Lake Forest 2018 Part 3 (Communications & Business)

I’m spending a week going through our achievements during the past 4 years. So far I discussed Finances and Public Safety. Today I’ll examine Communications and Business.

HELPING US COMMUNICATE BETTER

• FB Live. At the start of the year, I asked our Communications Department to set up a way in which we could broadcast our meetings and allow residents to participate. Together we developed Facebook Live as a channel of communications, and expanded it to go beyond the Council meetings. We were the first city in the U.S. to do this. It could not have been done without the tireless work of Brett Channing, Jonathan Volzke, and Skylar Hunter.
• Mayor’s Minute. Working with our Communications Department, and despite the opposition of Scott Voigts, we developed a weekly video series called “The Mayor’s Minute” that broadcasts information about what’s happening in the City and previews upcoming events. The program is among our most popular social media developments. The idea came from me, and I helped write the scripts, arranged for the guests, and chose the locations. Credit for the excellent work itself goes to Brett, Jonathan, and Skyler. We’ve now done nearly 40 broadcasts.(See Photo)
• Mobile app. More than a year ago I asked the Communications Department to build us the most comprehensive and robust mobile app so that virtually all business between residents and the City could be conducted through our phones. Mayor Pro Tem Basile helped on this project. The new mobile app was released on November 1. If handled correctly it can revolutionize our way of communicating.
• Pop-Up City Hall. Working with the Communications Department, I pushed for the idea of a Pop Up City Hall that brings the city to the people. To date we had two very successful events, one at Lake 1 and one at Portola Hills, where dozens of people stopped by to ask questions and offer comments. (See Photo)
• Quarterly reports. In my desire to make government more transparent, I advocated for and got approval to compel written quarterly reports from the City Manager and from Council members and representatives who sit on various Boards. These reports proved to be very informative and are another part of our status as one of the most transparent cities in the U.S. Mayor Pro Tem Basile was a big help on this issue, and we got some push back from Councilman Voigts.
• To make our city even more transparent I got the animal shelter and the pet adoption center statistics put on the city’s website. We also broadcast the city’s crime statistics.
• Town Hall Meetings. Following the example of Adam Nick, I set up Town hall meetings. Initially they were monthly, but over time they changed to quarterly. Dozens of people stopped by to discuss issues and offer suggestions. Some of the ideas from those meetings made their way to the dais and eventually into law/practice. Jonathan Volzke was a big help to me.

FOSTERING A BETTER BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

• More Businesses. Working with the Chamber of Commerce, we doubled our ribbon cuttings this year and the Chamber has grown accordingly. At my suggestions the Chamber now adds material to our City Council hand-outs promoting Chamber events. The Chamber and the City have never worked so well together. Thanks to Mary Visconte and Jeremy Olsen who worked closely with me in achieving these goals. (See Photos)
• Expanded Business Support. Working with Economic Development, we created a South OC Entrepreneurs Academy in which multiple cities collaborate to produce a 15 month program for small business owners. The Academy was part of my push to develop programs to prevent homelessness, and also my concern that Lake Forest was carrying the weight for educating the region. Carlo Tomaino and his Team have been vital in getting this accomplished.
• Mayor’s Business Council. I created the “Mayor’s Business Council” that includes a few dozen business owners and organizations who meet quarterly trying to improve the business environment in the City. The Chamber of Commerce has been very helpful. (See Photo)
• Shop and Dine Month. At my suggestion, the one week “Shop and Dine” was expanded to a month long celebration. The Chamber is a big supporter of this event and worked with Economic Development to make the transition seamless and to make this year the best year yet with 3,500+ attendees and over 40 vendors. (See Photo)
• I personally intervened to smooth the way for furniture super store AtHome to open their first California location in our city, occupying 80,000 square feet of vacant space in Towne Centre. We expect the doors to open in early 2019. This will mean dozens of new jobs and an estimated $60,000 per year in sales tax revenue.
• In September I competed in a “Mayor’s Pitch” against 4 other Mayors at the Asian Business Council and the city got dozens of inquiries as a result. Here's a link to the speech.

Our Communications Department is the envy of other cities and business has never been better. In 2017 we had the second highest increase in sales tax among all cities in the County and our unemployment level is far below any of our neighbors. Our vacancy rate in the city is at historic low levels.

Next time we’ll look at Quality of Life and Promoting the City

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest where he serves as Mayor. You can check him out on LinkedIn and/or Facebook and you can share your thoughts about the City at Lake Forest Town Square on Facebook His comments are not meant to reflect official City Policy.