OUR COUNTY

D. Gary Davis

County Mayor

Another wonderful year in Bradley County is almost over. It is amazing how quickly the days and months pass. The warm weather lately makes it even more difficult to believe its December.

It has been a productive and successful year in Bradley County government. Some of the accomplishments this past year include merger of the Fire and Rescue Departments, renovations at Ocoee Middle School, purchase of the Elrod Property for recreation, the first tenant in the Hiwassee River Industrial Park, funding for additional phases of the greenway, a grant to extend sewer into needed areas of the county and receipt of an award for financial excellence.

The merger of the Fire and Rescue produced the two primary benefits of communication and better service. Fire and Rescue will now be dispatched by the same communications operator and operate on the same radio frequency regardless of emergency. Better service will result from a unified command instead of two separate units responding to the same incident. This ensures a quicker and better response.

Construction is expected to be complete any day now on 26 new classrooms and a new cafeteria at Ocoee Middle School. The County Commission last week funded $4.5 million for Phase II of renovations at OMS to complete the necessary improvements. This investment in education will also provide over $2 to help complete the new Mayfield Elementary School.

The Doug Elrod Property was purchased this year after reviewing the results of the Parks and Recreation Strategic Plan was released outlining the needs of the community. The property will be the future home of a girls softball complex and soccer fields.

The first industry to locate in the Hiwassee River Industrial Park on Lauderdale Memorial Highway began construction this year with plans to begin operation in April.

The facility will serve as General Electric Company’s Lighting Division’s east coast warehouse facility.

Two grants were received this year that will help continue progress on the greenway. The first was a Tennessee Department of Transportation Enhancement Grant in the amount of $495,987. This grant will fund Phase III from Willow Street to 20^th Street. The total distance of Phase III is 4,120 linear feet.

The second greenway grant was a $50,000 Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Recreation Trails Program (RTP) Grant for a section of Phase IV from Tinsley Park to Home Depot. The recepit of the RTP grant allows us to complete a portion of this phase through the Yates/Ross School Property and a pedestrian underpass for Paul Huff Parkway to connect to the existing Home Depot section. This grant section includes approximately 800 linear feet of greenway along Mouse Creek.

Bradley County received a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant to assist in the construction of a sewer line extension into the Sipes Road and Tonia Drive communities. Funding for the $1,090,000 project includes $590,000 provided by Cleveland Utilities. Grants like this help extend public sewer into areas with high septic tank failures and increase the quality of life for residents in the area.

Bradley County was awarded the prestigious Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the second consecutive year. This award was based on the 2004-2005 comprehensive annual financial report. The certificate is the highest form of recognition in the area of government accounting and financial reporting.

Another achievement that we should all be proud of is the recognition by Forbes.com of the Cleveland Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which includes Bradley and Polk Counties, as the 44^th best in the nation small metropolitan area. The online publication examined colleges, cost of doing business, cost of living, crime rate, culture/leisure, education attainment, income growth, job growth and net migration. It is a great feeling for the rest of the country to recognize what we already knew—Bradley County is Tennessee at its best.

As you can see, we have had a very busy year and I am looking forward to what 2007 brings to Bradley County. I wish you and your families a healthy, safe, and prosperous New Year.