Livingston Mayor Judy B. Cochran provided an update on the City of Livingston for the Livingston Lions Club Wednesday.
“First, I would like to hit a few highlights in our annual report from last year. These reports come out in April ever year and are mailed to all of our residents. A lot happened in 2024. As most of you remember, we had historic flooding in May of 2024 which caused a lot of damage, followed by Hurricane Beryl which made landfall on July 8, 2024. I issued a declaration of local disaster for both the flooding and the hurricane and we are still recovering from some of the damages.
“In 2024, the city chose to move the city election to the regular election date in November. It has always been in May, but last year the Texas Legislature provided a small window of opportunity for cities to move their election date IF they checked all the boxes. The City of Livingston did meet all of the criteria and the Council elected to move the election date. The city and school elections had always been in May. The school changed their election date and that left only the city having an election in May. Our voter turnout dropped significantly since only the citizens of Livingston could vote, so we chose to move our election date.
“The city also launched the official City of Livingston Facebook page in August. It is administered by our City Secretary/Assistant City Manager Ellie Monteaux. It is a great tool to inform the public about things happening in the city, as well as notices of upcoming events and changes.
“Also in August, the city approved a five-year lease of the Livingston Municipal Golf Course to Dustin Lowery. This has been a good thing for the golfers and the city. Also in August, we welcomed the Texas State University System Polk County Center to Livingston. We are pleased to have the affiliated colleges of Lamar Institute of Technology, Lamar State College Orange and Lamar State College Port Arthur. We are grateful to Tommy Johnson for bringing this opportunity to Livingston.
“In October, the Polk County Historical Commission dedicated a new marker at the Old City Cemetery honoring Livingston’s founder, Moses L. Choate. It was rescheduled from May because of the floods. A new marker had been erected and it was unveiled and dedicated at that time with a brief history of Moses L. Choate. Also in October, I presented a proclamation declaring October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month at the annual Power of Pink Day marking the 39th anniversary of the designation of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“In November, following the election, the canvass of the votes was conducted as is required by law and I was sworn in to start my fourth term, Alan Cook was sworn in as alderman, as was newly elected Andy Evans. Alderman Cook was also elected to serve as mayor pro-tem. I am also the first female mayor for the City of Livingston.
“In April, our police department conducted the first ‘Drug Take Back Day’ sponsored by the Alcohol & Drug Awareness Council of Deep East Texas and Polk County Community in Action. Citizens were able to safely dispose of unused and expired medications by taking them to the LPD. The department purchased an incinerator to dispose of seized drugs in compliance with DEA regulations. You can still dispose of expired or unused drugs by dropping them by the police department. The department is continuing to use the FLOCK system to alert dispatch and officers of vehicles that have been reported stolen or related to missing persons and other crimes that are coming into the city. It has been a very useful tool for the department. Again this year, our department participated in the ‘Shop With a Cop’ program at Walmart to provide a Christmas shopping experience for over 50 children. It just breaks your heart that these kids want to buy for their parents or siblings instead of themselves.
“The Livingston Volunteer Fire Department provides Livingston and the surrounding area with fire prevention, fire protection, medical first responders, rescue operations and hazardous material responses. The department covers over 250 square miles of property in its initial response area. We also provide mutual aid to the other nine departments in Polk County. We have a fire training school at the end of February where firemen and women come from all over the state to attend the school. Of course, the firemen are always going to the schools to talk about fire prevention and fire safety. I am proud to say that our fire department is strictly volunteer. They don’t get paid except a small stipend in July and December to help with fuel costs.
“Our parks and recreation department does many things including the Easter Eggstravaganza at Pedigo Park every year. There are 20,000 candy-filled eggs and over 200 prizes given away. The official hunt starts at 11 a.m. and within about five minutes, all of the eggs have been found. The parks department also provides swimming lessons and last year we had over 470 kiddos learning to swim. We sponsor ‘Kid Fishing Frenzie’ in September at Pedigo Park with trophies and fun for the entire family. We opened the new pickleball courts at Matthews Street Park last year. That has been a big hit. The Polk County Garden Club hosted the ‘Visit with Santa’ at Miss Effie’s Cottage in December. The parks department also creates a wide array of special Christmas lighting throughout the city, with lights outlining the businesses downtown, as well as the lighted displays at Pedigo Park and all over town.
“Our Hometown Christmas is always a hit with the Jingle Bell Fun Run, the many vendors coming to town and of course, the lighted Christmas parade. F.A.I.T.H. hosts the July Fourth Independence Day Picnic in Anniversary Park. Our Main Street Program now presents a different them regularly with after hours shopping on Saturday each month.
“Our library continues to offer many opportunities for children with the Summer Reading Programs. During the devastation of Hurricane Beryl in July the library hosted FEMA in one of their meeting rooms for several months. The City of Livingston provides a library, swimming pool, tennis courts, pickleball courts, golf course, airport, soccer fields, softball and baseball fields, rodeo arena, walking trails and two parks for your entertainment.
“Just some highlights concerning the city – in January 2025 our former mayor, Clarke Evans, was named the Polk Countian of the Year for 2024 by the Livingston-Polk County Chamber of Commerce.
“There have been many homes being built in the city, helping with the housing shortage. An apartment complex is being built on Hwy. 190 East, the John Deere/King Ranch facility opened in 2024, the Angler Hotel is now open with a restaurant, the Exceptional Care Emergency Room has converted to a specialty hospital. Denny’s is now open. McAllister’s Deli’s new plans have been approved and hopefully work will start there soon. They are going into the old Taco Bueno building. Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins’ permit has been paid, but the project has been put on hold according to the owner. The Mason Jar Restaurant is still working on their rebuild. Kelly King is remodeling the old Jackson Hardware building on Jackson Street to become a learning center for children.
“The city has been working diligently to keep up with and prepare for this growth. We have expanded both water, electric and sewer lines and we have upgraded our sewer plant to accommodate this growth. We recently built two water towers at a cost of over $2 million to assure ample water storage for our citizens. A couple of years ago, we were able to secure a contract with TRA for water for 50 years. This is a big deal as there are cities in Texas that are begging for water. TRA also treats the water before sending it to us. We have installed generators on all of the sewer lift stations, so even without electricity, we can still use essential services such as flushing.
“The city has received the Financial Reporting Award of Excellence for 35 consecutive years. We have no debt and we do not have a property tax and haven’t had one since 1988.
“The city has installed digital water meters throughout the city and we are almost finished with installing digital electric meters, we are waiting for a few more meters to be delivered. This will be an advantage to both the city as well as the customer. The customer will be able to view their usage on any given day and the city as well as the customer will be notified if there is excessive usage, such as a water leak. It also eliminates the need for a meter reader. We aren’t doing away with any personnel, that person just won’t be reading any meters now. It is also a safety factor, as you would be surprised how many dogs don’t like meter readers.
“We are continuing to grow and we are trying to keep up with and prepare for more growth while keeping that small town atmosphere. Livingston is a great place to call home and I am pleased to be a representative of our great city.”
