Packed ballroom hears city plans and achievements.

More than 300 people filled the grand ballroom of the Hyatt
Valencia for the annual State of the City luncheon, where city Council members
brought guests up to speed on new projects and crowed a bit about their
accomplishments.

One of the most exciting pieces of news was Councilwoman
Marsha McLean’s announcement that the popular flyaway service to LAX would extend
to the Transit Center
next door to the hotel sometime in 2009.

Mayor Bob Kellar speaks at the State of the City Luncheon

Other accomplishments listed include a drop in violent
crime, better graffiti abatement and the eagerly anticipated completion of the
Cross Valley Connection, expected sometime late next year.

Mayor Bob Kellar opened the afternoon’s festivities, themed “Chart
Toppers,” with a peppy rock’n roll theme playing behind his initial remarks. He
introduced a series of videos starring each of the Council members, starting
out with a shot of himself in front of the sheriff’s station sharing the news
that gang assaults and graffiti incidents were down.

“Violent crime is down 18 percent, burglaries are down 26
percent and thefts are down 16 percent,” he said, adding a kudo for the award
winning website scvsheriff.com where citizens can stay abreast of issues and
crime prevention programs.

Councilman Frank Ferry talked about transportation, his
video placed him at several spots in and around the city where major
transportation projects had been completed or were nearing completion. He also
spoke about the record-breaking Santa Clarita Film Office, noting enthusiastically
“What’s good for the film industry is GREAT for the City of Santa
Clarita!”

Councilwoman Laurie Ender mentioned an interesting
statistic: the cost of graffiti removal has been figured at $380 per hour,
including staff time, equipment and materials. She highlighted outreach
programs involving youth in city activities, including the Visions In Progress
Youth Advisory Committee and the upcoming Teen Scene Unplugged, which is coming
up next week.

Along with her Fly-Away announcement, which elicited gasps
of surprise from the crowd, Councilwoman Marsha McLean talked about
environmental advances made by the City, including the award-winning transit
building. On another transportation note, she said that Santa Clarita Transit
commuter bus ridership was up by 15 percent and local travel was up 6 percent.

Stephanie Weiss and Betty Peters at the State of the City luncheon

Councilwoman Laurene Weste championed parks and open space,
with wide open greenery behind her in most of her video. She reminded people
that 20 years ago, there were 7 parks where now there are 21 and the zero open
space at the city’s formation has been replaced by 3,600 acres, many of them
forming a greenbelt around the city limits. She also announced the next project
is the Lost Canyon Trailhead, a 92-acre project on Lost
Canyon Road in Canyon Country that will include
landscaping, parking for vehicles and bikes, benches and water fountains “for
both pets and their owners.” She also outlined the expansion plans for Central
Park (a recreation center, gymnasium, water play area for kids,
volleyball and racketball courts) and the Sports Complex (an off-leash dog
park, basketball courts, new gym and larger skatepark).