Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein State of the City Address

Wow, what an honor to be introduced at the most prestigious event of the year in Garden Grove, by my female predecessor on the City Council, the legend herself, Mayor Katheryn Barr!

Thank you, Kay -- what a treat that was.

Welcome to all of you.

My first State of the City… at the podium! And I couldn’t be more thrilled.

I’d like to thank the Chamber of Commerce for partnering with us, and for all of their hard work on today’s very special event.

I am humbled and honored to be serving as your Mayor, and to be here with each of you today -- especially, since it’s the City’s birthday today, and mine was yesterday!

Spoiler alert: I’m younger, hahaha.

I’m excited to share what a really strong year the City had last year, and how this year will be even more powerful.

While each of you is a special guest today, I would like to introduce my family and friends, to take a moment to thank them publicly, for all of their love and support.

As a 4th generation Garden Grover, I can tell you, I’ve heard all the nicknames.

Sleepy suburb? I don’t think so.

Drive-thru city? Not a chance.

I’ve always rejected the nay-sayers because I know the truth -- Garden Grove is a key destination, for all the right reasons.

Ours is a city that embraces where we’ve been, and where we’re going.

And we are going places!

In Garden Grove, people actually care about each other and work together to make this community we call home the best it can be.

I should know Garden Grove is the best – I’m a hometown girl.

As I mentioned, I am a proud 4th generation Grover -- tracing back to four generations of women in Garden Grove from my great, great-grandmother’s family.

My amazing daughter Emerson is the 5th generation now.

In the late 1800’s, my great, great grandparents came to Garden Grove, and planted roots here, that still thrive today.

My family, like many of your families, stayed in Garden Grove for generations -- powering it, helping it evolve, and ensuring it thrived.

Garden Grove’s energy makes it a special and unique place.

And what a true privilege, and personal dream of mine, to be leading our great city.

I believe Garden Grove’s power is its people.

We stretch our collective imaginations, push the envelope, and drive ourselves to be innovators.

That’s why businesses, both large and small, want to be a part of what we’ve got.

Since becoming Garden Grove’s first-elected female mayor, I’ve had the opportunity to meet small business owners, captains of industry, restauranteurs, and just down-to-earth great people.

Add to that, the 600-plus City employees who work tirelessly to keep the business of running the city, running smoothly.

All of this combined energy and enthusiasm powers our collective relationships and our strong partnerships.

What makes Garden Grove so great?

Take a look.

You’ve got to admit, life around here is pretty good, and we in Garden Grove are always looking at ways to make it even better, and safer.

One of those ways to accomplish both is with the exciting new Glow Up Program.

It’s aimed at turning on the lights—literally—in those areas of the city that need it.

Right now we’re working with our Public Works and Police Departments to prioritize neighborhoods in need.

While we’re making it better and safer, we’re also looking at ways to make Garden Grove more profitable for our businesses here.

One of those ways is by working with our Chamber of Commerce to power-up a new, “Think BIGG, Shop Local” campaign, which launched last month, just in time for Small Business Month.

For this important outreach, the City promoted a series of videos created to generate even more awareness and revenue.

That’s the power of not just attracting new businesses for all of us to enjoy, but keeping the doors open for all of our favorite local spots.

So, get out there, shop local, and stay involved!

Garden Grove is powered by people, and people! … we are just getting started!

City Hall is energized by a forward-thinking team of hands-on Department Directors.

They aren’t afraid to try new approaches to old problems.

They are leading the charge to put Garden Grove front and center in Orange County.

Trust me, surrounding cities are watching and learning from our laser focus on the future and the creative ways we’re linking it to our past.

It’s my privilege to introduce this team.

If you would please hold your applause though, until the end, that would be great.

• City Manager Lisa Kim
• Assistant City Manager Matt West
• Assistant City Manager and Economic Development and Housing Director Ursula Luna-Reynosa
• Police Chief Amir El-Farra
• Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief Craig Covey
• Community Development Director Niki Wetzel
• Community Services Director John Montanchez
• Finance Director Patricia Song
• Human Resources Director Jany Lee
• Information Technology Director Anand Rao
• And Public Works Director Bill Murray

And, now … APPLAUSE!, hahaha

All of those department directors work hand-in-hand with another vital group of people who are powered by passion for Garden Grove.

