Notes
Slide Show
Outline
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2008 State of the City Address
  • Mayor Arthur S. “Sandy” Kirkindall
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Guiding Principles
  • To be good citizens, stewards & civic leaders
  • To act in the best interests of the community
  • To build community pride & citizen involvement
  • To lead with honesty, integrity & respect for those we serve
  • To be ever mindful of the responsibilities of leadership


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Administrative Priorities
  • Responsive government characterized by honesty, integrity, accessibility, efficiency & accountability
  • Intergovernmental cooperation
  • Smart, sustainable growth that balances infrastructure improvements with quality of life enhancements
  • Economic development
  • Continued academic excellence
  • Proactive land use and traffic planning
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Accomplishments
  • What we’re doing RIGHT
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Improving Services
  • CON awarded for Madison hospital
  • Opened an eighth City polling place in Limestone County at Lamb of God Lutheran Church
  • Implementation of Madison Assisted Ride System, a City funded transit provider for disabled individuals
  • Extended curbside recycling service to Madison’s Limestone County residents
  • Construction of ‘boundless’ playground in Palmer Park
  • Activated a Quiet Zone for the Shelton Road/ railroad crossing


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Stretching Our Dollars
  • Contracted out landscape services at annual savings of $287,896 (in 2007 dollars)
  • Additional savings are realized in the decrease of construction costs for capital improvement projects by using in-house crews released from landscaping
  • Continued audit service by Rivertree Systems to catch sales tax cheats, yielding $72,315 net yearly increase in revenues in 2007
  • Contracted out Probation Officer services at no cost to City, resulting in $50,000 savings in compensation & benefits per year
  • Joint purchase agreements and the City’s bidding process have achieved savings in excess of $50,000 per year
  • Maintained excellent bond ratings with Standard & Poor’s & Moody’s
  • Began posting notices of open contract bids on the website, increasing competition by making more companies aware of possible business opportunities within the City


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Economic Development in 2007
  • Continued retail recruitment efforts with a net increase of 262 new businesses
  • New retail establishments include Surin of Thailand, Baymont Inn & Suites, Sofa Mart, Educational Outfitters, Lawlers BBQ, Country Hearth Inn & Suites, Oak Express, Starbucks, La Quinta Inn, Southern Gift & Garden, Stem & Stein, and many others
  • New retail outlets completed include 150,000 sq ft Publix Center on County Line Rd, Madison Festival strip mall on Madison Blvd, and 63,000 sq ft Furniture Row on Madison Blvd at Hughes
  • The Planning Commission approved 216,954 sq ft of retail commercial space
  • 392,225 sq ft of industrial, service, and other commercial space was also approved


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Public Safety
  • Received large grants for the domestic violence abatement program, Police Department computers and other technology, and Fire Department equipment
  • Passed an Impoundment Ordinance allowing the Police Department to impound vehicles when the driver does not have a valid drivers license, keeping unsafe drivers off the road
  • Installed a traffic preemption system that allows emergency vehicles to override traffic signals and cross intersections safely, thereby reducing emergency response times
  • Applied for approval for the Police Department to receive training from the Department of Homeland Security so the MPD can begin to enforce immigration laws


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Working Together
  • Worked with Limestone County to establish a single polling place for Limestone County portion of District 2
  • Worked with Federal delegation and ALDOT to begin the engineering design of County Line & I-565 interchange for $1.1 million
  • Received a $5 million obligation from Governor Riley for the initial construction on the County Line Road interchange
  • Presentation of 3rd annual Mayor’s Scholarship Award, including $2,750 cash scholarship to BJHS rising Senior made possible by generous donations from Madison business community
  • Support of YMCA and the Make-A-Splash Program


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Proactive Management
  • Blocked a land grab by Huntsville Senator Parker Griffith that would have taken 263 acres of valuable commercial property and given it to Huntsville
  • Blocked a move by an Alabama House member that would have taken planning and zoning authority from the City of Madison and given it to the Huntsville Airport Authority
  • Blocked a proposed constitutional amendment that would have prevented further annexations in Limestone County which would have prevented the expansion of Madison’s retail commercial property inventory


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Supporting our Troops
  • Mayor participates in the BRAC Workforce Development Advisory Committee
  • Formation of a Madison BRAC Advisory Council
  • Continued participation in AUSA
  • Continued participation in ADC,  a national organization which promotes interests of communities affected by BRAC
  • Passed and enacted the Military Pay Equalization Ordinance which allows the City to equalize the pay difference for municipal employees who are mobilized through the National Guard or Army Reserve
  • Welcome Home Celebration for the 108th Division and the Holiday Cheer Brigade that helped twelve Army Reserve and National Guard families in need


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The Road Ahead
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Growth
  • In 2007, the City of Madison…


  • Issued permits for 434 new single-family homes & issued 513 Certificates of Occupancy for single-family homes
  • Approved 137,569 sq ft of office space & 203,318 sq ft of industrial space
  • Annexed 300 acres of land (2007)
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Proactive Planning for Sustainable Growth
  • First Comprehensive Land Use Plan initiated in 1995 and enacted in 1997
  • This plan is constantly being updated
  • The plan was rewritten in 2001and the Land Use Map was updated in 2003
  • The Comprehensive Land Use Plan has been amended to reflect recent growth in Madison County and annexations in Limestone County up to 2008
  • The Land Use Plan also utilizes a computerized model to include traffic planning
  • The computerized traffic model has driven the Capital Improvements Plan
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Comprehensive Planning in Limestone County
  • Thus far in 2008, 1,923 acres of land have been annexed in Limestone County (as of 4/8/08)
  • The newly adopted Land Use Plan (enacted in March 2008) incorporates forward-thinking, comprehensive road, land use, and drainage planning
  • The plan delineates north/south and east/west arterial and collector roads to allow traffic flow through Limestone County
  • An opportunity to create a corridor between I-65 and County Line Road
  • This corridor will allow for retail growth in the NW part of the City, bringing additional income for roads and schools
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Funding Sustainable Growth
  • Passed and enacted a Residential Improvement District Ordinance that requires all new annexations in Limestone County to pay a $10,000 per lot assessment fee once the property is developed
  • This fee makes growth pay for itself by covering the cost for schools and roads required by the development



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Projects Recently Completed
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Projects Recently Completed, Continued
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Current Capital Projects
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Current Capital Projects, Continued
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Highlights
  • 450 Acres near intersection of County Line and I-565
  • Over 4 million square feet of shopping, dining, entertainment, residential, hotel, and office development
  • Includes almost 1 million square feet of retail
  • Represents a greater than 15% increase in entire metro office market and a greater than 8% expansion in metro retail market
  • Groundbreaking planned for summer 2008
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Planned Uses
  • Town Center/Mixed Use       520,000 sq ft
  • Commercial/Retail       936,000 sq ft
  • Medical/Office    1,056,000 sq ft
  • Office    1,888,000 sq ft
  • Hotel/Conference Center   150-200 rooms
  • Residential/Multi-Family             792 units


  • Total    4,400,000 sq ft
  •       + Hotel/ Conference Center
  •   +Residential/Multi-Family
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Guiding Principles
  • To be good citizens, stewards & civic leaders
  • To act in the best interests of the community
  • To build community pride & citizen involvement
  • To lead with honesty, integrity & respect for those we serve
  • To be ever mindful of the responsibilities of leadership