2011 City of CypressState of the City Address
Mayor Leroy Mills
January 26, 2011
Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen:
THANK YOU for taking time out of your busy schedule to be with us today. I hope that you are enjoying both the lunch and the fellowship with everyone. It is my honor to represent my Council colleagues, Mayor Pro Tem Todd Seymore, Council Members Doug Bailey, Phil Luebben, and Dr. Prakash Narain, as the Mayor of this great community and to share with you the State of our City. I would also like to thank and acknowledge my lovely wife Mary Ann for her prayers, love and encouragement.
Welcome to the Invited Dignitaries and I express my gratitude for you investing your time in us today.
Let me say upfront, that the success of the Cypress community is attributable to the cooperative, focused efforts of many people:
Take away any ONE of the above and our success would be greatly diminished.
Our City is in excellent standing, as demonstrated by the City’s stability during these changing economic times. This past year, Sacramento took $1.9 million dollars in Redevelopment funds from Cypress. Yet, we were able to maintain high quality municipal services, we did not increase any taxes, we did not layoff anyone, nor did we issue furlough days, and we successfully negotiated new contracts with our labor groups. We were able to do all this despite being at the bottom of the “food chain” with respect to Sacramento. This was possible because of the pre-emptive budget tightening that we began to undertake prior to the current economic conditions.
Our City has demonstrated over the years that we are financially sound, with the policy and practice of low risk, high return investments of public moneys. In 2010, the City had some $28.3 million dollars in General Fund revenues and $23.5 million dollars in expenditures, which demonstrates that the City is prudent with its resources, and lives within its means. Our City Council is confident with the City’s financial management, and this has proven to be vital for our financial health during the current economic instability. Cypress businesses and residents are assured that this community will continue to be financially strong in 2011.
Governor Brown’s recent budget release calls for the
These budget proposals and other measures will benefit Sacramento and definitely impact local cities. The City Council and Staff must and will remain vigilant in opposing additional takeaways and aggressively fight to preserve local control.
A safe community is an attractive community and Cypress is both. Our enviable police force has been doing more with less as it has reduced overtime expenditures. The department is very successful in obtaining various financial grants, such as funding for DUI checkpoints to get drunk drivers off the streets. The tragic deaths of Doug & Steve Uselton are still fresh in our minds from such a drunken driver. FBI crime statistics indicate a decrease in Cypress major crimes, and this further supports our reputation of being a safe and secure City.
Technology is exploding, and our police department is on board with new technology for transmitting community alerts, online police reporting, and viewing crime statistics.
The City Council remains focused on its directed long-term infrastructure plans. In 2011, the City will recondition 61.5 lane miles of roads, repair over 2.2 miles of sidewalk, and install 190 ADA access ramps.
During the recent rain storms, the City’s roads successfully survived some 20 inches of rain. What is out of sight is not necessarily out of mind. In looking underground, we plan to construct and repair 2.3 miles of sewer lines and up to 1 mile of storm drain lines. To the credit of the community’s support, the City was able to establish a revenue stream to meet our ongoing sewer infrastructure needs.
In spite of the housing market decline in the past few years, property values in Cypress have stayed relatively stable. Mr. Randall Lewis, an expert in real estate development with the Southern California Association of Governments, reports that locations like Cypress will be the fastest to regain property values. This is because we are not in the “high rent districts” like the coastal cities, making our housing affordable, while being close to major employment centers.
Whereas, it is documented that Cypress has some of the highest quality streets in the County, I also believe that we have one of the best recreation programs.
The City Council is committed to implementing the Recreation Infrastructure Study, which identifies critical maintenance and replacement projects for funding consideration over the next 10 years.
Be assured that our parks will always look their best and will serve the community well into the future. In addition, we will continue our efforts to find and identify opportunities to bolster our parkland acreage.
The Cypress Community Festival is a far reaching Southern California attraction for our community. Vendors come as far away as Arizona and Nevada. Last year, an estimated 20,000 people were in attendance. The committee is planning to surpass this number on Saturday, July 23rd!
All our schools continue to rank among the best in the region and the nation in academics, athletics, and extracurricular activities. Cypress College was at 105% of capacity in January 2010, which indicates the demand for its outstanding programs. Cypress High School, Oxford Academy and the Cypress School District, ALL have the honor of being recognized as California Distinguished Schools.