I’m thrilled to work alongside my esteemed peers on the dais, your City Council.

They are colleagues who not only dream big, but work hard to make things happen.

Now that we’ve seen the team, it’s my pleasure to show you how they’ve been implementing the City’s Strategic Plan -- which is a blueprint, if you will, of priorities for Garden Grove’s growth.

This is a powerful guideline that we follow, which is based upon goals set collectively by the City Council and City departments – all while incorporating the needs of our community-at-large.

We’ll start with a national issue, and how it’s impacting us locally -- our unhoused population.

How is Garden Grove addressing this?

We are on the map in Orange County with the innovative steps we’ve taken, and the partnerships we’ve made, to address this urgent need.

Our Central Cities Navigation Center is humming right along, bringing resources to those in need in Garden Grove, Westminster and Fountain Valley.

The partnership has served us well in the short-term and will lead to long-term stability for some of our most vulnerable community members.

The center operates 24/7, with 85 beds.

To date, 332 people have benefitted from not just emergency housing, but also 1-on-1 case management, mental health services, substance abuse counseling, life skills development, employment and education progress, and housing placements.

We’re also so proud of the continuing success of the Be Well Program, the new Street Medicine program, and the Special Resource Team.

Our SRT continues to serve the homeless community and those affected with mental health disorders.

In 2023-2024, the Special Resource Team made over 53-hundred contacts and over 1-thousand referrals to emergency housing.

As for our Street Medicine Program -- I’m happy to announce that Phase 2 will be on line next year, bringing an additional 48 supportive housing units at the former Hospitality Inn.

Here’s another figure that reinforces the good work of these City services: the newest point-in-time count showed that Garden Grove had the largest decline in people experiencing homelessness.

We must be doing something right, because State Senator Tom Umberg secured $4 million dollars to continue operations at the Navigation Center.

Our Economic Development and Housing folks paired up with Community Services to breathe new life into the Foods of Garden Grove campaign, and stage a first-of-its-kind live special event last October.

It was a major hit, with more than 3,000 people enjoying the cultural creations of 21 different Garden Grove restaurants.

There was live entertainment and plenty of photo booths to capture a multitude of Insta-worthy moments.

This September 26th, you can experience this exciting festival all over again at the 2nd Annual Foods of Garden Grove Live.

And, next month we’re launching “Foodie Quests,” a new feature in the Garden Grove App, which will spotlight culinary gems across the City!"

And speaking of an event where plenty of pictures need to be taken: I was so happy that the TET Festival returned to Garden Grove this year to re-establish their Little Saigon roots.

We’re always proud to partner with UVSA to help this vital community return back to their roots.

And speaking of the power of collaboration that we have with our diverse communities, I am proud to announce that the City of Garden Grove, in partnership with Fountain Valley and Santa Ana, has been awarded the first, “JOBS FIRST” grant for $300,000 dollars, that will go to our collective cities to launch a Community Benefits District, in Little Saigon.

Here in Garden Grove we walk the walk, and talk the talk -- at the same time!

Our New Walk and Talk program gives residents an opportunity to bend the ear of their council person as they stroll through the neighborhood.

A simple idea that gives power to the people.

It’s a chance to work together to make neighborhoods safer, and get neighbors connected.

And speaking of great connections, I’d like to thank the Garden Grove Unified School District for their powerful partnership with us all of these years, and most recently, on a mural project at Doig Intermediate School.

This vibrant public art piece shows a student progressing through district schools, from Clinton Elementary, to Doig, to graduation from Santiago High School.

This colorful collaboration is now open for all to enjoy, and is a wonderful symbol of the creativity and purpose that our younger generation has.

And now that school is out for summer, what better place for people to come together than at one of our fun parks.

Community Services is ready to roll on the $10-million dollar revitalization and expansion of Woodbury Park.

When complete, the 3.8-acre park will have new walking trails, two playgrounds, a skate plaza, a swimming pool and outdoor fitness equipment.

Construction is set to begin next month.

And, drum roll … Community Services is bringing pickle ball courts to Garden Grove Park!

Our parks are always busy, so the unsung heroes of Public Works have also been busy, resurfacing the pools at Eastgate and Magnolia Park—just in time for summer fun.

