City hits its marks

Laura Sturza

City Council members looked forward and back at their annual

goal-setting workshop -- reviewing the past year’s achievements and

the coming year’s challenges and possibilities.

“It was just a huge exchange of ideas,” Mayor Stacey Murphy said

of Saturday’s meeting. “There was a lot more discussion than in the

past.”

Among the items discussed for the coming year were a continued

focus on programs for youth, opening Bud Ovrom Park in the South San

Fernando District and continued downtown revitalization, Murphy said.

These items appeared on last year’s wish list, and have already

met with success, City Manager Mary Alvord said.

Revitalization of downtown has been addressed by hiring a staff

person to oversee programming, bringing Method Fest film festival to

town -- which drew about 10,000 people to the city in April -- and

attracting new stores such as Urban Outfitters, Alvord said.

A new skate park, a new youth TV show on Burbank TV6, the city’s

public- access channel, and a conflict resolution program for middle

schools are among youth programs realized in the past year, Alvord

said.

Though the city has yet to accomplish last year’s goal of finding

a new use for the old Buena Vista Branch Library, it will address

that at a meeting later this month, Alvord said.

“[Council’s] dreams are starting to be more pragmatic,” Alvord

said, adding that she hopes to maintain basic service levels. “Let’s

not let our streets become filled with potholes.”

The council is working toward balancing an anticipated budget

deficit of almost $10 million for fiscal year 2003-04 by cutting

about 10% from each of the city’s departments.

Achieving an overnight curfew on flights from the

Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport remains a goal, Murphy said.