Forget the Greeks—South Pasadena to Host its First Citizen's Summit

Ever since the world’s first citizen’s assembly convened in Athens in 621 B.C. to discuss policy issues, cities everywhere have hosted similar forums. The City of South Pasadena’s first full-fledged, all-day “Citizen’s Summit” is scheduled next week on Saturday, Jan. 25—and you’re invited.

Starting at 9 a.m. at the Senior Center on 1102 Oxley St., the summit is aimed at identifying what Assistant City Manager Hilary Straus calls “big-picture ideas” South Pasadena ought to be focusing on in 2014.

The summit consists of two parts: In the first, city staff will provide an overview of the city’s strategic planning process as well as an outline of the city’s functions, resources and needs, Straus said.

The second part of the summit will be a brainstorming session focused on the city’s priorities this year.

The idea for the Citizen’s Summit comes from the city’s 2013 Strategic Planning Meeting, which generated a terrific turnout as well as an overwhelming response from residents, City Management Aide Christopher Castruita tells Patch.

“Coming out of that experience, the Council and management decided to put additional resources into engaging with community members in the creation of this year’s Strategic Plan,” Castruita said.