Malvern City Council

STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS Mayor Brenda J. Weldon February 13, 2023 I am very honored to have another 4 years to serve the citizens of Malvern as your Mayor. I really appreciate all the support, dedication and hard work from all the City employees and look forward to working with you for a while longer. I thank the City Council and City Attorney, Cecilia Ashcraft, for all your help and look forward to working with City Clerk/Treasurer, Kim Taber in the future. This last year has been full of activity, from opening the new Fire Station on Moline to working on the new Police Station. Around 25 miles of street have been resurfaced and completed several large stormwater drainage projects. The Information Services has saved the city money by installing the camera systems and security systems in both the new buildings in house. Code Office tore down 14 houses this year along with mowing and cleaning multiple locations. The City was able to establish a lease from the County for the property next to the Animal Shelter, with plans to increase the number of running pens for the dogs and if grant funding becomes available, create a dog park. Due to a Sturgis Foundation grant handled by the Hot Spring County Stop Animal Cruelty, fencing has been installed around the addition acre. Malvern Water Works have continued to upgrade the sewer lines and continue working on solutions found in recent studies of our system. There is much more that needs to be done and you will see improvements being made. The City was able to obtain the following grants: VAWA $34,143.31 Federal Grant South Central Solid Waste $ 2,999.00 State Grant Fire Prevention Grant $2,233.00 State Grant Tap Grant $78,000.00 State Grant Law Enforcement Stipend $107,650.00 State Grant American Rescue Act $1,1325,340.28 Federal Grant FAA $120,050.00 Federal Grant FAA $20,220.00 Federal Grant Entergy $7,526.68 State Grant FAA $468.00 Federal Grant Police Block Grant $2,855.58 Federal Grant Police Block Grant $24,878.00 State Grant JAG $2802.56 Police Block Grant Totaling $1,545,186.49 In 2022 we saw some businesses closing because of the impact of Covid 19 and other signs of businesses surviving and thriving, and I always encourage you to shop local, to keep our businesses open. If they don’t make a profit to support their families, they can’t remain open. We are all citizens of Malvern and Hot Spring County and together we can make a difference. Thank you for allowing me to be your Mayor and God Bless each one of you.