Welcome to the August City Manager's Report. I am sharing with you highlights of events and projects that staff has worked on this month. I sincerely appreciate everyone's continued hard work to benefit the Brea community.
Brea Fest 2025 was a Success
The Special Events Division ended the summer with the annual Brea Fest event on Friday, August 8, spotlighting the arts in our community. This year, 23 local restaurants participated in the event, as well as various craft vendors, along with the Children’s Marketplace. The event brings the community together to enjoy delicious food made available by local restaurants. This year’s Brea Fest was particularly special for the Community Services Department as the attendance and ticket counts from the evening surpassed their benchmark year in 2019. I would like to thank the participating restaurants for their generosity, our event sponsors, the volunteers, and City staff who made this event possible. We are already looking forward to next year!
Annual Employee Summer Games
To recognize staff’s good work, we held an Employee Summer Games team-building event. Departments formed teams to compete in a rubber duckie race, balloon toss, and relay race. While everyone played a fierce game, the Community Services Department came out on top as this year’s winners. The event also included a pizza lunch. I am appreciative of all the hard work staff performs every day to serve our community and their contributions to make the City of Brea a great place to live, work or play.
Paper Shredding & Compost Giveaway Event
The City of Brea is hosting a Paper Shredding and Compost Giveaway Event on Saturday, September 6, from 8:00 – 11:00 a.m., in the parking lot of the Brea Community Center located at 695 Madison Way. Residents may bring up to five (5) “Bankers” boxes of paper or other media suitable for shredding. In addition, each person may collect up to four (4) bags of compost during the event. Proof of Brea residency is required.
50th Art in Public Places
This year, Brea has proudly marked the 50th anniversary of its Art in Public Places program—five decades of creativity, and community. To celebrate this milestone, a limited-edition Anniversary Commemorative Catalog, featuring 50 pages of full-color photos of notable sculptures, a message from Mayor Blair Stewart, artwork locations, and a brief history of the program was created.
The catalogue is now on sale at the Brea Gallery Gift Shop, or online, for $15. This is your opportunity to own a piece of Brea’s artistic legacy! Regular gallery hours are Wednesday–Sunday, 12:00 – 5:00 P.M.
Sister City Visit from Lagos De Moreno
At the end of July, we welcomed delegates from our Sister City, Lagos De Moreno, Mexico. This was an exciting visit as Lagos De Moreno has not visited Brea since 2019. The delegation participated in the opening reception of Mapping the Landscape: A 50 Year Dialogue with Art and the Community at the Brea Gallery celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Art in Public Places Program, a welcome lunch, and a tour of several City of Brea facilities. We’re looking forward in collaborating more with our Sister City.
Business Spotlight
The City of Brea continues to welcome businesses to the community to help with the economic development and future of Brea. We are excited to welcome additional new retailers as part of the Brea Mall Mixed-Use Project. After the demolition of the former Sears building, the construction of the new, exterior retail court is near completion. New businesses in this location include Gorjana, Lululemon, Philz Coffee, Pottery Barn, and Rivian.
Rivian and Pottery Barn are now open, with the remaining businesses expected to open in the coming weeks.
Adobe Creative Collab Workshop
On August 6, City staff hosted a Municipal Management Association of Southern California (MMASC) training in partnership with Adobe Creative Cloud Experts for local government communicators. Adobe specialists introduced new applications which focused on empowering local agencies to use this tool to create sophisticated content by using Adobe Express platform. The Adobe team also provided sneak peaks of features that will be added to Adobe Express in the coming months.
Members of our Communications and Marketing Division also presented to share their experiences using Adobe Express, and provided examples of how Brea uses it to communicate with the community. Thank you to Tiara Solorzano, Brea Management Analyst, MMASC Region 7 board members, and Adobe’s Jake Sedlock and Maya Ebrahimpour for helping make this event a success.
Brea Community Center Celebrates 29 Years
On July 27, the Brea Community Center celebrated 29 years of service. For nearly three decades, the center has been a hub for connection, fun and wellness in our community. From fitness classes and youth programs, to events and workshops, the center continues to provide spaces for learning, movement and gathering. We are proud of the role we play in supporting our members, neighbors and look forward to many more years of bringing people together.
Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting
The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) has awarded their Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to the City of Brea for its annual comprehensive financial report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024. This marks the 35th consecutive year the City has received this recognition. The report has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program, which includes demonstrating a constructive "spirit of full disclosure" to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the report.
The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.
Fitness Group Exercise Upgrades
Exciting updates have been added to the Brea Fitness group exercise room to better support our members. A new TRX mount allows us to offer more TRX-based classes, including two upcoming TRX Yoga Flow workshops on September 6 and 13. Members are also enjoying an upgraded, sturdier barre system, which provides better support for our growing Barre and Pilates classes. These enhancements reflect our commitment to create a welcoming, high-quality experience for everyone. Please see the full class schedule at breafitness.com to see all the classes being offered.
Recycling Brea
The Public Works Recycle Brea team participated in Brea Fest again this year, distributing over 150 recycle baskets to residents and engaging the community with educational outreach about the City’s recycling programs. Their efforts help promote environmental awareness and sustainable practices among community members.