logo
Key City progress report: Abilene's State of the City 2025

Key City progress report: Abilene's State of the City 2025

Yahoo05-02-2025

ABILENE, Texas () – The 2025 Abilene State of the City address featured local city, county, educational, and law enforcement leaders who took the stage at the Doubletree Hilton Hotel in Downtown Abilene to give a progress report to the public.
Mayor Weldon Hurt opened the night with a look at what's to come through project completion in 2025-2026.
'What a great day. Just look around. This is just fantastic that we can come together today.' Said Hurt.
Mayor Hurt touched on many ongoing projects such as the Cypress Street improvement project, Street maintenance progress, water and the future of water, quality of life and safety, completion of the Jane and Phil Guitar Pet Adoption and Resource Center (PARC), the new Camp Barkley dog park, Cedar Creek Walkway project, future completion of Abilene Fire Department Station 9 which will expand emergency service accessibility to much of southern Abilene, improvements and expansion at the Abilene Zoo, Development at the Abilene Youth Sports Authority (AYSA) youth sports flat fields, New Recreation Center construction projects at Cesar Chavez & G.V. Daniels parks, and the Rebuild ABI project.
RECAP: Mayor Hurt's City of Abilene's 2025 State of the City address
One topic the mayor spoke on at length was Abilene's water situation, saying, 'On a recent trip to D.C. City Manager Robert Hanna and Councilman Brian Yates went and met with our legislators in D.C., and 90% of our conversation was about water, whether it be wastewater, some of the PFAS level (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoralkyl substances), things that we're gonna have to deal with as a city: or Cedar Creek Reservoir, or a West Texas coalition. We always want to let everyone know that water is always on our mind. And the future of Abilene depends on water. And we need more sources, and we need to take care of the sources that we have.'
Following Mayor Hurt's address, a panel of local leaders took the stage to answer top-of-mind questions concerning their sectors' contributions to the larger goals the City and County are working towards.
That panel included:
Taylor County Judge Phil Crowley
Misty Mayo, CEO of the Development Corporation of Abilene
Abilene ISD Superintendent Dr. John Kuhn.
Wylie ISD Superintendent Joey Light.
Doug Peters with the Chamber of Commerce
Weldon Hurt, Mayor
Robert Hanna, City Manager
City Manager Robert Hanna fielded the first question concerning developments made in the city water supply, speaking on the recent City Council retreat, saying, 'We have done a number of things in the last ten years to really reinvest in our water supplies. The first, of course, was attaching to the Brazos Rivers Authority system at Possum Kingdom. And as we kind of come in and out of different water restrictions with the lack of rain we've had recently, we're getting ready to activate and start our possum kingdom system for the first time. We're probably about maybe 12 months away from that, so we'll be ready to go when we need it. So that's one outcome of the retreat.'
Moving on down the line to education, AISD's Dr. John Kuhn spoke on the district's Building Brighter Futures initiative, which he says is a program that works in tandem with the needs of the city and county.
'I've always believed that what's good for a school district is good for a city, and what's good for a city is good for a school district… Abilene needs to make sure that we do our part to be something that people look at and say, I want to be a part of Abilene, Texas. When business owners look at this region and decide whether or not to move a business here, they need to know that we will provide a workforce for them, not just us, Austin, Wylie, and the other schools. And then, when residents are looking at these houses that are infill and are fixing up, they need to say, Am I content? Am I happy with the schools that are available for my children?' Said Kuhn.
Kuhn asked about the recent announcement of the sunsetting of two elementary schools and the planned implementation of a school choice program to allow families to choose between multiple schools in their district rather than be restricted to a singular school. Kuhn said the decision to call this a 'school choice' program was deliberate on the district's part.
EXPLAINER: Abilene ISD is closing/repurposing two schools, what happens next?
'We chose to use the word choice on purpose. We want to co-opt that whole idea. Obviously, most people in this area are opposed to vouchers; I'm opposed to vouchers. And the the voucher movement has has called itself the school choice movement. And it's a misnomer because parents have always had choices….There's tons of choices for parents, and we want to expand that internally so that if you are at a school and you feel like another school best suits your needs or the needs of your child, you, as a parent, feel like you have the freedom to choose between those schools and we want to expand this idea across the entire district.' Kuhn said.
Taylor County Judge Phil Crowley then addressed infrastructure upgrades and maintenance in county school districts, the Jail and other law enforcement centers, and the Taylor County Expo Center. Continuing through to funding for the court system and speaking on the expansion of EMS service in the county.
'Taylor County EMS, which is a nonprofit. Their calls have doubled since 2015. So we want to go out for bid and get some more ambulance service. We've now tripled our ambulance service out in the county. So we've gone from one full-time and one part-time ambulance to three full-time stations. You have one in Tuscola, 24/7, for the first time ever. We have one 24/7 station in Merkel for the first time since 2015. And then you also have that View-Caps Station 24/7 still. And the moral of the story, our response times have dropped by almost 50% since October. So that's another important infrastructure.' Said Crowley.
A little later in the night, Crowley mentioned his thanks to the Development Corporation of Abilene (DCOA) team for their work in attracting and growing the Lancium/Crusoe clean-compute development project. Crowley says the county will benefit from the tax revenue and be able to put that money into emergency response categories.
That Lancium project comprises the bulk of DCOA Executive Director Misty Mayo's address. Mayo first mentioned that the DCOA has been responsible for partnering with 40 companies outside the city and local businesses.
The Key City's recent White House shout-out was a significant topic of discussion also concerning the DCOA's work. President Donald Trump mentioned Abilene and its role in the ongoing Stargate project.
'We have spent almost five years working with Lancium on the development that apparently has been just an overnight success in the last two weeks,' Mayo told the crowd to laughter and applause.
KTAB/KRBC had a chance to speak with Mayo after the event. Regarding the continued interest in Abilene as a leader in the technology industry and national attention on the Lancium Project, she told KTAB/KRBC, 'Quite frankly, it's the most remarkable opportunity I believe has ever had in economic development. And we're working night and day to ensure that we're growing that future for our community.'
Closing out the night in his final State of the City address after two decades of service, City Manager Robert Hanna left the audience with a call to action.
'What are you going to do? How are you going to help Abilene be the best version of itself? I'm going to looking at a room full of businesswomen and businessmen, leaders in their field, leaders in their community. Let's roll our sleeves up. Let's make this the best frickin place on the planet. Thanks for your time. Thanks for being here.' Hanna said.
All slides used in the Abilene State of the City 2025 address, containing statistics and projects of interest, can be found in PDF format at this link.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Groupe SEB: Monthly Disclosure of the Total Number of Shares and Voting Rights – 31.05.2025
Groupe SEB: Monthly Disclosure of the Total Number of Shares and Voting Rights – 31.05.2025

