2010 State of City Address
Thursday, April 15, 2010
2010 State of City Address (PDF)
Good afternoon! On behalf of the City of Newark, it is a pleasure to join with the Newark Chamber of Commerce in welcoming you to the 2010 State of the City Address.
This event gives us an opportunity to share the many challenges we have been facing this past year and how these challenges are affecting the state of the city.
Before we begin the program, I would like to give a big round of applause to the Newark Memorial High School Advanced Choir for their performance this afternoon. The State of the City Address gives us an opportunity to showcase our students’ talents, and of course to brag first-hand how talented these individuals are. Let’s give them a big round of applause.
And while we are on the subject of talented Newark Memorial High School students… how about the boys basketball team? They displayed their talents last month when they won the CIF Nor Cal Finals. A true honor, especially as they beat out nationally ranked De La Salle. That win moved Newark Memorial to compete in the CIF Division I State Championship last month. Although they came up a bit short in the championship game, they still earned the respect of many. Just getting there is a major achievement. These young people have made Newark proud!
And another team we are proud of, is my colleagues on the Newark City Council who join me in welcoming you to the State of the City Address; they are:
- Vice Mayor Alberto Huezo
- Council Member Alan Nagy
- Council Member Luis Freitas
- Council Member Ana Apodaca
Our Planning Commissioners:
- Chairperson Karen Bridges
- Vice Chair Glen Kramer
- And Commissioners:
- Bill Fitts
- Marla Blowers
- Bob Marshall
- Janet Drews
- Bernie Nill
And taking a bow for our entire City staff:
- City Manager John Becker
I would also like to take this time to acknowledge the State of the City Address Team:
- Gretchen Burgess
- Laurie Gebhard
- Angela Montez
- And Kathy Slafter
Or shall I say, as I call them, my “State of the City Address Angels!”
And I want to give many thanks to the Newark Chamber of Commerce for hosting today’s luncheon. I would like to ask Linda Ashley, President/CEO of the Chamber to stand. As always, it’s a pleasure working with Linda and with members of the Newark Chamber of Commerce.
To all our distinguished guests this afternoon, thank you for taking the time to join us, especially on this very important day… tax day!
INTRODUCTION
Today’s State of the City Address reflects the taxing times we are facing across the Nation and the State of California. We must be candid and acknowledge the sobering realities that surround us. Health care, banking, housing, declining sales and property tax, along with unemployment are an everyday concern. Too often, we see the increasing numbers of hardworking families falling victim to the economic decline.
The loss of critical revenues has truly created a somber time in Newark. We had hoped that we would have seen the last of the ill effects of a declining economy when we initiated a series of difficult and deep budget cuts back in March of 2008.
Despite those cuts, we found ourselves once again, having to make additional reductions. Our hopes had been for the passage of “Measure L”. Its passage would have generated approximately $2.6 million annually costing the average residential user about $12 per month. $2.6 million annually would not have totally solved our problems, but it would have significantly reduced some of our budget deficit.
Supporters of “Measure L” worked hard. They volunteered their personal time to make calls, walk door-to-door, hold fundraisers, and make community presentations to get the word out about “Measure L”. I know there are many supporters out here in the audience this afternoon that were a part of this special group and I want to personally thank each and every one of you for your efforts.
We may not have won the battle this time, but we witnessed what city government is all about; residents, staff, and leaders joining together to address the concerns of the city and to work cohesively towards an end result. Unfortunately it wasn’t the result we were hoping for.
BUDGET
Measure “L”
Because of the failure of “Measure L”, we were forced to make additional cuts to our already depleted budget. The latest round of cuts this February was devastating. We cut our budget by $3.5 million, and that’s on top of the $4.6 million we had already cut bringing our total to $8.1 million. We also reduced City staff by cutting an additional 28 full-time equivalent positions including implementing reduced hours for 15 City employees. We’ve lost some extremely talented, hardworking, and dedicated employees and having to cut their positions has been extremely difficult.
In summary, over the last three years, we have cut our budget $8.1 million and reduced our personnel by 29%, or in full-time equivalent numbers, that's 90 positions. These are real cuts and continuing at this level is unsustainable for the long run.
