2010 State of the City AddressFebruary 18, 2010
Delivered to the Easley Chamber of Commerce at...
DunBurk’s Premiere Events, Easley, SC Here is the Outline of Mayor Bagwell's Address
I. IntroductionA. Thank you Kent and The Easley Chamber of Commerce for the opportunity to speak to you this afternoon;
B. Thank you also to DunBurk’s and “A Taste of Distinction” for a wonderful venue and meal;
C. Introduce City Council;
1. Brian Garrison
2. Libby Dodson
3. Chris Mann
4. Kim Valentin
5. Thomas Wright
6. Dave Watson
D. Introduce County Councilwoman Jennifer Willis (assuming she is present);
E. Introduce City Administrator;
F. Introduce City Attorney;
G. Introduce Department Heads;
H. These are the members of ‘Team Easley’;
II. The Easley community is strongA. Police statistics
1. Overall crime was down 3.00% from the previous year; and
2. Violent crimes were down 9.0% from the previous year;
3. Marks second consecutive year crime has been reduced in Easley
B. We all know 2009 was a tough year for everyone
1. Despite the difficulties the City is in a very strong financial position
a) Ended FY09 with $194,000 surplus
b) Over $4,000,000 in reserves; 37% of General Fund budget;
c) This increased from the previous year
C. All of the City’s funds are in a healthy position
1. Hospitality Tax, Community Development, Storm water, etc..
D. Many cities are in dire straits, we are very fortunate to be in as string a position as we are;
III. Despite strong FinancesA. City is experiencing the pain of the economy
1. Reduction in State Aid of $150,000, or 27% over the last 18 months;
2. Permit Revenue down $200,000, or 89%, over the last 18 months;
3. Reduction in interest earnings by $100,000, or 90%, over the last 18 months;
4. Hospitality Tax is down 3% from last year
B. Like a business we have had to make adjustments
1. Passed a 2010 Budget is 5% below previous year’s budget
2. Postponed Capital projects (Parks & Rec. Master Plan) to preserve resources
C. Despite revenue reductions the City of Easley has not cut services to our residents or business community
D. Point of Sale – will erode city revenue further
1. Board of Economic Advisors estimates Cities, counties, and schools would lose an additional $44 million dollars if Point of Sale passes
2. The Point of Sale and Act 388 needs to be included in comprehensive tax study
a) It does not make any sense to continue to tinker with the tax code when everyone is in agreement that the tax code needs a holistic undertaking
IV. Upcoming budget could be very challenging;1. City is beginning the FY2010-11 budget process;
a) Really too early to tell at this point how things are going, but we are preparing;
2. May have to rethink how we do business;
a) Albert Einstein said, “we can’t solve problems with the thinking we used when these problems were created”;…..meaning, we must think differently
V. Despite the challenges the City of Easley is being proactive for the communityA. Invested $1,700,000 in the Easley Town Center
1. Will create 900 jobs when completed
2. Construction has begun and will construction activity will increase in coming weeks
3. I’m very proud of the patience of City Council and for their vision to see this project through despite the many obstacles encountered along the way;
4. This project is vital to our community and the future of not only Easley, but for all of Pickens County;
VI. Downtown Park across the street is completedA. Plan an official grand opening sometime in the spring;
B. Really nice project for the City, taking an old derelict eye sore and redevelop it into a positive piece of property for the community;
VII. Also opened up a new walkway where the former Murrell’s Alterations was locatedA. There is now a square linkage connecting all of downtown and allowing pedestrians to freely and safely walk all of downtown;
VIII. The City is planning the second season of the Farmer’s MarketA. Plan to open April 10th;
B. The Committee is working to make this market bigger and better than last year’s
IX. What’s next for the TIF?A. Working on the next projects
1. Possibly Old Market Square
2. Possibly something along the Rail Road tracks
a) TIF Committee meets the first Thursday of every month at 8:30 am
b) Meetings are open to the public and all encouraged to attend if they can
X. Outdoor Café Ordinance A. Passed on first reading
B. If it passes, will allow outdoor dining on sidewalks and plazas
C. Yes, the Ordinance will permit beer and wine to be consumed, but businesses that do not sell beer or wine will benefit too;
XI. City becoming a Bicycle and Pedestrian Friendly CommunityA. Over the last year the City has worked with Alta Planning on developing a Comprehensive Plan
1. Plan will guide the City over the next 20 years;
2. Some projects will be easier than others;
3. All areas of the City will be impacted;
B. City of Easley’s Spring Fling – April 10, 2010
