Brownwood News – Early Mayor, Dr. Robert Mangrum discussed the growth and achievements of the previous year, and the upcoming projections for this year during the Early Chamber of Commerce monthly luncheon held on March 23rd, from 11:30 a.m to 1 p.m. at Humphrey Pete’s restaurant.
This event was sponsored by Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure and Oncor Electric Delivery.
Dr. Robert G. Mangrum, Coley Professor of History and Historian at Howard Payne University was elected to the Early City Council in 1998. After serving three terms on the council and two terms as mayor pro tem, Dr. Mangrum was elected mayor of the city of Early in May 2005 and has faithfully served the city and the surrounding community ever since.
“Actions speak for themselves, but the words we live by pave the way for our actions. That is our theme,” Mayor Mangrum said in his opening remarks. “Teamwork is at the heart of great achievement.”
Revenue for the city came in at 7 million dollars. The tax rate was reduced to the second lowest in the county in 2017. Sale tax revenue was 1.4 million, a 14% increase over the previous year.
“You know as members of the chamber, business is good,” Mangrum said.
Economic development was a key highlight in the mayor’s address.
“We’re working to diversity and not dilute our local economy,” he explained, speaking of economic development. In 2015-2017 Solaris added over 200 jobs to the area.
Efforts to continue to improve the Heartland Mall were discussed, with the mayor calling it a team effort.
Coming soon to Early: Burger King and Hobby Lobby.
‘We have several more projects coming this year and next but we’re not ready to talk about those just yet, so stay tuned,” Mayor Mangrum said.
20 new homes were built in excess of $2 million in value.
Eight new commercial properties were built and nine commercial additions or remodels added to over $5 million in value for property taxes.
278 hotel rooms are now available in the city of Early, which generates $2.5 million in hotel revenue.
Moving on to tourism for the area, Mayor Mangrum discussed the name change for Pioneer Days, which will now be known as the Early, Texas Showcase. The mayor called last year’s festival a great success and congratulated Denise Hudson with Visit Early, Visit Often for her hard work.
Parks and Recreation saw major improvements over the past year with the establishment of McDonald Park. The park features a lighted walking track, park benches and picnic tables, a volleyball court and custom mural. A basketball court is also expected to be added soon. The Teen Leadership Program is also working to add a sound garden to the park with oversized musical instruments for children to explore.
The 20,000 square foot Early Visitor and Event Center is planned to be finished by September 2018.
Moving on, Mayor Mangrum praised both the Early Police and Fire Departments for their hard work during the year.
The mayor also discussed the new Wastewater Treatment Facility which is scheduled to open in April 2018. The treated water will be used to hydrate over 100 acres of hay fields, generating new income for the city. It is a no discharge system and all the water treated will remain on the property. The establishment of this system will save the city millions of dollars each year.
As he closed, Mayor Mangrum said, “The City of Early is great, and getting better.”
