City dedicates new time capsule

Mayor Jess Talamantes greeted a cheerful crowd on a wet and cold afternoon Monday to mark a year’s worth of centennial celebrations with the dedication of a time capsule.

The water-tight time capsule represents months of work and coordination between city staff and community groups to include centennial memorabilia. It won’t be opened for 100 years.

In dedicating the capsule, Talamantes said the effort exemplified the city’s centennial mission “to create pride, foster and highlight community partnerships, honor the past, celebrate the present and anticipate the future.”

City Manager Mike Flad welcomed the crowd, which included Sen. Carol Liu, huddled beneath a white canopy set up for the occasion in front of City Hall.

“The 100-year celebration has been really about community,” Flad said. “It’s been about all of you and the things you’ve done, not just this past year, but the past 100 years.”

The combined efforts of nonprofits, the chamber of commerce, schools and other community groups are what made the year so special, Flad added.

He also noted Burbank’s tremendous history and humble beginnings, which could only mean great things for the city’s future, he said.

“If you look at it as sort of a trend line as where we are going to be in the next 100 years, I cannot imagine the places that we will go,” Flad said.

After the kindergarten class from St. Robert Bellarmine School sang “It’s a Small World,” the event concluded with the unveiling of a bronze plaque near the steps of City Hall that marks the spot where the 16-by-18 inch steel time capsule is buried.