HAPPY NEW YEAR ONCE AGAIN Watauga! I hope everyone had an outstanding Christmas and had the opportunity to spend time with family and friends. 2021 brought its own challenges and rewards to our city. Here are just a few of those highlights. On top of having to deal with COVID, we were hit with what I termed as SNOVID. After that, things seemed to settle down and get back to some semblance of normalcy. The City Council approved the addition of sixty-one townhomes on Bursey Road and we finally have some movement on the seventy-four single family homes going in on Hightower. Our splash pad opened this year and was an overwhelming success. One of the better things to happen to Watauga last year was voting in packaged liquor sales. This should be a much-needed boost to our tax revenue. 2022 is shaping up to be just as challenging and rewarding. 

We will start the new year (January 3rd) with a new City Manager. After an exhaustive nationwide search, your City Council found Mr. Josh Jones right down the road in Converse, Texas. Go figure. Mr. Jones comes highly recommended, and we are looking for some great things from him. Good luck Josh!

January also kicks off yet another election cycle. Place1, place 2, place 6 and place 7 are all up for re-election. Place 5 will be for the unexpired term of Ms. King. Opening date to file is January 19th with the last day February 18th. See the City website for details. If you do not have the time to commit to a Council position, think about volunteering for a board. It is a terrific way to serve your city and be part of the solution. There are numerous vacancies we need to fill.

2022 is going to be a great year for the City of Watauga. On behalf of the entire City Council, I want to wish you all a Happy and prosperous New Year. It is my hope and desire that we can all continue to work together and ensure that Watauga remains “A Great Place to Live”.