Monitor Photo/Carla Gray
Mayor Randy Teague (center) congratulates Spotlight of the month employees, Water Department Supervisor Amanda King (from left) and Animal Control Officer Oscar McFarland Feb. 6.

MABANK–Mayor Randy Teague addressed the State of the City during the Feb. 6 council meeting. In his address he provided updates on past and future endeavors for the city.
Teague began his address with the following, “As I begin this evening, I’d like to comment that growth can be hard. It represents change and change can be uncomfortable. From our now approximately 5,000 residents that call the city of Mabank their home, to more than 40,000 unique retail visitors that we find within our city limits on a weekly basis, to upwards of 20,000 residents that depend on us for clean drinking water, to more than 80 city employees that show up to work daily tasked with “doing the right thing” to make life here better, more comfortable and as enjoyable as possible. To the six men you see sitting behind this table this evening that take our leadership roles and responsibilities very seriously. None of us are immune from what the realities of growth and change look like and represent.”
Teague continued with what the city has accomplished over the past year. Beginning with the renovation of Market Street including the lighting, parking, sidewalks, street surface and ADA compliant railings all paid for by grants through state agencies. He acknowledged the new public restrooms and performance stage near the Mabank Food Truck Yard.
The mayor spoke of the twenty ordinances that the council passed, he stated, “Some of those include real estate annexations, allowing the city to maintain a level of code enforcement and compliance that are not achievable in unincorporated areas of the county.” The city revised pricing for new water connections for residential and commercial applicants and created an RV park ordinance that will dictate the highest levels of cleanliness and cooperation within the city limits. Teague also stated that the remittance of the Hotel Occupancy Tax that had been every quarter has been moved to a monthly basis.
Teague went on to discuss what plans are in the making for the future, “which include more than $28 million in infrastructure spending on water and wastewater delivery systems. Teague highlighted the improvements as:
• Construction and installation of the north side lift station and sanitary sewer main for $1,273,462.
• The west side of 9th Street sanitary sewer line improvements $111,200.
• W. Market Street Sanitary Sewer Improvements $544,168.
• State Highway 198 Sanitary Sewer Improvements $1,860,000.
• Construction on a new 750,000 gallon overhead water tower to be placed at the north side of US Highway 175 $6,287,510.
• Water Treatment Plant and Raw Water Pump Station Improvements that are estimated at $9,058,500.
• 14-inch Water Transmission Line with an estimated cost of $654,225.
• Double water treatment plant capacity with an estimated cost of $7,805,000.
“The City of Mabank has not raised our local tax rate in more than a decade and it remains one of the lowest of any similar sized town in the surrounding counties and substantially lower than our Voter Approved Maximum rate” said Teague. The expense is being funded through new construction and new water sales, therefore the impact to current residents is minimal to no impact, Teague stated.
At the end of the State of the City of Mabank Teague thanked the council for their passion and always with the future of the city of Mabank in mind.
In other business, council members:
• Approved $5,905,510 for construction of the new TWDB #21800: US 175 Elevated Storage Tank (HW 524.00’) and Veterans Elevated Storage Tank Modifications.
• Approved variance to combine three or four lots in Victory Estates and make into one large lot.
• Recognized Spotlight of the Month Employees; Water Department Supervisor Amanda King and Animal Control Officer Oscar McFarland.