Sunnyvale State of the City Address
Mayor Otto Lee
July 4, 2007
I am happy to report that the state of our city is strong and getting stronger.
We’ve emerged from the dot-com bust and the economic downturn with a solid and balanced 20-year budget. Our business is picking up, with many companies choosing Sunnyvale as their new home.
And we are finally on our way to building the thriving downtown that Sunnyvale residents want and deserve!
One year ago, the bulldozers stopped pushing dirt and our plans to redevelop our downtown were collecting dust.
As Will Rogers would say, “Things can’t go on like this.”
Well - What a difference a year has made. By standing firm and united, our City Council got rid of the old developer and transferred the downtown project to a new one – Sand Hill/RREEF.
Well, that’s all behind us now. And things have really begun to move!
For the past couple of months – every day – 50 trucks were loading 500 loadsof dirt and debris from the construction site. There was dust everywhere …and until then, I never knew how much I love dust dirt and debris.
If you have driven by Mathilda lately, you’d realize the entire mall is demolished.
When construction is finished in 2009, our downtown will have a new facelift.
McKinley Avenue, and our favorite Murphy Avenue, will be extended, creating a true open-air, walkable downtown – so that we may all enjoy the wonderful climate that Sunnyvale is famous for. With many great restaurants and retail stores providing lots of “shop-til-you-drop” attractions.
We will also have a new movie theatre, and a new grocery store with organic produce
Sunnyvale’s downtown will provide an exciting work and play destination for every one! This new downtown is expected to bring in more than $ 2 million a year in new sales tax revenue to the City.
A thriving downtown is only one piece of our vision for the Sunnyvale we want to be.
Last month, we approved a budget that allows us to continue to offer the kind of high-quality services that are important to our residents and businesses, while maintaining a healthy contingency reserve of 20 percent for the next 20 years. Thanks to everyone’s hard work and responsible financial planning, we were able to preserve the things that are important to you, as well as undertaking some new initiatives, including exploring expanded green ideas.
Actually, Sunnyvale has worked toward a green and sustainable community for many years.
But what many people don’t know is that when it comes to environmental protection, the City of Sunnyvale is both progressive and hard-core conservative.
· We conserve energy by replacing traffic signal lights with energy-efficient LEDs and putting solar panels on the roofs of fire stations, starting with Fire Station 2;
· We conserve gasoline by buying hybrid and natural gas vehicles, and electric golf carts for the municipal golf courses; and
· We conserve water with self-closing faucets and water-wise landscaping.
· We even conserve gasses from landfill and garbage – yes, the really, really smelly stuff – and turn it into electricity.
When it comes to saving the environment, we are hard core conservatives in Sunnyvale!
Last year, we became a pledging partner of Sustainable Silicon Valley, which commits us to meet or exceed the goals of the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emission. This year, Santa Clara County’s Green Business program certified our Library, City Hall and Annexes as being “green.”
And since many residents tell me they share council’s vision for a green Sunnyvale, our actions will include consideration of a host of green issues this year, including:
• Using solar power at city parks;
• Joining the U.S. Dept of Energy’s Solar American Initiative;
• Working with our neighboring cities to come up with sound environmental practices;
• Completing an audit of our City’s carbon footprint; and
• Finding new ways to further reduce CO2 emissions.
Many of our local businesses are thinking green as well … such as Fabric Banners, For Other Living Things, Labcyte, Pine Cone Lumber, Sports Basement and Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church.
They all became county-certified green businesses … and the list keeps growing.
Again, here in Sunnyvale, citizens and leaders share the responsibilities to turn our vision into reality.
Residents bring me ideas and success stories every day, and we encourage all residents to play their part! And I am absolutely not ashamed of copying successful ideas from other cities and adopting them here in Sunnyvale.
From recycling, to choosing what light bulb to use, to conserving water and power, to carpooling and using public transportation, to making investment decisions, we all can have a positive impact to protect our community’s resources.
You’ll definitely see an increase in initiatives on this topic.
For starters, I will be forming a Mayoral Green Ribbon Committee to help gather great ideas, and you’ll be hearing more about ways your children can become involved in making green decisions in months to come as well!
Stay tuned!
Just recently, the City Council approved “Free Swim Sundays.” You will have an opportunity to enjoy Sunday afternoons at three popular swimming pools at no charge. These include the Fremont Swim Complex, Lakewood Park Pool, and the wonderful pool right behind me, the Washington Park pool.
