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State of the City Rochester City Council February 12, 2002 It is a privilege and pleasure to address the Rochester City Council, the citizens of Rochester and Fulton County as Mayor of the City of Rochester. The year 2001 was a good year for the City of Rochester, I did realize numerous times throughout the year we do have a lot to be thankful for and there are times when looking back in time is the best way to see where we are going in the future. We should be thankful for the Rochester Fire Department, Fulton County Fire Departments and all who serve as Firemen. The passing of Assistant Fire Chief Greg Miller was a great personal loss not only for his family but his family of the Rochester Fire Department and all of Fulton County. The sympathy and compassion shown by the entire community should remind all of us that we are a caring and compassionate city. The Fire Departments of the county were challenged several times in the past year and met each crisis well. The explosion at Pyro Design, the fire in the mobile homes at Oden's showed us that our county firemen are well trained, work well together and able to handle extraordinary situations. The departments continue to educated their men on chemicals, hazardous materials, training and knowing what is in their community. Our greatest need in this area is a new Fire Station, for this year we should continue efforts to accumulate funds so that for the most part this will not place another tax liability on the citizens. We should be thankful for the dedication of the men and women of the Rochester Police Department. A major concern of citizens based on figures of the recent Citizens Survey showed gangs and drugs as a major concern. Our officers spend a great deal of time, a lot of it in off hours, working with the youth of our community. Prevention, education, involvement and setting a good example is a good step in controlling these concerns. The Special Operations Unit which includes the City of Rochester, Fulton County Sheriffs Dept. and surrounding counties has had a very active year with 85 cases and 60 arrests. We need to continue to send the message that gangs and drugs are not welcome and will not be tolerated in Rochester and Fulton County. We need to continue in our efforts to provide the police with modern equipment and techniques. We should be thankful for the dedicated citizens in our community who serve on the Boards and Commissions of the City of Rochester. Many hours are spent in meetings working for the betterment of the City of Rochester. The Park Board is in the process of updating its 5 year Master Plan, the plan will be presented at a public hearing within the next month. This is the most comprehensive plan within the city and will serve us well as a guide to improvement of the quality of life in the City of Rochester. The Tree Board is in the process of planning improvements and landscaping for Lakeview Park on East 9th Street and State Road 25 South. These are the main entrances into the City, first impressions are lasting impressions. It is important that we continue to improve the appearance of these gateways not only for the enjoyment of our citizens but to continue to make Rochester an attractive community to live in, locate in and raise families in. The Sidewalk/Traffic Commission has overseen and assisted with the installation of new sidewalks both in residential and business areas of Rochester. There are so many areas that need attention it is a real task to determine where the most urgent need is. There are times when you look at the sidewalks that still need to be replaced almost fail to see the amount of new sidewalks that have been installed for the safety and welfare of the community during the past several years. We should be thankful for the employees of the Street Department. I receive a number of calls each year thanking the city for the actions of the Street Department. Their efforts make our daily lives more pleasant either by patching holes, picking up yard waste and leaves, plowing snow and basically anything else that needs to be taken care of throughout the City. We did make progress on the Spring Clean-up this past year which allowed crews more time to work on other projects. The City spends more time each year on limbs, grass, leaves and yard waste to the point we need to give consideration as to where we are going in this area and what we can afford or not afford to do. We should be thankful for Lake Manitou as the lake is a very important asset to the City of Rochester. The difficulty with the Mt. Zion Dam and surrounding area should be a concern for all of us as it affects a great number of our citizens who live on the lake not to say anything about the economic welfare of our community. The other thing about this situation is the fact the dam is not in the city but we need to be involved with and supportive of the efforts to correct the situation. We should be thankful for the Chamber of Commerce, Retail Merchants and FEDCO. Numerous citizens serve within these groups and spend many hours trying to make the City of Rochester and all of Fulton County a better place to live. These are trying times as we are affected by forces outside our community with both plant and store closings. The City of Rochester will continue to work closely with these groups to try to fill vacant buildings. We are all made aware of plants and stores as they close but we need to look at the number of local business and industry that have expanded or moved to new locations this year. We should be thankful it was decided to make the position of Building Commissioner a full time position and to allow for office staff for that position. The number of permits issued and fees have increased while the cost of projects has remained reasonably steady for the past three years. The real benefit is that the city has up-dated its Zoning Ordinances, Sub-division Controls, Comprehensive Plan and City Ordinances and made these items available to the public on the internet. This past year we saw at least one abandoned property condemned and demolished for the improvement of the complete neighborhood. The Council adopted an Unsafe Building Ordinance this past year, at the present time the city is in the process of contacting several property owners to notify them they will have to clean up and improve abandoned property they own or the city will take steps to see that they do so. These properties are unsafe, unhealthy and down grade complete neighborhoods. We should be thankful for the Water and Wastewater Departments of the City of Rochester. These utilities are well run with faithful and dedicated employees. The utilities have the capacity to serve the further expansion of the City of Rochester. We still have the need to determine where we would like to see industrial growth so we can plan for expansion in that area. We should be thankful for the good working relationship we enjoy with Fulton County. Within the next couple of months we should see the GIS mapping become a reality for the City of Rochester. This is through joint City/County efforts to get the grant to set up a pilot GIS program for the City and hopefully the first step in getting it for the county. This will be a great benefit not only to the local governments but to citizens, business and industry in planning and maintenance. We should be thankful for the lines of communication we have not only among ourselves but also with the citizens. It has been beneficial to have Council Members sit in on the various boards and commissions. I know it takes additional time but not only does it serve to keep the other Council Members informed of what is being planned and happening in the various areas but by reviewing it in the regular council sessions these boards get additional exposure to the media so the citizens can be better informed. We held a City Council Meeting during Municipal Government Week at the Middle School. I feel this was a rewarding and beneficial experience for all concerned and hope we can all be mindful to look for opportunities to interact with members of our community. We should be thankful for the opportunity we have to work together to serve the City of Rochester. This past year ordinances were passed to allow the City of Rochester to establish at Stormwater Management Board and a Rainy Day Fund. The real work will come this year as we determine to what extent we want to proceed with funding these funds. We should be thankful for all citizens of the City of Rochester and Fulton County. While we will never forget the events of September 11th it has been great to see flags and patriotic colors everywhere. I trust these memories will remain, these flags and colors will remain and that we will not have to be reminded again in such a tragic manner how great it is to be an American citizen. Philip E. Thompson, Mayor City of Rochester
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