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Subscribe to City LineDecember 3, 2010
From the office of Mayor George Schloegel
Tomorrow morning we will celebrate the holiday season with Sugarplum Saturday. The day will begin at 10:30 a.m. with a downtown Christmas parade, featuring Santa and many other famous holiday characters. We also will have a special tribute to our local Boy Scout and Cub Scout troops, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America.
After the parade, join us in Lighthouse Park for holiday snacks from Krispy-Kreme, Christmas music and free photos with Santa.
We hope you will join us for this special holiday event for children and grandchildren of all ages. And as we celebrate this joyous time of year, we want to thank you, the people of Gulfport, for making this past year such a successful one for our city.
Together our dedicated City Council and more than 600 employees have worked tirelessly to fix our financial woes, and today, Gulfport has a balanced budget. We have worked to grow the momentum of success in our downtown, and we have expanded that economic energy to other parts of our city.
New businesses have opened and existing ones are beginning to see signs of prosperity’s return. A massive streetscape initiative and a citywide overhaul of infrastructure are nearing completion, and landmark projects, such as the harbor, Jones Park and the new Public Safety Center, are approaching the homestretch.
But just as 2010 presented us with numerous challenges, we know the work that lies ahead in the coming year will be no less demanding.
This past week we met with business leaders in Orange Grove and at the beachfront Marriott to discuss minor methods that will help to improve our city’s appearance in a major way. We explained that Gulfport is not a city run exclusively by a mayor and City Council, but rather by its people. It will require the collective effort of those people to meet the demands of 2011.
If we are to clean trash and graffiti from our alleyways and rid our streets of litter, suffocating signage, dangling utility lines and dangerous traffic, all of us will need to work together with a common goal of creating a city that we can be proud of.
Some may believe these afflictions are minor aesthetic issues that hardly require such attention. We disagree.
When it comes to courting new businesses to our city or luring annual tourists to our shores, these visual imperfections can eventually become economic fetters, preventing Gulfport from reaching its full potential.
To help reach our goal, sometime early next year, we will launch a new 311 phone system that will allow you to make one call to City Hall for any non-emergency need. If you have questions about utility billing or need city service, dialing 311 will quickly get you to the right place. If you want to report a pothole or a dilapidated house, an anonymous call to our 311 operators will help us to quickly respond.
The new phone system is just one way you can help make Gulfport great, and in the coming months, we expect to introduce many additional ways you can help.
So as we count the higher blessings of faith and family this holiday season, let us remain mindful of the challenges — and rewards — that await Gulfport in the coming year.
Have a safe and happy holiday season, and we look forward to seeing you tomorrow.
Office of Public Information - rlafontaine@gulfport-ms.gov - Phone: 228-868-5782
P.O. Box 1780 Gulfport, MS 39502-1780 - FAX: 868-5800