Now some people may have thought that the Federal Stimulus monies we received would be the solution to our budget deficit, but in reality, that was not the case. Here’s all that we have received:
- $173,000 for Energy Efficiency projects
- $97,000 for Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Funding to be used for law enforcement support
- $900,000 in Highway Infrastructure Funds to be used for resurfacing streets and roadways
- And $94,000 in Community Development Block Grant Funds
- That adds up to a total of $1,264,000
The Stimulus monies we received were merely a band-aid on a major wound. If we had the ability to apply the monies to the City’s general fund that would have been a little help. Unfortunately, any monies we receive through the Stimulus must be applied directly towards the specific projects for which they are designated.
All support departments in Newark have been cut so deep that many positions in the City are what we call, “one-person” jobs. Here's an example of what I mean, and please keep in mind that Newark has a population of approximately 44,000. To serve the public, the City of Newark has:
- One Animal Control Officer
- One Building Inspector
- One Community Preservations Specialist
- One Payroll Clerk
- One Planner
- One Public Works Inspector
And this is just a handful of positions I am listing as an example; we have more and in fact, some of the positions are not even full-time, they have been reduced to part-time positions.
Besides the fact that we have numerous “one-person” jobs, our employees are wearing multiple hats and working extremely hard to get the job done. With a smaller pool of employees, and mind you, that’s 90 less full-time equivalent positions, our remaining personnel have taken on more responsibilities and I can’t thank them enough for their hard work and dedication. It is employees such as these who make our community the special city that it is.
We always pride ourselves in providing not just customer service, but customer delight. With these cuts, we know we are hard pressed to satisfy, let alone delight our customers. You have probably already seen significant visible service reductions throughout the City such as the closure of City offices on every other Friday and limited counter service hours available for Building Inspections and Engineering as well as at the Newark Service Center. With limited staffing, you can guarantee there will be delays in response time or resolution of inquiries.
FACILITIES CLOSURE
Besides a reduction in service hours, we have been forced to close our Senior Center with programs transferred to the George M. Silliman Activity Center.
Closing the Senior Center was a very difficult decision to make because we know our seniors feel a sense of comfort and warmth there. Because our deficit is so large, we had to look at every area in our cost cutting measures. We understand the importance for our seniors to continue to participate in programs and socialization, so moving as many of the programs that we could and identifying a location for the seniors at the Silliman Center made sense.
We were also forced to close the Newark Community Center with the exception of Licensed Child Care which takes place not in the main building but in the Child Care Program Building in the back. The main building is now locked and available for rentals only.
MAINTENANCE CUTS
Cuts in our maintenance department took place as well. We no longer have an adequate level of staffing to provide full service to the community. With 122 acres of parks, 56 acres of street and median landscaping, and approximately 18,000 trees, we simply do not have enough staff to fully maintain all of the City’s parks and landscape areas.
The appearance of street medians, parkways, and sidewalks has been impacted by the cuts. Residents are seeing more weeds, more areas of overgrown plants, and less green plant material.
As a result of citizen input, we have decided to maintain all parks in the community at the same level with less frequent watering, mowing, weeding, and tree trimming. We are hopeful that a ground swell of volunteer efforts will assist us in maintaining the parks.
Service cuts also include residential street sweeping. Sweeping will occur every other month so if you’re one who likes to rake your tree leaves in a pile in front of your home for the street sweeper to catch, you may want to rethink that process by using your green waste containers.
There has also been a reduction in routine street maintenance such as pothole repair, debris removal, sign repair, and street repair.
CITY PROGRAM CUTS
Due to reduced staffing and budget resources, popular community special events such as Family Day at the Park, Music at the Grove, and Family Kite Day will not be held this year.
Some of you have been asking about Newark Days and whether or not it is going to take place this year? The City does get involved with the event however the overall program is run by “Newark Days Celebration, Incorporated,” not the City. The committee does tell us that the annual event will continue so be sure to check out the Newark Days Celebration website for details as we get closer to the event which will take place from September 16th through the 19th.
