The meat of Kaufusi’s message inside the Covey Center Wednesday night detailed the city’s progress on the “Big 6,” which are a number of projects Kaufusi set out to tackle when she started her second term in 2022.

She addressed the Provo Airport’s advancement, leading with American Airlines’ arrival in September that connected the city to AA’s hubs in Dallas and Phoenix. Kaufusi then announced Utah County’s pledge to give the airport $78 million for its next phase of expansion.

She spoke on the completion of Phase 1 of the city’s 100-acre Epic Sports Park and the opening of the city’s downtown fire station.

“These are three milestones that were part of my Big 6, and I’m pleased to report every other item on the list is heading to completion,” Kaufusi said.

The remaining “Big 6” items are the development of the former city hall, building a west side grocery store and the city water treatment plant.

Kaufusi noted the city is under contract with a developer to develop the old city hall and said concrete is being poured at the city’s water treatment plant.

Additionally, she highlighted how Walmart plans to build a supercenter on Lakeview Parkway just west of the I-15 and University Avenue interchange.

The mayor dove into how these projects were funded, saying the first option was to include a tax increase in her proposed annual budget and the second option was to build partnerships.

“I didn’t like option one, so I’ve never done it,” she said. “Option two sounded great to me, and my team and I have worked our hearts out exploring all external funding possibilities.”

The Provo City Council did approve a property tax increase last year ($253.97 to $265.90 on a $482,8000 residence). The increase will help fund the public library.

But Kaufusi said the city’s tapped into external funds to build new projects.

According to a graph shared at Wednesday’s event, Provo brought in roughly $119 million from outside funds from 1998 to 2017 and approximately $155 million in outside funds since Kaufusi took office in 2018.

The mayor mentioned the Utah County Commission as a significant partner that has helped fund projects like the Epic Sports Park, the Rock Canyon Trailhead and the Provo Airport expansions.

“State legislators, my fellow mayors at Mountainland Association of Governments and federal legislators have also helped a ton,” Kaufusi said. “And, of course, my main partners, it’s always our amazing city council.”

Beyond her “Big 6” goals, Kaufusi addressed the city’s wildfire preparedness, noting the city has a full-time emergency preparedness professional and that the Provo Fire Department is well-equipped to handle any potential wildfires because several firefighters are trained through California deployments.

“Let’s use (the Los Angeles fires) as a wake-up call for Provo to be more prepared than ever,” she said.

Kaufusi also mentioned Brigham Young University, applauding the school’s announced intentions of building a medical school and the athletic department’s early success in the Big 12 Conference.

“I remind them all the time and they remind me, you’re the mayor of Cougar town, and I am,” she said.