Mayor Pavia Gives Final 'State of the City' Address

For the fourth and final time Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Michael Pavia hosted a slew of local businesses and city officials for the State of the City address.

The event was a penultimate look back at the environment in which Pavia inherited the city, the initiatives he achieved in office and the future roads he hoped the city would continue to travel down. 

Pavia said the day was a celebration of his time in office, and he organized his thoughts based solely on the with his leaving the position in mind. 

"When putting together the State of the City address, I did so in that context," Pavia said prior to the address. "This being the last State of the City I'll give... I took a look back at all the things I'd done and accomplished."

Pavia said it was both a moment of reflection and an opportunity to consider the great future ahead of Stamford. 

"I looked at where I'll leave the residents of this city, the businesses of this city, where I'll leave the next mayor," he said. "The table is set for continued success for the whole of Stamford. It's one of the greatest cities on Earth."

During his address, Pavia touched on six major topics, including fiscal responsibility, public safety, education, infrastructure, economic development and quality of life. 

Specifically, Pavia talked about a myriad of items in each of those topics. He touched on Stamford's improving credit rating and the hopes that it will soon again gain a AAA rating from Moody's despite the economic turmoil that had been disrupting the nation and housing markets.

He talked about the unification of the fire department, Stamford's ranking as the safest city in New England and fifteenth overall in the nation and public health initiatives like the Hands for Life event hosted at Chelsea Piers. 

In education, Pavia touched on the Stamford-record-setting scores on the mastery test this past year, the 84-percent rate at which seniors go on to receive higher education and Springdale Elementary and Hart Elementary being named as Schools of Distinction. 

Stamford's Virtual Town Hall project and the 311 system were also touted as revolutionary for Stamford citizens, who could pay taxes and parking tickets or track permit applications all online, giving Stamford residents greater access to its government. When he mentioned parking tickets, he briefly backtracked to a room full of laughter.

"I don't know if I should have said that."

The mayor also touched on upcoming city improvements like the redevelopment of the Atlantic Street underpass, which should only close the railway system for two weekends throughout the duration of the replacement, or the $40 million Transportation Center garage renovation project. 

"It's the first public-private partnership in the state of Connecticut," Pavia said, "And it will establish the train station as the center of Connecticut."

Pavia also hit on residential growth, like watching daily the development of the lot across from the Stamford Government Center, the South End expansion and new residential tower projects coming up in Downtown Stamford. 

Finally, on quality of life issues, Pavia reflected on how he's sought to improve the city for its citizens to enjoy like the long-awaited Mill River Park nearing completion this May, and the unprecedented weather phenomena Stamford has persevered through under his watch. 

"Now, who among us can forget last October? And the terrible destruction of Hurricane Sandy. As mayor, I've talked about 100 year storms at every single State of the City address with you. In fact, at the end of Hurricane Sandy cleaning up, Ernie Orgera came to me and said, 'Boss, what's next, locust?' Well, don't be surprised—this spring, it is predicted that the cicadas will be back, en masse, in the city of Stamford."

Pavia also cited that, after moving 70 million pounds of substantial damage and storm debris caused by Hurricane Sandy, parks and beaches will open May 1. 

"In conclusion, I want to say thank you to all of you, it's a privilege to be here today," Pavia said, thanking companies, businesses, friends, citizens and administrators. "All those who continue to make Stamford One Great City."