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State of the City Good afternoon. One of the required duties of a Mayor is to give to the City Council a statement as to the financial condition and general condition of the City he serves. It was given to Council members at a regular City Council meeting for many years and the citizens were not aware of it. I truly appreciate the opportunity to present the State of the City address
in a public forum and thank the Kiwanis Club of We had a nice snow over the weekend, as I approached City Hall I thought it looked as though extra attention had been given to snow removal as the walks and parking areas were very clear of snow and ice. As the day progressed I was given the full story. It had been snowing for awhile when a police officer came on duty. The
officer started by clearing the sidewalk in front of the Police Department but
as it was a light snow ended up making a path the length of the block and half a
block on No sooner had the officer gotten back inside the Police Station than she heard a garden tractor outside and found a local citizen had come to do the walks. Since they were done he widened the path out and cleared the parking area in front of the station. The citizen had no more than finished and left when the city snow removal crew showed up. The time consuming work had already been done so they concentrated on the larger areas. What in the world does this have to do with the State of the City? How many
times have we have seen something start with one individual trying to improve
something in their community? The attitude of our citizens is our real strength
and the thing that makes Several years ago an individual had the idea of moving a Round Barn to the
City of This past year several things happened in the business district. The 100
block of The Chamber of Commerce has had a very good year with the Round Barn Festival and Chili Cook Off as the featured events plus the new Ribfest event. In all of these activities the involvement of citizens and individuals was the main factor in the success of the organization or activity. There has been the discussion for years that the Rochester/Fulton County community really needs to have an industrial park. The first step was taken this year to seeing that become a reality as FEDCO purchased 17 acres on State Road 25 North. We have realized there needs to be a sanitary lift station in that area of the city before future growth can happen. We really needed to determine what area that growth would begin in before determining the location of the lift station. Now that the land has been purchased we can proceed with plans to provide city utilities to serve the area. All of these activities will involve city government in some manner. All of
these activities will be better served and serve the City of Financially this has been another very trying year. This is due to the uncertainty of receiving funds to operate on. Carla Smith, our Clerk Treasurer, has done an excellent job of keeping us informed and keeping the city financially sound. The Department Heads have been given instructions to keep a tight rein on spending and I appreciate their efforts. This does not translate into the city not really needing these funds but there are projects that can be delayed. The difficulty there is if we wait too long the problem can get worse or additional problems can arise. The total in the Rainy Day Fund is $380,102.00; the Community Host Fee Fund balance is $460,913.00. These Funds have been dedicated by the Council for the new Fire Station. The original thought was to accumulate funds until we could basically pay cash for the Fire Station but last year the council wanted to proceed even though we would have to finance a portion of it. Carla and I have tried for the better part of the year to determine where we stand financially. The River Boat Gaming Funds, with a balance of $78,000.00, we plan to use for storm water. We will hire temporary seasonal help with their job being to work only in the storm water area primarily cleaning lines. Their wages and minor repairs and improvements will come out of that fund. The first steps have been taken towards a new Fire Station. In the next few months we will have hired a firm to assist in determining our needs and help to determine a proper location for the new station. This is a learning experience for all of us. As in all projects we will keep the public informed and also look for public input in numerous areas. We also need to be thinking about replacing one of the older fire trucks and are starting to look into our needs at this time. The Police Department has had a busy year with several robberies and Meth
labs. The City of The Street Department is a cause of concern for several reasons. The leaf pick-up program went well this year but several of the vacuum machines will have to be replaced. The city has been working with the Solid Waste District as we look at new machines. Leaf pick-up has always been a dusty and dirty service, better than burning but I have never been impressed with the dust and debris the present machines put out. One of my main objectives with new equipment will be to reduce if not eliminate this problem. The other problem we are going to be faced with in the Street Department is
street repair. Utility rates have been increased in both the Water and Wastewater Departments. This is something we put off for several years but we knew we would be forced to do. The cost of operating both departments had reduced the funds available for repairs and upgrading equipment. The Water Department will be looking to the inspection of all three water
towers and painting one of the water towers this year. There has been some
discussion with the Rochester Downtown Action Committee of painting the downtown
tower as a round barn. It is still too soon to see where this is going but
either way it will be inspected and repainted this year. The department has set
a schedule for replacing and upgrading fire hydrants which will be one of the
factors considered for the ISO Insurance rating for the City of This has been an interesting and busy year for the Wastewater Department. We
purchased a video camera so we can view the sewer lines to see the condition of
the line or what the problem may be without digging it up. We have placed the
responsibility for Stormwater maintenance with the Wastewater Department.
It appears we have solved most of the problem on Since 2000 the State of the City addresses have outlined the progress made on our Comprehensive Plan, City Code Books and Zoning Codes. The books were all updated last year and the website updated as well. The City council reversed a decision of 10 years ago and has decided they would like to explore joining the county in an Area Plan Commission. We need to address at some point again the rewriting of all the codes and well as the expense of having all of it printed and placed on the website. We will just have to work our way through this as the year progresses. All in all this has been another very good year. I believe as we look back in years to come we will be able to see just how important the year of 2004 was and I believe as a community we will see a number of good things begin to happen as plans are developed and put into action. We have always worked well together as a community but I still believe the best is yet to come. Thank you for the opportunity to visit with you today and I am already looking forward to next years State of the City Address as I believe it will be a very good one. Mayor Phil Thompson City of |