By Mayor Cameron Smyth
I am so proud to call Santa Clarita my hometown. It is where I grew up, went to school and then chose to come back and raise a family of my own. My kids attended the same great schools I went to and I currently serve in the same City Hall office that my father did when he was on the Santa Clarita City Council. Not many cities can boast the kind of hometown feel and close-knit community that we enjoy in Santa Clarita. Not to mention the long list of accolades our City has earned, which can only be topped by the number of award-winning amenities and programs we offer to our residents.
All of this adds up to Santa Clarita truly being a Gold Medal City – which is the theme for our 2024 State of the City event. We invite the community to join us for this annual event where we celebrate all the accomplishments and milestones from the last year. If you have not had the opportunity to attend a State of the City event in the past, this is the year to do so. Guests will be welcomed to the beautiful Canyon Country Community Center for an afternoon of community engagement, City updates, a commemorative gift, updates from the City Council, the always popular last video and happy hour on the terrace.
If you are looking for a way to get more involved in our community, this is a great way to get informed about all the City’s projects, programs and events, while also learning more about where your hard-earned tax dollars are going. This year’s event will highlight the incredible strides our City has made in addressing homelessness. Our Community Task Force on Addressing Homelessness has been instrumental in making tangible steps by checking off the action items within the most recent plan. Not to mention, nearly 100 local people and families experiencing homelessness are now staying at the new Bridge to Home shelter on Drayton Street. This crucial facility provides shelter, as well as hot meals, warm showers, a computer room, medical care and all the resources necessary to help them transition from homelessness to permanent sustainable housing. Also, in the near future, Family Promise will host the grand opening of their new center. Located on Newhall Avenue, it will feature a 2,700-square-foot Resource Center in addition to four interim housing units and an emergency overnight unit. These new facilities demonstrate our community’s dedication to making real, concrete progress in addressing homelessness.
The City Council will also share updates on other exciting projects which have come to fruition over the past year. This includes the completion of the beautiful Skyline Ranch Park, two new bridges along the Sand Canyon Trail, traffic circulation upgrades, completion of the annual Overlay and Slurry Seal Program, the Town Center Specific Plan and completion of key elements of the energy efficiency project.
Guests attending State of the City will also learn about which projects are on the horizon, such as the new Valencia Community Center, which will soon open in the former YMCA building at Summit Park. This facility will host preschool and afterschool programming, contract classes, as well as fitness and enrichment classes – plus the City’s first indoor pool! In other big park news, the City is poised to take ownership of William S. Hart Regional Park. This gem in the middle of our City is the last County owned and operated park in Santa Clarita. Speaking of parks, we recently broke ground on a major expansion at David March Park, upgrades to Old Orchard Park and the much-anticipated Rink Sports Pavilion.
If you want to get updates on all these projects and find out everything else that is happening in our great City of Santa Clarita – make sure to get your ticket for State of the City. The event is taking place this afternoon, Thursday, October 17, at 3:00 p.m. at the Canyon Country Community Center (18410 Sierra Highway). Tickets are $40 per person and can be purchased at the door. If you are unable to attend in person, make sure to check out the City’s YouTube page at @SantaClaritaGov to watch the video updates and learn more about our Gold Medal City.
Mayor Cameron Smyth is a member of the Santa Clarita City Council and can be reached at csmyth@santaclarita.gov.
