NAVASOTA, Texas — In 2022, Navasota saw several big developments within the city including an increase in small businesses, summer events for citizens, and the tax rate being lowered.
The first council meeting for the city is set for January 9. Before then, Bert Miller, the Mayor of Navasota, sat down with KAGS as he discussed some of his largest hopes for the city in 2023.
Question
"Coming into the new year, were you like, 'Oh my gosh, I've got some to do.'?"
Answer
"Yeah, there's lots coming up. We've got a lot of infrastructure projects a lot of street projects coming up."
Question
"One of the most recent projects y'all have tackled on is the Navasota River Bridge Project. Do you want to walk me through how that benefits the city?"
Answer
"It's just going to increase the amount of places people can go out and recreate and go outdoors."
Question
"What are some of the things you were most proud of for Navasota in 2022?"
Answer
"I would say the downtown development that's been worked on for a number of years is coming into fruition."
Question
"Are you seeing a lot of businesses coming into the area for the year?"
Answer
"Yeah, a lot of new businesses and the ones that are already established have had a good year."
Question
"Since we've talked about economic development, what are taxes going to look like for Navasota residents going forward?"
Answer
"Well we were able to reduce our tax rate slightly...that of course doesn't affect our valuations so that's the tough part but we did the best we could with the budget we had to keep the tax rate as low as we could."
Question
"Just like every other city we've seen shootings, drugs, and guns coming in...what is the city doing to address that going forward?"
Answer
"They're already being addressed. Our police chief has taken it on as a priority of his, we've gotten more officers now.... We have to beef up our folks so we can deal with what surrounds us."
Question
"Is the reason there are more officers is because there was an increase in crime in 2022 or because you want to bring jobs here?"
Answer
"Well honestly, we have not been at full capacity for at least five years. Just getting to where we need to be and grow from there is what we're going to do."
Question
"I think we saw an increase in scams, trying to scam people out of money and information, how are y'all planning on addressing that?"
Answer
"Being able to inform the citizens and that it's being watched as much as it can be."
Question
"Y'all had a lot of events last year in Navasota, so what are some of those key events we can look forward to this year?"
Answer
"Well you're going to see the Texas Birthday Bash coming back, this is the 11th year and that's Texas Independence Day weekend, March 3-4."
Question
"How are relationships with schools and other agencies going to look in 2023?"
Answer
"All of the new facilities, all of the new things we have in our school district just enhance the community."
Question
"We're only into week one for 2023, but if you had to boil down your hopes and goals for 2023 into one sentence, what would it be?"
Answer
"Continue to grow and continue to work together."