The City has also eliminated funding for the Ash Street Park Summer Program. We feel fortunate however, and are thankful to Shirley Sisk, a past Newark City Council Member and current Executive Director of the League of Volunteers, or better known as LOV, for acknowledging the need to provide this beneficial program to the children in our community.
Shirley has offered to add to their list of programs already offered through LOV, an additional program at the Jerry Raber Ash Street Park. LOV already runs a successful summer program in Newark so there is no question that they are capable of carrying out the program. We can’t be more appreciative and thankful for her generous offer towards a much needed program.
POLICE CUTS
Our Police Department was also affected by the cuts. The department has reduced its staffing to minimum levels which has impacted non-emergency services and/or programs. As a result, individuals will experience delays in processing of some property related crimes.
We’ve also reduced non-sworn patrol support, administrative support, as well as reducing our Dispatch Center staffing. City funding for a School Resource Officer and Crossing Guards was eliminated. These cuts will take effect at the start of the new school year in September.
On a positive note, we continue to work in partnership with the Newark Unified School District on the School Safety Partnership Committee. We are appreciative that the School District is currently paying half of the cost of funding the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E) program.
FIRE DEPARTMENT CONTRACT
Citizens will also notice a change of service in our Fire Department. This change does not stem from our budget cuts. It is a change that we’ve been studying for almost 2 years.
Our Fire Department completed a strategic planning study which provided Fire Chief Shaffer and the management team with the necessary data to make a very difficult decision as to the level of services a fire department of our size can internally support.
Years of study, evaluation, analysis, and planning culminated in direction from the City Council to negotiate a contract for fire services with the Alameda County Fire Department. There were significant community benefits identified in the contract to get the best coverage for the City.
Although the cost savings is important and beneficial, the real factor in contracting with the Alameda County Fire Department for services is that the City benefits from the functionality of a fully staffed administration for all divisions which translates directly to improved service levels.
Additional benefits include the ability to staff public education events, access to regional grants, access to a larger pool of employees for succession, increased depth of knowledge and experience, horizontal and vertical movement opportunities for employees, decreased workload for other City departments such as Police Dispatch, Human Resources, Finance, and Public Works.
Benefits also include increased coordination with surrounding agencies due to the use of a common dispatch center and increased access to a greater depth of emergency resources.
As a community, citizens can expect to see a greater presence and ability to participate in public events, bring a greater number of resources to larger incidents, and the ability to meet a greater number of service level needs in suppression, prevention, and administration, plus quicker response times for resources coming from other jurisdictions when we call for assistance.
Besides increased fire service coverage in the community, by contracting with the Alameda County Fire Department, the City will realize a cost savings of more than $500,000 each year. That gives Newark the potential to save over $2.5 million during the 5 year contract.
Besides the opportunities and benefits the service contract brings, the community really should not notice much of a change other than the decals on the side of our fire engines and badges that will read Alameda County Fire Department. The same personnel will continue to work in Newark and we will still respond to all requests for service.
We look forward to this being an outstanding partnership. We’re excited that our Firefighters and Fire Chief Demetrious Shaffer will continue to work in Newark and we look forward to partnering with the Alameda County Fire Department and working with Alameda County’s Fire Chief, Sheldon Gilbert.
I would like to introduce Chief Gilbert, but before I do, I would like to give special acknowledgement to Newark’s Fire Chief, Demetrious Shaffer. We are fortunate to have a man of his caliber working for Newark. His experience and dedication to serving the community has been outstanding.
Chief Shaffer has seen us through these lean times. He has led his staff through challenges and celebrated successes with them. Although he knew his job would be eliminated if the City contracted for fire service, he pursued the best outcome for the City by looking at not what was best for him, but what is best for Newark. By contracting, Fire Chief Shaffer will no longer be Newark’s Fire Chief. He will however, become Deputy Fire Chief with the Alameda County Fire Department.
We are indebted to Chief Shaffer for his concern for Newark as he embarks on a new chapter in his career. We’re excited to have the opportunity to continue working with him. I would like to ask Chief Shaffer to stand. Thank you Demetrious!
