WM mayor delivers State of the City address

McClendon looks ahead while reflecting on recent milestones

By DON WILBURN

donaldfwilburn@gmail.com

Mayor Marco McClendon delivered an optimistic and heartfelt State of the City Address at the most recent city council meeting, highlighting West Memphis’s achievements over the past year and unveiling ambitious plans for the future. Declaring that “the state of our city is strong and continuing to gain strength, ” McClendon took the opportunity to reect on the progress made and the partnerships that have propelled the city forward.

McClendon began by expressing his gratitude to the city’s department heads, employees, local businesses and most importantly, the residents of West Memphis. “Your hard work, passion, and commitment is what is keeping our city on a winning streak,” he said, setting the tone for the speech.

The Mayor highlighted key milestones from 2024, beginning with the January launch of the Text-My-Gov app, a two-way communication tool allowing citizens to report issues like potholes and missed trash pickups while staying informed about emergencyy alerts and community events. He also celebrated breaking ground on the Carolyn and Ness Sechrest Animal Shelter, a partnership with Southland Casino aimed at improving care for animals in the city.

Other notable achievements included the repurposing of the old city library into the Parks and Recreation Administration Building,, the hiring of a new general manager for West Memphis Utilities, and the kickoff of the city’s summer jobs program, which provides income and valuable experience for 80 young residents.

One standout initiative, the Mayor’s Take Action Tour, brought city leaders directly to neighborhoods and schools to hear residents’ concerns and ideas. “Our city departments followed up on every concern that our citizens shared, and we are a better city because of those interactions,” Mc-Clendon said.

McClendon also celebr ated the ribbon cutting for the city’s _rst Inclusive

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McCLENDON MAYOR

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Park, a project born from the ideas of a summer jobs program participant and partially funded by a grant from Governor Sarah Sanders. “This park is proof that when young minds have a platform, they can dream up solutions that truly make a difference,” he noted.

Economic development was another recurring theme, with McClendon touting the announcements of major businesses such as Buc-ee’s, Starbucks and Valvoline Instant Oil Change, as well as the $400 million reinvestment by Dollar Tree Distribution, which brought 600 new jobs to the community. Coca-Cola Consolidated also chose to expand in West Memphis with a $50 million investment. “They could have gone anywhere, but they chose the Wonder City,” McClendon said proudly.

The mayor spoke about the citys strides in infrastructure and public safety, from a $1.2 million investment in street overlays to the introduction of a new digital communications system, AWIN, that connects city, county, state aand federal law enforcement for faster response times.

Looking ahead to 2025, McClendon outlined several major projects, including Project Groot, a proposed data center expected to bring 300 jobs and $3 billion in investments to the city. Plans for broadband connectivity, state-of-the-art utility technology and a $45 million wastewater improvement project also featured prominently. “Every resident’s commode will ush and not back up on them during heavy rainstorms,” McClendon quipped, underscoring the practical bene_ts of the investment.

The long-awaited construction of the Rich Road Bridge is _nally underway, a development McClendon acknowledged had faced signi_cant bureaucratic hurdles. “We are pleased to get it underway for the residents and businesses of that neighborhood,” he said.

As he closed, McClendon looked to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, emphasizing the city’s commitment to infrastructure, economic growth, and community services. “We have accomplished much as a city, but our work is far from over,” he said. “With your continued support, we will continue to make West Memphis even stronger. Let’s keep building a brighter future together!”