City of Bastrop holds annual State of the City Address

BASTROP, La. ( KTVE/KARD ) – State and local leaders, city workers, and Bastrop, La. community members gathered at the Municipal Center to host the 2024 State of the City Address.

The Mayor of Bastrop, Betty Alford-Olive, was joined by her husband for the event. The event began following the national anthem and a local pastor’s prayer. She spoke to KTVE/KARD about the address.

Today was such a special day to tell the public the challenges as well as the accomplishments that you face in city government. There are so many things that happen behind the scenes that the general public is just unaware of.

Betty Alford-Olive, Mayor of Bastrop

After taking the podium, Olive reflected on her first term as Mayor and spoke about inheriting and overcoming many challenges. She recalled a few, such as having to rebuild employment in the city from a post-pandemic state and needing to address a 2018 FEMA grant that also came with 21 fines. The Bastrop Mayor highlighted the success of her office. Two of the many successes she named of her term included making upgrades to all local parks and receiving a million dollars for improvements to a street lift.

The address also included awarding citizens for contributing to the many successes of the city. Mayor Olive honored Jacob Piro, a Captain at the Bastrop Fire Department, for his unwavering dedication to the station following a life-threatening injury on the job. Piro suffered several injuries after falling from a hose tower at the local fire department. Piro spoke to KTVE/KARD about his traumatic experience.

Good Lord saved my life after falling twenty five feet on head first of concrete. I haven’t been able to go back just yet, but I’m ready to go back to working with them, and it was an honor to be recognized for my service to this community.

Jacob Piro, Captain, Bastrop Fire Department

When Olive was asked about the future of the City of Bastrop, she stated, “The future of Bastrop is we’re headed straight up. We’re doing fine.” She emphasized that the city is growing with local businesses and is expecting the arrival of larger companies as well.

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