Times staff report
The City of Bessemer is better today than seven years ago when he took office and improvements will continue in the foreseeable future, said Mayor Kenneth Gulley during his State of the City Address delivered at the Bessemer Civic Center on Jan. 29.
“Whether it is roads or infrastructure, economic development, public safety, quality of life or education, there is no area of this city that has been untouched,” Gulley said.
In his address, the mayor also highlighted an improved financial outlook and municipal building projects including the completion of a new $6.2 million City Hall and a new $15 million Recreation Center which opened in late 2016.
That’s notable because the city’s finances were in such disarray that many felt Bessemer was headed toward financial insolvency when he took office in 2010, the mayor said.
But by wisely managing the city’s finances his administration has been able to offer cost-of-living increases to current employees for six of the past seven years and a one-time bonus to retirees and purchased new vehicles for police, fire and public works, the mayor said.
The city also settled a $4 million lawsuit with the Board of Education for non-payment of property taxes designated for education. The lawsuit was filed during the previous administration, but Gulley said it was important for the city to ensure that money set aside for schools and used in classrooms.
“I said it then and I will say it now ‘we will not deprive our children of the resources they need to be successful,’” the mayor said.
Other highlights in the address included:
— Street resurfacing. The city has or is resurfacing major arteries such as Dartmouth Avenue and Fourth Avenue. A $700,000 project to resurface the Academy Drive area is slated for this year, as is a $1.2 million project to pave residential streets.
— Expansion projects. Milo’s Tea, Flex-N-Gate and BLOX are all growing which show the city is attracting industry and jobs. Gulley said he wants to continue to improve the capacity of the Bessemer Airport as an incentive for companies to locate in the city.
— Demolition projects. The city has torn down 500 blighted structures over the past seven years and is now working with organizations such as the Bessemer Housing Authority to increase homeownership by converting vacant and tax delinquent lots into new homes.
— Crime reduction. The city has seen a 40 percent drop in homicides in the past five years, a 16 percent drop in burglaries and an 18 percent drop in robberies in 2017. The city is continuing to hire new officers to fully staff its police department.
Gulley said the Bessemer Recreation Center now boasts a membership of 8,000 and the center’s staff is currently working on hosting the city’s first 5K run in April.
The city will continue to address juvenile delinquency and parks and recreational amenities, he said.
“None of us could have imagined all these things being done in our city some seven years ago,” Gulley said. “But each year we have made incremental progress. We have accomplished a lot since those dark days of 2010 but . . . we’re not done yet.”
To read the address in its entirety, click here.
