Mt. Vernon Register-News

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January 16, 2013

Mayor to give State of the City address

By RICK HAYES rick.hayes@register-news.com

MT. VERNON — — Mt. Vernon Mayor Mary Jane Chesley will focus on economic growth in the city this past year during her State of the City address.

Mayor Chesley will be the featured speaker at Thursday’s noon luncheon meeting of the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce which will be held at the Cedarhurst Center for the Arts.

“I like to give an overview of the activities of the city pertaining to jobs, infrastructure growth, business and industry development,” Chesley said on Tuesday. “I also like to give an overview of city finances and planning. Planning is vital in giving a direction to the city and helping us be more successful in the projects we have [planned].”

The mayor, who usually makes a Power Point presentation during her State of the City address, is also expected to include a section on “where we may be going in the future.”

One of the major developments this past year has been the expansion projects at Good Samaritan Regional Health Center and Crossroads Community Hospital.

“This year has been an exceptional year for health facilities,” Chesley said. “It’s also been an outstanding year for job development. Our unemployment rate has dropped for another month, and as I was putting this presentation together, it occurred to me that more than any other year we have more projects going on within the city.”

The public, as well as Chamber members, are being invited to the annual event. Brandon Bullard, executive director of the Chamber, said reservations should be made by noon today by calling the Chamber office at 242-5725 so officials can get an idea of how many meals to order. Borowiak’s IGA is catering this year’s dinner.

“This is the fourth time we have hosted the State of the City and the first time there weren’t many people there and there wasn’t much going on,” Bullard said. “This year we expect between 130 to 140 people. We always look forward to the mayor’s address. There is a lot going on, and the potential of Mt. Vernon is going through the roof. We look forward to sharing that with our business community and friends.”

“I’d say anyone who is interested in knowing what has occurred in the city in 2012, and people who want to get a peak at what will be happening in 2013 should attend,” the mayor added.

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Mt. Vernon Police blocked a portion of North Ninth Street Wednesday morning about 11 a.m. after reports the brick facade of the apartment building at the corner of Ninth and Maple streets was falling to the ground. The bricks took out cable lines, awnings and were landing on the street.