State of the City Report

Dear Citizens, Lomita Businesses and Friends:

It is my pleasure to present the 2007 State of the City Address to you as your outgoing Mayor. As your Mayor for 2007, it has been my personal privilege to serve during Lomita’s Centennial Year.

The specific purpose of the State of the City report is to provide the public a brief summary of accomplishments of the past year. It is often a time for reflection and to rediscover our sense of community pride for this wonderful place we all call home – Lomita.

The City of Lomita could not achieve any degree of success without the efforts of many groups and individuals. The City Commissions, Committees, volunteers and citizens play an integral role in the continuing development of our city. This Centennial Year the City of Lomita has relied on City Staff and countless volunteers to assist with a wide array of events and activities. Furthermore, I am honored to acknowledge the efforts and dedication of my City Council colleagues. City Council Members work diligently to make Lomita a better place to live, work and play each and every day.

The active organizations within our city provide essential services in its continual physical and social development. These would include the Lomita Chamber of Commerce, South Bay Council of Governments, Lomita Sister City Organization, Lomita-Harbor City Kiwanis Club, Lomita Torrance Airport Rotary Club, Lomita Little League, Friends of the Library and the Lomita Railroad Foundation just too mention a few.

CENTENNIAL YEAR OF EVENTS……

When we discuss community volunteerism, active organizations, dedicated elected officials and hard working city staff, it is with great pride and sense of achievement that the perfect example of involvement can best be found in this year’s Lomita Centennial Celebration!

Beginning with the kickoff Centennial Hoe Down at the Railroad Museum after celebrating the Museum’s 40th Birthday, the Lomita Centennial Committee hosted an old fashion country Hoe Down Street Dance. Approximately 350 attendees comprised of neighbors, friends and family listened to great music and went “dancing in the streets”. The event was covered by Time Warner’s/CNN Mr. Ron Roberson, Anchor, CNN Headline News Local Edition. The entire day-long celebration hosted 700 participants.

The Lomita community celebration then moved on to the Holiday Tree Lighting festivities on December 1st in front of City Hall. Lomita families were treated to a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus, a wonderful toy raffle compliments of the Women’s Club along with goodie bags distributed to all the youngsters by the City’s Parks and Recreation Staff. Other activities included a short movie, choral singing from Lomita Magnet Elementary School and St. Margaret Mary Elementary School. The evening concluded with the traditional tree lighting ceremony. The Centennial Holiday Tree Lighting event was an overwhelming success with 600 persons attending the Friday night function.

In the early part of 2007, the Centennial Celebration moved indoors to Lomita City Hall with the Centennial Art Exhibit and the display of 15 works of art which were judged by the City Council. A significant Centennial event occurred in May of 2007 with the first printing of Lomita… A Century Remembered From Barley To Barnyards to Boulevards. The Editorial Board comprised of Jim Cole, Author, Jennifer Borland, Susan Y. Dever, Mary Kojima, Patricia Kromka and Stephen Yanko. The Board spent long evenings and weekends viewing countless numbers of pictures, news articles, editing, evaluating and re-editing to make sure Lomita history was as accurate as possible. Lomita… A Century Remembered is in its second print and is a fine comprehensive account of our community and its people.

FORE! The Lomita Centennial Golf Classic and Mayor’s Cup held in March, 2007 at the beautiful Los Verdes Golf Course was a first class event drawing 144 golfers from around the south bay area. The tournament was a fund raising event for the Centennial Celebration and $17,000 in proceeds was donated to the Centennial Committee for the underwriting of events throughout the year.

On Saturday, June 23rd, the Centennial Celebration went physical with its South Bay 5 & 10 K Run. In conjunction with the Run, a Health and Fitness Expo was held that included 15 exhibitors and demonstrations of sports equipment, athletic wear and other health-oriented vendors. Approximately 60 volunteers and 30 Staff personnel including City Council Members, worked at the event which attracted 425 runners.

A week later, the City’s favorite annual fair, the Founder’s Day Hometown Fair, kickoff on Saturday, June 30th, at Lomita Park. The event was enhanced to celebrate the Centennial Year and included 20 local civic agencies and organizations providing “giveaways” to fair participants. In addition, the Fair had 12 non-profit food booth concessions which in turn used food sales profits for various worthwhile projects in the City of Lomita. Other activities included the 2nd Annual Chili Cook-Off contest, kiddie carnival rides, a car show, cultural performances and 40 craft and business booths. The new layout of the Hometown Fair allowed improved crowd flow with approximately 8,500 people in attendance. And of course, the 2007 Founder’s Day Hometown Fair saved the best for last, a Fireworks Display to celebrate the Centennial that was the finest pyrotechnical celebration in the South Bay for the Fourth of July (at least that is what many people told me!).

