Council Wants to Expand Programs for Youth

Promoting youth programs is a prime goal for the City Council this year, members have decided.

“The City Council wants to promote youth programs in order to nip juvenile crime in the bud, before it becomes a big problem in our city,” Councilwoman Eva Miner Bradford said.

Bradford said focusing on youth programs became a priority after a January workshop at which council members listed their individual goals for the city. The consensus among the five council members then became a list of goals for the city to pursue during the year and beyond.

The City Council formally adopted the list of goals at its meeting last week. “Listing our goals keeps us focused, and it also helps us at budget time when we have to limit our spending,” said Bradford. “These goals are also helpful for advisory committees, such as the Cultural and Beautification Committee.”

In setting city goals, the City Council listed three categories: social-cultural, organizational and physical, which includes community appearance and infrastructure. Expansion of youth programs topped the council’s list of social-cultural goals, and the No. 2 priority is to “promote cultural activities, including multicultural backgrounds.”

The council’s top organizational goal for the year is to “purchase, upgrade and install a computer network for city government.” The second-priority goal in this category is to prepare and adopt a marketing plan “for business retention and city promotion.”

The top physical goal, the council agreed, is to “enhance the visual appearance of the city.” This goal includes “beautification of La Palma medians, intersections, entry points, entry signs, street signs, trees and perimeter walls.” Second priority as a physical goal calls for street, sewer and water-systems improvements.