We’ve had the opportunity to work with Alameda County Fire Department’s Fire Chief, Sheldon Gilbert throughout the study and contract period. It has been a pleasure working with him. He has over 24 years of fire service experience and that began when he started his fire career in 1986 with the Eden Consolidated Fire Protection District. He later promoted in 1995 to Assistant Fire Chief with the Alameda County Fire Department. A few years later, he was promoted to Deputy Fire Chief in charge of the Support Services Division and would later be appointed as Alameda County Fire Department’s Fire Chief in 2006.
The City Council approved the contract this past February. We expect the initial transition will occur by May 1st. We look forward to working with Chief Gilbert. This partnership is a “win” “win” for everyone involved.
Chief Gilbert is also President of the California Fire Chiefs Association. He is dedicated to providing the highest quality of emergency fire and medical services to the residents he serves.
Chief Gilbert, I know you’re here in the audience. I would like to ask you to please stand and be recognized.
[acknowledge Chief Gilbert]
DEVELOPMENT
I would like to turn now to Development in Newark.
Our role as city government is to promote economic growth and diversity. We are the catalyst that keeps local businesses here, encourages them to expand, and attracts more companies to join our business community.
Businesses are the driving force in generating not only revenues, but they create jobs and are the magnet which attracts consumers to spend in our City.
Let me start off by bringing you up to speed on a couple of major projects that we are currently working on. The first project is the completion of a Specific Plan for Area 2, the Dumbarton Transit Oriented Development.
Area 2 – Dumbarton Transit Oriented Development
Area 2 consists of 230 acres of land by Willow Street and Enterprise Drive. We began a planning effort in the fall of 2007 to explore potential development in Area 2. We are in the process of creating a specific plan that will guide the development of an innovative new community near a proposed railroad transit hub. A “walkable” community will be developed that includes a neighborhood retail center, many pedestrian and bicycle amenities and access to abundant open space resources. This plan should be ready for City Council review in early 2011.
Area 3 & 4 Specific Plan
Let’s move now to the planning efforts for Areas 3 and 4. The City of Newark has been working with property owners and community members to develop a Specific Plan for the area of land located in the southwest quadrant of the City. Area 3 is bounded by Cherry Street, Stevenson Boulevard, the Union Pacific railroad tracks and Mowry Avenue.
Area 4 is one of the last undeveloped areas in the City, it consists of 560 acres located between Mowry Avenue and Stevenson Boulevard, west of the Union Pacific railroad tracks.
Plans for the project would include up to 1,260 new homes, a neighborhood park near Cherry Street and Stevenson Boulevard, a school site, trails, open space, and the opportunity for a golf course or other major recreation amenity. The project will be considered by the City Council in May. If approved, we hope that construction could begin as early as 2011.
Let’s switch our gears now from future development and bring you up to date on existing businesses. Despite the economy, we have a really strong business core, and I think it’s important to focus on some real positives in our business community.
In fact, we have many exciting businesses throughout Newark that are shaping up our community. As I was driving through town a couple of weeks ago, I was pleased to see numerous businesses bustling with activity and parking lots full of cars. This tells me something significant must be happening there.
I decided to turn my drive through town into a tour around town to see what’s happening at businesses in the areas of the City that many of us do not frequent. Now I didn't look at their balance sheets, I just looked for businesses where there seemed to be a decent amount of activity. So, fasten your seatbelts, I’d like to share my tour around town with you.
We’ll begin in the North area of Newark at the Fullbloom Baking Company. They are a natural and organic baking company that bakes 365 days a year, providing private labeled baked goods to some well-known specialty markets and select club stores on the West Coast. Fullbloom also has their own branded products which can be found in stores such as Whole Foods or Peet’s Coffee.
Or, if you may have noticed, can be found right in front of you at your table, or it was given to you at the door for those who are in our gallery seating. We want to thank Fullbloom Baking Company for generously donating a special treat to each of our guests to taste.
In that same general area, we also have:
• Staples warehouse, the world’s largest office products company providing point-of-sale and business-to-business transactions.
• Beeline Group, a full-service retail marketing expert delivering shopper marketing merchandising and display solutions.