Oxford Academy graduates have matriculated to many nationally distinguished institutions. Measure M work continues throughout the Cypress Elementary School District to upgrade all of the schools with the latest safety protections and educational technology. All of Cypress’ educational institutions serve as shining examples of what high quality and well balanced education looks like.
In the Economic Development area, we are looking forward to another successful and productive year with our BRACE, AGENT, and SPIRIT programs holding quarterly forums. Guest speakers are selected to present the latest cutting edge information to our large, medium and sole proprietary business owners and executives.
The CREW program recently held its third quarterly meeting with some 20-plus attendees. CREW stands for Cypress Region of Executive/Management Women and was created for the purpose of building a networking collaboration among local professional women. Sheriff Sandra Hutchens was the featured speaker at their latest meeting.
In 2011, a start up guide will be developed for businesses considering relocating to Cypress. It will outline available resources, fee structures, and code requirements associated with starting a business.
A planned resource link will direct our local workforce to various services such as childcare, transit options, dining locations, and much more.
Finally, the Economic Development team will continue to work to increase quality retail and upscale dining options within the City.
In all, Cypress is driven to being regionally known as a business friendly headquarters for quality assistance and services.
At this time, we would like to debut a video that visually depicts what our community accomplished during 2010. This video will also be available for viewing throughout the year as regular programming on Cypress Channel 36. We hope you enjoy it.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is now time for one of my most rewarding pleasures of today’s event....It is my honor to recognize two outstanding businesses that exemplify the City’s motto of Progress, by presenting the 2nd Annual BRACE and AGENT Business of the Year Awards. The BRACE Award goes to...Manhattan Beach Wear.
Manhattan Beachwear is a leading manufacturer of women’s swimwear, has been in business for over 25 years, and in Cypress since November 2005. They design and manufacture numerous brands such as Hobie, Kenneth Cole NY Swimwear, and Hermanny by Vic. The company recently acquired Apparel Ventures. Over the years, the company has grown to be one of the most successful in the industry, providing its customer base with an unmatched brand and product mix.
Ms. Brenda West is the company’s President. She is a graduate of North Dakota State University, and has been with the company for 21 years. Brenda is responsible for overseeing the sales, merchandising and marketing of the company’s 19 brand labels and large private label accounts. She is an outstanding example of the American opportunity!
Also with us today is Mr. Allan Colvin, the CEO of Manhattan Beachwear. Mr. Colvin is a California native and a graduate of Cal State Long Beach. Brenda and Allan, would you kindly join me at the podium?
The City of Cypress thanks you and Manhattan Beachwear for your business presence, achievements, and community support. On behalf of the City Council and Staff, it is my pleasure to present to Manhattan Beachwear the BRACE Business of the Year Award.
Also, we would like to present to you this accompanying Certificate of Recognition of our appreciation.
Congratulations to you and Manhattan Beachwear for reflecting the highest credit upon you, your company, and the City of Cypress.
Next is the AGENT Business of the Year Award.
And this Award goes to...Cohesive Tax.
COHESIVE Tax is a professional tax and accounting firm employing exemplary tax professionals. The firm distinguishes itself as a complete taxation, payroll, and bookkeeping service to individuals and businesses alike, serving the community, region and national clients for nearly 2 decades.
Ms. Karla Dennis is the CEO of Cohesive. Karla is a gifted tax expert and an inspiration to women entrepreneurs. Karla worked two jobs and paid her way through college to earn a Master’s Degree in Taxation. She became a Licensed Enrolled Agent after being rigorously tested and approved by the U.S. Treasury. Karla is certified to resolve the most complex individual and corporate tax issues in all 50 states.
Karla, would you join me at the podium?
On behalf of the City Council and staff, it is my pleasure to present to Cohesive Tax the AGENT Business of the Year Award.
We would also like to present to you this accompanying Certificate of Recognition.
Congratulations to you and Cohesive Tax for reflecting the highest credit upon you, your company, and the City of Cypress.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Please join me in congratulating our BRACE and AGENT Business Award of the Year winners once again with a round of applause.
The great football coach Vince Lombardi once said, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.” Looking around at all the outstanding things taking place within our community, I am confident to say that we as a community are chasing perfection and catching excellence.
We hope that today’s program has been informative to each of you. We look forward to seeing each of you next year when we gather again to celebrate the success of our community.
We are Cypress…….a healthy and balanced City to live, to work, to learn, to shop and to play.
Cypress…... “What opportunity looks like!”
May God bless each of you, your businesses, and may God bless the City of Cypress.