And speaking of the power of our Public Works Department, you’ve probably driven by the spiffy new medians along two miles of Chapman Avenue between Knott and Valley View.

Thank you for the smoother sailing along those roadways.

The City relies on our Public Works teams more than they probably like us to, hahaha.

From Streets, Trees, Engineering, and Parks, to Traffic Management, Waste Hauling, Recycling, Water Quality, Animal Control, and supporting our Homeless Task Force – they are a powerful backbone for our City and community.

The Garden Grove Civic Center Revitalization Project is really taking shape.

It’s going to be a great addition to our downtown and improve the efficiency of our Police Department personnel, while those top-notch men and women serve this grateful community.

A public-private partnership is pulling out all the stops to re-think and build a forward-thinking facility.

And Phase 2 features a new park for our Civic Center!

It’ll include a performance area and custom-made stage for concerts and movies, a memorial grove, unique art pieces, new exercise equipment areas with markers throughout the park for workouts, two new playgrounds, and an open event space.

I can’t wait to see, and enjoy, all of that!

I just mentioned the Civic Center Revitalization Project, which we can all see developing, but what most folks don’t know, is that our City Finance department secured $140-million dollars in financing for that Civic Center revitalization Program.

That’s impressive.

I’m proud to announce that for the 39th consecutive year, our Finance Department received the certificate of achievement in financial reporting.

That’s the highest honor in governmental accounting.

That’s executing financial power ethically, to both balance and meet the needs and services for our city and community.

And proof of this team doing just that is our Finance Department completing the 2023-2024 annual audit on time -- while earning a clean opinion from the independent auditors, with no comments!

In this case, I’m told that, ‘No Comments’ is a good thing, hahaha.

And, one more feather for the Finance hat: the budget team earned the City’s first Government Finance Officers Association award for the City’s General Fund.

And it was also an award-winning year for Garden Grove’s Planning Division – two prestigious ones, as a matter of fact.

First, the coveted ‘Award of Merit’ which recognized them as the top agency in the state of California!

And, they took home another top honor for the Gardenbrook Senior Living Apartment Complex.

The City’s building division has had an impressive 2024 too: their team issued nearly 7,000 permits and get this: staff conducted over 21,000 inspections!

And, shifting the spotlight over to our code enforcement division: they re-started their volunteer program last year.

Six new volunteers provided over 750 hours of support to code enforcement staff by documenting property maintenance conditions in response to community requests for service.

That’s powerful effort from the entire department.

Garden Grove’s Human Resources Department is hard at work, too.

In fact, last year, the HR team coordinated 95 new hires, 73 recruitments and 67 promotions!

Additionally, the department just finished a part-time equity study, to make sure the city attracts the best part-timers with competitive compensation.

And here’s a nod to the future: Human Resources has created a Cybersecurity Officer position to protect the city from online threats.

Information Technology has already put that Officer to work.

Also on this frontier: IT now has a new service called Elastic, a powerful new platform that monitors and protects the City’s computers and community data, to keep it all safe, while spotting problems quickly and stopping cyber threats before they cause harm.

Now that’s progress in protecting all of us working, living and enjoying Garden Grove.

Another protective addition that Community Services implemented last year was a new security camera system at their busiest facilities and centers.

Places like the Senior Center, the Community Meeting Center, and our Family Resource Centers.

This was done all in an effort to better safeguard guests.

And speaking of safety, here’s something you don’t hear in many State of the City Speeches: I’m proud to report that our Garden Grove Police Department is now at a 95% staffing level.

Recruitment is something police departments everywhere struggle with, but Garden Grove is attracting and keeping officers.

The Police Department has several new high-tech tools to help them keep all of us safe.

Flock cameras have been placed in strategic locations across the city.

These cameras have superior visibility for clearer imaging and have higher memory capabilities.

That translates to a better ability to help catch criminals.

Flock cameras have already been instrumental in capturing suspects.

Garden Grove PD also has the power of eyes in the sky.

The Drone Program has taken off.

Drones are not only used in criminal investigations and SWAT actions, they’re also great assets at large-scale community events, like the Strawberry Festival.

Nothing like an eye in the sky to keep people on good behavior, hahaha.

And speaking of good behavior, which I can’t promise from my next, four-legged surprise guest, but I’m sure she’ll try.

