CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo gave her State of the City address at the American Bank Center on Thursday, Sept. 5.
During her speech, she pointed out accomplishments and progress the city is making.
"In Corpus Christi, we are living in transformational times," Mayor Guajardo said. "Someday we will look back at this era and say when we were most challenged, we went into action. And when it was extraordinarily difficult, we accomplished great things because we believe in ourselves and in the strength of our united efforts."
Perhaps Guajardo's biggest emphasis was on the more than $560 million that City Council is making toward street repairs. She said that fixing our streets is the city's greatest challenge and essential to building our city's economy.
"In last year's State of the City address, we set forth an ambitious vision to tackle a 60-year $980 million challenge to repair over 370 miles of residential streets within 12 years," she said. "With our rapid pavement program, we aim to re-construct 31 miles of residential streets this year, and I'm proud to report to you that we are on track to complete 34 miles in just 7 months."
Mayor Guajardo emphasized that over the last six years, the City of Corpus Christi has invested over $566 million on street repairs, and in fiscal year 2024-25, proposed to invest an additional $129 million for a total of $695 million.
"Let's think about that number for a minute. $695 million. Your city council is listening to you. We are prioritizing street repairs. Our city is fixing more streets than ever before," she said.
She also addressed the growth of the police and fire departments with manpower and infrastructure.
Corpus Christi Police Department will add 55 more officers this year and City Council also approved the purchase of 75 new patrol units.
Nearly $3,000,000 has also been invested in several Corpus Christi fire stations. Some are in the process of being upgraded or completely rebuilt.
Mayor Guajardo also touched on the $111 million investment in the modernization of the Oso Wastewater Treatment plant, where she emphasized the importance of environmental stewardship.
"This will enhance the operational efficiency and increase the plant's capacity from 16.2 million gallons to 18 million gallons per day," Guajardo said.
Guajardo also touched on a new state-of-the-art facility to replace the Antonio E. Garcia library.
"This modern space will not only serve as a library but also as a much-needed senior center for District 5 which has never been done before," she said.
Guajardo is running for re-election on the November ballot. Also on the ballot are Michael Hunter, Joshua Fraedrick, John Calkusic, Anthem Powers, and Isabel Araiza.
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