On education … Sunnyvale is committed to encouraging high-quality pre-school education, because a good early education will give our kids a head start they will benefit from for the rest of their lives. We sponsor training for child care providers, work with the business community to provide for employees’ child care needs, and provide information and referrals to parents seeking high-quality care for their children.
This past May, we presented the annual Excellence in Early Education awards to:
· The Cumberland Child Development Center;
· Community Preschool, and teachers in Room 7;
· Cupertino Co-op Nursery School; and
· a model family child care provider, Bonnie Hasson,
Another way we’re looking out for the health and well-being of the community is through expanded health services at the Columbia Neighborhood Center, including prenatal care, health insurance and immunizations. We are also proud that Columbia now offers counseling services for children and their families.
Last month, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors approved its newbudget, which calls for a $17 million cut in mental health services. This could have a wide-ranging impact on our community, so we are determined to meet the challenge head-on. With Columbia’s counseling services, members of the community can receive:
· emergency evaluation;
· crisis intervention;
· intake assessments;
· individual, group and family therapy and consultation.
All right here in Sunnyvale.
Columbia also provides a wealth of other services, including literacy classes, English as a Second Language, and drop-in recreation services to keep our kids learning and engaged after school.
Our high quality of life also comes from the efforts of the community itself. In fact, you’ll get a chance in just a few minutes to see for yourself some of the best our community has to offer, when we present the 2007 Sunnyvale Community Awards.
Library of the Future
Another key to the success and vibrancy of our City is our outstanding Sunnyvale Public Library. Did you know that our Library is the busiest in California? For the last two years, our library averaged an astonishing 545 checkouts an hour, with almost 2 million checkouts a year. More than 2,200 visitors pass through the Library’s doors each day. Those visitors all tell us they want more ... more materials, more programs and more meeting space.
Unfortunately, the 1959 red brick building has no room to grow. So last month, our City Council voted to put on the ballot a measure to build a two-story, $108 million new main library … the Library of the Future. Besides being larger, the new library will offer new services and technologies that will increase convenience and choice for the users, and provide a variety of new ways to get information.
On a personal note, I believe the Library of the Future and the community garden are complementary. The community garden provides an exciting, hands-on way for our children and families to learn about the land and where our food comes from. Library users and the community at large will surely benefit from the learning opportunities the garden has to offer.
Successes
There are many other areas where we have seen success this year. All four labor union contracts representing City employees were renewed successfully, without any labor disputes. This is a testament to our City employees and management working hand-in-hand to make this a great city in which to live and work.
Public Safety
As you may know, in Sunnyvale, every policeman is a fireman, and every fireman is a policeman. This ingenious approach provides a flexibility and efficiency unparalleled in other cities.
This year, we have added 17 new rank and file officers to our award-winning public safety department to keep Sunnyvale one of the safest cities.
Residents often tell us they feel confident in the fine job our officers are doing. Our crime rates remain low - During the past year property crimes dropped
1 percent, and violent crime dropped 21 percent.
But there’s more to the story than just raw numbers.
In December, we arrested a suspect in the middle of a burglary. After a thorough investigation by our Public Safety Department, along with the county sheriff and the county district attorney, the suspect was linked to more than one hundred burglaries.
It turns out this was the “Southside Burglar” who targeted ethnic neighborhoods in Sunnyvale, Cupertino and other surrounding cities. Because of the arrest, many stolen items were recovered and our public safety officers were able to reunite many of the victims with their property. The efforts of our public safety officers deserve recognition, because they have significantly made our City safer.
But low crime doesn’t come just from running after the bad guys – it also comes through cooperation with our neighborhoods. For example, our public safety
neighborhood resource officers, working closely with our schools and neighborhoods, are the first line of defense against truancy … students cutting classes.
Neighborhoods
Also, neighbors are working together to keep our streets safe. We now have 20 thriving neighborhood associations, bringing neighbors together and keeping them active in their community.
In the last year alone, we have three new neighborhood associations: Ponderosa Park, Stratford Gardens and Sunnyvale West, adding more than 12,000 households to those covered by active associations.
Business · Economy
Our vision for Sunnyvale also includes a thriving local economy and a healthy business environment.