• And we also have Morpho Detection, formerly Invision and General Electric? I know you’re thinking… “Morpho” what’s that all about? They are producers of the latest explosive detection systems to keep airline travel safe. You know… those things your suitcase goes into… that’s what they do.
Pacific Research Center
Our tour continues to the Pacific Research Center, formerly the Sun Microsystems campus adjacent to Highway 84. BioMed Realty Trust, owners of the center is working hard to bring businesses into Newark. They are currently negotiating with 5 different companies, from solar, clean-tech, life science, medical device, and office users. They are Newark’s largest Commercial/Industrial Landlord and we are pleased to have them working towards the development of the City.
Risk Management Solutions has moved into the Center doubling their office space from 50,000 to 100,000 square feet. Risk Management Solutions is the world’s leading provider of products and services for catastrophic risk management. They have completed their Phase I Tenant Improvements and have moved their staff into their offices. Full occupancy is expected this summer.
Revance Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held company that develops aesthetic medicine treatment. They have completed Tenant Improvements for the manufacturing side of their operation.
As you can see, we have some pretty exciting businesses shaping up at the Pacific Research Center.
Let’s go to the North West side of the City on Hickory Street, we have Communications Supply Company, a subsidiary of WESCO International Inc. and distributor of a full range of IP infrastructure products and solutions. Together, they form the largest electrical and data communications network in North America.
Also on Hickory Street is WorldPac’s headquarters. They import and distribute replacement automotive parts for Import car specialty repair shops with centers all across America and Canada.
PetersenDean’s headquarters is on Enterprise Drive. They are a full-service roofing and solar contractor for both residential and commercial roofing and solar needs. We understand that they are currently in a growth mode and we couldn’t be more excited about that, especially in today’s economy.
Traveling on to the West Central Area of Newark, we have companies such as:
o Sanmina SCI – a leading electronics contract manufacturer serving the global Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) market.
o Orbitbaby – designers of world-class child transportation gear from bassinets, to strollers, to car seats, and accessories.
o IT Renew – a comprehensive eWaste and remarketing company.
o FedEx Ground – a 300,000 square foot sorting and distribution center.
o Across the street is Payment Processing, an industry leader in bridging the gap between information technology and merchant payment services.
o California Brazing – designers and manufacturers of a wide range of critical parts for industries around the world, including:
• Fiber-optics
• Radiation targets and detectors
• RTP lamp housings
• Wave guides and accelerators
• Cold plates and heaters
• Shower heads, gas boxes, and electrostatic checks
• Electron tubes
o Shop Tools Inc. – wholesale industrial hardware supplier.
o Atlas Sales and Rentals – specializing in the rental and sale of portable air conditioners, heating equipment, and dehumidifiers.
o Turning for a moment onto Filbert Street we see the Nordstrom Distribution Center, which serves as a hub for the latest, most sought after merchandise sent directly to Nordstrom stores.
In the Cargill area, we have for starters of course:
o Cargill. Cargill crystallizes natural sea salt from the Bay waters, producing 650,000 tons annually of a vital commodity used in food, industry and agriculture. Cargill is a model corporate citizen and generous donator giving back to the community.
o They say that when it rains, it pours… the neighbor to Cargill is another salt company, Morton Salt. Did you know that the Morton girl’s look has changed throughout the years but she still does not have a name?
o Then there’s DWS Inc., no… DWS does not stand for David W. Smith, although it does have a nice ring to it… it stands for Demountable Wall Supply and they are a door, frame and hardware supplier. They’ve been active in the Bay Area for the past 27 years.
o Have you ever heard of Feral Productions? No, they do not produce cats, they are a leading producer of machined products.
o Also in the area is Power Freight Systems who specializes in custom-tailored supply chain and transportation solutions for high-tech organizations.
Continuing down Central Avenue just past Sycamore Street, we see Matheson Tri-Gas. They are providers of specialty gases, gas handling equipment for gas detection, purification, management & control, and safe delivery sources.
Across the street from Matheson-Tri Gas along Central Avenue is Bemis Flexible Packaging – formerly Alcan, is a multinational company and major supplier of flexible packaging used by leading food, consumer products, medical and pharmaceutical companies worldwide.
