Wanted: Positive Image for a Valley Without One

Two years and more than $40,000 ago, a coalition of San Gabriel Valley cities started desperately seeking an image.

The search is still on, but the region’s would-be spin doctors crept a bit closer to their goal Tuesday, with the issuance of a final report by the San Gabriel Valley Image Project Task Force.

The task force, formed of city officials nine months ago, grew out of a consultants study commissioned in 1988 that recommended an all-out effort to promote the area as a desirable place to live, work and invest.

Tuesday’s report paves the way for a new nonprofit organization to come up with an image-making strategy. The organization is expected to be incorporated this week, and will be headed by a 10-member board of directors, including city officials, developers and investors, said Richard Zimmer, president of the Synthesis Group, the task force’s consulting firm.

Zimmer said the organization’s initial budget is $141,500, including funding for a management firm, brochures, pamphlets, videos and a business development center.

According to the report, participating cities are expected to pay $78,000 for the first year of operation, and the business sector’s share is estimated at $63,500.

Alhambra, Baldwin Park, Duarte, Irwindale, Monrovia, San Marino, South Pasadena and West Covina are expected to take part.

There have, however, been a few dropouts since the original survey was commissioned in 1988. Azusa is one.

“The project does have merit,” Azusa City Administrator Fred Diaz said. “But at this point in time, the council is interested in social programs for youths.”