[0:03] Hello friends family and residents of
our beautiful city of
[0:07] Gonzalez as you may know after much
prayer and consideration I've made the
[0:13] difficult decision to resign from my
role as the mayor of
[0:16] Gonzalez over the last 16 years with you
at my side we have learned what it takes
[0:22] to build a thriving City to invest in
our community culture and resources and
[0:29] set the stage for future prosperity it's
been the honor of a lifetime to take
[0:35] this journey with you the Investments
we've made in our city has boostered our
[0:40] way of life and transformed Gonzalez
into a community that people are proud
[0:45] to call home since taking office our
population has grown by
[0:52] 35.5% and we've seen the Investments of
many new businesses in our community not
[0:58] only has our po population and business
Community grown but the estimated total
[1:04] market value of property in our city has
grown
[1:09] 81.9% putting us just above $674
million to support our rapid growth and
[1:18] prepare for our future needs my
Administration has consistently
[1:22] prioritized investments in our
infrastructure we've secured over $21
[1:27] million in grant funding to to support
critical infrastructure projects and
[1:33] doubled the city's water and Waterway
system
[1:37] capacity and our infrastructure planning
expands beyond our City's borders we
[1:44] have worked closely with Mayors across
the state legislators at the state and
[1:49] federal level and partners like the
southern rail commission to make
[1:54] regional passenger rail a reality I work
in supporting multimodal Transportation
[2:02] will help expand economic and cultural
opportunities for our residents our
[2:07] neighbors and Visitors by expanding
connectivity like never
[2:12] before together we've invested in our
way of life through expanding improving
[2:19] and developing Community parks and
recreational facilities and developing
[2:24] Ascension parish's only state-of-the-art
Performing Arts Conference Center
[2:31] in
2023 we became the second City in the
[2:34] state to establish a climate action plan
we've embraced this plan in our everyday
[2:41] operations and have made great strides
to enhance our City's tree canopy
[2:47] implement solar power generation at our
sewer treatment facility to reduce
[2:53] single use Plastics make Recycling and
available for all residents and more
[3:00] these projects represent a fraction of
the work we've accomplished together in
[3:05] the last 16 years and I have no doubt
that they've enhanced our quality of
[3:11] life and prepared our community for
continued growth and
[3:16] prosperity and as we look to Gonzalez's
future I would like to share an Insight
[3:21] on my future with all of you effective
April 30th my time as your mayor will
[3:27] come to a close sir serving as your
mayor was more than a job it was a
[3:33] commitment a commitment to serve lead
and represent each and every one of you
[3:39] it's been the ultimate labor of love
where I've had a unique opportunity to
[3:44] work hand inand with the residents who
make me proud to call Gonzalez
[3:49] home and while I will undoubtedly miss
the day-to-day functions of running our
[3:54] great City I am excited for the
opportunity to bring my experience to a
[3:59] new Road
as the executive director for the
[4:02] Louisiana Municipal Association where I
will work alongside leaders to bring
[4:08] prosperity to communities across the
great state of
[4:12] Louisiana this community has supported
me throughout my career and I hope that
[4:17] as I move forward I can count on your
support in this endeavor to build
[4:22] prosperity for every corner of our state
and I want you to know that while my
[4:27] time as your mayor is ending I will
always be in your corner rooting for the
[4:33] continued growth and success of our
community thank you from the bottom of
[4:39] my heart for the privilege of serving
you as mayor God bless you all and God
[4:45] bless Gonzalez