Going around the corner onto Cherry Street, turning right onto Redeker Place we have three more businesses bustling with activity. The first is Elite Recycling. Their recycling services are dedicated to being your one-stop recycling partner.
Next is a company called Recall SDS, are a secure shredding service company. And down the street is Serious Materials. They are revolutionizing the building materials industry with their production of “Quiet Rock” a soundproofing drywall that reduces noise by 70%. They say one would have to hang two sheets of sheetrock to get the same soundproofing affect with one “Quiet Rock” product. Keep an eye on Serious Material, they are reinventing the building products industry.
Continuing onto Cherry Street and turning down Smith Avenue we have Evergreen Oil, one of the largest waste oil collectors in California and the only oil re-refining operation in the western United States.
And of course we can’t miss Oatey Company. They manufacture fine plumbing products. Continuing South on Cherry Street, there is BASF Chemical, manufacturers of paint and cement chemicals, Holguin Brothers, a moving and storage company, Golden State Lumber, a building construction and lumber supply company, and BlueLinx, the country’s largest distributor of lumber, plywood, millwork, and wood panels.
Over at the West Mowry Avenue area, we have Coaster, a leading National furniture distributor with 7 branches nationwide. There is also Venture Corporation, a global electronics services provider offering an excellent combination of management, world-class technical capabilities, innovative manufacturing technology, reliable testing capabilities, and state-of-the art facilities. Avision Labs is also located next door. They are a designer, manufacturer, and marketer of a wide range of high-performance office equipment such as the Avision document imaging scanner.
Advantek, leaders in semi-conductor transportation and packaging systems join in the West Mowry Avenue area along with Calstar Products, developers and manufacturers of sustainable building products such as fly ash brick and fly ash paver masonry. They are reinventing the brick by using advanced technology to make architectural facing bricks and durable pavers for the green building market. And we have Valassis, the nation’s leading media and marketing service company providing advertising in direct mail.
Traveling to the far South portion of the City, let’s take a drive to an area many of us in the City never go through. This is at the far Western end of Stevenson Boulevard prior to the railroad tracks.
We are now at the Stevenson Point Tech Park where there are 13 businesses located. They are:
• SMART Modular Technologies headquarters. They are a leading independent manufacturer of memory modules and solid-state storage products.
• Apple Computer, and I know all of you are familiar with Apple
• Austin Hughes Solutions Inc., a computer and computer peripheral equipment and software business.
• And a name familiar to everybody, Dow Corning Inc., a globally integrated provider of materials, application, technology and services. The Newark location is a solar solutions application and Business Center.
• InSound Medical, the inventor of the world’s first extended wear hearing solution.
• Nova Ray, an innovative developer of revolutionary digital x-ray technology for medical imaging.
• Novasys Medical who is dedicated to the development of innovative therapies in women’s health.
• Siemens, which provides technology and innovation in the fields of healthcare, energy, industry and infrastructure.
• Sierra Wireless, expanding the wireless world with comprehensive offering of hardware, software and connected services.
• Socket Mobil Inc., a provider of data, voice, and internet communications service.
• Swimoutlet.com Club Swim Inc., the Internet’s most popular swim supply shop.
• Triple Ring Technologies, a contract research and medical product development company.
• Zip Zoom Fly, a distributor of quality electronic components.
Hey… that was quite a tour of Newark and I bet there were companies we visited that you didn’t even know existed and that’s not all… we have four more established companies in line to join Newark’s business family. They are Envia, Elliot Laboratories, Mi Pueblo, and GEMS Education.
Envia Systems one of the companies BioMed Realty has been negotiating with has just signed a lease for office administrative space at the Pacific Research Center. Envia Systems develops high performance lithium battery systems for cars. Up until recently, there have been no high-quality batteries designed specifically for electric vehicles. Companies were repurposing batteries designed for laptops and power tools, trying to make them work in cars. Envia was founded to fill that gap, to make batteries light enough, safe enough, and able to store enough power to be used in mass produced vehicles. Talk about innovative green technology! Let’s welcome Envia Systems to Newark’s business family.
