METRO VANCOUVER -- The city of Surrey has generated $11 billion in construction investments, created jobs and offered a helping hand to the city's most vulnerable since she was elected mayor in 2005, Dianne Watts said in her final state-of-the-city address Wednesday.

Watts, who had previously announced she wouldn't be running for a fourth term, credited her Surrey First Team, along with city staff and police and fire officials, for working together to create a vision to "fundamentally shift the course of the diverse city," which welcomes 1,000 people a month, has one-third of its population under 19 and the largest influx of government-assisted refugees in the province.

When she was elected, Watts said, the city had just one hospital, underfunded schools, roads and infrastructure and was lacking in public transit. Surrey now has an emerging downtown core, has reaped 75 per cent of TransLink's total service expansion in the region over the past nine years and has seen the largest capital investment in health care in B.C., along with a new RCMP E-Division and a new health technology corridor.

The city has also benefited from its economic investment zones, which were created during the economic downturn in 2008 and resulted in 4,300 jobs over three years, she added.

"We wanted to build a city where you could raise your family and improve your quality of life," Watts told a crowd at the Sheraton Guildford during her final annual address. "No one succeeds in isolation. What we collectively created was an unstoppable force, a movement into the future."

Watts noted Surrey has been named best place in B.C. to invest four years in a row, while creating a social infrastructure network for those dealing with substance abuse or mental health issues, and a crime reduction strategy. She cited among the accomplishments Sophie's Place, a child advocacy centre where abused children feel safe telling their story to the police; the city's restorative justice program, which helps kids at risk; and the city's task force on crime, which has resulted in stepped-up enforcement across Surrey.

"To suggest that crime is on the rise is incorrect; targeted enforcement is on the rise," Watt said. "The safety of the public has to be first and foremost."

The city has also created a more connected community, Watts said, with parks and recreation facilities and festivals along with preservation of green space.

"It's not just about building buildings, it's about building a community," she said. "As a city we want to ensure families with small children, youth or seniors have every opportunity to connect to the community.

"I have held this city and these people in the highest regard. I always believe great people deserve a great city."

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