MONROVIA - The City's Redevelopment and Economic Development (R/ED) Team on July 28 will unveil its Online Business Resource Center, designed to guide Monrovia's existing and future business owners through the entitlement processes that come along with opening and growing a business.
The public launch to the Monrovia Chamber of Commerce - to be presented on July 28 - comes after a "soft release" of the website on June 15. In the past month and a half, the website has already received nearly 1,000 hits - and Project Coordinator Lauren Vasquez expects that number to only going keep growing.
"We hope that our business community will visit the website and get the message out that we are business-friendly, and are ready to assist in anyway possible," Vasquez said. "The R/ED team's focus is not only on growing sales tax dollars, but on creating and maintaining jobs here in Monrovia - and in our eyes, new and expanding businesses means more local jobs."
The website, available through the City's main website at www.cityofmonrovia.org/red-home, has sections including "Grow Your Business," "Bring Your Business to Monrovia" - which walks people through the entire process of how to open a business here - and "Why Monrovia." Other categories include incentives, green business policies, and information on Monrovia's Redevelopment Agency.
It also features the My Monrovia Business Blog, which includes regular posts about new businesses, profiles on business owners and posts on current events that may impact our business community.
"Sifting through the entitlement processes associated with opening and growing a business can be a complex, overwhelming and time consuming. Our hope in designing the website was to create a user friendly guide to help the businesses through the process with ease. Additionally, we wanted to create a one-stop shop for the business community," Vasquez said.
The Online Business Resource Center was one of the items identified in the Economic Development Action Plan, which was approved by the Monrovia Redevelopment Agency Executive Board on April 5. The Plan focuses on ways to attract and retain businesses, as well as developing a comprehensive marketing strategy for these activities.
Implementation of the Economic Development Action Plan is being led by staff in the Monrovia Redevelopment Agency, which is tasked with creating economic growth by helping businesses grow and redeveloping blighted properties. In the past 40 years, the Agency has created or saved more than 3,250 jobs. Among the list of employers the Redevelopment Agency has attracted or helped grow include Home Depot, Living Spaces, Trader Joe's Headquarters, City of Hope and over two dozen technology based firms located in Monrovia's High Tech Corridor on Huntington Drive.
Monrovia Mayor to Deliver Keynote Speech at Water Symposium
Posted July 19, 2011
MONROVIA - Mayor Mary Ann Lutz, an advocate for water conservation and clean-up, will deliver the keynote speech at the State of the San Gabriel Valley River Watershed Symposium in Whittier on Wednesday.
The symposium, hosted by the Council for Watershed Health, is an opportunity for speakers and panelists to report on the results of five years worth of clean up efforts in the San Gabriel River Watershed, as well as forecast future water issues and solutions. In Mayor Lutz's speech, she will call for an increased collaboration in the region's approach to stormwater quality.
Panelists will also discuss questions related to the condition of surface waters in the watershed including regulated discharges, National Forest Service and Department of Public health monitoring efforts, lake management and the economics of environmental regulation.
Mayor Lutz's speech comes less than a week after she was honored for her relentless work to end Southern California's dependence on imported sources of water.
The Council for Watershed Health, a non-profit group that works to preserve, restore and enhance the health of the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Rivers Watershed, honored Mayor Lutz and four other regional leaders at their annual event on July 14 in downtown Los Angeles.
The other recipients are Heal the Bay Founder Dorothy Green, Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslovsky, Carpet Manufacturer Bentley Prince Street, and Temple City Councilman Carl Blum.
"The Council for Watershed Health is a very important regional voice for water quality, watershed restoration and maintaining our ecological balance," Mayor Lutz said."To be named an honoree was astonishing because they are saying that I have in some small way helped to achieve their mission."
Mayor Lutz has been a staunch advocate for developing progressive environmental policies in Monrovia. She helped lead a successful campaign to have Monrovia purchase and create a wilderness preserve in the foothills, and has played an active role in the City's adoption of its Environmental Accords. In her current role, Mayor Lutz has been a champion of water independence and is the Founding Chair and current Vice Chair of the Environmental, Energy and National Resources Committee for the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments.
The watershed covers more than 1,500 square miles, and extends from the Santa Susanna Mountains in the west in San Bernardino to San Gabriel Mountains in the north to the Pacific Ocean in the south.