As the economy continues to rebound, we see businesses setting up shop here
and commercial real estate vacancies dropping. We welcome large companies like ILOG and new incubators like Plug And Play Tech Centers, which all play an integral part in Sunnyvale’s economic resurgence.
If you drive on 101, you will see the new Moffett Towers being built by Jay Paul, an ambitious, 1.7 million-square-foot class “A,” LEED-certified office development – the largest building project in the South Bay.
Of course, new and thriving local businesses require housing for local employees.
A few years ago, I said that the cost of owning a house in Sunnyvale was very high. These days, the cost is no longer very high … It’s simply ridiculous!
When a three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,600-square-foot, no-frills, middle-class home is fetching anywhere from $800,000 to $900,000, even two-income families are not able to afford to own a home. Despite falling housing prices all over the country, during the past months the prices in Silicon Valley are still going up.
When I traveled to Austin, Texas, last year, I went to some open houses. I had sticker shock – or more accurately, reverse sticker shock! That same three-bedroom home in Austin would cost $150,000.
Every time I tell this story, people say, “But, hey! You wouldn’t want to live in Texas!” Well, maybe not me personally, but for companies like AMD, which is headquartered in Sunnyvale with an established presence and manufacturing facility in Austin, this type of pricing difference is making it difficult to consider expansion in Sunnyvale. Companies need to consider that employees can get a lot more bang for the buck in locations like Austin.
Business groups and trade associations share this concern. Many would think that groups like the Silicon Valley Leadership Group would list as their top priorities issues related to lower tax or R&D incentives …but that’s not the case. Their number one issue is the outrageous housing costs that make it difficult for them to recruit new talent to the Silicon Valley.
For those of you who already own a home here in Sunnyvale – congratulations. However, when our firefighters, teachers and nurses cannot afford to live nearby, and when disaster hits – say an earthquake – our City could be in serious jeopardy.
Our plan of action must include a way to provide affordable housing to those who keep our citizens safe and our community thriving. We’ve made progress toward that goal. We currently have more than 200 Below Market Rate homes available for purchase in the City, and approximately 200 more BMR homes coming on-line in the next few years. In February, we re-opened our BMR housing wait list to new applicants, giving priority to those essential to our community – such as our public safety officers and 129th Air National Guard members. Clearly, affordable housing to keep those vital to our community here in Sunnyvale is a key goal and we will continue to do what we can to keep them here.
Future
While Sunnyvale’s future continues to be bright, it is important that we not lose sight of the challenges that still lie ahead. To quote Will Rogers again, “even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.”
Even though we have some of the lowest water rates in the county, our wholesale cost of water is rising. With the statewide water shortages getting worse, we will have to find new ways to keep our tap flowing with clean and affordable water.
We will need to look at ways to address the growing issue of mental health budget cuts from the state and county. How will this affect us, and how will we address this important issue? And while the economy has bounced back, we need to remain vigilant, and remember that the economic climate is cyclical, and can change rapidly.
The list of challenges will grow. But so will potential solutions.
We are truly among those most blessed, to be living in Sunnyvale — The Heart of Silicon Valley, the technological and intellectual center of the world.
And we are privileged to be part of this free land – truly the land of opportunity – that is this great country of the United States of America.
As Americans, we are an enthusiastic people with more than 200 years of democratic experience on our resume. As our forefathers predicted, and as our history has demonstrated, facing and overcoming obstacles will always make us strong.
With patience, perseverance, vision and action, we will overcome them to emerge mightier than we began.
As Americans, overcoming challenges is our specialty.
Finally, on this Independence Day, I would like to thank the members of the United States military, like today’s Navy Reserve Color Guard, for their service and sacrifice. Every year, we celebrate our freedom with hot dogs, hamburgers and fireworks … but we must not forget that there are heroes among us who still fight every day to protect that freedom and to keep us safe from harm.
Many of those brave men and women, some of whom I have had the honor and privilege of serving alongside, are celebrating Fourth of July many thousands of miles from home. That includes members of our very own California Air National Guard 129th Rescue Wing, who have been deployed several times … citizen-soldiers called from our community to provide security, and search and rescue duties, half a world away.
I ask you to keep them in your thoughts and prayers, that they will return home safely, and soon.
In closing, I would like to offer these words from President John F. Kennedy … “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
Thank you for being here, and I wish you a safe and healthy Fourth of July.
God bless America, and God bless Sunnyvale.