HomeCity NewsMayor Reiterates Plans in State of the City Address

Mayor Reiterates Plans in State of the City Address

Ken Ude is hoping to figure out what’s going on with the Stoneman School building the same way the city figured out how to approach the San Marino Center last year.
The new mayor outlined this among other goals and highlights at his State of the City address this week, an event held virtually on account of the coronavirus pandemic. Ude reiterated that his vote of confidence on the renovation of the San Marino Center came by way of the task force that solicited the community’s input before crafting its recommended model.
Answering the question of the Stoneman building was part of the platform that got Ude elected in 2017.
“I know that’s going to be a tough one to tackle,” he said, “but I think with the success of the task force for the San Marino Center, we can put together a similar group and find some good solutions moving forward.”
Other priorities for the year were to continue enhancements to public safety, move forward with additional infrastructure upgrades, develop an online dashboard for residents to check in on city activity, identify additional operation efficiencies and to curb the length of City Council meetings.
“So, for those of you watching us, you won’t have to grab a NoDoz and a Red Bull to get through the city council meetings,” Ude quipped.
Ever the businessman, Ude also stressed that he wished to continue quality of life enhancements for San Marino’s small but proud business community. He called it “building on the San Marino brand.”
“We’re taking small, little steps,” he said, noting that the Montrose Shopping Park in Glendale serves as a model to emulate. “Particularly with the Mission District, that can be a nice walkable area depending on what we do with it. There are probably some residents who don’t want more traffic here, so we’re trying to balance it to help out those who stuck their neck out for the community.”
Ude tipped his cap to the work of his predecessors as well as by city administrators.
Residential burglaries fell by 17% last year, although larcenies increased by 26% thanks in part to thefts from unlocked vehicles. The 22 solar-powered cameras have yielded 12 arrests for the San Marino Police Department.
The San Marino Fire Department awaits delivery of a $274,715 ambulance, and last year put into service a new $700,000 truck. The department averaged five calls each day last year.
The city increased translation of its communications into Mandarin last year. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, bulletins on new developments related to the pandemic were typically published in both English and Mandarin, and videos were often recorded in both languages as well. The city also significantly increased engagement with digital media last year, including social media and email newsletters.
The city added 112 new trees last year, while removing 71. Nearly 2,500 trees were pruned as part of general maintenance.
Ude also touched on the unfunded pension liability for the city, which unofficially sat at around $32.6 million. Other Post-Employment Benefits, or OPED, stood at about $6.3 million, but that, too, remains a moving target.
“Nobody really knows,” Ude said. “It all depends on how CalPERS performs over the years and so far they’ve done a really good job of overpromising and underperforming. It would be really nice if they could turn that around.”
The city also will strive to continue building awareness of how to deal with peafowl and coyotes that roam around town on occasion.
“We can invite peafowl to a new vacation home in Ventura County,” he said, “but unfortunately we don’t have that flexibility with the four-footed friends we see on the streets from time to time.”
Ude also reminded residents that this would be his first and likely last State of the City address. He said he has no plans currently to seek re-election in 2022.
“I hope to work with some of the people in the community who are interested in running for the council and why it might make sense for you to do so,” he added.

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