Mayor says Early becoming 'a destination city' in State of City address

April 8, 2022 at 4:24 pm Updated: April 29th, 2024 at 10:35 am Derrick Stuckly

Early City Administrator shows off the design of the Town Center Project prior to the start of the State of the City Address. [Photo by Derrick Stuckly]

EARLY – Early’s 2022 State of the City luncheon took place at the Early Visitors and Events Center, where Mayor Robert Mangrum shared the strides made in the last 12 months, and the projects on the horizon.

“This city is on track to becoming what is called a ‘destination city’ with something to offer those who live here as well as those who travel through,” Mangrum said. “We’re obviously seeing some substantial growth and it’s all thanks to our citizens like you who show support by shopping local, giving us feedback and most importantly volunteering your time where and when you can. The city may be seeing changes but the community will remain the same. We are working to keep our rural town feeling while offering urban amenities. Even as inflation becomes an increasing problem, our city staff has taken the necessary precautions to keep expenditures down while also maintaining our infrastructure and providing support for our fire and police departments. We are thankful for the what the previous year has brought us, and we’re definitely excited about what there is for the future.”

Looking ahead to the future, the Town Center Project received the most attention during the State of the City address. Construction on Kelcy Way is currently underway and, upon completion, the addition of new businesses and residential areas will begin.

The following are highlights Mangrum touched on during his speech:

TOWN CENTER PROJECT

Summer 2022 – Kelcy Way Construction complete
Summer 2022 – Phase I Infrastructure complete
September 2022 – Engineering to begin for Heartland Road, water and sewer
As the need is identified – Additional infrastructure construction

Recreation

May 2022 – Construction of the Town Center Pond, 6+ surface acres and 16 feet deep in certain areas
May 2022 – Engineering and lighted ADA accessible walking paths and batting cages, construction to follow
Fall 2022 – Construction of batting cages will be completed, begin construction on the dog park, outdoor classroom
Spring 2023 – Complete pond construction, lighted fishing piers installed at two locations on the pond, pond stocked with fish
2023 – Fishing pond, dog park, lighted walking trails and fishing piers will all be open to the public

Mixed use development

April 2022 – Surveying pad and building sites to begin real estate sales
Currently – Negotiations with developers and end users of potential sites which include retail, restaurant, hotel and residential units
May 2022 – Boardwalk design and engineering with begin
Fall 2022 – Boardwalk construction with begin
2023 – Boardwalk will be completed and construction on building will begin

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GROWTH

2022 population 3,526 – 244 more people, 7.4 percent growth since 2020
2020 population 3,282 – grew 197 or 7.6 percent grown since 2010’s population of 2,758
2021 Sales tax brought in $3 million dollars with $1.69 million budgeted. In 2020, the city brought in $2.2 million when $1.5 million was budgeted.
The current tax rate is 0.4993 cents per $100 evaluation, the second lowest in county, and Early’s lowest tax rate since 2007

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PUBLIC WORKS (Waste, waste water, sanitation departments)

Challenges

Labor shortage
Rising cost of construction materials
Availability of the material
Overall operation costs such as fuel and equipment repairs

Solutions

Continue to improve the pay and work environment for our employees
Prioritize repairs and new construction
Work in public, private partnerships where the cost is shared
Conserve in areas while replacing equipment that has excessive maintenance cost

Projects

Installed several thousand feet of new water and sewer lines within town
Working to replace aged water meters and transmitters
Working to add new fire hydrants to improve fire protection
Identifying areas of town to install new water valves that will help reduce the impact of water line breaks on customers
Major water and sewer rehab projects are using less contractor labor and working internally with a phased approach to keep project costs down

Streets Department

Adopted a capital improvement plan which prioritizes and identifies street projects for the next five years
Street maintenance program resurfaces around one mile of roads annually with in excess of 30 miles of streets within Early
Completed over 80 street repair work orders last year from pothole repairs to addressing drainage concerns
Built Terraha Drive in 2021
In Town Center Project, currently constructing Kelcy Way and Buena Vista
Within the next month, go out for bids on the reconstruction of Autumn Drive
Awarded a grant in the amount of $870,000 through TxDOT to install 1.64 miles of sidewalks throughout town

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POLICE DEPARTMENT

Conducted 1,500 traffic stops, answered 2,800 calls in 2021
Involved in a number of community events including National Night Out parties and D.R.E.A.M.S. program in schools
Added a new patrol car in 2021
Awarded a $33,000 grant from Department of Criminal Justice for new pickup
Created a new position in 2021 to hire a Code Enforcement Officer, who helps with the day to day operations of the police department and helps citizens and business owners comply with various city codes

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FIRE DEPARTMENT

Currently has 4 full time fire fighters, 12 part time fire fighters, and 12 volunteers. Pay for these positions has increased and volunteers are now paid for each call in which they respond.
Purchases two new brush trucks and a command vehicle for the chief in 2021
Underwent a new ISO rating analysis and improved insurance rating from a 6 to a 3

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PARKS

Improvements made to ball parks at City Park including concrete sidewalks, retaining walls line with Austin stone, new scoreboard, new backstops, and new cedar wood dugouts constructed
Early will host a Texas Teen-Age Baseball state tournament this summer
McDonald Park hosts the Smart City Expo and Movie in the Park events
McDonald Park will host Courts and Controllers later this year, which consists of a video game tournament and a 3-on-3 tournament organized by the city and facilitated by the HPU men’s basketball team
A new pavilion is being built at McDonald Park over the old football locker room foundation

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RETAIL GROWTH

In 2021, over 40 new jobs were created in Early
Great interest in the city from numerous developers
City continues to search for businesses to establish a location in Early

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COMING IN 2022, 2023

Petco – currently building at the intersection of CC Woodson and Early Boulevard and is expected open in the Fall of 2022
HTeaO – building at 405 Early Boulevard and is expected to open in the summer of 2022
Residential Subdivisions – currently over 400 lots in several subdivisions that in various stages of approval which will address the deficiency of available lots for new construction in Early
Recreational Amenities – several amenities within the Town Center will begin construction this year and be completed in 2023