Seymour Mayor Craig Luedeman will deliver the annual State of the City address at the end of the city council meeting at 7 p.m. Monday.

The focus this year will be on growth and how the city can meet the changing needs of residents and businesses.

“I’m going to be talking a lot about growing pains; why we are growing, how we are growing and how we can deal with some of the growing pains we are experiencing,”  he said.

There’s no simple answer, he added, but through grants and partnerships, Luedeman said there are opportunities to make positive changes in the city now that will make an impact for years to come.

“I’ll show what the needs are and explain why we should do what we are looking at doing,” he said.

Priorities for this year include economic and workforce development, parks and recreation and working with Seymour Main Street to continue efforts to revitalize the downtown.

Luedeman said he is excited about the new downtown gateway park, Crossroads Community Park, which is expected to be completed this spring. It was a project he introduced in 2010.

It may have taken eight years to get it done, but Luedeman is glad he will be able to check it off his list this year.

Luedeman said he also plans to talk about the city’s financial situation and highlight various departments’ accomplishments in 2017.

“We had a pretty good year financially, and we’ve been putting cash back in the bank and staying under budget,” he said.

One area he will be highlighting is business development because of the number of new businesses added to the city last year.

He estimated those businesses, most of which were retail, added $11 million to the city’s economy.

Although there will be updates on ongoing projects, Luedeman said his big announcement will revolve around solar energy.

“Solar energy will be a major focus this year, and I’ve got some numbers on what it’s going to cost and how much it could save us,” he said. “It’s something I’m really going to pursue, because I think what I’m going to introduce could be huge for Seymour and could put us on the map.”

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What: Mayor Craig Luedeman’s annual State of the City address

Where: Seymour City Hall, 301-309 N. Chestnut St.

When: 7 p.m. Monday

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