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| Three Running for Abingdon Mayoral Seat---Incumbent Proud of Infrastructure Work |
Abingdon's top elected official who's seeking another term as mayor wants to finish the infrastructure projects that have been started during his time in office to prepare the city for growth.
Mayor Steve Darmer is facing opposition in the April election from retired educator Don Smith and resident Roger Stegall. Smith spent four decades in education, 30 years of that time as a school administrator. Stegall returned to his hometown of Abingdon in 2002 after working for 30 years as a manager at a plant in Alabama.
Darmer says he decided to run again because many people asked him to and because he says there's unfinished business to tend to. That said, Darmer tells WGIL the city has put a big dent in its infrastructure projects during his tenure.
"We got all the valves replaced in town in the last four years, we got the new water tower up, we have a back-up water supply, the well out in Rotary Park, we did a lot of road work and we've started replacing our water meters with electronic meters. So we need to continue all of that, plus the 100 block project of course."
Darmer is referring to the 100 block of South Main Street in the city's downtown. Several buildings there are in bad shape and beyond repair, so city officials have been negotiating to buy them and ultimately tear them down as part of efforts to revitalize the downtown area. Darmer says the city needs to work to complete the infrastructure projects so Abingdon is in a position to grow.
Darmer says he'd also like to have all of the fire hydrants in town replaced. He says some are 100 years old, and the city is seeking grant funds to help pay for the project.
Darmer says a lot of the infrastructure projects had been sitting for a long time and now they're getting done. |
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| 02 15 09 by Newsroom |
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