Mayor Chavez delivers State of the City, touts downtown, parks, housing help and public‑safety upgrades

Mayor Tom Chavez delivered Temple City’s annual State of the City address, laying out recent infrastructure projects, housing initiatives and public‑safety measures and recognizing staff for emergency response after a January windstorm.

Chavez opened by thanking city staff and partners and asking the audience to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. He then introduced department leaders who presented highlights from their areas of responsibility.

"Our work is centered on three key themes: strengthening our City's identity, investing in long‑term infrastructure and planning for the future," said Scott Reamers, the city’s community development director. Reamers described Las Tunas Drive street‑scaping including new benches, LED street lights and a storefront grant program for awnings, blade signs and café furniture, and previewed an "art on boxes" utility‑box campaign that will come to council for approval.

Reamers said the City Hall roof and HVAC replacement is nearly complete and was funded with federal dollars, which "came at no local cost," and that a study review led the council to decide to convert the former Chamber/Library site at 9050 Las Tunas Drive into a park with a central plaza, picnic space and play area. He said community engagement on the park design will begin this summer.

On housing, the city reported a partnership with Family Promise that has supported 15 families with rental assistance, job services and counseling using the state’s permanent local housing allocation. Reamers also previewed a pre‑approved accessory dwelling unit (ADU) program to streamline approvals and said an updated ADU and subdivision ordinance will be before council in March for final review.

Chavez highlighted recent private development and business openings, naming a Cloverly mixed‑use project that has received building permits and an 18‑unit condominium at 6119 Temple City Boulevard that includes two affordable units. "This past year has been a year of progress, a year of investment and a year of planning," Reamers said.

Public safety was a prominent theme. The mayor said Part I crime was down compared with the prior year and noted community engagement: about 300 residents attended neighborhood watch meetings during the year. Chavez also said the city has invested in "Flock" license‑plate recognition cameras to assist law enforcement with active investigations.

Chavez used part of the address to recognize the city’s emergency response to the January 7 windstorm, describing it as the most damaging since 2011. He said city crews handled more than 270 service requests related to fallen trees and downed lines and that most requests were cleared within a week. He called forward staff involved in cleanup and thanked them for working "around the clock."

The address included financial and community markers: the city has received the Government Finance Officers Association certificate of achievement for excellence in financial reporting for 12 consecutive years, and general fund reserves are at their highest level in a decade, Chavez said. He also thanked the Temple City Unified School District and superintendent Aruna (last name not specified) for their partnership and for a high‑school sports complex under construction.

The event included short reports from the Chamber of Commerce and the youth committee and concluded with Chavez dedicating the address to those who suffered losses in recent fires and offering closing remarks. Chavez also noted a personal milestone: he said he is becoming a grandparent and signaled he plans a lighter public schedule going forward.

Next steps noted in the address include council review of the utility‑box art program, community engagement for the 9050 Las Tunas Drive park, and a March council review of ADU ordinance changes. The city did not provide exact dollar totals for the reserve level or the total cost of the City Hall project during the address.