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been taken care of, and it will serve the community well. Please don't forget to check out the dogs and cats at the shelter if you are in need of a new pet. In the parks department there were also many up-grades. One improvement was the extension of the wrought iron fence at Riverside Park. Also, a new EVO playground structure was purchased with the help of a parks and recreation grant and a generous donation of$20,000 dollars from the Batesville Jaycees. A dedicated group of students from Lyon College, called Project Playground, raised over $9,000 for equipment at the Poke Bayou Trail. The parks and athletic fields continue to get a record number of uses. Fitzhugh Park will be getting a face lift this year with the help of a grant from Independence County. These parks are not just used by the residents of the city, but our entire community, which is a wonderful thing. Currently, a local task force has been formed to evaluate all of our recreational facilities in the city. If any one is interested in serving on this task force please call the city hall. The landscape/cemetery department took on a huge challenge this year by getting the City of Batesville back on the Christmas Trail of Lights. With the help of several generous donations, it is obvious they did a remarkable job. This not only brought a bit of pride to our community, but brought in several individuals to our town to view the lights, dine and shop in Batesville. This department assures me that next year will even be better. Also, we cannot forget the face lift that was given to the Welcome to Batesville sign at the top of Ramsey Mountain. A special thanks to Mr. Bud Shreve, his son, Mark, and the many citizens who helped raise the funds necessary. Code enforcement is another department that is very crucial to the city. The city will be adding a new employ to the staff this year. This department has a number of responsibilities including condemnation of structures that are declared unsafe, enforcing regulations, and issuing building permits throughout the city. The city also adopted a new subdivision code recommended by the Planning Commission, which is the first revision since the early 1970's. The city and commission also worked on a comprehensive master plan for the City of Batesville. This has been a year long project that included having public meetings in order to get feed back from our citizens. This plan will consist of a road map for our community that will help identify areas for new roads, parks, residential areas, industrial locations, and identify many other statistics for this area. Throughout this coming year there will be many challenges for Batesville. The most crucial challenge will be to overhaul the wastewater system. In 2008,the city received a consent administrative order. This order stated that the city is required and mandated by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality to solve the problems. We must increase the sewage capacity from 4.3 MGD to 8 MGD, and rehab our collection system, old sewer lines, and man holes throughout the city. It is obvious that we are not in the best of economic times, but without correcting our wastewater facility problems, it is impossible to recruit any new industry, expand existing industry, or create growth in our area. The only solution is to propose a sales tax or increase sewer rates by 300%. On a positive note, Independence County was successful in passing a 1/4 cent sales tax for economic development. Governor Beebe has stated many times that the state will assist any community who is willing to help themselves. In closing, my repeated thanks to the council members for their dedication and determination in helping to move our great city forward. Always remember that the council and I work for you,the citizens, and it is our obligation to be transparent and willing to listen, with only Batesville's best interest in mind. As we begin this new year, it is my sole desire to see Batesville prosper. Unity,teamwork and collaboration will lead us to achieve many things for our beautiful, historic city. K. REVIEW FINANCIALS The council reviewed the December 2008 financials. COMMENTS FROM THE MAYOR