State of the City Address

Andrea Steele

JMC414

02.17.15

State of the City Address

            Inside of City Hall, Mayor Steve Williams stood in front of members of the town and presented his State of the City Address.

            Though the snow may have kept some away from attending, involved members of the community still came out and attended the speech Tuesday.

            The mayor began by discussing the projects that have been going on since the last SOTCA. In September, the first phase of the demolition of Northcott was completed and the moving those who lived there throughout residential areas in the city is being set into motion.

            Other developments in the area were set in motion earlier in the year, such as the West Virginia Broadband Deployment Counsel and the effort of deploying high-speed broadband in sections of our city.

            During the mayor’s last speech, his final words were, “Behold, we are here to do a new thing. It’s been a long time coming, but I know change is going to come.” Now, change is happening in Huntington and continuing to happen. As we embrace these changes, we embrace a new way of life in this city. “A new way, a new direction, a new path,” the mayor said.

            As predicted, the mayor said that the city would be focusing on the four major projects in Huntington as well as the decrease in our cities budget. The city will continue to recreate the aesthetics of Hall Greer Boulevard by removing Northcott Court, moving the residents throughout Huntington and bringing more business to the area.

            The mayor said the project is estimated to be completed over a six-10 year period, however there are stipulations to the project. The biggest issue, the mayor said, is the drug issue we face in Huntington. With this, the Mayor’s Office of Drug Control Policy is working with the fire department and community leaders to assess the steps to be taken to resolve this issue.

            According to the mayor, there have been 87 overdoses since January 1. “We had 87 missed opportunities to save a person’s life,” the mayor said.  The issue is an ongoing battle in our community that the mayor hopes to resolve.

            The mayor concluded his speech with saying the ambition of this city is great. “We have enormous opportunity before us. The projects that I have outlined are substantial in scope. What will the state of city affairs look like in 2065? What will people walking down the hall of this building during the 200^th anniversary of the construction of this temple of public policy be contemplating?”

            The goal for the city is change and transformation, and that’s what the mayor hopes to see happen, “it’s been a long time coming, but the change has finally come.”