I would also like to ask Scott Altick and Alberto Jon-ah-kee-nee of BioMed Realty to stand. We want to thank you and BioMed for the work that you folks are doing to bring businesses into the center.
Elliott Laboratories is moving into the building at Cherry Street and Mowry Avenue. The lab will operate 30,000 square feet of testing space. Elliott Laboratories is a world-class electromagnetic compatability, product safety, and telecom compliance engineering company providing a full range of testing, engineering and consulting services. They have over 20 years of experience servicing the needs of product designers and manufacturers.
We can’t wait for Mi Pueblo to join Newark’s business family. Mi Pueblo will open at the old Albertson building in Rosemont Square. At Mi Pueblo, shoppers will find all of their basic grocery needs from National name brands as well as specialty and imported labels from Mexico and Latin America. Juvenal Chavez, owner of Mi Pueblo has grown the company into a $100 million supermarket chain. That didn’t happen overnight, it took a lot of work and dedication on his part researching what customers want when they’re shopping. His commitment surely paid off; Newark will be the 15th store in the chain. We found out why Mi Pueblo is so successful, they make shopping fun. Hey, any place that brings in Mariachi’s surely knows about having fun!
Mi Pueblo are outstanding corporate citizens as well. Along with their customers, they helped raise $100,000 towards Haiti Relief efforts. I know Perla Rodriguez, Vice President of Public Affairs is here with us today. Perla, if you could please stand. Perla, we just want to say how excited we are to have Mi Pueblo as a member of our business family. We look forward to the store opening this coming June so everyone, please keep an eye out for a fun place to do your grocery shopping. Thank you Perla!
We also look forward to GEMS Education moving into the Agilent building on Cherry Street. GEMS Education is the largest provider of private education in the world. They have prepared students to enter prestigious colleges and universities such as Harvard, Yale, MIT, and Oxford.
GEMS Education began with only a single school in Dubai. Today, they are a successful multinational enterprise with operations on three continents. They employ over 5,800 education professionals and provide high quality education to almost 70,000 students of 124 nationalities.
We understand that GEMS Education has plans to open schools in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, and New York, but out of all these locations, GEMS has selected Newark to be its first school in North America. We are truly honored. GEMS location near Newark Memorial High School, the recently built Ohlone College Newark Center for Health Sciences and Technology, and the Silliman Activity and Aquatic Center opens the door to unprecedented collaborative opportunities and we can’t be more fortunate than that.
Newark is grateful to have GEMS Education as a member of our business and education family. Bilal Mushaaraf, Vice President of Development for GEMS is part of this prestigious company. If I could ask Bilal to stand. Bilal, welcome to Newark and thank you for joining the Newark family of businesses. We wish you great success!
GEMS values commitment to quality, with a unique, fresh approach to education, much like the Ohlone College Newark Center for Health Sciences and Technology. Since its opening in 2008, the college has been a source of pride and innovation. It is the only college in the world to receive Platinum Certification for its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED Platinum is the highest possible rating for environmentally sustainable construction and building operation.
Ohlone College has recently added two new exciting courses to their class schedule. The first is a solar intensive training course where students are introduced to solar photovoltaic system requirements, design and configurations, installation techniques, and their application in residential and commercial construction.
The second exciting course is a training workshop for biotechnology industry employers and employees. The training is designed to enhance skills in various topics relating to biomedical, medical devices, diagnostics, pharmaceutical, and other areas. These workshops are taught by industry professionals with extensive hands-on experience.
We remain enthused about Ohlone College. It continues to exceed all expectations. Enrollment at the campus surpasses 3,000 students and matches enrollment projections for the year 2017.
CONCLUSION
I have to confess to you that this year’s State-of-the-City presentation was the most challenging we’ve ever done. We want to leave you on an upbeat note this afternoon, and I hope you would agree that despite the City’s economic uncertainty, there has been some really good news in this message. However, there is no denying that we are in times of unprecedented difficulty.
