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STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS As we reflect back on the accountability of this Council and Mayor, most of that responsibility can be classified within eight municipal subject areas. This report will attempt to inform the citizens of Sheffield as to the progress and current state of the City.
Without a doubt, one of the most significant accomplishments that will impact the citizens of the Shoals and Sheffield has been the successful recruitment of jobs. Cooperative and unified efforts by mayors, councils and county commissions has set a new standard in the way we attract business and industry. In the past two to three years over 3,000 new jobs have come to the Shoals and we strongly encourage the residents of Sheffield to qualify and apply for our share of those jobs. Expendable income is the key to attracting business and retail business is the necessity for sales tax revenue. The City of Sheffield has re-organized a Redevelopment Authority composed of 10 volunteer Sheffield citizens who are dedicated to the recruitment and retention of retail business. Armed with the identity of demographically matched prospects from the Buxton contract; the SRA searches for desirable sites within Sheffield to position retail trade. Because the City is over 120 years old, there is practically no space that has not been previously developed for one use or another. Consequently, acreage for new shopping malls or centers is difficult to obtain. One method of solving this dilemma is to re-zone those areas that have undergone traffic pattern changes that now render them more desirable for business. A good example is the recent re-zoning of the north side of Avalon, across the street from the newly planned Helen Keller Medical complex, and both sides of Cox Blvd. There are two other locations at the entrance to our City where high traffic counts have attracted the attention of potential retail businesses. We recently were successful in convincing TVA to re-evaluate the appraisal of land near the Holiday Inn. Developers and investors are now showing a genuine interest and we are expecting sincere proposals in the near future. Speaking of the Holiday Inn, the 205 room Convention hotel has been purchased by a new corporation dedicated to keeping the "flag" with a $1.5m commitment to re-modeling. In September a big step forward was taken by the citizens of Sheffield when the voters approved, by a 2 to 1 vote, a referendum that allowed hotels and restaurants to participate in Sunday Sales. We anticipate a successful legislative act early in 2008 that will level the playing field for draft beer in Sheffield. The City of Sheffield is proud to have Shoals Suzuki,
located within our city limits. Shoals Suzuki consistently competes
with the Huntsville Suzuki dealership for the number sales position
in the State, the Region and the Nation. As we pledged early in this Administration, Park West has been reclaimed. Both pavilions have been renovated with roof decking, structural corrections, painting, floor and balcony repairs and new metal roofs. Grants will now be submitted for gap funding and potential revenue improvements. One of the most significant events in the history of our City occurred in the Park on September 8, 2007, when the historic Tuscumbia Landing (within our Park) was officially certified as the State of Alabama's first site on the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail System. Representatives from the National Park Service, the Cherokee, Chickasaw and Poarch Indian tribes were present. Recently it was announced that a group of private developers who have expressed an interest in underwriting a mixed use development involving several hundred acres of property in the City of Sheffield. They are evaluating a feasibility study. This project is in the embryo stage. It is too early to comment on the specific details but as soon as they are completed such information will be available to the public. Your City has taken a very aggressive position with the submission of a variety of grants that will assist Sheffield in the pursuit infrastructure development. We have two MPO projects that are in the preliminary engineering and utility stage. The first one is to make intersection improvements on Second Street from Dover Avenue to Montgomery Avenue. This project, when completed, will allow traffic to flow straight through to downtown from Second Street without making the forced turn onto First Street. The other project will resurface Jackson highway, repair sidewalks and move utility poles from curbs to the backside of right-a-ways. Another project is the 2006 Transportation Enhancement application that was approved by the Alabama Department of Transportation for a pedestrian/bike trail. This is a major project that will allow citizens to stage-up at the future Bob Love Plaza downtown and take several optional routes to Riverfront Park, through and back, and to an overlook of the scenic Tennessee River at the end of Montgomery Avenue near the historic standpipe. $558,307 of federal funds has been committed for this $697,000 project, with 20% matching funds coming from in-kind services and Utility Dept. lighting commitments. Before year-end the City will be adopting a long
list of Codes for new privilege license fees. Soon after this
Administration took office there was an adoption of several new
Building Codes. Adherence to and the enforcement of City Codes
is paramount to the ability of a city to control nuisance properties.
