Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Randy Halfacre .your Mayor. It's hard to believe another year has come and gone. I remember in my younger days my parents and grandparents lamenting how fast time gets away from you. At the time, I couldn't appreciate what they meant by that. I thought a school day was an eternity or felt next weekend's Saturday tee time would never come. But they were correct.the older you get the faster time goes by.

Of course, the State of the Town address is an annual tradition. And again it's hard to believe this is my fourth State of the Town address. With your indulgence, I want to take a few minutes to reflect on our Council's many accomplishments and share with you some issues I would suggest we focus on as priorities for 2008.

First, I would like to thank our Council members for their hard work and dedication over the past 12 months. Even with our differences on issues from time to time I appreciate Council's willingness to work together for the good of the Town and come together for the well-being of our citizens.

Also, I want to thank our Town staff for their hard work and commitment to making our Town a great place to live and work. I frequently get compliments on staff's customer service responses and services.

And, as always, I would like to thank my dear wife, Angela, and my family and the families and spouses of the other Council members for their support and sacrifices in allowing each of them time to serve on Town Council.

The Town of Lexington had an outstanding and unprecedented year in 2007. Some of the things we accomplished last year include:

Our neighborhoods are the building blocks of our Town, numbering now well over forty. Our Neighborhood Enhancement Action Team (NEAT) continued in its second year, visiting a total of 18 neighborhoods to date. The purpose of the NEAT Program is to ensure that Town services are oriented in a more proactive fashion. The Town continues to find and identify problems and services needed in our Town and neighborhoods and goes about the business of solving them proactively. NEAT also gives our citizens an opportunity to talk one-on-one with me, Council and Town staff.

The Town continues to attract business, another key component of our Town's importance in the State's economy . Municipalities, such as our Town, are centers of commerce providing our citizens and surrounding community much-needed services such as health care, jobs, schools, food, retail shops, professional services and houses of worship. In other words.everything people desire in meeting their daily living needs. Businesses help fund the Town's services, from police to parks, keeping our taxes and utility rates as low as possible for our Town citizens. Because of business growth, we did not raise taxes or water and sewer rates last year. In 2007, 1,969 business licenses were issued.

The Town held the Grand Re-Opening of Gibson Pond Park in July. The Town of Lexington 's redevelopment of Gibson Pond into a public park allows citizens and visitors to once again enjoy the site's natural beauty and rich history. Picnic shelters and walking trails are among the family-friendly amenities at the park. In addition, the Town recently received a $103,000 grant to pave the walking trails in Gibson Pond Park to make them handicapped-accessible.

The Town is also proud of spearheading the renewal of the historic Palmetto Collegiate Institute. Through restoration of this landmark, the Town of Lexington has preserved it as a living history lesson for future generations. We were honored to receive a $150,000 gift from Mr. Leonard Price to complete the restoration. Thank you, Mr. Price!

The Town, after a rather lengthy delay due to additional land acquisition and removal of asbestos in an old house on the land, moved forward in its corporate fund raising efforts in partnership with Golden State Foods to raise donations to build Caractor Park in western Lexington.

The proposed Lexington Performing and Visual Arts Center project has received much positive support and feedback from the community. A fundraising feasibility study is being conducted currently to assess and evaluate the capital funding capacity of the community for the project. I want to thank the Lexington Arts Center Committee for their hard work and perseverance for almost four years now. I'm hopeful we can announce the site in the coming month.

Our Town's Police Department had many exciting accomplishments in 2007:

• The department was awarded a South Carolina Department of Public Safety grant of $87,075 for 800 megahertz radios for officers . Along with those purchased through a previous grant, all officers now carry an 800 megahertz radio.

• As one of six district winners in South Carolina , the department was awarded a fully-equipped 2008 Dodge Charger by the South Carolina Office of Highway Safety . In conjunction with a nine-month campaign of highway enforcement of aggressive traffic control (HEAT), this vehicle will be used locally and in statewide traffic enforcement campaigns.

