CITY OF TEMPLE
STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS & PROGRESS REPORT
September 16, 2009

We are excited about the future of the City of Temple. While we want to preserve the hometown feel of our neighborhoods, we must also be proactive in bringing in new industry which in turn creates new jobs for our residents. We currently have approximately 2,000 approved residential building lots ready for construction. Even with the downturn in the economy, we are confident that Temple is ripe for growth. To keep taxes down and provide vital services, we must oversee a balance between smart growth and economic development. Our economic development plan is working as we have been able to bring in new industry and still keep the tax burden off the homeowners, as evidenced by the construction along Highway 113 near Interstate 20.

The Temple Industrial Park continues to be a great example of local leaders working together to bring in new industry. The Carroll Chamber of Commerce, Carroll Tomorrow and the Carroll Industrial Development Authority  have been instrumental in developing this site into a regional hub. Along with new industry comes the creation of jobs. Our current tenants, Janus International and Royal Metal Products, have become excellent corporate citizens. Both corporations have expanded their respective facilities creating an estimated 250 additional jobs for workers. Phase two of the industrial park is ready for tenants with several international companies looking seriously at this site.

However, along with increased growth come growing pains. Temple has done a great job of planning for the future. Our state of the art sewer plant continues to operate at less than 30% of its design capacity of one million gallons per day (0.3MGD).. The plant has received three Gold Awards for professionalism in the last few years from the Georgia Association of Water Professionals. It has never received a concentration violation and has been operated within permit limits the last five years. It has also operated under budget the last four years thanks to its excellent staff of professionals. This means we are able to handle the new development well into the future. The plant also cuts hay from its sprayfields three times a year, some of which is used for soil erosion and repairs. However, some hay is sold to offset the cost of maintaining the spray fields.

We continue to purchase water from Carroll County. This partnership has served both parties well as quantity and quality have been good and should serve our residents for a long time.

Infrastructure is a very important issue when planning for the future. As stated earlier, we are in good shape with sewer and water. We continue to replace old and worn out water lines to increase the quantity and quality of service. We have added the next technology in water meters by installing electronic meters and hand held meter readers in some areas. This will vastly increase efficiency by improving accuracy and time management. New subdivisions are getting the new meters and older meters are being replaced as money allows.

Our Public Works Department has undertaken several important projects recently. We are in the process of upgrading water and sewer lines for the new elementary school under construction and scheduled to open early next year. We are improving and maintaining ditch lines for better flow. We have also secured a higher certification from Homeland Security and created an emergency response plan for our water system. We implemented a new in-house watershed protection plan which will save the City approximately $10,000.00. By becoming more efficient, we should save even more money annually.

The Georgia Department of Transportation is planning a new railroad flyover bridge for Highway 113 but it has been slow developing due to lack of funding. We currently have four at grade crossings which are frequently blocked at the same time since Temple is a staging area for the railroad. We have had instances in the past when emergency personnel could not cross the tracks due to being blocked and had to go all the way to Villa Rica to cross. Three of the crossings are substandard, which means heavy truck traffic only has one crossing, and if it is blocked, well you get the picture. I have also asked GDOT to study left turn lanes at the intersection of US 78 and Highway 113 to alleviate rush hour and peak time traffic loads. I have also asked GDOT to add pedestrian striping projects along Highway 113 and one at the truck stops and McDonalds has been approved and is waiting on funding. Our biggest disappointment has been our inability to secure grants or necessary funding for sidewalk projects, particularly near our schools and business district.

Our recreation department continues to grow and is expanding its services to our children. Our overall participation is up 15% from a year ago. With the addition of four new baseball and softball fields, new gymnasium and new football/soccer field a few years ago, we have added soccer, dance and tumbling programs. We also added 10 U and 17 U Boys traveling basketball teams for exceptional players. We hosted a national tournament this June with our 10 Under Boys doing real well. In baseball, we hosted the IOU 14 Under Boys District Tournament and in basketball, we hosted the IOU Girls District Tournament. In football, two teams finished as runners up in their respective divisions in the Kiwanis Bowl. Our first season of children’s soccer was a huge success and should expand next season. The kids play park continues to be a big hit with the younger kids. Our new gym has been a hit with kids of all ages, including adults. This year we added several water kiosks in close proximity to our fields. We are continually making improvements so pardon our dust.

I am proud to announce the opening for Chief of Police with the City of Temple has been filled with the hiring of Ed Whitt. After receiving more than fifty applications, we narrowed our choice down to eight candidates based on numerous factors, including, but not limited to, experience, training and overall qualifications. We then began extensive background investigations as we consider this opening a high profile position and a critical hire. We then narrowed our list further and began call back interviews. The Mayor and Council, along with the city administrator and city attorney, then made our final selection from a group of well qualified applicants, all of which were very impressive. Throughout the whole process we were very pleased with the quality of the applicants, which made the selection process even more difficult. However, this is a pleasant problem to have. Chief Whitt has approximately twenty years of experience in law enforcement. He comes to us from the Paulding County Sheriff’s Department where he served as Chief of Internal Affairs, Assistant SWAT Commander and Sniper Selection Leader just to name a few of the positions he has held. Along with a stellar history of job performance came an impressive list of references. He also comes with an extensive list of training and certifications. He is also a POST Certified Instructor which will allow him to conduct in house training of subordinate officers and save the city money at the same time.

Our Senior Center continues to grow. We currently serve approximately 100 meals to seniors every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and deliver meals to twenty five plus shut-ins. Our seniors take several trips a year and really enjoy the companionship of each other. We hold a senior dance every Saturday night and one of our dance troups puts on line dancing exhibitions routinely. The center was renamed The Temple Senior Center, Harry & Glenda Shadrix Complex after the former mayor and his wife who have contributed so much to our community over the years.

In an effort to consolidate and centrally locate some city services, we created a Community Development Department which encompasses planning and zoning, building inspections and codes enforcement. We hired a new director to handle all these responsibilities under one umbrella. We are in the process of having all city ordinances codified and cataloged on our website for easy access and reference. This department started a backpack program for children needing help with meals, while family members are at work or are simply unable to provide meals. This program is volunteer based and has grown exponentially. Another program added is the shop with a cop program during the holidays where city policemen take needy children shopping for gifts, which they may not otherwise receive.

Upgrades to city government are a work in progress. We continue to look for ways to better serve our customers and to make city hall more user friendly and cost effective. We recently added a new camera security system. Included in the system is the ability to live stream City Council Meetings over the internet and also to catalog meetings on the City’s website for on demand viewing. To honor outstanding employee and citizen accomplishments, we added an Employee of the Month Award and Citizen of the Month Award, which are designed to show our appreciation for their contribution to our community.

As you can see, we are making progress. But we still have a lot to do. It will take all of us working together to make Temple an even greater place to live and work. That means city officials and employees working hand in hand with its residents. We have a lot of work to do in our downtown area. The revitalization of our downtown will benefit all of us, including the downtown merchants. Without their support and cooperation, this project is doomed to fail. If that happens, nobody wins.

I am proud to say I live in Temple, Georgia and if you have not been to Temple lately, you are missing the best kept secret in west Georgia .

Rick Ford, Mayor City of Temple