Monterey Park City Manager Paul Talbot announced today, October 4th, that he would retire from his city manager position by the end of the year. When Talbot became the Monterey Park City Manager six years ago, his primary objective was to ensure the Market Place Project came to fruition. The Market Place will be a 500,000 square-foot “retail power center,” located off the 60 Freeway, anchored by a both a Costco Warehouse and Gas Station, as well as a Home Depot and Garden Center. Other featured tenants include In-N-Out Burger, Chick-fil-A and Starbucks. Construction of the Market Place began in summer of this year and the center is expected to be open by early 2018. “The residents of the community have long wanted a local retail shopping and dining experience located in their home town of Monterey Park. We are very proud to deliver on that promise to our residents,” stated Talbot.

The City of Monterey Park has made significant progress in other areas during Talbot’s tenure, much of which is attributable to great teamwork involving a passionate City Council, outstanding department heads and employees, as well as input from residents and businesses. Following the Great Recession, the city had experienced extensive layoffs and financial challenges. However, the city has been able to rebound and stabilize its financial position considerably. Over the past six years they have been successful in doubling their reserves.

Talbot frequently expressed the desire to “put the ‘Park’ back into Monterey Park,” a community with 13 parks, none more than a mile away from any resident. Unfortunately, during the recession, some of the facilities, grounds and equipment at the city’s parks had fallen into disrepair. The Monterey Park City Council made a substantial commitment to reverse the situation through an investment of over $10 million. The city has accomplished major improvements in all of the parks, including playgrounds, picnic shelters, landscaping, parking lots, pools, golf course, observatory, Edison Trails and the reconstruction of the iconic “Cascades Waterfall.”

Another vision and keystone feature for Monterey Park has been its commitment to “Going Green.” The city has invested more than $30 million dollars in the past six years to improve the environment for generations to come. The city has made substantial investments in its water infrastructure, water treatment, LED lighting retrofit, new “green” HVAC units in most of the city-owned facilities, solar panel carports, CNG buses and fueling station, a new bus transit center, as well as electric vehicles and electric charging stations.

“On behalf of the City Council, I want to thank Paul Talbot for his leadership and tireless efforts to help Monterey Park. We’ve emerged from some difficult economic times with a much stronger foundation for the future. Paul’s vision extended from new business development to better community services to improved environmental practices. Monterey Park is well-positioned for growth and stability,” stated Mayor Mitchell Ing. The city council will begin the discussion of recruitment of a new city manager at their October 5, 2016 council meeting.

Upon retirement, Paul will return to the State Farm Insurance Agency that he and his wife Regina founded 23 years ago. Additionally, Paul will join the Kelly Associates Management Group, which assists municipalities in executive staffing and management.