By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
We met on Monday, as we always do, and Mayor Ronnie was putting the finishing touches on the 2025 State of the City address, which was delivered the next day, March 5. Once again it was held on the Athens State University campus, but this year the format was going to be a bit different. Rather than the usual podium-and-power-point approach, Pammie Jimmar of the Chamber of Commerce was going to field questions to the mayor in a less formal format.
There were several things to celebrate, the most recent being Mardi Gras, both the parade as well as the food drive. It had been a full two months since the tornado, and repairs and restoration in the downtown core were moving along.
While there are several factors that make up a successful city, quality of life is the ribbon that is wrapped around public safety, education, employment, and other components, and Mayor Ronnie has the goal of making Athens the best place to live in all of Alabama.
The budget, while complicated, is in good shape, and we have a one-million dollar cushion in the general fund. The mayor talked at length about just what is involved in getting a new firetruck for our town, and you could tell the audience was taken aback. It takes three years for a city to be able to get possession of just one!
There are two grocery stores going up on each side of the county, a Publix on the east side of Limestone county on Mooresville Road, and a Food City in West Limestone. The Food City alone is going to be 53,000 square feet. Other developments are a hospital in Tanner, Terranova’s Italian Restaurant, a Five Guys, and the Shoney’s building on Highway 72 is going to undergo extensive repairs and be taken over by a national chain.
Sunshine Park, which once upon a time was the blighted former site of Pilgrim’s Pride is coming together, albeit perhaps more slowly than we’d like. The mayor would like to see the creek have a few waterfalls, which are peaceful and beautiful.
“Anybody who knows me knows I can’t stand litter,” said the mayor. It’s true, he was picking up litter the first time I interviewed him at the old city hall building that had been built in 1953, which also housed the fire department. He continued with, “We have two litter crews; we could use ten. Be responsible and help keep our city beautiful,” he said.
Something the mayor emphasized is the need for us to shop local so we can buy the things we need for our fair berg, such as the firetrucks. He also mentioned that now we are in much better shape when we have storms because we have installed the P-25 system, which helps us communicate even when the usual channels are unavailable.
The mayor made a point of thanking God that we have the right to pray in public, Athens City employees, first responders, educators, and all of us for helping to make Athens awesome. And then it was time for us to pray and then for Ronnie to roll.
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
March 21, 2025
