Here’s where you can get a peek at what Merced’s new mayor has planned

Mayor Mike Murphy plans to give a State of the City address that is the first to be held in Merced in recent memory, if not ever.

The public event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Friday at the Merced Theatre, 301 W. Main St.

“We’re a city of 84,000 people, and there’s a lot of good things that are happening in Merced and a lot of challenges that we’re still facing,” Murphy said Monday.

“It’s an opportunity for me to share my vision for Merced as the mayor – not only where we’ve been, but where we’re going and, most importantly, how we’re going to get there together.”

A similar sort of presentation has been given by past city managers to the Greater Merced Chamber of Commerce, Murphy said. But it’s been nearly a decade since that has happened, according to the city’s website.

Murphy, who won election in November and was sworn into office last month, said he plans to discuss economic development, public safety, homelessness, infrastructure and other topics during the event.

In the past year, UC Merced earned approval to essentially double in size, the city and county governments came to an agreement on tax sharing and the area has seen improvement in employment rates.

“The next few years I think are going to be critical,” he said. “There’s some real opportunities if we can capitalize on them. I think people recognize that.”

Schoolchildren, mostly of high school age, are being bused in for the event, Murphy said.

Also on the agenda as a speaker is Robert Dylina, chairman of the Greater Merced Chamber of Commerce.

The event is free and open to the public. Visitors are asked to RSVP by going to tinyurl.com/MercedChamber or by calling 209-384-7092.

The speech will be streamed live at www.cityofmerced.org and will be posted there later.

This story was originally published January 23, 2017 at 4:25 PM with the headline "Here’s where you can get a peek at what Merced’s new mayor has planned."