Outgoing Burbank City Manager and University of Southern California graduate Bud Ovrom listens to the USC marching band at a farewell dinner in his honor Monday night at the Burbank Airport Hilton.
Burbank Police Chief Thomas Hoefel searched long and hard for an item at the police station to name after Ovrom. Hoefel finally settled on a pair of gloves.
At an event designed like a Hollywood gala - replete with spotlights, a red-carpet entrance and former City Manager Bud Ovrom's name on the marquee - people attending Ovrom's farewell dinner who didn't know his background got an earful.
"He is, by far, the most obsessive-compulsive person I know," said Glendale City Manager Jim Starbird, who was Monrovia's assistant city manager when Ovrom was its city manager. "Couple with that, he is a tremendous hypochondriac."
The man who is credited with revitalizing Burbank gets regular colonoscopies and full body scans, Starbird revealed Monday at the event at the Burbank Airport Hilton.
Starbird wasn't the only one to roast Ovrom, who, after almost 18 years as Burbank's City Manager, started his new job as the head of the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency on March 1.
Addressing a crowd of 400, master of ceremonies Jack O'Neill, an NBC executive, wished the man of the evening success "as he drives across potholes to get to his new job."
Police Chief Thomas Hoefel offered an alternative to naming a park after Ovrom, as some officials have suggested. Pulling out blue rubber gloves used by his officers during searches, Hoefel proposed naming them for Ovrom, so officers would think of him in the line of duty.
The jokes were mixed with kudos for Ovrom attracting businesses and shopping hubs like the Empire Center. Such developments helped boost the city's tax revenue after Lockheed Martin Corporation and other aerospace companies left - along with 20,000 jobs.
"Your visions and those supported by all the executives that worked for you are now sprinkled all over this city in the form of parks, new fire stations, housing projects, retail centers, libraries, public art pieces, restaurants [and] performing art centers," Interim City Manager Mary Alvord said.
Alvord is negotiating a contract to take over as city manager.
Former Mayor Bob Bowne highlighted Ovrom's ability to build consensus between council members and treat them all with dignity, "no matter how obnoxious [and] self-destructive some of us have been."
In keeping with the evening's splashy, show-biz theme, an unannounced performance by the University of Southern California marching band regaled Ovrom, an alumnus and big USC fan.
Among the farewell gifts bestowed upon the guest of honor with a USC sweatshirt, multiple plaques, a photo collage of his achievements, an honorary policemen's badge and a firefighter's ax - the same as ones given to retiring firefighters.
1985
Robert R. "Bud" Ovrom Appointed as City Manager - June 10, 1985. City Manager Robert R. "Bud" Ovrom's First City Council Meeting was June 11, 1985.
Permit Approval for Expansion of Burbank Landfill Complete
Original AMC Theatre Grand Opening
Behunin Office Building Opening
Cusumano Office Building Opening
Columbia Plaza Opening
Run for the Hungry Annual Fundraiser beings
1st Annual Employee Award Banquet
First City Council Meeting Cablecast - October 10th
Casden Promenade Apartments opening
Celebrations Plus! Commercial Recreation Program Implemented
San Fernando Road Revitalization, Phase I Complete
Grand Opening of the Fire Training Center
Wesley towers Opening
Vietnam War Memorial Dedication
Korean War Memorial Dedication
City-wide Childcare Committee Established
San Fernando Road Revitalization, Phase II Completed
Media City Center Mall Grand Opening
Reconstruction of Fire Station 16 Completed and Opened
Reconstruction of Fire Station 12 Completed and Opened
Hank Riggio Play Area Grand Opening and Dedication
Creative Arts Center Grand Opening
Joslyn Adult Center Expansion and Dedication
Vickroy Park Renovated and Rededicated
City-wife Park Patrol Program Initiated
Whitnall Highway Park South Grand Opening
City of Burbank Recycle Center Grand Opening and Dedication
2nd Hilton Tower and Conference Center Grand Opening
IKEA Grand Opening
Adoption of Media District Specific Plan
Maple/Jeffries Park Dedication
Miller School Park/BUSD Joint Use Project Dedication
1st Annual Burbank Dodger Night
New Burbank Animal Shelter Grand Opening
Youth Endowment Services (Y.E.S.) Fund Established
Burbank Metrolink Station Grand Opening
Reconstruction of Fire Station 14 Completed and Opened
Warner Brothers Daycare Center Dedicated and Opened
Adoption of Disney Studios Master Plan
Burbank Recycle Center Grand Opening and Dedication
Pacific Park Improvement Project and Rededication
Robert Lundigan Park Grand Opening
Wildwood Canyon Park Improvement Project Completed and Dedicated
Art in Public Places Program Initiated
Creation of "Career Connection" At-Risk Youth Employment Program
Renovation and Reopening of the Starlight Bowl Outdoor Amphitheater
1st City wide Mayor's Youth Survey and Summit Conducted
Reconstruction of Fire Station 15 Completed and Opened
New Fire Station 13 Grand Opening
2nd Holiday Inn Tower Opening
Pacific Homes Development Opening
Disney Daycare Center Opening
Cusumano Apartments on Whitnall Highway Completed
Construction of Burbank Courthouse Parking Structure Completed
Team Disney Building Opening
Warner Brothers Triangle Building Opening
Cusumano Olive Court Project Completed & Grand Opening
Castaway Restaurant Rebuilt and Opened
Warner Brothers Bridge Building Completed and Opened
Vons Pavilion Center Completed and Opened
Adoption of Warner Brothers Master Plan
Fry's Electronics Completed and Opened
Verdugo Towers Completed and Dedicated
World War II Memorial Dedication preserved from Olive Stadium
Establishment of the Mayor's Youth Employment Task Force
City of Burbank awards $23 million grant to BUSD
Black Sunday - May 7, 1995
Burbank Housing Corporation Established
Whitnall Highway Park North Grand Opening
Permanent Charities Earthwalk Park Grand Opening
Construction of Burbank City Stadium Completed and Dedicated
BEST (Burbank Employment Student Training) Youth Employment Established
Burbank City Hall placed on National Registry of Historical Places
Burbank Fiber Optic System Completed
Frank Wells Building Dedicated
Adoption of NBC Master Plan
Robert Gross Park Renovation and Rededication
Burbank Roller Hockey Rink at Foy Park Completed and Dedicated
McCambridge Park Improvement Project Completed & Rededicated
Burbank Tennis Center Grand Opening and Dedication
Vital Link Trail Connecting Burbank and Glendale Completed
Rancho District Neighborhood Protection Improvements Completed.