I have often stated that it is easy to be upbeat when things are going well. But you will see the true character of any entity when things aren’t going so well. When the going gets tough, that’s when you will see what a community is made of! While Newark has a bright future, the going is tough right now. So what are we made of? How can we build a stronger City while coping with adversity? Here’s how:
In the immortal words of Dr. Seuss:
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It’s not!”
And Edward Everett Hale said:
“I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can DO SOMETHING!”
That’s right…I can DO SOMETHING! You can DO SOMETHING! Together, we can DO SOMETHING!
And the good news is we don’t have to look very far for inspiration because there are people all over Newark that are DOING SOMETHING! And here are some great examples of “DO SOMETHING” organizations in the City of Newark that I’d like to pay tribute to today:
The Viola Blythe Center: Named after an iconic lady (Viola Blythe) who actually used to shelter strangers in her home, they provide food and clothing to the less fortunate among us.
League of Volunteers: They spread a lot of “LOV” throughout the community via their summer recreation and nutrition programs, arts in the schools, Toys for Tots, and the Thanksgiving feast.
Graffiti Abatement Volunteers: This intrepid team of painters and pizza-lovers obliterates graffiti City-wide which maintains the wonderful appearance of our community. They serve as a model for City-based volunteerism.
Newark Days Celebration, Inc.: Thanks to them we celebrate Newark’s birthday every year in a most festive manner.
Service Clubs: The Newark Rotary Club and the Newark Optimists Club do dozens of community service projects every year, many of them directed at the youth of Newark.
Youth Sports Organizations: Whether the Newark Bobby Sox, the Newark National or American Little Leagues, or the Newark Soccer Club, volunteers maintain a large number of playing fields, and make an investment in our young people by teaching them athletic skills and developing sportsmanship.
Newark Chamber of Commerce: Our business community is the lifeblood of the City of Newark. You see to it that our local businesses are engaged as partners in our efforts to make Newark a better community.
We also have many organizations that serve Newark citizens although they are not based in Newark. One that is a personal favorite is LIFE Eldercare. Did you know that they deliver 14,000 “Meals on Wheels” per year to seniors? And did you know that sometimes the “Meals on Wheels” driver is the only person the senior might have contact with all day? That’s why they also have a “Friendly Visitor” program.
Now I apologize because every time I start naming groups that are doing something in our community I get castigated for leaving someone out. Of course the omission is not intentional. We have many individuals and organizations who volunteer, and they, just like the many businesses I mentioned earlier, fly under the radar, yet are so vital to our community, so I apologize if I have failed to include anyone. But I won’t apologize for telling you that all of these organizations and many others are making a difference. They are great examples of DOING SOMETHING!
I would be remiss if I did not also mention the many volunteers who are a part of our City of Newark family. They support us by DOING SOMETHING in our Recreation department, at the Senior Center at Silliman, in our Police department (such as our Police Chaplain), and on our CERT Team.
But there is more to do. Much more! Because we were forced to make significant cuts in our park maintenance budget, we need people to DO SOMETHING in a whole new area… our City parks. Whether you’re involved with a business, church group, or other organization, our parks need your help. They are so important to our quality of life.
Our City staff has prepared guidelines for how we can utilize volunteers in the parks. In fact, we have already received offers to DO SOMETHING from a number of businesses and non-profit groups including Cargill, Risk Management Solutions, the Lake Area Residents Association, Keller-Williams Realty, and the Helping Hands organization. To them we say Thank You!! So if you are ready.. We need you to DO SOMETHING too!
If you’re interested in volunteering, you can contact our Maintenance Superintendent Susie Woodstock at 578-4806.
Just in case someone is sitting out there thinking, “I’m just one person, and I’m too small to be effective, well I can guarantee that you’ve never been in bed with a mosquito!”
Remember Edward Everett Hale’s quote from a few minutes ago? I only gave you half of the quote…the entire quote goes like this:
“I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can DO SOMETHING! And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I CAN DO!”
Newark is a CAN DO City! And this I know…by working together…WE CAN DO IT! In fact, with the Newark City Council’s leadership, we CAN-CAN DO IT!
Thanks for being here today, let’s get out there and DO SOMETHING for Newark! We CAN–CAN DO IT!