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Bryant moved to suspend the rules and read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Matthews seconded and the electronic vote was 8 for and 0 against. Mr. Meitzen read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the resolution and Councilmember Henley seconded. The electronic roll call was 8 for and 0 against. The resolution was given #2016-02- 02-R. C) STATE OF THE CITY This year marks my tenth year to lead the City of Batesville.The past nine years have been exciting and challenging for our community, but the state of our city is stronger than ever and the future has never looked brighter.Today,our community works to ensure that each aspect of our city drives our economy.This hasn't always been the case.Just days after I was sworn in as mayor in January of 2007,White Rogers laid off half of its workforce. In November of 2007,GDX Automotive shocked our community when it closed and took hundreds of jobs with it.Then,in February of 2008, Emerson Electric announced the closure of the White Rogers facility.There was a time when our direction and fate were unclear,a time when we needed to work together to pull our community away from the economic brink.Our community's employment security was crumbling,and so was its infrastructure. Decades of neglect and complacency of our city's basic water and wastewater infrastructure had jeopardized our community's future. Upgrades to the system would cost a staggering 45 to 50 million dollars. For the sake of our economy,serious measures had to be taken. In March of 2007,the city council abolished the Batesville Utilities Commission,which had been in existence since the early 1970s, and put infrastructure decisions back into the hands of the people. Our community had taken some serious hits but the City of Batesville citizens took responsibility and steered our city in the right direction. In March of 2009,the citizens passed a one-cent temporary sales tax by a 93%vote to fund the needed wastewater improvements and put Batesville on the path for job growth and a better future.The new wastewater treatment facility is now fully operational and our wastewater capacity has been increased from 4.3 million gallons per day to 9 million gallons per day. Our filtered water treatment capacity had been struggling at 6 million gallons per day but with upgrades using existing revenue,that capacity is now up to about 9 million gallons per day. Increased wastewater capacity is essential to our citizens'livelihoods, in terms of their health and in terms of employment. Wastewater capacity is essential to maintaining existing industry and attracting new industry. Because of our community's willingness to fix our infrastructure, hundreds of jobs were saved.When the Townsend's Poultry Plant declared bankruptcy, Peco Foods purchased the facility and kept nearly all Townsend's employees as Peco began modernizing and expanding the facility. Ozark Mountain Poultry added to the poultry industry's revival by purchasing the Pilgrim's Pride plant and the ConAgra facility, which had been slated for closure. It is likely that neither company would have purchased these outdated plants if the City of Batesville had not undertaken the necessary wastewater upgrades.Agriculture and the poultry industry form the basic core of our economy. Our poultry industry provides jobs for our citizens—from plant workers to chicken house builders to farmers who raise chickens,cattle,and grain.Our core economy is now stabilized and can grow again. But economic growth is not possible without adequate transportation routes. Modern highways are another important component that influence economic development.Significant highway improvements have occurred in recent years to modernize our transportation system.These include the completion of the US Highway 167 four-lane corridor between Batesville and Bald Knob,the widening of Arkansas Highway 69(Harrison Street),and the ongoing construction of the US Highway 167 four-lane corridor to Cave City that will ultimately continue to Ash Flat where it will connect to US 412.The highways that run through Batesville are crucial to our city's development, but so are our small streets— specifically, our Main Street. When I took office, our historic downtown was in serious trouble.Downtown businesses were closing and the livelihood of a once prosperous area of our community was dwindling at an uncontrollable rate.The city council understands the economic importance of a vibrant downtown,and in 2009,it passed the Downtown Historic District Ordinance.This ordinance set the stage for the renewed interest and investment that our historic downtown is experiencing today.The Main Street Batesville Organization's Board of Directors,led by Mr.Bob Carius and fully supported by the Batesville City Council,embraced radical change to the downtown district.Those changes have reversed the district's downward spiral.Now,we see new businesses and rejuvenation where there had been none. In addition to an increase in economic and downtown vibrancy, our community has made tremendous strides to ensure an increase in public safety.The City of Batesville has continued its commitment to public safety improvements for our citizens.Our new community-based police force is an outstanding success,and our city's fire fighting capabilities continue to improve through the addition of new firefighters and equipment updates.Our economy is only as good as our people, and our people cannot drive our economy if they are not safe and secure.Citizen safety is a priority in the City of Batesville, and we are pleased to provide the quality of safety that our citizens deserve. In addition to quality of safety, Batesville citizens also deserve quality of life. The city's numerous recreation opportunities assist in that quality of life.The city's annual Christmas lights display is one such opportunity.This event provides seasonal entertainment for Batesville citizens, attracts thousands to Riverside Park each December,and continually breaks tourism records.