P a r a m o u n t
pulse Beat
March 2017
Serving the Community Since 1990
www.paramountchamber.com
State of the City Address 2017 Paramount Chamber President Gary Johnson began the 2017 State of the City Address by thanking the event sponsor AltAir Paramount. He congratulated the City of Paramount on their 60th anniversary, and reminded everyone in attendance that the Paramount Chamber was celebrating their 70th anniversary. Johnson went on to say, “the Chambers mission is to promote the City of Paramount and facilitate programs and services that promote economic growth in the City.” He pointed to the Chamber website and Facebook page as great sources of information for events and community promotion. President Johnson spoke about monthly business workshops that take place at the Paramount Chamber Business Resource center, and free one-on-one business counseling for new or existing businesses. Next to speak was Paramount Unified Superintendent, Dr. Ruth Perez. Dr. Perez shared the districts focus for the coming years will be getting students college and career ready, providing high quality teaching, fostering parent and community partnerships, and creating a positive school climate conducive to learning. Perez said, last year the district paid for more than 4,000 students to take PSAT and SAT tests, and that graduation rates for the district continue to climb. She spoke with great pride about the 2016 Gold Ribbon schools which were recognized at the State and National level for having test scores higher than the state average, they included; Hollydale, Collins, and Mokler. Additionally, Alondra Middle School, Jackson School, and Zamboni Middle School were all re-designated as schools to watch. Closing the program were Mayor Daryl Hofmeyer and City Manager John Moreno. Moreno said, “from a financial
Paramount Chamber President Gary Johnson
Superintendent Dr. Ruth Perez
Mayor Daryl Hofmeyer
City Manager John Moreno
aspect, our house is definitely in order. We had another balanced budget in 2016 with a surplus of $285,000 which pushed the general fund reserve over the $12 million mark for the first time.” In 2016, in addition to the City’s standard annual audits, were audited by the State for specific grant money received for the STAR after school program. The grant is close to $2 million each year, and the City passed the audit with flying colors. Mr. Moreno spoke about the following improvements to City facilities: public Wi-Fi at three facilities; a new roof and air conditioning units at Progress Park Plaza; a new roof, lobby flooring, and restrooms at the Community Center; new ADAapproved automatic doors at Spane Park; and new field lights at All-American Park. There were also the traditional infrastructure improvements like fixing sidewalks and paving and slurry sealing streets. The premier project for 2016 was the Downtown Urban Renovation, a $5 million project funded mostly by former redevelopment bond money. To further help with the downtown transformation, the City Council approved changes to the municipal code to attract more modern uses like brew pubs, art galleries, and cookware shops and outlaw uses not compatible like adult novelty and check cashing. The City broke ground on
the Clearwater Crossing restaurant project at Alondra and Paramount, and IHOP will soon be coming to town. The rapidly-growing Grocery Outlet chain has just opened a store at Alondra and Downey Ave., and the City now has a third Starbucks at Rosecrans and Downey. Pizza Hut relocated to a larger restaurant at Downey and Alondra. Ono Hawaiian Grill signed a lease and will be locating next to Pizza Hut. In 2016 the City also saw the incredible success of small businesses like Horchaterria Rio Luna on Alondra, who will soon be moving to a larger location in the new downtown. Unemployment in 2015 was at 6.8%. This year it has dipped further to 5.7%. At the height of the recession local unemployment was over 18%. Median property values in Paramount increased from $345,000 in 2015 to $400,000 in 2016. This trend spurred activity as a new 30-unit housing development got underway near the Home Depot and an 8-unit housing project at the corner of Indiana and Somerset. The City Council has always made public safety its number one priority. Last year, the City created a new Park Patrol deputy assigned to patrol the parks, meet with little leagues and others…all in an effort to better the quality of life for residents and park goers. Paramount is one of five cit-
ies serviced by the Lakewood Regional Sheriff ’s Station. To ensure Paramount’s voice is being heard at the regional level, the City holds monthly meetings with the Station Captain Allen Castellano and the Paramount team. There was a 5% uptick in the crime rate. However, overall crime in Paramount continues to be at historical lows. And the uptick was lower than the Lakewood regional area increase of 10% and the overall County increase of 7%. Certain crime categories saw a decrease: aggravated assault dipped 7%, burglary dropped 8%, and grand theft auto fell a whopping 20%. The Public Safety team is forever vigilant and pledges to keep a lid on crime this year. But they need the help of the public and definitely got it in 2016. The Neighborhood Watch program held 17 meetings with 403 participants. The City worked with Kingdom Causes, a nonprofit that provides services to the homeless. We all know, homelessness is definitely a countywide, if not a statewide, epidemic. In response to officer-involved shootings across the country the City was approached by Pastor Grady Jones to help host a Unity in the Community educational forum at his New Commandment Baptist Church. This was an opportunity for law en-
forcement and members of the community to come together to discuss ways to form a better understanding of one another. A similar event was also held at Emmanuel Reformed Church and was equally successful. The City did a lot of outreach through social media and followers are growing dramatically. There is also a video series with some of the City’s talented young Recreation kids who film themselves visiting City events and advertising City programs. The Council also began the Mobile City Council program. Each quarter, they jump on a bus and visit a quadrant of the City along with the executive staff. They end up at a specific location, usually one of the parks, and have a meet and greet with residents. The City also started a program to honor the men and women from Paramount who currently serve in our armed services. The program recognizes local heroes with a street banner that has their name and branch of the military. So far 35 banners have been hung on Paramount Blvd. between Somerset and Rosecrans. The families of these brave men and women truly appreciate the recognition. In 2016 to engage the youth of Paramount the City formed its first Youth Commission comprised of 15 high school
Paramount Chamber of Commerce
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15357 Paramount Boulevard, Paramount, CA 90723
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What’s inside Business Card Directory.............12 Business Corner.........................11 Cityscape..................................15
Mayors Corner.......................... 3 Members Only...........................10 New Members...........................14
On Patrol...................................... 4 PEP.................................................6 Service Clubs..................................13