The Vietnam Moving Wall Memorial visits McCambridge Park
Regional Intermodal Transportation Center (RITC) Grand Opening
New Police/Fire Headquarters Facility Completed and Dedicated
Youth Endowment Services Grant Program Initiated
Bud Ovrom receives Boys & Girls Club Golden Achievement Award
M. David Paul Media District North Project Completed and Dedicated
Cayman, Lennar, Hallston Home Projects Completed
Elmwood Project and Achievement Center Completed and Dedicated
Habitat for Humanity Project Completed
Gangi - Media Village Project Completed and Dedicated
Got Wheels! Program Implemented
P.A.Y. (Positive Alternatives for Youth) Grand Program Implemented
Realignment of Front Street Project Completed
City Hall Fountain & Frontage Improvements Rededicated
Burbank Centre Stage/Colony Theatre Grand Opening and Dedication
Trammel Crow Office Building Completed
Ralphs Shopping Center Completed and Dedicated
Gateway Project Completed
Magnolia Park Improvements Project Completed
Burbank Water Reclamation Plant Operational Upgrades Completed
Providencia Elementary School Soccer Field and Playground Improvements Completed & Dedicated
ABC West Coast Headquarters Building Completed and Dedicated
Five Points Realignment Project Completed
Verdugo Park Improvement Project Completed and REdedicated
2nd City-wide Youth Survey and Summit Conducted
Sough Canyon Nature Center Dedication and Grand Opening
City Council Chamber Renovation and Rededication
City Hall Mural Restoration Project Completed and Rededicated
McCambridge Park Pool Solar Water Heating Project Completed
Bud Ovrom receives Providence High School "Excellent in Media" Award
Buena Vista Branch Library Grand Opening and Dedication
Abraham Lincoln Park Grand Opening and Dedication
Empire Center Grand Opening
Sears Great Indoors, Target, Lowes, Olive Garden, Outback Empire Avenue Transportation, Utility & Landscape Project Completed
Graciela Hotel Completed
BWP Small Hydro Generator Grand Opening
Pinnacle Phase I Completed
Extended Stay of America Hotel Completed
Burbank Recycle Center Materials Recovery Facility Grand Opening
Lake One POwer Plant Completion and Dedication
Marriott Courtyard Completed
Costco Completed
Menlo Properties, Building B&C Completed
Receiving Station "E" Expansion Project Completion and Dedication
Alan E. Capon Switching Station Completion and Dedication
Howard Business Park Completed
Compass Tree Park Dedication
PERC (Plan Evaluation and Review Committee) Appointed
PERC Review of Airport Issues and Recommendations Completed
First Annual Patriot Day Ceremony Commemorating September 11th
Burbank Entertainment Village Groundbreaking and Commencement of Construction
Appointment of Burbank United In Library Development (BUILD) Committee
South San Fernando Park/Community School Phase I Construction Commencement
Riverside Drive Montage Project Completed
M. David Paul Burbank Cottages/Childcare Demonstration Project Commencement
Cusumano Senior Housing Project Under Construction
Valley Park Renovation and Skatepark Dedication
State-of-the-Art Emergency Operations Center Remodel Completed
Construction begins on the New Compressed Natural Gas Vehicle Fuel Static
Measure L Bond Measure for Library Construction Passes
Magnolia Power Project Licensing Process Completed
Chandler Bikeway Project Groundbraking Ceremony Conducted
March 1, 2003 - City Manager Robert R. "Bud" Ovrom Retire
March 10, 2003 - A Farewell Dinner honoring Former City Manager Robert R. "Bud" Ovrom