Batter Up! The Centennial Celebration continued with the City of Lomita Night at Dodger Stadium on Friday, August 3rd. Approximately 1,000 people met at Lomita Park to travel to Dodger Stadium to enjoy a baseball game and cheer for Lomita City and Chamber Officials as they were introduced on the field at the pre-game ceremony. It was indeed a proud moment for Lomita and its citizens.

Meanwhile back in Lomita on the same night, different venue, residents and visitors enjoyed a cultural evening with a Shakespeare by the Sea performance on the lawn in front of City Hall. Approximately 200 people attended the Taming of the Shrew.

The City’s popular Summer Movie Series, Movie Under the Stars, attracted over 600 people and was a huge success in the celebration of our Centennial Year. On Tuesday, September 11, 2007, the City held a poignant sober Patriot Day Memorial ceremony on the lawn in front of City Hall with about 200 persons attending the event and marking a tragic day in our Nation’s history.

Strike up the marching bands!! Sunday, September 30th, the Centennial Parade kicked off to an audience of around 2,500 spectators. There were over 50 VIPs that rode in the parade including the Lomita Mayor and City Council, former City Council Members, Senator Jenny Oropeza, Sheriff Lee Baca, Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley, actor Steven Williams and sports reporter Rob Fukuzaki as the Parade Grand Marshall.

And now the City of Lomita has come full circle with events celebrating our Centennial with the 2007 Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony scheduled for November 30th.

In summary, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to thank every single official volunteer, participant, Staff member, vendor and patron that contributed to the success of the City of Lomita Centennial Celebration. It was a phenomenal year with phenomenal events. The estimated grand total of attendance for all events is 15,000 participants - residents, visitors, families and friends. The most important and positive aspect of the Centennial was the community interaction – getting families and neighbors out of their homes – visiting with each other, celebrating our city life and our quality of life in Lomita. This is important because we never know when unexpected events – such as manmade or a natural disaster may occur and require us to interact in an emergency situation. Now, in light of our Centennial Celebration, we know more about each other and hopefully care more about our community.

CITY SERVICES HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2007

Please bear with me a few more minutes as I quickly highlight some other city activities for 2007:

Fireworks Enforcement Program – The City implemented an aggressive Fireworks Enforcement and Public Awareness Program in response to numerous complaints of persons discharging fireworks within the City limits of Lomita on the Fourth of July Holiday. The City has had a long history in disallowing fireworks with the exception of the annual fireworks display at its Founder’s Day Celebration which is contracted out to professionals.

The program, a combination of public awareness and aggressive enforcement, resulted in a low volume of calls for service during the holiday period. In fact, neighboring cities have requested a copy of Lomita’s Fireworks Enforcement Program so that they may emulate our success in improving the quality of life for their residents.

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) – The City has conducted two CERT programs and trained approximately 100 Lomita residents as CERT volunteers. The City printed a disaster preparedness manual for city residents that serves as a guideline in case of a local manmade or natural disaster.

National Incident Management System (NIMS) – Staff trained in the required federal program for disaster response and the City is now in compliance with NIMS requirements.

New Financial Software System - The City’s Administrative Services Department is in the process of implementing a new financial software program that will enhance financial reporting and improve customer service in business licensing, utility billing and overall financial accountability. Furthermore, it is my pleasure to announce that for the third consecutive year, the City of Lomita has received an award for Outstanding Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers’ Association (GFOA).

Five Year Infrastructure Action Plan - The City’s Public Works Department is in the process of a comprehensive street improvement project and the first phase is underway with slurry sealing streets throughout Lomita. The City Engineer is developing a five year infrastructure action plan that includes a street overlay program, water line replacement, safe routes to school crosswalk improvements and replacement of the Cypress Street Reservoir (just to mention a few).

Mixed-Use Ordinance – The City Council adopted a Mixed-Use Ordinance to encourage development in the downtown area of Lomita.

Park Facilities – Staff completed the installation of a new gym floor and other upgrades in the gymnasium at the Tom Rico Community Center, Lomita Park Complex.

In addition to the above highlighted activities, daily city operations include a multitude of tasks to keep the City of Lomita running efficiently and effectively. From the day to day maintenance of city facilities to tree trimming, sidewalk replacement, cleaning storm drains, sweeping streets, overseeing solid waste collection and cable services, the Lomita City Staff (total 50 full time and 40 part time employees) work tirelessly to provide a wide array of public services to our citizens. A summary of the aforementioned activities can be found in the City’s Task Management Schedule Report available for review at City Hall. The 54 page document lists major city projects and operational tasks on a semi-annual basis and is used as a tool to measure performance. I invite you to review its contents at your convenience.

Again, thank you for your time and being such an attentive audience and it was a pleasure to serve as your Mayor for 2007. Lomita has a proud past, an active present and a bright future ahead.

Sincerely,

Mayor Mark Waronek
City of Lomita
Centennial Year 2007