Claremont COURIER/Friday, May 16, 2014 8

Claremont Manor residents gath-ered last Friday to listen as MayorJoe Lyons addressed residents on

the top issues facing Claremont today. Mr. Lyons, who is serving his final year of his first

term on the Claremont City Council, spent a few min-utes prior to his speech getting to know a few of theresidents and sharing some background about himselfand how he came to be the mayor of Claremont.

The top three issues presented by the mayor werepublic safety, local water issues and sustainability.

Public safety is always a priority in the city and thepolice department has hired new officers and a part-time detective to address an increase in residential andvehicle burglaries. In addition, the city has hired aconsultant to study site feasibility for a new policestation.

“For well over a decade, a new station has been apriority for reasons relating to the structural integrityof the current facility and the adequacy of that build-ing to conduct police business,” he said.

One of the most important issues the city councildiscussed this year is the acquisition of Claremont’swater system, Mr. Lyons noted. He was quick to pointout that the potential water system acquisition fromGolden State Water Company will not be resolved

quickly and the timeline is dependent on the outcomeof pending litigation. Adding to that uncertainty is thequestion of whether or not the water company will ac-cept or challenge an Environmental Impact Reportdiscussed at length at the city council's last meeting inMarch and approved by the council on April 8.

While Claremont’s legal team asserted the water

system purchase would have no significant environ-mental impact, Golden State argued the report is inad-equate and incomplete and was conducted out oforder.

Going forward, the mayor ispleased with the city’s sustainabil-ity plan and spoke briefly about

the need for funding to build or rent a sitefor a Sustainability Resource Center andthe implementation of CoolCalifornia, aprogram designed to raise awarenessabout energy use and find ways to recordand get financial incentives with the city’sconservation efforts.

Mr. Lyons also discussed several new housing de-velopments including Denley Investments’ 74 apart-ment units—the live-work and retail space project atthe old Rich Products building—and Citrus Glen atPitzer Ranch, the townhome development at thesouthwest corner of Padua and Base Line Road.

The mayor was careful to note the historic signifi-cance of some of these buildings and highlighted theefforts made in incorporating and preserving them inthe process of developing these properties.

At the conclusion of his speech, the mayor wel-comed questions from the audience, all of which re-volved around one topic that has weighed heavily onthe minds of Claremont residents for years—water.

The mayor dissected each question and thought-fully replied with best- and worse-case scenarios onsubjects such as eminent domain, a possible water ra-tion and the structure of water rates.

Equally as impressive as the mayor’s speech wasthe newly renovated Manor Hall where the eventcommenced. With its open-beam ceiling and state-of-the-art audio/visual system, residents and the mayoralike were impressed with the update.

Mr. Lyons indicated he would return to the Manorsoon to discuss a recent study relating to senior livingand services in Claremont.

—Angela Baileynews@claremont-courier.com

Mayor highlights city priorities at Manor meet-and-greet

COURIER photo/Angela BaileyMayor Joe Lyons speaks with Emily Starr prior to hisspeech last week at Claremont Manor.