Yahoo

time15 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Groupe SEB: Monthly Disclosure of the Total Number of Shares and Voting Rights – 31.05.2025

(Article L. 233 8 II of the French commercial code - article 223-16 of the General Regulations of the AMF) ECULLY, France, June 10, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News: Issuer Corporate name SEB S.A. (Paris:SK)Registered office 112 Chemin du Moulin Carron, 69130 Ecully- FranceStockmarket Euronext Paris - AISIN FR0000121709 Numbers of shares and voting rights : 30 April 2025 31 May 2025 Shares in Euronext (1) 55 337 770 55 337 770 Theoretical voting rights (2) 81 322 931 80 690 780 Effective voting rights 80 631 151 80 138 826 (1) Shares with a par value of 1€(2) Including voting rights attached to shares for which the right is revoked (own controlled shares) A statutory clause imposes an obligation to declare any crossing thresholds in addition to those provided by law, to any person who comes to hold, directly or indirectly, as defined by Articles L. 233-7 and L. 233-9 of the French Commercial Code, 0.5% of the share capital or voting rights, or any multiple of that percentage. Find us on World reference in small domestic equipment and professional coffee machines, Groupe SEB operates with a unique portfolio of 40 top brands (including Tefal, Seb, Rowenta, Moulinex, Krups, Lagostina, All-Clad, WMF, Emsa, Supor), marketed through multi-format retailing. Selling more than 400 million products a year, it deploys a long-term strategy focused on innovation, international development, competitiveness, and client service. Present in over 150 countries, Groupe SEB generated sales €8 billion in 2023 and has more than 31,000 employees worldwide. View source version on Contacts Groupe SEB Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Huber Heights announces plans for new music venue, hotel, restaurant
Huber Heights announces plans for new music venue, hotel, restaurant

Yahoo

time21 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Huber Heights announces plans for new music venue, hotel, restaurant

HUBER HEIGHTS, Ohio (WDTN) — During his State of the City address, Mayor Jeff Gore revealed plans for several new developments in Huber Heights. Mayor Gore announced three major developments coming to the city in the next few years. Walls installed at Huber Heights Buc-ee's site First, a new indoor music venue will be coming to Executive Boulevard. The 56,000 square foot 'cutting edge performance space' will be able to accommodate 3,500 guests for a variety of events and shows. The venue is estimated to open in 2028. Additionally, a new hotel will open adjacent to the venue, featuring two restaurants within. Gore says the venue and hotel will further establish an entertainment district for Huber Heights, offering 'a dynamic hub for conferences, expos, and special events.' Finally, Dublin Pub will open a new location, Dublin Seven, offering upscale Irish cuisine, live music and more. This restaurant will also be located within the entertainment district. Mayor Gore says these announcements are a major step forward for Huber Heights. 'These announcements are all wonderful signs of our momentum, and each represent the kind of city that we're building together,' said Gore. 'One that values connection, celebrates progress and plans boldly for our future.' Mayor Gore also praised the city's growth in the past year, stating 30 new businesses opened in Huber Heights last year, and 22 have opened so far this year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

3 new businesses coming to Huber Heights; Neighbors ‘feel good' about continued development
3 new businesses coming to Huber Heights; Neighbors ‘feel good' about continued development

Yahoo

time21 hours ago

  • Yahoo

3 new businesses coming to Huber Heights; Neighbors ‘feel good' about continued development

Multiple new businesses will be opening in Huber Heights. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] News Center 7's Malik Patterson attended the State of the City Address and spoke with community members about the new additions LIVE on News Center 7 at 11:00. TRENDING STORIES: 1 dead, at least 2 others hurt after homemade fireworks cause explosion at Ohio home Invasive stinging insect that could cause death spotted in Ohio Authorities looking for 3-year-old girl believed to be taken by grandmother Huber Heights Mayor Jeff Gore delivered the State of the City address Monday evening, promising expansion and growth for the community. Gore said the city has plans for a new indoor music center, hotel and Dublin Pub. 'Really, none of this would mean anything if we didn't have the support of the community behind us,' Gore said. Leo Jordan has lived in Huber Heights for 20 years and has watched it develop. 'I feel really good about Huber Heights. And what's happening out there,' Jordan said. 'We're just close to anything you could possibly want. It's right here at your fingertips.' News Center 7 will continue to follow this story. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store