ABILENE, Texas -

Mayor Norm Archibald’s annual State of the City address focused on a familiar topic Tuesday: The importance of the proposed nearly $200 million Cedar Ridge Reservoir north of Abilene.

Archibald joined Abilene ISD Superintendent Heath Burns and Taylor County Judge Downing Bolls at the Abilene Civic Center event.

Archibald’s speech focused particularly on city finances, major Abilene tourist attractions, sign ordinances and the Cedar Ridge project.

As proposed, the reservoir would have a surface area of 6,635 across and contain about 74 billion gallons of water. With an about mile-long dam on the Clear Fork of the Brazos River, the reservoir would include a transmission pipeline to Abilene.

Because of a lengthy permitting process and construction timeline for the project, actual construction may not being until the mid-2020s.

Meanwhile, Burns said Abilene ISD is winning and outpacing the state of Texas despite challenges. Some of those challenges are budget cuts and educating a growing refugee population.

In addition, Bolls talked of successful partnerships that the county has in place to provide fire protection and ambulance service. He spoke about plans to restore the county courthouse and make realistic adjustments to county employee compensation.

KTXS will provide more details about the State of the City address later in the day.