Nearly 250 business and community leaders, elected officials and interested citizens gathered at the Smyrna Community Center on Thursday to hear from Smyrna Mayor Max Bacon as he delivered the annual State of the City address. As always, the mayor spoke from his heart as he discussed the sensational growth and change that the area has come to be known for in recent years. Covering many areas of discussion such as Google Fiber, Smyrna Vision, body cameras, education and city developments, attendees were given a snapshot of all of the exciting things the city has accomplished and a glimpse into more of what’s to come.
Google Fiber, one of the city’s most anticipated additions, will be coming to Smyrna as one of the nine cities in the Metro Atlanta area selected for ultra-high-speed internet service installation. The network will bring Smyrna access to connections up to 100 times faster than basic broadband.
Smyrna Vision began back in April 2014 as a seven-month vision planning process with a committee of 28 people and resulted in the creation of a 10-year vision plan. The implementation phase of the plan has begun and is led by the Implementation Executive Committee that includes residents and business stakeholders from across Smyrna. There are five areas of focus for the vision including: involvement and leadership, quality of place, image and identity, Smyrna’s schools, and community and economic development.
Recently, the city of Smyrna purchased seventy five body cameras for their police departments. Officers are required to use body cameras in all citizen-police encounters. The body cameras have a field view of 68 degrees and five hours of continuous recording time. The purpose of these body cameras is to aid in prosecution of people who violate the law and to investigate complaints against officers.
There are many Smyrna developments underway such as the Former Hickory Lake apartment being transformed into “Smyrna Grove.” The space is being developed into 194 single-family detached units and replacing 726 apartment units, located near the intersection of Windy Hill Road and South Cobb Drive. Other construction in progress includes Jonquil Village which is a 12-acre redevelopment project located at the intersection of Atlanta Road and Spring Road. This development is expected to attract new investment to north Smyrna.
Suntrust Park was also discussed, and although not located within the City of Smyrna, Mayor Bacon stated that the stadium will “help property values everywhere in that area,” benefitting Smyrna home owners as well as Smyrna businesses. The new $670 million Atlanta Braves stadium is scheduled to open for the 2017 baseball season.
Other areas of development are the transportation improvements on Spring Road, the preservation of Reed House on Atlanta Road, Windy Hill Boulevard redevelopment at Atlanta Road intersection, and the opening of shops in the Old Ivey Village Shopping Center such as Sprouts Market.
Throughout the speech Mayor Bacon often mentioned his love, support and dedication for the education system. He encourages parents to put their children into the public school systems, saying “the Smyrna middle schools and high schools are getting better every single day.” His care for the educational system really shined through with many mentions of how important teachers are to the community.
Throughout the address it was easy to see the mayor’s enthusiasm for the community that he has been a part of for so many years. Touting the city’s AAA bond rating, solid numbers in building permits and new businesses, gains in education, numerous developments in the area and an increased sense of community, the mayor’s mission seems to be more than running city – he’s creating a home.
