Mayor Denis Law on Wednesday gave his eighth annual State of the City, proclaiming the city “strong” and calling its future “bright.”

Speaking in front of business and regional leaders at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Law took the opportunity to review not only the past year’s accomplishments but attempted to place it in the context of his full term as mayor and beyond.

He reviewed several new projects underway in the city, spoke of changes in the culture at City Hall and talked about changes that have been made to help serve vulnerable and diverse populations.

The mayor also once again shined the spotlight on several city employees whom he said went above and beyond their duties.

Throughout his speech, Law highlighted both his leadership and the changes the city made to help it weather the recession that began soon after he was elected, citing the work of elected officials and other community leaders.

“I’ll start by telling you the state of the city today is strong,” Law said, according to a copy of the speech received prior to the event. “And I believe we owe a good deal of thanks for where we are to community leaders who came together with city officials 20 years ago with a desire to change the direction of this city.”

Law began his speech with a history lesson, beginning in the early 90s at a time when “Renton was not a place where people wanted to move or open a business.”

The mayor said a previous mayor took a “verbal beating” during a meeting with local community leaders and then began a transformation at City Hall that Law said continues today, including changes the city’s permitting process and customer service, as well as a new economic development strategy that “resulted in an explosion of new development.”

The mayor said the “workforce culture” at City Hall has changed with departments working together more and committed to “solving issues” instead of “passing the buck.”

Law also cited his goal set in last year’s speech that Renton become the “best city in King County,” with a focus on economic development, improving service to vulnerable and diverse populations, enhanced customer service and developing a sustainable fiscal strategy.

Law went on to highlight each point, calling out several employees for “going that extra mile.”

Law name-checked inspectors Craig Burnell and Phil Hudgens for the work they did with Renton Honda in helping the car dealership get settled into its new digs on East Valley Road, reading part of a letter from the company thanking the men.

The mayor also pointed out Bob Sowards of the Community Services Department, who was instrumental in breaking up a sexual assault at a coffee stand in North Renton in February. Sowards saw a struggle at the stand as he drove by early on the morning of Feb. 17 and opted to go back to investigate. As he pulled up, Sowards interrupted a sexual assault, called the police and gave a description of the suspect and his vehicle to police. According to the mayor, the detective on the case believes the victim may have been killed if not for Soward’s actions.

Law also talked about Officer Anthony Venera, who during the last Christmas season was driving behind a woman when the Christmas trees on her vehicle slid off the roof.

Instead of citing the woman for an unsecured load – a $124 violation – Venera loaded the two trees into his patrol car and drove them home for the woman and her grandchildren.

Law called the final goal – fiscal sustainability – a “bit anti-climactic” but discussed some of the issues the city is dealing with – including the 1 percent property tax cap, approved by voters, that has hamstrung cities around the state, as well as the loss of liquor excise tax and profit sharing.

In his defense of the city’s new business and operations tax, approved for the first time in the current biennial budget, law cited the low amounts of tax dollars that go back to the city and the list of services it is to pay, including police, fire, parks, roads and more.

“For each dollar collected for property taxes, Renton receives 23 cents,” he said. “For sales tax, we receive less than 10 cents for every dollar collected.”

Law said sales tax amounts have finally returned to pre-recession levels, but admitted the budget “will continue to be a challenge.”

Among his accomplishments, Law cited the city’s receiving $118 million in state and federal transportation grants. He also cited the success the city has seen in dealing with nuisance businesses, including a handful of local bars that have been problems in the past.

“Through the efforts of several departments, every one of the problem businesses has since closed or changed their operations to a point where the neighborhoods are no longer impacted,” he said.

The mayor pointed to nearly $300 million in new projects underway in the city, including new hotels and office towers set for the area around Gene Coulon Park, as well as new development in the industrial area south of I-405. The mayor said along with the projects presently under development, an additional $300 million in projects are in the planning process.

He also pointed to new projects downtown, including a five-story mixed use complex that will break ground this month at South Second Street and Main Avenue South, including a new plaza and changes to the downtown traffic pattern.

Turning his attention to the Highlands, Law spoke of the Sunset Area project and thanked the partners involved with getting that underway. When completed, it will feature a new library, multi-family housing and low-income housing, as well as a park and space for new retail.

THIS STORY HAS BEEN CORRECTED. This was the Law’s eighth State of the City address and two names in the story have been corrected. We apologize for the errors.