• Focusing on the importance of our children brings to mind a saying, "A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove.but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child." Anonymous .
  In keeping with this priority, the Town was awarded a second year of grants by the Department of Public Safety for the Keeping Every Youth Safe (KEYS) after-school program for at-risk children in the west Lexington area. The KEYS program focuses on improving academic and life skills of its participants. The program meets three times a week on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 2:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and regularly serves approximately 35 children.

• The Lexington Police Department has also implemented a program for alumni of its Citizen's Academy. Called Volunteers in Policing (VIPs) , the program is a chance for Citizen's Academy alumni to volunteer their time and talents to help the Department and the Town of Lexington community.

We've continued building public/private partnerships with amazing results:

• The Town's Cameras for Kids project was successful in raising close to $100,000 to fund and install a much-needed security camera system in Lexington Middle School and assisted Lexington Intermediate School with a security camera system as well. I want to especially thank Councilman Danny Frazier for spearheading this effort. The Town recently received Lexington County School District One's Business Partner of the Year Award for its efforts.

• Last year, we made the exciting announcement regarding the Town's partnership to construct a public parking garage in conjunction with the Lexington Convention Center development on the former site of Sessions department store on Main Street . This partnership will meet a growing need in the Town and the Midlands . It is a tremendous opportunity, one we have been working on for over a decade, to revitalize downtown Lexington . We appreciate the chance to work with Dooley & Partners on this project.

• Also, in 2007 we established the new position of Corporate & Community Coordinator to help continue to "build partnerships" with local businesses and secure non-tax dollar support for Town projects. Groundwork has now been laid for future private sector donations and assistance in helping our Town improve our citizens' quality of life.

For the 15th year in a row, there was no increase in the Town's tax millage . The last increase was made in the 1992 fiscal year. This remains a priority as we strive to keep your taxes low and use your dollars wisely and efficiently.

A revised land use and zoning plan was implemented, working closely with the Planning Commission, which will help us better manage growth as the Town continues to expand and grow at unprecedented rates.

The Building & Zoning Department issued 534 building permits . This shows a slight increase over 2006, which was a banner year for the Town with almost 500 permits issued.

The Town developed Architectural and Appearance Design Manual/Standards to protect the charm and integrity of the Town. These standards will be critical to the Town's appearance and development as we move into the 21 st century.

The Town completed annexations in 2007 for 20 parcels for a total of 140 acres. This growth helps generate revenue which in turn maintains low taxes and water and sewer rates in addition to enhancing the quality of life that our citizens expect.

Water and sewer service is the Town's major revenue generator. It operates as a "free enterprise" system. In 2007, the Town's total of deeded infrastructure or Capital Contributions was $8.3 million. Water and sewer infrastructure must be in place before hand to accommodate business and residential growth. The Town has taken measures to purchase additional capacity so that it will be available to accommodate future growth in central Lexington County

Council has been moving forward with an overall traffic plan to improve in-town traffic flow for approximately 10-12 years, until major roadway improvements can be made in areas out-of-town. In conjunction with the County and State, The Town's Traffic Committee has made significant strides in improving in-Town traffic problems . I want to thank Traffic Committee Chair Susan Ruinen, Council liaison Hazel Tyndall, members of the committee, and Town staff for their hard work and dedication.

A few of the many issues the committee addressed in the past year are:

• Optimized timing of traffic lights and installed GIS system on Hwy 378
• Old Cherokee widening (Hwy 378 to Hwy 6) expect construction to begin summer 2008
• Main Street @ Hwy 378 (and neighboring intersections) improvements
• Coventry Curb Cut funded by neighboring businesses to solve safety issues
• Publix Shopping Center Hwy 378 entrance safety improvements
• SAFE Federal Credit Union intersection improvements, funded by SAFE
• The Town also received approval to begin construction on sidewalks along Park Road in 2008. The sidewalks will tie-in with sidewalks along US 378 allowing residents of the many neighborhoods along Park Road to walk to the business district and all the way to the Lake Murray Dam if they wish.

