Statesville survived and flourished in 2011. Our progress would have been impossible without the efforts of our 400 employees. Each day they provide all of the residents of Statesville with quality, efficient services. I continue to believe that Statesville offers its citizens more services for the money than anywhere in our state. The eight elected Council members continue to work diligently for the best interests of their constituents. I am proud to say that I am from Statesville, North Carolina.
Obviously, the most phenomenal undertakings of the year were the renovation of City Hall and the Center Street Streetscape projects. We hope to be back in City Hall soon and will offer opportunities for all of you to see the tremendous work that has been done there. Built in 1892, it has never looked better.
The Streetscape has been much more visible. Infrastructure repairs were essential and if one observed pipes as they were removed, it was obvious that major problems were inevitable. This project has received more attention than any other in my 22 years as an elected official. We all hope that it provides an inviting entrance to our City. When Center Street is resurfaced and three traffic lanes are established, traffic flow should be steady and much safer than before. The Streetscape belongs to us- let’s all enjoy it together. The Broad Street renovations from Center Street to Tradd Street will begin in January.
The next biggest attention grabber in Statesville in 2011 was the community video. It involved people from throughout the city, was a lot of fun and was viewed by folks all over the world- even our own astronaut Tom Marshburn saw it while training in Russia.
Municipal elections attracted much interest. Three council members were elected, including a new member in Ward One. Hopefully, the issues which arose will be resolved soon.
We remain extremely committed to jobs and what they bring to Statesville. Dollar General on Highway 115 South, CVS on Wilkesboro Highway, Sherwin Williams on Sullivan Road and Statesville Retail in front of Home Depot, are a testament to a progressive development code as well as an exciting opportunity for commercial development. And even though the Larkin project has been delayed, the commitment of the developers continues in that we received $125,000 as part of our development agreement.
Expansion of existing industries including Providencia, JCP Logistics, Kontane Logistics and Martin Marietta added about $70 million in tax base and over 400 jobs. Many other local businesses grow and flourish.
We will announce as early as this week an industry and two institutional relocations and expansions which could add 150 jobs in 2012. What excites me about each of these three is that they are North Carolina companies with long histories of prosperity as well as community commitment. They understand business, they understand North Carolina and they chose us – and we chose them.
We completed and opened Fire Station #4. Fifteen new firefighters serve the citizens with fire prevention and education – and hopefully on rare occasions – with fire suppression. Chief Bullins empowered his staff with the responsibility of design and implementation of the station. They did a magnificent job and have received design awards for their efforts.
We continued our partnership with what I call quasi governmental organizations – DSDC, Statesville Regional Development, Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce and CVB. Together with them, we adopted a Statesville brand which is already providing great results. Having learned the value of developing many partnerships, our newest non-traditional partner – Power Cross – has transformed Abernathy Park into a show place for athletics, gardening and relaxation.
We streamlined City operations with the creation of two assistant Police Chief positions, the adoption of a comprehensive Personnel Policy, electronic billing for our utility customers and a reconfiguration of wards following a disappointing census.
We continue to eliminate unpaved streets and we will one day announce that all streets in Statesville are paved. Gray Street is our latest positive result and the students and faculty of NB Mills School are justly proud.
We accomplished many things which are extremely beneficial, but go virtually unnoticed. Examples in 2011 include Third Creek Wastewater Expansion, which will allow additional time for the economy to recover before we undertake this project; reciprocal fire mutual aid agreements with our volunteer fire departments, which will continue consistent, prompt service throughout the City and surrounding areas; the purchase of land adjacent to Oakwood Cemetery, which should provide as many as 500 new burial plots; and a reforestation project at Third Creek, which will provide the opportunity to grow our own trees and plants.
We are proud of our employees. Many have received local, state, regional and national acclaim or have accepted positions of leadership in their professional organizations. Firefighters and electric utilities employees worked diligently in Hurricane Irene relief efforts and were praised by the communities they served.
We applaud the grantsmanship of our employees in securing money for, among other things, homeland security, hazardous materials, fire and life safety, narcotic and prescription drug interdiction, forestation, justice assistance and soil development. These efforts provide tremendous additional value for our citizens.
We are always trying always to do better. We will always have potholes to fix – whose pothole was it anyway? We will always have signs to regulate – you can hold them, but you can’t jiggle, and we will have a decade of joy and sorrow as I-40/I-77 and US-21 improvements become a reality. Please be patient – we waited twenty years for the widening of US 70 to Salisbury. What a glorious drive it is now!
There is always a lot going on in Statesville. Garfield Park was redesigned, SIGI continues very successfully, downtown was recertified, the airport resurfacing project was completed and we approved the Carolina Thread Trail master Plan, to name a few.
I wish for all of you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a prosperous New Year in Statesville – Where it All Comes Together!