Mayor Ronnie Williams said Jan. 19 in his State of Garner address that the town is in good standing compared to its neighbors.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I can tell you that we are doing very well,” Williams said.

Garner has grown by nearly 10,000 people since the last census year, a 48 percent increase. Williams said the town has managed to keep the hometown feel throughout the growth.

Now, Garner has some uncertainty ahead, unsure whether ConAgra Foods will keep its Slim Jim plant on Jones Sausage Road. However, Williams said, there is a fiscal balance of 42 percent and he hopes to keep positive starting out the new decade.

One way Garner will overcome the unclear future is with the help of community involvement.

“We will continue to depend on our many dedicated citizens who volunteer to serve on boards and commissions and these same volunteers organize and operate youth sports programs, hold fundraisers and community gatherings,” he said. “Our strength is still with our people and we will work hard to partner with them and support them.”

Williams also noted Garner’s several accomplishments in 2009: White Deer Park’s opening, the completed sidewalk loop around town, playground replacements and upgrades at Lake Benson and South Garner parks, the adoption of the five-year Capital Investment Plan, street resurfacing, police in-car digital cameras and the hiring of Brandon Zuidema as Garner’s new police chief, the Second Annual White Deer Dash and the largest Independence Day celebration in the town’s history.

He said the town’s future would be a full calendar of starting new programs at White Deer Park, beginning the Timber Drive extension project, resurfacing of New Rand Road, continuing with the North Garner plan as well as the Streetscape and Transportation plan and constructing the Fire/EMS Station 4.