Burnet mayor: City moving forward with street, utility projects
Video: Watch it on the 3-24-10 newcast on ThePicayuneTV.com
BURNET — Road, water and parks projects will top the City Council’s to-do list in 2010, Mayor Alan Smith said Wednesday — though finding ways to fund the projects could resemble a circus “balancing act,” he said.
Smith made the comments at his annual “State of the City” address at the Burnet Community Center, where more than 100 residents and local officials gathered to hear the latest on projects ranging from water meters to airports.
IN PHOTO: Burnet Mayor Alan Smith (center) introduces City Council members William DeLeon (left), Pat Riddell, Bill Flynn and Milton Phair during the annual State of the City address Wednesday. More than 100 residents attended the presentation, which was the city’s second. Staff photo by Chris Porter
The council is looking for ways to fund all of the planned projects without resorting to a tax increase, Smith told the audience.
“For every $1 million we spent, that would result in an additional 3 cents on your property tax bill,” he said. “But we’re looking to find other means (to pay for the projects), and that is the challenge of this council. I think that we as a council and in previous councils have stretched dollars as far as they will go.”
Most of those other funding methods include state and national grants, such as $300,000 in federal recovery funds that have been earmarked for a citywide sewer survey, Smith said.
The event marked the second State of the City address given by Smith.
“This is to let you guys know what’s going on in the city to benefit all our citizens,” Smith said to listeners. “Last year (the address) focused on the new strategic plan the council worked on. I think we’ve come a long way, and a lot of that is as a result of that strategic plan.”
Smith said city leaders continue to work on projects such as a proposed wastewater treatment plant, which he said is nearing a resolution despite an uproar from other cities and groups over plans to pump treated effluent into a creek leading into Lake Travis.
“It has been a long and sometimes arduous process, but I believe we’re coming to the end,” the mayor said.
The new plant will allow the city to handle the needs of anticipated population growth, he added.
Also, Smith said the city will continue to participate in a regional water study that could eventually result in a water system serving residents in Burnet and Llano counties.
“The goal of this is to study and plan for water availability on a regional basis,” he said. The city will contribute cash and in-kind services to the study, which officials said is expected to begin sometime this year.
Business growth during the economic downturn is another topic city leaders are working to address, Smith said, adding that officials are taking a cautious approach.
“The reality of this financial situation is that the best economic development is to prepare for the future,” he said. “We are working to ensure our policies will help us prepare for future growth.”
A recent $2 million street bond project that’s nearing completion will help, Smith added.
“We got eight miles of new streets from that project,” he said. “The success of that program goes to the hard work of the men and women of the Street Committee that identified the streets that were repaired, and of course the Public Works employees.”
Smith said the road program also created some beneficial side effects, adding residents and businesses are beautifying their spaces to keep pace with the high-quality streets.
“If you drive around town, I think you see a sense of pride and ownership in the city,” the mayor said.
Other projects include planned re-pavings of U.S. 281 and Texas 29, scheduled to begin in spring 2011. Smith said the projects will give the city a chance to upgrade utility lines buried along those roads.
The city also will work to complete the 51-acre Haley-Nelson park on the city’s west side.
In the meantime, he asked residents to continue to stay involved with their government.
“We thank our citizens for the trust they’ve placed in us to represent them,” he said. “We pledge to continue working to make Burnet the best it can be.”