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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011 State of the City AddressCITY OF CHUBBUCK STATE OF THE CITYADDRESS MA yOR STEVEN M. ENGLAND JANUARY 11' 2011 As I reflect on 20 10 and look forward to 2011, 1 would again like to express my appreciation for the privilege, honor, and humbling responsibility that it is to serve as your Mayor. The friendship, encouragement, and support that I regularly receive from those I have association with is gratifying. I continue to be grateful for the sense of community that I feel here. Challenges and learning opportunities continue to present themselves regularly. I would like to express my appreciation to those who work for the city or serve the city in any Way. Your dedication is very much appreciated from I the Department Heads to each employee and from the City Council Members to each volunteer. I again want to especially acknowledge any of these who are responsible for developing the budgets that ultimately become the city budget. We are still dealing with shortfalls and reduced revenue sources and they continue to sensitively work with the administration to find solutions. I know it has not been easy. I took forward to their continued effort and want to let them know that their hard work is noted and appreciated. We said goodbye to 4 of our long time employees in 2010. Marvin Shappart from our parks department retired in the spring and then Ron Conlin who served as The Chubbuck City Clerk for 27 years and Larry Khontopp who worked for the city in a variety of capacities, but retired as the city planner, both retired in the summer. Then tragically this fall Kathy Christensen, our billing clerk, passed away suddenly due to a blood clot following surgery. They have been and will continue to be missed but especially Kathy as her death was so sudden and unexpected. We have been fortunate to have some new employees join us this year who we anticipate will benefit the city into the future. We have qualified and capable people working for the city, and I very much enjoy serving with them. As you know, we had a change in the County Commission last fall. Commissioner Larry Ghan has been good to work with over the years and was always considerate of Chubbuck and willing to partner in ways that benefited our entire community. His strength, encouragement, and experience have had an impact on our area. We thank him for his service. We welcome Howard Manwaring to the commission and are anxious to continue our mutually beneficial relationship with Bannock County. We look forward with optimism to working with the new County Commission. We continued to experience a slowdown in residential growth throughout 2010. There was only one subdivision annexed into the city and a still depressed number of building permits issued. We welcomed Dr. Earl Stoddard and the Idaho Skin Institute into the city with their new building that was completed on West Chubbuck Road. Then late in the year Anytime Fitness started building on East Chubbuck Road. Without question though, the biggest addition that was announced for our city and community was the Allstate Customer Service Center that will be built next to Home Depot on Hawthorne Road. Allstate making the decision to locate here was exemplary of the cooperation between the cities of Pocatello and Chubbuck and Bannock County. We were aided in this effort by Bannock Development Corporation, Idaho State University, The Chamber of Commerce, and many other business and civic leaders locally as well as Governor Otter and multiple state agencies. It was definitely a team effort. The economic impact that the addition of these 500-600 jobs will have on our community is tremendous and should have a ripple effect for years to come. In addition, the economy of our community will be boosted by ON Semiconductor announcing two expansion projects, HOKU's plans to be at full production by summer and Peterson Corporation being near completion of their new facility at the Pocatello Airport. As I mentioned, all of this progress has been the result of an exceptional cooperative effort by many entities. I think it is important however to emphasize the unique opportunity it is to have ISU located here. They are not only an invaluable resource in our economic development, but under the able leadership of President Vailas, vision for the future of the university and the educational opportunities are exceptional. Idaho State University is truly the crown jewel of our community. In a few months, the new Portneuf Medical Center will open its doors. I am confident that this too will be a tremendous boost to the prestige, image, and economic potential of our area. Along with its promise of exceptional and extended medical care, it is a very visible example of the progressive nature of our community. We continue to be pleased with the relationship that the city has with the Chubbuck/Pocatello Hockey Association. We thank them for the unique opportunity they provide for our community. With the addition of the ice rink, they can not only facilitate inline hockey competition during the summer but provide for a full range of ice hockey opportunities in the winter. They continue to partner with us in funding the facility and hope to find refrigeration equipment in coming years to make the ice sheet conditions more predictable for a longer season. The facility is open to the public when not being used by the league. Initially, public skating will be available most weekends to include Friday. it is our desire to work together with them to create and accomplish a vision for this program and will strive to do our part to grow and promote this activity for our area. Progress was made on several infrastructure projects in 2010. The Hiline Road project has been substantially completed with a few minor items to finalize in the spring. The widening of Yellowstone from Walmart in Chubbuck to the Foothill Plaza in Pocatello will finish in the summer with the expansion of the structure over the railroad tracks on I- 86. We expect a late summer completion of the sewer expansion projects at which time we will begin providing connections. We will schedule some informational meetings in the next couple of months to detail what has been provided and as well as the projected revenue needs. As the sewer line is installed south of Siphon we intend to upgrade the water line between Siphon and Chubbuck Roads before the asphalt is reinstalled. The road improvement project on Chubbuck Road between Joy and Cole that we anticipated being done last summer was postponed due to issues related to problems between the separate projects. It is scheduled to begin construction after school is out in the spring. I continue to be involved in discussions and efforts to coordinate and support a unified and cooperative direction for the communities all along the 1-15 corridor in Southeast Idaho in particular, as well as work with the Association of Idaho Cities in efforts that benefit the entire state. As we look to the future it is important that we support each other in maintaining and promoting the "quality of life" that we enjoy and work together to encourage that type of growth and development. Once again I believe that I can report that the "State Of The City" is good. Even though we have made significant progress in many areas in this down economy, we continue to set goals to help facilitate steady progress in others. Indications are that we will still confront economic difficulties for a while. Many of our citizens are dealing as families and individuals with struggles and challenges. Even small changes and efforts when accomplished as a community can make a difference as we look to continue our progress. There is much volunteerism and neighbor to neighbor service that is done regularly in our city without a lot of recognition or fanfare. I believe as we strive to maintain and perpetuate this attitude and activity it will assist us in finding solutions to our economic struggles. Our collective character will be defined as much by who we are and are striving to become as it is by what we do. As city leaders we appreciate the support and positive input that we receive. I believe the future of Chubbuck is bright and pledge my best efforts to continue to move us forward in 2011. Thank You.