New year brings new industry to town

Happy New Year!

I’m so excited about what 2022 has in store for our amazing town. New industry that will bring jobs, new retail that citizens will love, and continued improvements to the infrastructure are just some of the things that will really set us apart and guarantee that New Madrid grows and thrives.

New industry is on the way. Not only are we expecting a very big announcement in the next 60 days for one company, another company should make an announcement very soon after that. Both of these industries will bring hundreds of great paying jobs as well as ancillary businesses and industry. The addition of these two industries have the potential of changing New Madrid and the surrounding areas like St. Jude Industrial Park did in the 60’s. I can’t wait to share the news on these.

In early December, the City finalized the sale of property along Highway 61 to a new national retailer. The company sent the City prints of their plans this past Thursday. I expect the company to make a formal announcement very soon with construction starting in the first quarter as well.

It’s no secret that stormwater has been an issue here for years. In 2021, the City started work on four problematic stormwater drainage areas. These four were part of an engineering study that identified six total areas to improve. With the completion of these four as well as the work done by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last year, citizens will see an incredible improvement in town. The last couple of days have thankfully proven that.

A focus of our City Council this year will be improving and growing the housing here in town. When these new industries announce jobs, we want the people that will work here to also live here. We have already begun discussing with potential developers how the City can make this happen.

The City is committed to continuing our great services to all of our citizens and businesses. I am so blessed to have the staff that the City and MLP has, and the department heads that I work closely with daily are simply the greatest in the state. The best way that myself and the City Council can support each department is by giving them the resources they need to be successful. We always do our best to give them the best staff along with the tools and equipment they need, and we are always trying to improve in those areas. We promise to continue this improvement in 2022.

While this is just a taste of what to expect this year, I hope that you share our excitement. Happy New Year!