Council aims to lock-in city manager for three years

Summer ‘State of the City’ includes major commercial announcement

“You know we’re getting a Starbucks, right?” Charlie Smith asks, eager to share the good news. “We got the plans the other day.”
It’s not that he’s a caffeine junky. No, the pep in Smith’s step comes from the growing buzz of progress at Gladewater City Hall. There’s lots to do, plenty of hurdles on the path, but things are getting done.
He’s been steering the ship for two years now, albeit on an interim basis. Enough with that, according to Gladewater City Council members: after a closed door evaluation at last week’s monthly meeting, the group extended a long-term offer to keep Smith as the town’s chief executive, and the details of a three-year deal are being hammered out.
“We’re putting that together. We’re going to send it to the attorney, let him get it drawn up, then we’ll put it in place,” Smith confirmed Monday.
It was Starbucks that was on his mind, though; or, rather, what the new development represents for the community as a whole.
“A lot of times when you see a new business like that come to town, a major brand, you see other major things come in because of that. You’ll see some other development off that. It says something about Gladewater, that people are looking at us.”
Smith marked two years at the helm July 11, and his late-summer ‘State of the City’ for 2024 is just a bit shinier than this time last year.

Interim and soon-to-be long-term Gladewater City Manager Charlie Smith laughs with City Treasurer Meghan Davis Monday.

Granted, it’s not all sunshine and daisies. There are still plenty of challenges right now and ahead – potholes to pave, broken pipes to plug or replace, roads to repair and costs to cover – but things are falling into place with effort from many hands.
“I’m not going to say ‘I think.’ I know we’re in a very good position, and we’re moving forward with repairs,” Smith said, “getting things that were broken fixed. I want to continue sailing the ship in that direction.”
The culture at City Hall is a healthy one, he says, the kind that benefits the community as a whole.
“I think our departments – fire police, public works, city hall – I think we have one of the best working relationships among departments probably that they have had in a long time. I’m looking forward to the next three years and the things that we can get accomplished during that time.”
The top of Smith’s to-do list won’t came as a surprise.
“It would be streets and infrastructure,” he says immediately, “getting some of those things maintained. That’s what we can do as a team to keep moving forward, keep some of those fixed and on a maintenance program.”
While all that’s underway, more good things are on the horizon.
Residential growth is already in the works with more ahead, Smith noted, including a new development of about 40 homes alongside other projects in the preliminary stages.
“With our road expansions coming in, I’d like to see some growth on our loop; I think we’re going to see some major things happen in that area over the next few years,” he said. “I’d like to get some of the vacant buildings downtown occupied and move forward with some more retail. I’d like to see some more manufacturing move to Gladewater; anything we can do toward that is going to help with the money to put in and keep our city moving forward.”

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