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Standing at a podium in front of about 260 people, Port Arthur Mayor Thurman Bartie on Tuesday presented the city through the lens of progress showing where the city has been and where it will go in the future.

Bartie said the city is working diligently to address the current needs of the residents. The needs include trash pickup and street conditions to water and wastewater infrastructure, he said.

Council has worked with administration to provide the solid waste division with needed manpower and equipment to address the issues of timeliness and consistency with trash pickup, he said.

Additionally, the city has dedicated funding to attack the street issues; he acknowledges there is work still to be done.

“But take note where we have tried and we have made progress in those areas,” Bartie said.

Bartie made the comments as guest speaker during the Greater Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce’s “A Step Forward: State of the City Luncheon Tuesday at the Bob Bowers Civic Center.

The city, he said, has preserved through economic downturns and natural disasters and is stepping forward.

Bartie quoted Warren Bennis — who was an advisor to four presidents and an expert on leadership —saying that leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.

Bartie has met with mayors and other leaders across the nation and learned Port Arthur shares some of the same problems with them.

“I found the problems we face here in Port Arthur are no different than the problems they face in Baton Rouge. They are no different than the problems they face in Houston. They aren’t any different from the problems they face in Dallas or even closer,” he said, adding that the city shares the same problems with our neighbors in Port Neches and Nederland.

The mayor credits his networking with garnering a visit from U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg which in turn led to the announcement of a major grant for the Port of Port Arthur.

The future for the city looks bright as projects for Pleasure Island, the Gates property and the Woodworth Boulevard project move forward.

Veronica Chavez, Gulf Coast Operations manager for Chevron Port Arthur Lubricants Plant, was tapped to introduce Bartie to the audience.

Chavez also gave information on the facility which began operations in 1954. More than 150 employees and contractors are employed at the site which produces multiple types of lubricants.

Chevron Port Arthur Lubricants is the only plant for Chevron in North America that manufactures grease.

“In 2023 we produced 62 million gallons of lubricants and 15 million pounds of grease and products are shipped around the world from this facility to over 40 different countries,” Chavez said.

The company has a long history of investing in the community and has supported a number of organizations such as the Greater Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce, Southeast Texas Food Bank and the Boys and Girls Club, she added.