Though we've made some great accomplishments over the past 12 months, there is still some work to be done. Some goals I would strongly suggest our Council address in 2008 are:

To continue bringing Town Hall to our neighborhoods through the Neighborhood Enhancement Action Team (NEAT) program allowing us to proactively address issues and concerns among our citizens. In the spring, I would suggest we expand the hours of NEAT to 3 to 6 pm so more citizens will have an opportunity to come.

The Lexington Police Department has plans this year to:

• Provide 800 megahertz mobile radios in all department vehicles.

• Add a "Gang Officer" and provide up-to-date training to combat gangs in Town.

• Become nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).

I would strongly encourage Council to support these initiatives.

We will continue to provide the superb quality of life that makes the Town of Lexington a great place to live, work, worship, and raise our families. Quality of life is one of the major factors that draws new residents and businesses to our area. We must expand opportunities to continue to involve our citizens in community policing programs. We live and work in an absolutely fantastic Town with community safety being the foundation of our quality of life.

As I've said before, "If we're not growing, we're dying." This truism certainly applies to our Town. We are extremely fortunate and blessed to be in this economic upward growth curve. We should continue to move forward with managed growth and strategic annexations in the best interest of our citizens and town's future.

Town staff has been working with Lexington County on an overlay district that would have stricter requirements (i.e. applying the Town's landscaping, signage and tree ordinances) for property that has the potential of being annexed into the Town in future years. This would allow a seamless continuity of development and eliminate "non-conforming" properties located in the county being annexed into the Town. We must get this done in 2008.

We should plan to reduce our dependency on fossil fuel in the next 3 to 5 years by 5%. I would like for the Advisory Committee, in consultation with experts in the field, to study ways we can find ways to do so. Our efforts hopefully will lead other businesses, particularly those doing business with the Town, to in-turn develop strategies to reduce their dependency.

Town Council must continue to keep taxes low and put your dollars to work wisely. I would not want Council to increase taxes in our upcoming fiscal year budget. I would also not want Council to increase water and sewer rates in the upcoming budget year. If we do not, it would be the fourth year in a row we have avoided the previous eight year in a row automatic 5% annual rate increases. We must let managed growth and strategic annexations cover our expansion and operational needs!

We should continue our successful Building Partnerships philosophy. Public-private partnerships help the Town leverage its limited tax resources with private sector investments for the overall betterment and benefit of our Town. The Council will have additional opportunities to announce addition plans for development on Main Street in the coming months. Stay tuned!

We should make a decision as to whether or not we need to move forward the proposed Lexington Arts Center project. I'm very hopeful we can make an official announcement on its location by early spring and shortly thereafter let our community know the results of the funding capacity study.

And finally, and certainly our ongoing top priority, we need to work with federal, state, and county governments to obtain funding for traffic improvements . The vast majority of roads in the area are owned and maintained by SCDOT or Lexington County , so the Town is limited to what it can do to improve infrastructure and traffic flow. The Town has a comprehensive traffic plan, but cannot accomplish these solutions on its own. It will require county, state, federal governmental entities along with business joining forces to make progress and secure funding for these projects. Phase I of this Unified Traffic Improvement Plan is underway, supported by $6 million of federally earmarked money already secured by the Town's efforts. However an additional funding source of approximately $70 million must be found to complete the plan. Today's funding formulas require a local match of approximately 20%. We must come together as a Town and County and decide how this will be accomplished. It will be a daunting task. But it must be addressed if we are to move forward in implementing our Road Plan. You will find more information about this in your current Town water/sewer bill. We need your help by asking you to contact your county, state and federal elected officials to let them know that you support this plan.

Eleanor Roosevelt said, "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift and that's why we call it the present." Let us all keep in mind to make the most of the present and ask ourselves, "What can we do at this moment to improve our Town and our way of life?"

In closing, I want to let all our Town citizens know The Town of Lexington is in its best shape ever, financially and otherwise. This Council has worked hard in establishing such a responsive and dedicated public service organization. I'm very proud to be a part of it. I know each of you are also.

I appreciate the opportunity to serve as your Mayor. Look for more great and exciting things in the coming months.

God Bless and Thank you!