GARDEN GROVE : Mayor Cites City’s Accomplishments

The city accomplished a number of things in 1993 in spite of the recession, Mayor Frank Kessler told a gathering of about 150 business and city leaders in a state-of-the-city address Friday.

Innovative approaches, grants, bond sales and a partnership with business helped the city “move ahead and accomplish quite a lot,” Kessler said.

Major developments for the year cited by Kessler included:

* Creation of a program to keep businesses in the city by removing “red tape” and creating an ombudsman to help firms deal with government regulations.

* A boost in public safety by the addition of six police officers through a federal grant and the creation of a community policing program where officers work closely with residents to remove crime problems.

* The beginning of construction for two new water wells to improve quality and emergency supplies through 1993 water bond sales.

* The purchase of the Orange County Transit Authority building as a new City Hall. The current City Hall, built in 1923, “is being held together by termites” and posed health and safety risks to employees, Kessler said.

* Purchase of property to expand the city auto mall on Trask Avenue next to the Garden Grove Freeway.

* A new outdoor soccer arena that was paid for by a private company that will create revenue for the city in the form of rent and a percentage of gross receipts.