Baytown

of about amillion dollars.We have an urban fishery, there; we have a discgolf course; we still have some of our previous golf amenities; and our clubhousewill serve as a public reception center for our citizens and our service clubs.The northern part is going to host a new,planned development calledTrinityOaks.That’s going to be an exceptional residential development for us with trail connectivityand other amenities that blend in towhat we have been able to sustain and build on the southern part of the course.” Speaking of sustainability,Davis states that Baytown is the onlycommunity in the area that has both a nature center and awetlands center,making it a hub for environmental education in the region: “We tookan old subdivision that had beenwiped out bya hurri- cane andwe turned it into a nature center; we turned another old building–an old bowling alleyonMarket Street,close towhere CityHall is located–into awet- lands education center.We are the beneficiaries of the generosityof some of our corporate partners,allowing us to present educational programs,year round.”In ad- dition,the city is currentlyapplying for an $11-million grant,part of the BPDeepHorizonOil Spill settlement monies,to combine the nature andwetlands centers into a new,state-of-the-art,27,000-square-foot facility that will offer awide range of educational and envi- ronmental programs alongwith newrecreational and eco-tourismopportunities. Baytown’s residents also take sustainability to heart, keeping pacewith the city’s commitment tomaintain its growing reputation as a leader in environmental education.“We have a programwhere volunteers can help us remediate trash,”Davis says.“Last year,we had 23,000-plus volunteer hours spent in cleaning up the community.We collected over 8,100 bags of refuse; we also got rid of 90 junk cars and 2,668 tires.Andwe cleaned over 1,054 of our streets.” When asked to encapsulate Baytown’s virtues,Mayor BAYTOWN, TEXAS PREFERRED VENDOR n Houston Methodist San Jacinto Hospital www.houstonmethodist.org/sanjacinto A full-service, acute care hospital serving communities in Harris, Chambers, Liberty, and Montgomery counties. Since opening its doors in 1948, Houston Methodist San Jacinto has provided high-quality, compassionate, medical care and services, including cancer care, heart and vascular, neurosciences, gastroenterology, orthopedics & sports medicine, surgery services and women’s health. DonCarlos touts the city’s solid and growing economyas a reason to look to the futurewith great optimism. “The fact is that,even in an interna- tional downturn,our major employers did not have any layoffs,”he states.“It’s a very stable economy in theworst of times and a reallydynamic,growing economy in the best of times,like now.“ “We are a vibrant example of how industryand a high qualityof life can co-exist,”Davis adds in summation. “We are host to some of the largest petrochemical plants in theworld, but we also enjoyan exceptional high qualityof life–something that people don’t automaticallymarry together.”