Humboldt mayor delivers annual State of the City address

HUMBOLDT, Tenn. — A large crowd gathered Thursday to hear Humboldt Mayor Marvin Sikes address the city he loves.

“It’s actually double this year, so we are thrilled, and I can’t help but to think that has to deal with some of the excitement with Tyson coming in,” Humboldt Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Amanda Love said.

It’s the third year the Humboldt Chamber of Commerce has thrown the breakfast where business leaders, politicians and citizens can come out and hear the future of their city from their leader.

“It was never an option to quit. You just deal with whatever fate has dealt with,” Mayor Sikes said.

Prostate cancer didn’t slow down the mayor in 2017, and he says one of his main goals is continuing to clean up the “Strawberry Capital of the World.”

“We have 18 properties on the hit list that I would love to see gone by December, and I would love to add to that list,” Sikes said.

Sikes says he is proud of Tyson Foods picking Humboldt to build a plant, and the new facility is expected to bring in over 1,700 jobs. He said he’s also excited about the new deal with Life Flight Helicopter services.

“We’ve got development happening. We’ve got retail coming in. Our downtown is filling up empty buildings,” Love said. “We are really thrilled with everything that’s going on in Humboldt right now.”

Overall, the mayor says 2018 is a year of growth and opportunity for the city.

The mayor also says the city has a balanced budget of $11 million and the schools have seen a $4.2 million upgrade to buildings.