Monday, December 17, 2007

Mayor calls community a vibrant, prosperous city

Job growth, high-quality schools and partnering to assure prosperity are just part of what Auburn Mayor Bill Ham thinks makes his city great.

February 23, 2007

Job growth, high-quality schools and partnering to assure prosperity are just part of what Auburn Mayor Bill Ham thinks makes his city great.

Ham, who was recently elected to his third term, drove those points home as he delivered the State of the City Address at the Auburn Chamber of Commerce Thursday morning.

“I never get tired of talking about this city,” Ham told those in attendance. “I think George Petrie said it best, though, when he ended the Auburn (University) Creed with, ‘I believe in Auburn and I love it.’”

Ham said Auburn is growing by approximately 2,000 people per year, adding nearly 500 new single-family homes within three years and 44 new subdivisions.

“I’ve watched this sleepy little town turn into a vibrant, prosperous city,” said Ham, who was born and raised in Auburn. “The city’s partnerships are stronger than ever and the state of the city is excellent.

“People will look back on this decade and see that this was one of the most significant times in our history,” he said. “Our job is to maintain what our predecessors have left us.”
As for the future, Ham said that the city is well-equipped to handle what comes.

“Where does the city go from here?” Ham asked, suggesting the city continue to follow the Auburn 2020 plan, invest in its schools, remain fiscally conservative with tax dollars, maintain excellent staffs and have a good relationship with Auburn University. “Through partnerships, we will continue to prosper.
“The partnerships we build also include the valuable relationship with Lee County and our sister city, Opelika,” Ham said.

Ham commended several entities that serve the city daily:
- City Council: “Today’s City Council is one of the best I’ve served with in 20 years,” Ham said. “They continue to do what’s right for the city and people. (Being a prosperous community is) about holding elected leaders accountable for the direction we are going.”

- School system: “Schools have always been Auburn’s number one priority and it will continue to be. A majority of our City Council rates schools as their number one priority,” he said. “Our system is considered to be the best in the nation and it’s an important part of the economic engine that draws people here.”

- Economic department: “Within the last 14 months the City of Auburn has created over a thousand new jobs with our industrial endeavors and $161 million in industrial impact, including three new locations that will be announced within the next 30 to 40 days.

“The city will have to remain competitive if we want to impact our economic development,” Ham said.

- Auburn University: Ham discussed how important it was for the City of Auburn to play a part in the university’s Auburn Research Park, an agreement the city council is considering for the March 6 meeting.

“We must create partnerships like this (with AU),” Ham concluded. “Out of these strong partnerships comes things like the research park. This is clearly one of the most exciting projects the city and university have taken on together.”