1. Bicycle route for cyclists and a 5k road race
XII. Community DevelopmentA. Obviously the construction of new houses and the opening/expansion of new businesses is very important for our community;
B. One of the more important accomplishments of the City in 2009 was the assistance the City provided to our neighbors who reside in our special emphasis neighborhoods;
1. In 2009 the City provided $190,000 in financial assistance to qualifying families in our special emphasis neighborhoods to assist them with desperately needed home repairs and improvements which would have otherwise not been feasible;
C. The City has applied for a Energy Grant to help renovate WestEnd Hall
1. If approved the grant will go a long ways in making critical updates to this historic building
2. Hope to hear something ‘official’ any day
XIII. Parks and RecreationA. Easley hosted the 2009 Big League World Series for the 9th consecutive year;
B. Thanks to Jon Humphrey and the volunteers for another successful year;
1. These volunteers are what makes the Big League a successful event of the City;
2. Without volunteer support we couldn’t accomplish all that we have accomplished;
C. Easley will once again host the World Series in 2010, and once again the championship game will be televised live on ESPN;
1. 10th Anniversary, Jon and his group are working hard on making this year’s event the best ever;
D. In 2009 the City hosted over 41 state, regional, or district tournaments in baseball, football, soccer, and softball;
1. Please consider the following:
a) Each visitor/family unit spends about $185.00 - $200.00 per day in our community for hotel, restaurants, shopping, and other incidentals;
b) We estimate that a three day tournament with 250 kids generates $100,000 - $125,000 in direct spending in our community;
c) When the $100,000 - $125,000 is multiplied by 41 tournaments we conservatively estimate that the City of Easley Parks and Recreation department generates about $4.5 million dollars in direct economic activity in our community;
d) Clearly, the J.B. “Red” Owens Complex is an Economic Development generator for the City of Easley and surrounding community;
e) The Big League World Series alone generates an estimated $300,000 in direct economic activity
E. Next weekend (February 27th and February 28th) the City will host the Central Railway Model and Historical Association 2010 Annual Train Show
a) Over 100 dealer tables for train enthusiasts of all ages will be here at the gym
b) This is very exciting and I encourage everyone who can to attend
F. Future of Parks and Rec.
1. Continue with the Parks & Rec. Master Plan later this year;
a) As mentioned earlier, currently preserving resources
b) Hope the economy improves later this year
2. Nalley Brown Nature Center
a) Will be built on a 38 acre conservation easement off Adger Road;
b) Will be a state of the art educational / recreational facility that will become a green oasis for the City and Pickens County
(1) Will continue the arduous task of raising funds
XIV. Easley is a wonderful place to live, work and playA. Very affordable
1. Taxes are low; taxes on a $150,000 house pay about $135.00 in City taxes
B. Excellent quality of life
1. Parks and Recreation;
2. Family friendly special events;
3. Low crime;
XV. ChallengesA. The City continues to experience population growth
1. In 2000 the City’s population was 17,700;
2. Today our population exceeds 20,000;
3. This represents a 13% increase since 2000;
B. Growth
1. Like business, growth is essential to a City’s survival.
a) You either grow or you die, it’s that simple.
b) For a city growth means an increase in population and an increase in land mass;
c) In the future the City will look to become more proactive in annexation opportunities;
2. And for a thriving community like ours it is critically important that the City and you, our businesses partners continue to work together;
a) for our future successes are tied together, and we must always remember that whatever we do we do it for the betterment of Easley;
3. Businesses do well in strong cities and
4. Cities thrive when businesses are successful
XVI. ClosingA. Harry Truman once said, “a pessimist is one who makes difficulties of opportunities, and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties.”
B. I am very optimistic about Easley’s future and firmly believe Easley’s best days lie ahead
C. We must continue to come together as a community;
1. That means putting aside our differences and looking out for the best interests of the community, the ENITRE community
D. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you this afternoon
1. May God bless you, and may God bless our City
The Link Below is the Press Release from the Easley Chamber of Commercehttp://www.easleychamber.net/newsletter/2010/02/mayor-larry-bagwell-gives-state-of-the-city-address/CLICK LINK BELOW TO DOWNLOAD ENTIRE OUTLINE IN ADOBE PDF FORMAT
