By Count Friedrich von Olsen
This week the community of Upland held its second, yes second, State of the City event. Four weeks ago the first presentation was put on by the Upland Chamber of Commerce, featuring a regional prognosis by local economist John Husing. There is something of a backstory there, which I really don’t want to get into. Suffice it to say that the chamber in Upland, to which the current mayor, Ray Musser, has belonged for 42 years, apparantly out of political motivation, snubbed him. Traditionally in Upland, like in most cities elsewhere as in Washington, D.C. with the State of the Union address held in January, the highest elected official – the mayor in the case of cities and the president in the case of our country – is honored with the responsibility for making the presentation. I have it on good authority the Upland Chamber of Commerce has a few members who have political ambitions. Ray Musser, it seems, may be in the way of those ambitions…
I have a natural affiniity for Ray Musser. He, as do I, qualifies as a geezer. He has eclipsed his eightieth year. Actually, that makes him many years younger than I am, practically a whippersnapper by comparison, but a geezer nonetheless. We geezers, after all, must hang together, or assuredly, we will all hang separately…
Ray drew a good sized crowd to his event, which was put on at the Upland Bretheren in Christ Church and included a presentation by Harris Koenig, the president and CEO at San Antonio Regional Hospital. By my count there were 326 in attendance, which was nearly double the number who attended the chamber event in March…
Ray noted that he “came to Upland 59 years ago and was inspired and mentored by Abner Haldeman, mayor of Upland from 1955 to 1964.” Ray noted that Haldeman was appointed by his council colleagues in that first go-round as mayor and that later “He became the first elected mayor in 1972 to 1976.”
Ray bragged about his city saying, “Upland cares, because of the incredible city staff and leadership team we have in place.” He introduced city manager Rod Butler and two of the other members of the city council, Glenn Bozar and Carol Timm. Conspicuous by their absence were the other two members of the council, Gino Filippi and Debbie Stone. Also introduced was city treasurer Dan Morgan…
Ray told the crowd, “I am blessed each and every day to work with this dynamic team of professionals.” He continued, “As a city, we treasure our past, but we’re working hard toward an even better future. During the past year, we’ve confronted economic challenges, and will continue to do so in the months and years ahead. We have implemented a number of recommendations and today, I am happy to report, that our budget reserves are at $10,365,667.” Nevertheless, Mayor Musser sternly intoned, “We are not out of the woods. Like every city in California, our recovery has been a slow one. We are not alone in facing these challenges and we stand tall in our will to fix them. The loss of redevelopment funding cost us a lot for 4 or 5 years. Our pension liability has continued to grow. Today it stands at $83,450,599. We will leave no stone unturned – aggressively addressing the pension issue while looking for knew revenue streams and internal cost savings to pay for needed infrastructure improvements and maintain the level of services you rightfully expect from us or continue to cut or outsource some of these services…”
That was a signal to me that Mayor Musser reads this column. Just a few weeks ago I held forth on the growing public employee pension crisis throughout California. I couldn’t say for sure, because my monocle was clouding up at that point, but I think he winked in my direction when he uttered those lines…
Ray continued, “As a community, and as a leadership team, we have some difficult choices ahead. We can’t continue to operate the same way and expect a different outcome. The business of running a city is very, very different than it was years ago…”
He then ticked off some ongoing issues the city is facing. “We continue to have a challenge in regards to the medical marijuana dispensaries,” he said. “These are not in the best interest of the residents including our children. Upland is being required to change from general elections to district elections. The mayor will stay in the general election; however. Since Upland is 38% Hispanic, the council has agreed to split the four council seats up into four separate sections of the city. You will get to vote on this matter in November. The response over the last month for the homeless outreach program sponsored by our police department has been outstanding. Our chief has done a great job in implementing the procedures for this program. Thank you everyone for your most generous response…”
Ray did not dwell entirely on the city’s difficulties. “For each challenge, for each bump in the road, we also celebrate our victories. Two organizations that are very active in our city are the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. They help guide boys and girls into becoming productive and outstanding leaders. Many of the boys earn their Eagle Scout Award and the girls their Gold Scout Award. In the past year, we’ve seen the opening of Grocery Outlet and a number of new stores and restaurants throughout the City, including the California Fish Grill and soon Oggi’s at the Colonies, to name a few. Euclid Avenue is another great example of how Upland cares. Each week, thousands of pedestrians, joggers, bicyclists and – yes – dogs make the trip up and down Euclid for exercise, relaxation and conversation. It’s an asset other communities would love to have, and one we are committed to preserve. In recent months, we have replaced eighty trees and continue to look for ways to beautify this walkway and create a more pleasant and safer experience for our residents. One of the best kept secrets is the beautiful trails in the middle of the Colonies. This is the city’s newest trail and for a 2 mile walk, it is perfect. Speaking of safety, it has been and remains the top priority of city government. Today, I challenge us all to take that a step further, by working together on a comprehensive program to make Upland the safest city in Southern California. Pedestrian and bicycle safety must be a big part of this. The long term goal is to extend Euclid Walking Trail from Foothill Blvd down to “A” Street and the Train Depot.”
Ray then touted the development ongoing in Upland, calling attention to the William Lyons Project on 8th Street east of Euclid. He said two bedroom, 1,177 square foot condo or townhouse could be had for as little as $339,000. Why that’s mere pocket change! “This is an excellent way to buy a home,” Ray gushed…
Ray said the community had “proven over and over again, no challenge is too big for Upland…”
There was just one thing about this State of the City event I found objectionable. The crowd was so thick around the mayor that I did not have a chance to speak with him. I had come armed with a request. You see, I live at 5,174 feet. Yet Upland has an elevation of 1,237 feet. I did not get an opportunity to see if I could get Ray to bring a proposal before the city council to rename Upland Lowland. Hopefully, next time…