Business View Magazine | March 2018

148 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 BPDeep Horizon Oil 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 sustainabilityto heart, keeping pace with the city’s commitment tomaintain its growing reputation as a leader in environmental education.“We have a programwherevolunteers 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 junkcars and 2,668 tires.Andwe cleaned over 1,054 of our streets.” When asked to encapsulate Baytown’svirtues,Mayor BAYTOWN, TEXAS