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Mayor’s Message July 2013 I always look forward to the month of July. It is a month of holidays and celebrations that have great meaning to each of us. I hope the traditions you enjoy with your loved ones will be successful, safe and fun. There are a myriad of activities in the City during the summer months. Please take the time to participate in some of them to enrich your lives and enjoy our wonderful community. Dirt is flying this year at the beginning of the busy construction season. We have two new hotels that are under way on Vine Street and 5300 South, both on or near State Street. They will provide additional rooms for those who come to visit Murray. I am excited about the work that Salt Lake County is doing on the last of the old fair grounds property in Murray Park. They are actively reconfiguring the rugby fields, replacing the old grandstand with new portable bleachers, adding new restrooms, and putting in additional parking. These improvements will make this area very user friendly and I appreciate the County’s willingness to invest in them. While we look around and see the changes happening in the City, I am reminded of some of the events that took place in 2004. If you live east of 900 East, you will remember the 5 day power outage that we endured in January. It was a challenging few days as we worked with then Utah Power, to restore the electrical service. 2004 was also the year that the curbside recycling program was put into place. It has been very popular and greatly extended the life our landfill. The Jordan River Parkway trail underpass was completed at 6400 South, creating a safer route for those using the trail. A new City website was put in place and we instigated a City television channel that operated for several years. When I think about 2005, it was a year of planning for the future. We spent time focusing on the infrastructure of the City and working to improve it, especially the roads. This has been, and will always be, a great demand to keep our transportations system in good shape. I appreciate the willingness of the Councils to help fund street improvements as priorities. A housing master plan was developed to help keep residents in their homes and provide housing for all income levels. The building blocks of planning in 2005 laid a great foundation for allowing us to make improvements in a timely way. As you enjoy this month of holiday activities, please be aware of the dry conditions that surround us. Use caution with fireworks. There are certain areas that will have restrictions because of these circumstances. They are outlined on the City website at www.murray.utah.gov , for your information. We also encourage wise water use for outside watering as our resources are limited. Thank you for your help with these matters. Happy July!