The City of Santa Clarita hosted the first-ever virtual “State of the City” on Thursday, where city staff shared the progress that Santa Clarita has made over the past year, as well as their plans for the future.

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On Thursday morning, all five members of the Santa Clarita City Council hosted the first-ever virtual edition of the annual “State of the City” event.

Traditionally, the annual event is held at the Hyatt Regency in Valencia, where a limited number of individuals share a meal and hear from city staff. This year, the COVID-19 pandemic forced city officials to shift the event to a virtual format, allowing all residents to participate in the event for the first time.

“What a difference a year makes,” said Santa Clarita Mayor Cameron Smyth. “We are all physically-distanced, but our community connections in Santa Clarita remain strong.”

Smyth started the event off by recalling the events that have taken place since last year’s State of the City event. These include the Tick Fire, the Saugus High shooting, and the coronavirus pandemic.

“Throughout the last year, Santa Clarita and our residents have supported one another, looked out for our neighbors, and shown resilience on a scale that none of us could have imagined 12 months ago,” he said. 

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Throughout the event, members of the Santa Clarita City Councils spoke to various members from sectors considered to be “essential” during the pandemic, ranging from first responders and staff from Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, to city transit workers and public educators.

“This last year has brought with it adversity, heartache, uncertainty, loss, a global pandemic and a renewed call for inclusion and respect,” Smyth said. “Our Sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, and CHP officers are regularly heralded as heroes, but in 2020 all of our essential workers were elevated to hero status.”

City officials went on to detail some of the positive moves made in Santa Clarita in the past year, including the progress made on the new Sheriff’s Station and the Canyon Country Community Center, the opening of new parks and trails, and the continued improvement of the city’s transit system.

“This last year has challenged all of us in unimaginable ways,” Smyth said. “But through  community collaboration, support, kindness, and resilience, Santa Clarita has once again shown that by working together we can overcome any obstacle.” 

The full event can be viewed above, or by clicking here.

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