red Comics in Old Towne to the Nevada Mineral and Books Company and Colleary’s Bakery on Tustin St.


Bistro and


Tita Smith: the whole Orange I am proud to report that Orange adopted another in- balance budget last year, which makes it the third since the economy collapsed in 2008. Last year I spoke about how important it was for every- one to "shop Orange." And it looks like you took my ad- vice to heart. Our revenues this year grew by 6.7 percent, with sales tax increasing by 6 percent and property tax revenues up by 9.6 percent. Our recovery remains on- track, and the growth of our businesses continues into a fourth straight year. I’d like to touch briefly on two additional, very impor-


tant, slices of Orange: our amazing Public Safety Depart- ments. Our Orange Fire Department has a 99 percent cus-


tomer service approval rating, and is often called to as- sist in large wildfires, such as the ones last year in San Diego and Northern California. Orange firefighters are also known for their big hearts. Last December, the crew from fire engine seven took some time to “recruit” a new team member. Callan Mullins, a very brave young Orange resident, was recently diagnosed with brain cancer after already undergoing two open heart surgeries and battling a stroke. Callan’s wish for Christmas was to sit in a fire engine. He did. And, thanks to the hard work of our police officers, Or-


ange saw a five to eight percent reduction in Part 1 crimes last year. I believe this number also includes the traffic accidents we avoided as a result of over 760 DUI arrests our officers made throughout the year. Earlier this year, our Police Department won the 2015 James Q. Wilson Community Policing Award. The award recognizes the innovative work of our officers with the mental health community. Just some of the cited achieve- ments include educating officers on how to work with mentally ill citizens, and the formation of the Homeless Engagement Assistance Resource Team that uses a “posi- tive outcome” approach in working with homeless indi- viduals and families. Police departments throughout Cali- fornia compete for this prestigious award, but there was only one winner: our own Orange PD.


While we have a lot to be proud of, the reality is that we will always continue to do better. I am introducing a two-year economic development initiative that I am call- ing “Business FIRST.” This will be a concerted effort to service our existing businesses in job creation. How do we do this? By streamlining our processes, offering help where possible, and aggressively promoting business re- tention and attraction.


It is my hope that the businesses


of Orange will come to think of me as the “Jobs Mayor.” On behalf of the entire city council, I would like to thank all of you for your support of sweet, sweet Orange. It is my absolute privilege to serve you as the mayor of my hometown, Orange, California. Thanks to all of you for being here today, and God bless you.


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