Ardmore Mayor Sheryl Ellis used a puzzle analogy Wednesday to explain how the city is meeting its goals. She was speaking during the 31st Annual State of the City Forum at the Ardmore Convention Center.
“A community is akin to a large puzzle; the more people working on it, the easier and faster you put it together correctly. Our puzzle is no different,” she said. “Ardmore has a better chance to meet the needs of its citizens and provide a better quality of life for us all if we work together putting the pieces together.”
Ellis used a number of slides to help explain how the city plans to spend approximately $64 million during the fiscal year that began on July 1 and continues through June 30, 2009.
Those plans include:
• Replacing 6,000 feet of water lines and 3,000 feet of sewer lines;
• Putting the expanded water treatment plant online by the end of August;
• Building a new water storage tank on North Commerce;
• Repairing the 30-inch water line that brings raw water from the Lake of the Arbuckles;
• Repaving or reconstructing both asphalt and concrete streets;
• Advancing the accreditation process for the Ardmore Police Department;
• Building two additional splash pads; and
• Providing financial support to organizations like Ardmore Animal Care and the Communities in Schools program.
Ellis highlighted the roles of other community partners such as the Ardmore Development Authority, area businesses, private foundations and volunteers who help the city meet its mandates.
“Our collective efforts are bearing fruit as can be seen through the growth of our community,” she said. “In the first six months of 2008, the total value of construction permits issued by the department of development services exceed that for any previous calendar year since 2001. Also, since Jan. 1, the number of building permits issued by development services for single family home exceeds that of any previous year.”
Ellis joined a panel composed of the city commissioners, City Manager Dan Parrott and Ardmore Chamber of Commerce and ADA president and CEO Wes Stucky to answer a variety of questions from the audience.
A sample of questions and answers is below:
Q: Would you consider making Main Street a two-way street?
A: Martin Dyer: “Main Street is just not that wide.”
Q: Several local companies have been sold. Are we in danger of losing IMTEC or other industries?
A: Wes Stucky: “Not as long as we keep improving Ardmore and making it an attractive place.”
Q: Why did you choose Broadlawn and Whittington Parks for the splash pads?
A: Martin Dyer: “We looked at the demographic. They had more kids.”
A: John Moore: We’ll look at other parks in the future.”
Q: What will happen to the existing water tower on North Commerce?
A: Martin Dyer: We don’t really have any plans for it. It hasn’t been used for many, many years.”
The annual event is a joint effort of the Ardmore Chamber of Commerce and the City of Ardmore.