In some cases, with uncooperative owners, it has become necessary
to demolish the building to avoid safety hazards.
It has often been said that the rail traffic that loops through Tuscumbia, Sheffield and Muscle Shoals is a major determent to growth, especially to Sheffield, the one city caught in the middle. It is ironic because Sheffield prospered so much from the railroad when the most of the industry growth was within our city limits. Today industry growth requires much larger land parcels and consequently, must be located outside. One solution that has been proposed and studied is to relocate the major rail line south of highway 72. Now that Norfolk-Southern has announced expansion and improvement throughout the Boston-New Orleans line, this study is being re-visited and has been requested by the MPO to be placed back on the Long Range Transportation Plan by ALDOT. In the meantime it is imperative that we insist that the 9 grade crossing through the three cities be kept in excellent repair, especially for safety reasons. There was a major renovation that smoothed out these crossings about 2 years ago. The 50-year old bridge over Spring Creek that connects our City to the west through the Rivermont residential area suffered some structural damage in the expansion joints and was down-rated to a 9 ton limit. This was a major safety problem for several reasons because our fire trucks, garbage trucks and utility trucks exceeded that limit by several tons. We called on the Alabama Department of Transportation for assistance and expertise in repairing this bridge. ALDOT's bridge crew finished this project last month and now this bridge will be inspected for a new rating of around 35 tons.
The past conflict with Comcast has been settled and the City awaits a final version of contract to provide cable and high speed network to our citizens. The Council recently approved of a joint contract with the Sheffield Utility Department to have Honeywell Technologies to study and provide a energy savings program for our facilities. Early in this Administration term the Council called upon the Utility Department to assist with the upgrading of street and traffic lighting, particular in the downtown area. A reserve is being put aside for these projects. It is our plan to leverage these funds to assist downtown beautification projects with gap-funding from successful grant applications. EDUCATION If you are receiving a copy of the Sheffield Board of Education "Bell" publication then you are well informed about the continuing progress of our local schools. The Council continues to work for the opportunity to eventually restore the lost appropriations from recent past. Some has been re-budgeted in the 2007-2008 year. We are very proud of the citizens of Sheffield for voting to re-instate a 20-year, 5mil tax by 84% approval after its expiration last year. Likewise, the same support and understanding followed when a desperately needed additional 5mil.was necessary in September.
There are two professional services the City provides to our citizens that stand out as paramount importance and that is Fire and Police protection. Even though these departments took a serious blow to personnel reduction when it was necessary to solve our financial dilemma, they have continued to operate in a most commendable manner. Keeping dependable police cars on the road is a large expense. This Administration has approved of the policy to lease automobiles to stretch this budget and make more dependable cars available. Unfortunately, our 25-year old ladder truck experienced some major transmission problems to both the truck and the 100 ft ladder. It was determined that repair was not feasible or economical so the Council approved of the purchase of a new 75 ft ladder truck. That state-of-art truck was delivered last month and can be seen here today among the exhibit of City vehicles. On the subject of new trucks, also a display you can inspect one of our two new robotic-arm garbage trucks. Last year the cost of outsourcing contracts for garbage pick soared to the point where this Administration recommended that Sheffield re-establish a Sanitation Department. This new technology has allowed us to put both efficiency and savings back into this all important service.
When this Administration took office there was no active website available. A website has not only been recreated with a wealth of information about the City of Sheffield, but important links have been added from agencies providing relationships from tourism, utilities, education, chamber and many others. Log on: www.sheffieldalabama.org. Enough cannot be said of our appreciation of the many support organizations that work with the City. The professional service we receive from NACOLG has enabled us to qualify for many grants and other opportunities. The Shoals Chamber of Commerce has been diligent with its support to business endeavors and assistance to the City of Sheffield. And the Shoals Economic Development Authority has been incredibly successful in working for our community and bringing quality jobs to the Shoals, as has been previously referenced. Tourism is one of the fastest growing segments in the State of Alabama. Thanks to the Colbert County Tourism and Convention Bureau, Sheffield is beginning to increase its share. First of all, it is important to know that, outside of the new Marroitt Hotel, in Florence, the only other two hotels capable of hosting conventions in the Shoals are located in Sheffield. The Holiday Inn and the Webster Hotel and Suites are why we worked so hard for Sunday Sales. Last year Sheffield was host to two major fishing tournaments that brought hundreds of fishermen to our City and filled our hotels. One tournament was the Cabelas' King Kat National Classic where national championship catfish records were shattered. Another was the Cabelas' Crappie National Qualifying Tournament. That tournament was also held again in Sheffield this past spring. The City of Sheffield is proud of its connection with these agencies and the unified working relationships we have with our neighboring cities and county.