Everyone, please meet the newest members of the Police Department’s K9 Support Therapy Dog Program, and School Resource Team: 1-year-old, golden retriever Shelby, and Master Officer Lea Kovacs.

Our PD’s John Reynolds Youth Support Canine Foundation, which is part of the PD’s School Resource Team, is yet another way that our police department is answering the call to support our community -- protecting us from harm, while also supporting strong mental health for all.

Master Officer Kovacs will be joining the School Resource Team for the 2024-2025 school year.

She is the first female officer to join the School Resource Team, but Shelby … is not, hahaha.

This unit is another great example of the City’s powerful partnership with our school district.

These officers and their K9 partners have a positive presence on all 68 schools in the district, and even outside our city limits.

Also supporting and protecting the Garden Grove community are the men and women of the Orange County Fire Authority, who responded to more than 15-thousand emergency calls in Garden Grove over the past year, keeping its response times well under the goal of 8 minutes and 30 seconds.

I’m happy to report that the OCFA and the City have secured two new Aerial Ladder Trucks and another Type 1 Fire engine is also on its way to us.

The OCFA is working with our police department, and Anaheim police and fire, along with Disneyland, to establish an area command post for the many large-scale events that are staged throughout the year in our collective cities.

That’s the power of people working together.

Speaking of Disneyland -- they’re celebrating their 70th anniversary this year -- and Garden Grove is ready.

We are poised to capitalize on the massive influx of regional, national and international visitors coming to the OC to enjoy this magical milestone.

And those visitors are all literally, going to be right next door to our city.

This will translate into a significant uptick in our resort bookings, while boosting our local economy.

In fact, so far this year, City revenues are approaching $27 million, reflecting strong performance in tourism and hospitality.

This reinforces the multiplier effect that tourism delivers to Garden Grove’s economy.

Another gear in that economic engine powering Garden Grove is the important impact that our digital reach has had.

Our digital marketing campaign generated over 100 million impressions -- that’s an increase of 42 percent!

That’s effectively, and powerfully, introducing Garden Grove to the globe.

And while we welcome the importance of international commerce, you all know that Garden Grove likes to keep local businesses buzzing.

So, what’s in the works?
We’ve got lots of names to drop here …

• Dutch Bros Coffee
• EggBred
• DZO Brewing Company
• Mornings Coffee at SteelCraft
• And Pollo Campero

These are just a few of the new and exciting businesses joining Garden Grove.

I’m also excited to announce that the Coco’s at Harbor Boulevard is set to become a Kajiken restaurant – which is a celebrated Japanese chain, and its neighbor will be Egg Tuck, an elevated breakfast experience.

These additions are expected to open their doors by the end of this year.

They will further cement the Harbor Corridor’s reputation as a sought-after dining destination.

All those new eateries are going to be so great to try, but we also make sure our local businesses stay buzzing.

To help with this, our Business and Retention team now have two new programs to help:

Business Analytics -- which lets owners tap into our research banks to make data-driven decisions.

This program provides research and analysis so business owners can understand the market and jump right in.

And there’s also MICROBIZ, a site where small businesses with 5 or fewer employees can log on to get technical and financial assistance, like low-interest loans.

It’s all a way to help a small business launch itself into future greatness.

As you’ve heard and seen today, Garden Grove is continually looking for ways for all parts of our community to thrive – our businesses, our visitors, and our families.

Because we know these partnerships are our true power -- they’re what make Garden Grove so unique.

Garden Grove is in the middle of a Renaissance.

We are changing the face of our city in too many ways to count -- Incredible ways.

Our tourism corridor is booming, and unique and prosperous businesses are setting up shop.

We’ve become the foodie capital of Orange County.

On a daily basis, our diverse communities offer one-of-a-kind experiences -- through their food, art and conversation.

Our incredible army of volunteers work tirelessly to keep the city clean and vibrant, and our civic groups are powered by passion for this lively community we call home.

I am unbelievably proud to be your leader.

I am proud that I grew up in Garden Grove -- I got my values here, so I set my sights high for the city that I love.

We are building the brightest future that we can here, and we’re doing it with our brilliant partners -- which are, all of you.

On behalf of my City Council colleagues, our City management team, and the City staff, we humbly thank each and every one of you, for all that you continue to do to keep Garden Grove’s powerful light shining bright and strong.

Thank you.