Officials take on new roles

CITY HALL — With the city's new mayor in place after a meeting Monday, Glendale City Council members got on with the task Tuesday of selecting leaders for two other council-run governing bodies.

Council members, acting as the city's Redevelopment Agency and part of the Housing Authority, selected chairpersons for those bodies.

Chairs of these governing bodies preside over meetings and set agendas, city officials said. They are selected from among the members of each body.

To chair the Redevelopment Agency, Council members selected current chairman Bob Yousefian for a second term. Council newcomer John Drayman was selected as vice-chair.

"There are several issues in the [agency] that deal with the Downtown Specific Plan and there will be joint meetings [as both City Council and Redevelopment Agency] so we can get those done," Yousefian said of the agency's future. "There are also development opportunities that have come up as part of the smart growth we are looking for in the city."

In recent months the agency has voted to bring Glendale Career College downtown and approved a proposed high-tech, at-grade railroad crossing at Flower Street, with improvements at rail crossings throughout the city.

Yousefian is also looking to find ways to increase tax revenue, he said.

"We're basically try to bring in some good, high-end businesses in the city of Glendale," he said. When you look at the amount of [sales] tax revenue we receive, we lag behind Burbank and Pasadena."

Drayman is also excited about serving on the agency, and using his background in business to help, he said.

"I am extremely interested in redevelopment," he said. "A lot of my experience lies in revitalization and small business."

Drayman hopes to see downtown become an area that residents become excited about and invested in, which will ultimately lead to better facilities and lower crime rates, he said.

"In addition, I am also interested in business and arts destination zones within this city," he said.

Drayman, who helped lead a revitalization of the Montrose Shopping Park, looks forward to bringing his knowledge to the agency.

On the seven-member Housing Authority — which includes the council's five members — former Glendale Mayor Dave Weaver took the reins, with member Donald Mincey continuing to serve as vice chair.

"We'll look at affordable housing units, if the opportunities come along," Weaver said. "Cost of living is going up and there's no easy solution."

The authority has recently been involved in handing out about $3.6 million in Community Development Block Grants, as well as approving an 11-unit low-income housing project brought forward by Habitat for Humanity.

Mincey could not be reached for comment by press time.