The Ritz Theater shares with our Public Library the most important focal point of downtown activity. The historic 1927 Ritz not only provides a venue for plays and concerts but there is a forum connection to its parent organization, the Tennessee Valley Art Association, that enhances our citizens' exposure to all cultural experiences. This Council has reactivated a Historic Commission with the appointment of 9 highly qualified and interested board members. The chairperson and the committee are to be commended for the work they have expended in writing successful grants to restore and save historic buildings owned by the City. They are also involved with the writing of guidelines directed to the preservation and protection of historic homes within the City. For the past 4 to 5 years the Historic Room and Public Conference Room of the Sheffield Public Library has been closed as a result water damage from the adjacent Cox Building. After successful litigation, the Cox Building was conveyed to the City as an annexation to the library and a new roof was installed. The good news is that under City control the restoration to the wall in these two rooms in finally almost completed and the library will be whole again. Additional good news is that an investor has proposed a plan to completely renovate the three-story Cox Building into a coffee shop, a restaurant, office space and apartment suites. Even though we recently repaired floors in the Sheffield Senior Citizen building, we are not satisfied with this facility. Our seniors deserve a meeting place where the programs can be expanded in comfortable, safe and aesthetic surroundings. That is why after being approached by the Helen Keller Hospital Board with a donation of a building site in the new Medical Complex on Avalon Avenue, the Councils of Sheffield and Tuscumbia agreed to submit grant requests to the State for a joint New Senior Citizen Facility. If we can find approval for this venture, then history will be made right here on our borders that could lead to other progressive methods by which these two sister-cities can find common ground and share savings for our citizens with other economies of scale. Our Park and Recreation Department continues to provide an astonishing return from their budget. The City of Sheffield keeps up several parks scattered throughout all Districts and neighborhoods. Our beautiful Riverfront Park continues to improve within the limited area. Much of this growth has been a result of volunteer efforts and private contributions. Last year the addition of an outdoor stage, completely built with donated materials and volunteer labor, became a valuable addition to the Park. The Boundless Playground and nearby pavilions are booked regularly. With the growing popularity of soccer, the Avalon Park is in constant use.
The City has long struggled financially as a result of flat to moderate growth in sales tax revenue. Last year was extremely difficult when we experienced an extraordinary increase in health care costs, in fact, so much so, that the City finished the year with depleted reserves and debt. By great sacrifices and budgets cuts, the City was able to rise above the financial difficulty and budgeted the 2007-08 year with positive position. As we continue to lay groundwork for the attraction and retention of business, we remain optimistic that opportunities for improvement lay ahead. We are extremely pleased to have approved a respectable and well-deserved salary increase for all City employees in the 2008 year. It should be noted that retired city employees were approved a COLA. Furthermore, even though health care cost continues to soar, the City will provide full coverage for each full time employee and his or her family. Like all other governmental agencies and private business and industry, we must find a way to check health care cost in the very near future. As you know, the City of Sheffield is self-insured, but this Administration has made sure that catastrophic insurance be in place to avoid sheer financial disaster. I would be remiss if this report did not gratefully acknowledge the work provided by all of the volunteers that serve on the many municipal boards. There are too many to name but please pass on your appreciation to those you know and give serious consideration to any opportunity you personally may have to serve your City. And finally, I cannot over emphasize the cooperative work of this Council. I consider this a credit to our citizens for their judgment and effort to present the highest quality of leadership to represent their Districts. I appreciate the fact that we do not always agree on all issues…but I appreciate even more the cooperative spirit in which we all seem to come together and recognize what is best for the City of Sheffield and the future of its citizens. It has been a pleasure and an honor for me to serve in this position. Billy Don Anderson |