The annual Santa Clarita “State of the City” luncheon was held Thursday at the Hyatt Regency Valencia grand ballroom.

A sold-out event for both open and reserved tables, the luncheon gave residents an opportunity to meet and hear from their Santa Clarita community leaders and politicians.

In addition to citizens and local leaders, Congressman Steve Knight, R-Santa Clarita; State Senator Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita; Assemblyman Dante Acosta, R-Santa Clarita; and Assemblyman Tom Lackey, R-Antelope Valley also made time during the hectic campaign season to attend the event.

But despite these prominent figures and influential residents finding themselves among the crowd, it was the individual Santa Clarita City Council members’ turns to shine.

While hundreds ate lunch, each member of the Santa Clarita City Council walked to the podium, gave a brief speech and then introduced an informative video that was focalized around giving progress updates for a specific project or goal held by the current leaders of City Hall.

Mayor Laurene Weste

Mayor Laurene Weste kicked off this year’s “State of the City” luncheon by giving an abstract description on the purpose of the annual event, as well as a short synopsis on a variety of issues that the city is either currently facing or had been previously addressed during the past year.

Much like her speech, Weste’s featured video covered a number of topics, from Santa Clarita’s successful campaign to preserve open space, to the latest details surrounding the soon-to-be-built Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, to an overview of all the new amenities and services coming with the Canyon Country Community Center.

However, a focal point for her video seemed to be the growing support from City of Santa Clarita officials over the last few years to bolster the arts programs and facilities in the valley.

A pet project of Weste’s for years, the mayor gave a synopsis of what events have already been hosted at the newly-refurbished Newhall Family Theater, as well as the various programs in the works for Old Town Newhall.

Mayor Pro Tem Marsha McLean

Although those attending the luncheon would later play audience to one of her tap dancing numbers, Mayor Pro Tem Marsha McLean used her initial time up front to commend City Hall’s past, present and future projects within the Santa Clarita Valley.

In addition to touching on her long career as a city councilmember, McLean’s follow-up video highlighted the improvements that have happened in the Santa Clarita Public Library and transportation systems.

Ed. Note: While KHTS was able to access and embed the videos for four councilmembers, Mayor Pro Tem McLean’s personal video will not be available until Monday.

Bob Kellar

In one of the shorter live remarks made on Thursday, Councilmember Bob Kellar impressed upon the crowd his gratefulness and respect for the constituents in the Santa Clarita Valley.

For nearly two decades, Kellar has been a member of the council, attending events such as the “State of the City” luncheon every single year. However, Kellar — a former LAPD officer and Santa Clarita mayor — used the remainder of his speech and the majority of his video to discuss public safety.

Kellar emphasized that he has worked with Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station throughout his time as a public servant, announcing in his video that within the last year, traffic collisions within the Santa Clarita Valley had decreased 12 percent and local crime was down 19 percent.

Bill Miranda

Councilmember Bill Miranda, the most recent addition to the council, followed his predecessors with a speech about the revitalization and growth the Santa Clarita entertainment sector has undergone in recent years.

Miranda discussed how City officials have worked to provide citizens with expanded daytime entertainment, such as the numerous bike paths and hiking trails woven throughout Santa Clarita, while simultaneously organizing various nighttime events, such as public concerts and intramural sporting leagues for residents to enjoy throughout the year.

Intermixed between still shots of local public parks and Cowboy Festival footage, Miranda’s video showed how entertainment in Santa Clarita is being funded by the entertainment industry in Hollywood. Through the first seven months of 2018, the Santa Clarita Film Office recorded 323 film permits being filed for, translating to approximately $16.9 million in economic benefit for the Santa Clarita Valley.

Cameron Smyth

Councilmember Cameron Smyth closed out the luncheon with both a video of his own, as well as a live performance of his take on the song “My Shot” from the Broadway show Hamilton.

Following his theatrical rendition, Smyth’s video used Miranda’s previous mention of the complementary relationship Santa Clarita shares with the entertainment industry as a springboard, saying the supportive attitude City Hall has taken with Hollywood is just one example of how local officials have worked to cultivate a healthy environment for private business.

Smyth talked about the City of Santa Clarita’s award-winning business incubator and the relationship between the local government, College of the Canyons and the Los Angeles network for the Small Business Development Center.

This relationship between the three organizations has been a major catalyst for the creation of a number of high-quality technology-focused jobs in Santa Clarita, which has helped in the growth of at least three home-grown, Business Incubator startups.

The work done to bolster the business sector through local government investment has resulted in Santa Clarita being recognized as one of the best cities in the county in terms of city-business relations.

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