ANDERSON, SC - Members of City Council, honored guests, friends and family, citizens of Anderson, and staff members – I am proud to stand before you as this fiscal year ends and we look toward another to tell you that the state of our City is sound.

Not just sound, but solid. Solid in our approach to the City's finances and responsible use of your tax dollars; solid in our approach to providing for your safety from our fire and police departments; solid in our downtown and neighborhood revitalization efforts and solid in quality service from our utilities and solid in our plans for parks and recreation.

And all of this in an atmosphere of cooperation from a dedicated council where members share a vision of a better Anderson.

Once again, I can report to you that we have had a clean audit and no tax increases. In an economy that finds other municipalities struggling, your leadership manages resources in an operationally conservative fashion that allows us to thrive.

To promote all aspects of safety, the City of Anderson Police department works with merchants and citizens through its Business Watch Program, and is actively involved with organized neighborhood groups, all dedicated to improve the quality of life through proactive measures and good communications leading to safer environments. Chief Martin Brown and his department are at the core of our efforts to keep our neighborhoods safe.

The City Council has approved the construction of a new 15,000 square foot First Responder Fire Station that will be located on Simpson Road, close to the East Greenville Street intersection. This is a collaborative effort with AnMed and Medshore. This is the first additional fire station that the City of Anderson has built in more than 35 years. Chief Jack Abraham demonstrated that the growth in this area made the new facility a critical element in our mission to keep our citizens safe.

If our downtown were a track runner, it would be out of breath. The speed at which our efforts improve downtown have taken off in the past year is just plain breathtaking. New restaurants, retail stores, and residential spaces are opening or being put on the drawing board almost every day. These private investments are bordered with nearly $3 million of streetscape improvements providing for new lighting, sidewalks, and landscaping, all facilitated and implemented by the City and with public support. Also, the City's Façade Grant Program assisted seven property owners with matching funds for exterior/store front renovations. On the south end of Anderson, the Municipal Business Center is just weeks away from sparking new life in this section of the city with added convenience and additional parking for our citizens.

In perhaps one of the most significant and exciting additions to our downtown landscape, the City has begun construction on a parking garage downtown at the corner of West Whitner Street and Murray Avenue. The facility includes 230-250 parking spaces and includes 10,000 square feet of retail space for private development.

Demonstrating the vast potential that exists for public/private partnerships, a local group of private investors, tba 100 (tba stands for "to benefit Anderson"), worked with the City to provide funding for "Generator Park" which now stands as a monument to our history as the "Electric City."

Our plans to improve our neighborhoods are in motion. After almost 100 substandard eyesore houses were demolished in 2007, the second wave of 40 more is soon to be complete. As our City Manager John Moore has said, "just visit a neighborhood improvement organization and bask in the thanks they bestow upon the City for ridding their areas of drug havens." And further, the City recently hosted its first "Neighborhood and Housing Summit" to include agencies from around the county in the development of a cohesive approach to neighborhood rehabilitation.

The City along with its partners, Anderson County and Homeland Park, recently marked the expansion of the Generostee Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility from 6.2 MGD (million gallons per day) to 10 MGD. This facility serves the mission to operate an efficient and first class wastewater system for the City of Anderson and the surrounding area. It also meets the needs of our customers at a fair and reasonable cost while continuously planning for the future development of our community, including areas beyond the city limits.

Among the many initiatives we plan and implement, the Recreation Master Plan is one of the most important ways that your elected officials help to nurture our quality of life.

Starting in 2000, the City embarked on plans to create and implement a Recreation Master Plan. The first phase of the plan included the new Recreation Center, which opened in 2006, and included plans to move forward with city-wide improvements.

Now, after input from key stakeholders and those that live in areas contiguous to the City's parks, Arbor Engineering has created conceptual drawings with features including playgrounds, bike paths, pedestrian paths and ball fields. The plans are designed to most efficiently serve our recreation and green space needs over the next 20 years.

So, beginning July 1, with a $50 million budget:

• We will continue on our solid approach to providing efficient, dependable, and quality services such as law enforcement, fire protection, sanitation, and water and sewer – the things you expect and depend on every day.
• We will forge a specific and solid plan of action to improve and strengthen our neighborhoods – all neighborhoods – and not just houses, but the other elements that make an area a good place to live. And I'm confident that with the help of our partners such as United Way, AIM, the faith community, our numerous neighborhood organizations, and you, we will make great strides.
• We will continue our solid implementation of improvements to our parks based on your input.
• And we will continue our delivery of a fresh and vibrant downtown with solid management and caretaking of these new and old public improvements.

As I report on these key programs and initiatives and look toward our bright future, I feel compelled to add my personal feelings of pride in our accomplishments. Just two years ago, I like most of you, was a private citizen, viewing the operations of our City from a distance. Now that I have had the privilege of serving as your mayor with not only a bird's eye view, but also the opportunity to impact policy and progress, I'm stirred and humbled at the role you have entrusted to me.

Lastly, it has been an honor and a privilege to work with outgoing council members Dennis McKee and Philip Cheney. Their loyal dedication and service to this city will be missed. We wish them well, and we look forward to their future ambassadorship. To our newest Council members Rick Laughridge and Don Chapman, we welcome you (officially on July 1st) and look forward to working with you.

Thanks to each of you for the role you have played and the role you will play as we move forward together. We are solid.