Monrovia Mayor to be Honored at Annual Watershed Celebration
Posted July 12, 2011
MONROVIA - Mayor Mary Ann Lutz is among five regional leaders that will be honored this month for her relentless work to end Southern California's dependence on imported sources of water.
The Watershed Council, a non-profit group that works to preserve, restore and enhance the health of the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Rivers Watershed, will honor these leaders at their annual event on July 14 in downtown Los Angeles.
The other recipients are Heal the Bay Founder Dorothy Green, Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslovsky, Carpet Manufacturer Bentley Prince Street, and Temple City Councilman Carl Blum.
"The Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council is a very important regional voice for water quality, watershed restoration and maintaining our ecological balance," Mayor Mary Ann Lutz said."To be named an honoree is astonishing because they are saying that I have in some small way helped to achieve their mission."
Mayor Lutz has been a staunch advocate for developing progressive environmental policies in Monrovia. She helped lead a successful campaign to have Monrovia purchase and create a wilderness preserve in the foothills, and has played an active role in the City's adoption of its Environmental Accords. In her current role, Mayor Lutz has been a champion of water independence and is the Founding Chair and current Vice Chair of the Environmental, Energy and National Resources Committee for the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments.
This event marks the 15th anniversary of the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley RiversWatershed Council. The council was founded in 1995 by leading environmental activist Dorothy Greene as a means to research programs that examine water usage and quality as well as to create and enhance preservation and conservation tactics.
The watershed covers more than 1,500 square miles, and extends from the Santa Susanna Mountains in the west in San Bernardino to San Gabriel Mountains in the north to the Pacific Ocean in the south.
Monrovia Receives Prestigious Award, Mayor Appointed to National Organization
Posted July 12, 2011
MONROVIA - The 79th annual meeting in June at the United States Conference of Mayors in Baltimore proved to be a success for the City of Monrovia. It began with the good news that Monrovia was only one of two California cities - and one of 20 cities nationwide - to be honored with a 2011 City Livability Award.
The award, in its 32nd year, recognizes mayoral leadership in developing and implementing programs that improve the quality of life in America's cities, focusing on the leadership, creativity, and innovation demonstrated by the mayors. This year's winning cities were selected by former mayors from a pool of 200 cities.
Monrovia received honorable mention in the category of small cities with populations under 100,000. The other small cities that were recognized included Auburn, Wash., Elkhart, Ind., Germantown, Tenn., Lodi, Calif., Miami Beach, Fla., Racine, Wisc., Sugar Land, Texas, Tuscaloosa, Ala., and West Palm Beach, Fla.
It was also announced at the conference Monrovia Mayor Mary Ann Lutz would be joining an elite group of elected officials across the nation to serve as Vice Chair of the Women Mayors Group for the U.S. Conference of Mayors. This is one of the several committees within the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of more than 30,000. Today, there are 1,192 such cities - including Monrovia.
"It is important that Monrovia is at the table at the United States Conference of Mayors. This organization offers our City direct contact with federal leaders, federal department contacts, Congress and the presidential administration," Mayor Lutz said.
The primary goals of the organization is to strengthen relationships between cities and the federal government, ensure that federal policy meets urban needs, and create a forum in which mayors can share ideas and information.
"As the Vice Chair of the Women Mayors Group, I will have an opportunity to give Monrovia a voice in federal issues, including but not limited to the many issues facing women and children," Mayor Lutz."I look forward to being part of the leadership for the US Conference of Mayors and help focus the discussion toward issues that are important to all Monrovians."
WorleyParsons to Relocate Southern California Headquarters to Monrovia
Posted July 7, 2011
MONROVIA - One of Monrovia's top employers just got bigger. WorleyParsons, a leading international professional services provider to the resources and energy sectors, announced that it will be consolidating five office spaces - four in Monrovia, and one in Arcadia - to a centralized location in Old Town Monrovia.
WorleyParsons will reopen its Southern California headquarters into the 48,000 square foot office building at 111 W. Lemon Avenue in October. The move will add an additional 100 jobs to Monrovia.
"We are thrilled that WorleyParsons is expanding its footprint in Monrovia," Monrovia Mayor Mary Ann Lutz said.
Monrovia Redevelopment Agency officials worked quickly to secure a site for WorleyParsons when company executives in March expressed the possibility of relocating outside the City due to office space constraints.
Recognizing the importance of the firm - which is among the top ten employers in the City - Agency officials devised an incentive package to ensure that this top employer would keep jobs in Monrovia.
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