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Mayor Cowman says all is great in Leander

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Leander Mayor John Cowman has been known to have a flair for theatrics. So it was no surprise that he entered Central Baptist Church to the tune of The Troggs' “Wild Thing” as the beginning of his third annual Leander State of the City address, which immediately followed the Leander Chamber of Commerce monthly luncheon on Tuesday.

Chamber president Mary Bradshaw opened the door into the congregation and yelled, “Ladies and Gentlemen, now presenting the mayor of Leander, John Cowman.” The nearly full capacity crowd stood on their feet and loudly applauded their mayor as he slowly made his way to the podium, shaking hands with some of those who make his heart sing.

Kirk Clennan, Leander economic development director, shined a spotlight on the mayor during his trek to the stage, and then the mayor got down to business.

“I had no idea there would be this many people today,” Cowman sincerely said to the crowd. The mayor then shouted praises and recognitions to all elected officials and city staff members in the audience, and recognized Leander ISD superintendent-to-be Bret Champion, who was also there.

Cowman then talked about the goals met in 2007 and expectations for the city in 2008. He spent some of his time reflecting on the state of the city in 2003 when he first took office and how things are now. Like how the city has gone from 13,000 residents in 2003 to 27,000 now. And how the city has gone from 100 employees to 141; the city has gone from junk bond status to A level; after enduring 11 city managers the previous 13 years, the city has shown stability with Biff Johnson at the helm the last five years and he said the Crystal Falls golf course has gone from 13,000 rounds in ‘03 to 35,000-plus each year now.

“Things are great in Leander and they're going to stay that way,” Cowman said excitedly.

He talked about some of the goals met in 2007, like advancement on the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority.

“This will set us up for water for the next 50 years,” said Cowman, who's on the BCRUA board along with Cedar Park Councilmember Cobby Caputo and a Round Rock representative.

Cowman reflected on the opening of the Leander Public Library and said he wants every Leander resident to have a library card. He mentioned the opening of Fire Station #2 in March 2007 and talked about the construction of Station #3 on the east side sometime in 2008.

He said the city issued 1,231 permits in 2007 but that number could drop slightly in 2008 before rebounding in 2009.

“The mortgage problems are going to continue,” Cowman said, “but Leander is going to hold its head high.”

Cowman looked back a little more at 2007 events like the opening of H-E-B plus!, construction of the Gateway center that will consist of Lowe's, Kohl's IBC Bank, McDonald's and Taco Bell, the coming of Starbucks, Regions Bank and Dunkin' Donuts, the movement of the transit-oriented development and more.

“Leander will also get a train in 2008, isn't that great?” he said.

He said the city is bursting at the seams. The city staff is growing and the chamber is reaching high levels of membership to the point where it may have to find new places to meet every month since they are virtually outgrowing Central Baptist Church.

Cowman said the model of Leander growth is evident in the fact that he is working with the city of Elgin because it wants to model its growth after Leander.

At the conclusion, he asked city council members if they had anything to say. Place 2 member Kirsten Lynch stood up and said, “Always support Leander. We're the best town in the world.”

Then it was over. The lights came back up and everybody said their goodbyes. For Mayor Cowman had made everything, well, groovy.

E-mail editor@hillcountrynews.com

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