City Manager's Annual Report 2017 | A Year In Review | Page 4

a message from the
CITY MANAGER
CITY MANAGER
Residents of Port St. Lucie,
Your City is led by a five-member elected Council, which in turn,
appoints a City Manager to handle the daily business affairs of the
City. In November of 2016, I was fortunate to have been selected by
the City Council as City Manager.
RUSS
BLACKBURN
My first year as City Manager was challenging and very rewarding at the same time.
I am
proud to live in not only the safest large City in Florida, but the third largest City in South
Florida. Port St. Lucie has not lost its sense of community and close-knit feel, even though
we are home to over 185,000 residents.
I am pleased to present Port St. Lucie’s 2017 Annual Report. Its theme, “Transforming the
Organization” is truly indicative of the many positive changes happening in our growing City.
Some of the highlights include:
• The development of a cross-
functioning team that took
ownership of the development
process and outcomes for the City; • The construction and opening
of the first phase of McCarty
Ranch Preserve primitive and RV
Campground;
• The hiring of a Business Navigator; • • The receipt of all the permits
required to move forward with
Crosstown Parkway Extension
Project construction and
groundbreaking; The much-anticipated
groundbreaking of the McCarty
Ranch Water Quality Project;
•
The reduction of the City’s bonded
indebtedness from $1.2 billion to
less than $800,000.000;
• Partnership with the Economic
Development Council to
successfully compete for the
major expansion of City Electric
Supply;
• Workshops for the Forum on Race
Relations & Inclusion;
• The launch of the Neighborhood
Improvement and Community
Engagement (NICE) program; • The adoption of the 10-year
resurfacing and sidewalk master
plans;
• Improvements to the Building
Department’s internet-based
service; • The soft launch o