State of the City address

Greenland, AR 

February 2025

It is time for the annual state of the city update and I am happy to report that our city is financially sound with all budgetary needs in 2024 addressed, which was due to a growing tax base development inside the city in 2024.

I would like to thank our city staff, the city council, our city Recorder Treasurer, and our planning commission for assisting me with the progress we have made in 2024. In this last year, we were able to grow our city through 2 separate voter approved annexations which increased our city size and population significantly. This along with the GIS review of every address in our city, has allowed for a recount request to be submitted by me to the US Census Bureau. The recount request has been approved and will occur in early 2025. This should give us a more accurate population indicator for our city, which is important since resources are allocated by the state and county based on the city population. The number of people served by our city services far outnumbers the number of residents, with tens of thousands of people passing through daily. For this reason, I am working diligently with ARDOT on expansion and repair of their roadway portions, including safety devices like traffic lights and better crosswalks for our kids. Much of this has already occurred in 2024 with the results being realized in 2025.

Greenland City grew with serval new licensed businesses in 2024, some of which included additional food establishments inside our city, and the trend is continuing this year. Giving our residents the option to spend money locally is a focus for our city, while also increasing local jobs.

The approval for new housing developments was made possible through the implementation of our sewer system upgrade project that began in 2024 and will continue through 2025. The voters approved the 1.5 cent sales to be used for funding of wastewater upgrades, this system will serve the citizens well for decades to come by being safe and affordable. The voters also approved Sunday alcohol sales hours in 2024, this will also help drive sales tax revenue for our city.

I was able to help secure a $300k dollar street grant for roads overlay from AR State in 2024, and it will be completed early this year in 2025. The city grew its usable park space significantly in previous years with the city conservation park by the white river. I was able to create a parks committee with a council person leading the way along with several local volunteers as well, which is enabling more thoughts on development in the parks. In 2024 Greenland added the AGFC

portion of the park for kayak/canoe launch for fishing access. We were also able to upgrade facilities in Taylor Park for year-round use and added better lighting for public safety in 2024.

There has been a focus on creating safer streets through the assessment of speed limits on city streets and recommendations for no parking sign locations as needed for public safety, which our street department has implemented as directed.

With our city growing there has been a focus on responsible growth with help from our planning commission and our citizens, and I am glad to see so many people taking an interest in our city now that previously they were uninvolved. With a strong city administration and a fast-growing municipal court, we are serving the city residents even better. With more growth comes more responsibility, and our code enforcement and inspection services have been more than fair with property owners on the municipal laws that keep all residents safe, and the city council has done an excellent job of working with our city administration in navigating specific properties that needed attention. These efforts will continue as we work to improve our city’s safety and beauty for all residents.

I am excited for the progress this year (2025) and for all the things we will accomplish together. This is a wonderful time to be a resident of Greenland, and I know the word is now out regarding this amazing city and its outstanding city residents. Thank you for allowing me to serve as your Greenland Mayor, and to be part of this amazing journey with you.

Mayor Jim Renfrow

City of Greenland