Mayor will focus on positive in first State of the City

Talk about it

With all the recent bad news of budget adjustments and pay cuts in the city of Farmington over the past few weeks, there is bound to be something good going on in town, right?

Sure there is, and next Thursday morning, mayor Todd Larson will share that good news during his first State of the City address at city hall.

Just what that good news is, though, he cannot hint at just yet. His report will be based largely off of annual reports from city staff, and those statistics are still coming in. Larson is working with administrative services director Lisa Shadick to write the script for next week.

Larson said residents can expect a report on all of the good things that happened in Farmington in 2008, and a quick preview of 2009. As this will be his first State of the City, Larson has to recap events that occurred under a different council.

Larson has talked with other mayors in the area, all of whom have advised him to keep the address “upbeat,” despite some of the difficulties cities have faced recently — most of which have been attributed to the loss of state aid.

“I kind of think we should get into something about (budget issues), but I’ve been told that’s not what this is all about,” he said.

Going into next week’s address, Larson is not sure what to expect. Still, he has watched tapes of former mayor Kevan Soderberg’s addresses, and thinks he can make it through a 20 minute speech — 15 minutes would be better, though, he joked.

“I’m new to this, too,” he said, “and I’m a little nervous about it, I guess. But that’s all right.”

The 2009 Farmington State of the City address will be held Thursday, March 26, with networking beginning at 7:30 a.m., followed by the program from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., at Farmington City Hall. It will be videotaped and played on the city’s cable channel at a later date. The Independent will print the schedule when it is available.

The event is is open to the public. To make reservations, e-mail Amanda Franklin at afranklin@dcrchamber.com, or call her at 651-452-9872.

Tags: mayor todd larson, state of the city, news